jniversity  of 

Connecticut 

ibraries 


hbl,  stx 


F        29.G6M2 
(tJIflY'.^y  of  Gorham    Me., 


3    T1S3   ODMBsioa    1 


HISTORY 


OF 


GORHAM,  ME., 


BY 


HUGH  D.  McLELLAN 


COMPILED    AND    EDITED    BY 
HIS  DAUGHTER, 

KATHARINE    B.   LEWIS 


PORTLAND : 

SMITH    &   SALE,    PRINTERS, 
1903. 


COPYRIGHT, 

KATHARINE    B.    LEWIS, 

1902. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER 


Preface,      ..........  7 

I.     Introduction,      .......  9 

II.     Narragansett  War  and  Grants,         .         .         •  13 

III.  The  Indians  in  and  about  Gorham,             .         .  34 

IV.  Military  Matters,       ......  43 

Soldiers  in  the  French  and  Indian  Wars  —  The 
Militia. 

V.     The  First  Settlement  and  First  Surveys,         .  74 

VI.     From  1745  to,  and  Including,  the  Incorpora- 
tion OF  the  Town,  .....  93 

Vll.     The  Revolution,  ......         106 

VIII.     Politics  —  The    War   of  1812  —  The    Separa- 
tion OF  Maine  and  Massachusetts,  .         .         150 

IX.     Meeting  Houses  and  Ministers  of  the  Stand- 
ing Order,        .......         169 

X.     Other  Religious  Societies,  ....         200 

Come-outers,  or  New  Lights — Free -Baptists  — 
Calvanist  Baptists  —  Methodists  —  Shakers  — 
Quakers. 

XI.     Education,  . 222 

Town  Schools  —  Gorham  Academy  and  Seminary  — 
Normal  School. 

XII.     Agricultural  Interests  —  First  Mills  —  Bury- 
ing Grounds,  ......         245 

XIII.     Different  Villages  in  the  Town,       .         .         .         262 
Business  Centres  —  Northeast  Part  of  the  Town 
—  White   Rock  —  West   Gorham  —  Gambo  —  Malli- 
son's  Falls,  and  Little  Falls. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIV.     Physicians  and  Lawyers,  .         .         .         .         281 

XV.     Condition  of  the  Roads  in  and  about  Gorham 

IN  Early  Times,         ......  288 

Brandybrook  Hill  —  Horse  Meadow  Road  —  Mails 
—  Railroads. 

XVI.  Slaves — The  Town's  Poor  —  Changes  of  Bound- 

ary Line  —  Old  Bells  —  Town  Clock  —  The 
Red  Stone  Monument — Tomatoes — The 
Pound  —  Fire  Engines,  .         .         .         .         296 

XVII.  Fires  in  Gorham,         ......         306 

XVIII.     Taverns  —  Temperance  —  Libraries,  .         ,         317 

XIX.     Early    Society'  in    Gorham,    and    Some    Facts 

about  Gorham  for  the  Year  1780,  .         .         323 

XX.     Civil  War  of  1861-65,  ^^d  the  Soldiers'  Mon- 
ument, .......         340 

XXI.  Nails  —  Clocks  —  Velocipede  —  Organs  — 
Button-Hole  Machine —  Mechanical  Inven- 
tions —  Carpet  Weaving  —  Tanneries  — 
Other  Manufactures,  ....         356 

XXII.     Fire  Insurance  Companies  —  Secret  Societies,  362 

XXIII.     Centennial  Celebrations,  ....  368 

XXIV.     Lists  of  Town  Officers,  etc.,  .         .         .  373 

Genealogy,  .........  383 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Hugh    D.    McLelLAN,  ......        Frontispiece 

Fort  Built  on  Fort  Hill,   1745,              ....  45 

Plan  Showing  Location  of  First  Settlers'  Houses,         .  56 

Mary  Gorham   Phinney,             ......  78 

Plan  of  the  Thirty  Acre  Lots,      .....  82 

First  Parish  Meeting  House,  1798,         .         .         .         .  173 

View  from  Normal  School  Building,     .         .         .         .  174 

Rev.  Asa  Rand, .  193 

Rev.  Thaddeus  Pomeroy,           .          .         .          .          .          .  194 

Rev.  John  R.  Adams,  D.  D.,      .         .         .         .         .         .  196 

Methodist  Church,  Gorham  Village,      .         .         .         .  216 

Levi   Hall  Schoolhouse,           ......  226 

Gorham   Academy,  Erected   1805,     .....  230 

Female  Seminary,      .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  241 

Lucian    Hunt,             ........  243 

Normal  School  Building,  and  Frederick  Robie  Hall,     .  244 

Site  of  First   Mills,         .......  252 

Great  Falls  Village,       .......  266 

Mains  House,              ........  269 

West  Gorham  Chapel,      .......  272 

View  at  Gambo,          ........  274 

Little  Falls  Village,       *.         .         .         .         .         .         .  277 

Elihu  Baxter,   M.  D.,        .         .         .         .         .         .         .  282 

Dr.  Alden  T.  Keen,          .......  283 

John  A.  Waterman,           .......  287 

Residence  of  Mrs.  J.  G.  Tolford,            ....  308 

Old  Hay  Scales,        .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  314 

Harding's  Store,  Built  1779,           .         .         .         .         .  317 

Dana  Estes,        .         .          .          .          .         .          .          .         .  321 

J.   McGregor  Adams,          .         .         .         .         .         .         .  322 

House  Built  by  Prince  Davis,          .         .         .         .         .  325 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


House  Built  by  Elder  Hugh  McLellan  in   1773, 

Lieut.  Col.  Henry  R.   Millett, 

Residence  of  George  L.  Day, 

JosiAH  Pierce, 

Celebration  of  150TH  Anniversary  of  Settlement 

Selectmen's  Office, 

Residence  of  Dr.  Elihu  Baxter, 

James  Phinney  Baxter,     . 

Solomon  Brown,        ... 

Residence  of  George  W.  Crockett 

Simon  Elder,     .... 

Randall  J.  Elder,    . 

Daniel  C.  Emery, 

George  B.  Emery, 

Moses  Fogg,       .... 

Edward  Gould, 

RoscoE  G.  Hardinc;, 

Mrs.  Angelina  (Tukesbury)  Harding 

Capt.  David  Harding,  Jr., 

Mrs.  Temperance  (Davis)  Harding 

Stephen  Hinkley,  Jr., 

Dr.   Henry  H.   Hunt, 

Gen.  James  Irish  and  Family, 

Parson  Jewett  House, 

Indian  Camp  Brook, 

George  W.  Lowell, 

Capt.  Joseph  McLellan, 

Mrs.  Mary  McLellan, 

Residence  of  Lewis  McLellan, 

Josiah  T.   McLellan, 

Lewis  McLellan, 

Marshall  M.  Phinney, 

William  Prentiss, 

Rev.  George  L.  Prentiss,  D.  D., 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Joseph  Ridlon, 

toppan  robie, 

Frederick  Robie, 

Residence  of  Hon.  Frederick 

Elizabeth  (Ross)  Tyng, 

Col.  William  Tyng, 

William  Appleton  Rust, 

Nathaniel  J.  Rust, 

Cornelius  Waters,    . 

Mrs.  Abigail  (Irish)  Waters, 

Merrill  Whitney,     . 

Robie  Whitney, 

John  Wingate, 

Oliver  Winship, 

Mrs.  Clementine  (Morton)  Winship, 

Plan  of  the  Town  of  Gorham 


739 

743 

745 

Robie, 

746 
748 

749 
753 
753 
806 
806 
836 
836 

839 

840 

/INSHIP, 

840 

^y^^-yZ  (^   ^  ^^^ 


PREFACE 


IT  is  with  no  apologies  that  we  offer  the  following  chapters  to  the 
reader.  The  author,  Hon.  Hugh  D.  McLellan,  a  member  of 
the  New  England  Historical  and  Genealogical  Society,  during 
his  entire  lifetime  took  a  deep  interest  in  all  things  relating  to  the 
history  of  his  native  town,  and  when  but  twenty  years  of  age  com- 
menced to  gather  its  historical  material  that  it  might  not  be  lost. 
People  in  the  town,  knowing  his  fondness  for  such  things,  often  pre- 
sented him  with  old  books,  records  and  papers  then  considered  of 
but  little  more  value  than  to  make  a  nest  for  the  mice,  or  to  swell  the 
sacks  of  some  travelling  tin  peddler,  but  of  inestimable  worth  to 
the  future  historian.  Stories,  anecdotes  and  traditions  were  also 
written  down  from  the  lips  of  those  now  long  since  passed  beyond 
recall.  Col.  McLellan's  father-in-law,  Hon.  Lothrop  Lewis,  beside 
being  chairman  of  the  board  of  selectmen  for  twenty-four  years  and 
taking  a  very  prominent  part  in  town  affairs,  was  the  last  clerk  of  the 
old  Proprietary,  and  left  a  mass  of  papers,  documents  and  records 
pertaining  to  the  early  town  and  parish  doings,  to  be  found  nowhere 
else. 

Since  Col.  McLellan's  death  in  1878  the  manuscript  has  been 
carefully  edited  and  brought  down  to  date.  Owing  to  the  necessary 
limits  of  such  a  work  the  genealogical  section  has  been  confined  to 
those  families  coming  into  town  prior  to  1850,  and  of  these  even, 
it  has  not  been  possible  to  insert  all.  There  is  no  such  thing 
in  this  world  as  perfection,  as  no  one  knows  better  than  he  who 
would  undertake  to  compile  genealogical  records.  For  instance,  the 
town  book  gives  a  certain  date  for  a  man's  death,  the  family  Bible's 
record  gives  another,  and  very  likely  his  gravestone  furnishes  a 
third  date,  all  for  the  same  event,  —  members  of  the  same  family 
differ  as  to  certain  dates,  and  who  shall  say  which  is  right  ?  The 
inscription  on  a  gravestone  is  said  to  be  good  legal  evidence,  and 


O  PREFACE. 

yet  in  this  very  town  there  is  a  stone  erected  to  the  memory  of  a 
man,  whose  inscription  proclaims  to  the  reader  that  this  man  departed 
this  life  on  the  thirtieth  day  of  February.  No  pains,  time  or  money 
has  been  spared  to  insure  correctness  in  this  volume,  and  it  is  hoped 
and  believed  that  but  few  errors  will  be  found.  In  connection  with 
editing  the  genealogical  section  of  this  work  the  subscriber,  during 
the  last  five  years,  has  visited  nearly  every  house  in  town,  and  has 
written  innumerable  letters,  —  which  latter  have  as  a  rule  been 
answered  promptly  and  fully,  —  the  object  having  been,  so  far  as 
possible,  to  have  some  member  of  each  family  look  over  the  records 
of  its  own  particular  branch.  Many  fires  in  Gorham  and  dates  of 
fires  will  be  found  missing  in  the  chapter  on  "Fires  in  Gorham,"  as 
owing  to  lack  of  sufficient  data  it  has  been  found  to  be  impossible 
to  complete  the  list. 

The  work  of  editing  and  completing  this  history  was  undertaken  at 
the  request  of  Ex-Gov.  Frederick  Robie  and  the  late  Stephen  Hinkley, 
representing  a  committee  chosen  by  the  town  to  see  if  arrangements 
might  be  made  for  the  acquiring  by  the  town  of  the  manuscript. 

We  wish  to  take  this  opportunity  to  thank  all  those  who  have  so 
kindly  aided  us  with  the  fruit  of  their  own  research,  and  with  the 
loan  of  valuable  family  documents  and  papers. 

KATHARINE  B.   McLELLAN  LEWIS. 
Gorham,  Me.,  June  i,  1902. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

It  is  a  good  sign  that  in  these  days,  throughout  New  England  a 
quite  general  interest  is  taken  in  town  histories.  It  shows  that  we 
are  appreciating  the  importance  and  value  of  such  records.  The 
great  river  that  lioats  the  ship  is  nothing  but  the  collected  water  of 
rills  and  brooks,  which  of  themselves  are  only  large  enough  to  float 
small  chips.  Enough  chip  floaters  added  together  make  a  ship 
floater.  So  a  great  State  is  only  a  collection  of  towns  and  munici- 
palities, each  one  having  a  life  and  history  peculiar  to  itself.  These 
stories  of  the  towns  constitute  the  material,  out  of  which  state  and 
national  histories  are  made.  We  can  never  understand  the  full 
history,  save  as  we  learn  it  from  an  acquaintance  with  the  parts. 
A  no  less  authority  than  John  Fiske  says,  "  Town  histories,  though 
seldom  written  in  a  philosophical  spirit  and  apt  to  be  quite  amorphous 
in  structure,  are  a  mine  of  wealth  to  the  philosophical  student  of 
history." 

The  town  was  the  first  political  creation  of  our  New  England 
fathers.  Whether  they  knew  it  or  not,  the  Republic  was  born  when 
our  Puritan  ancestry  met  together  at  convenient  points  and  discussed 
their  affairs  familiarly  in  town  meetings,  and  decided  questions  of 
public  concern  by  voting.  Every  town,  begun  in  colonial  days,  has 
done  something  to  help  make  the  modern  State ;  as  every  single 
letter  of  the  alphabet  plays  its  part  in  the  oration  of  the  statesman. 
The  more  we  know  of  these  early  beginnings  of  the  country,  the 
better  do  we  understand  our  own  times,  and  appreciate  the  life  and 
institutions  of  to-day. 

It  is  as  one  of  the  creative  agents  of  the  State  of  Maine,  as  this 
State  appears  at  the  dawn  of  the  twentieth  century,  that  we  present 
the  History  of  the  Town  of  Gorham.  While  this  was  not  one  of  the 
first  settled  towns  of  the  State,  and  had  also  the  disadvantage  of 
being  somewhat  inland,  rather  than  on  the  seaboard,  yet  Gorham 
has  played  no  inconsiderable  part  in  the  fortunes  of  Maine.  She 
has  had  force  and  weight  in  the  State  because  of  the  character  of 
her  citizens.  In  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  it  matters  little 
whether  a  member  comes  from  the  East  or  the  West,  from  a  large 
State  or  from  a  small  one.  A  man's  influence  in  that  body  depends 
upon  himself, — has  he  the  personal  qualities  of  greatness  ?  If  he  has  — 


10  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

then  he  becomes  a  power  in  the  councils  of  the  nation.  So  we  may 
say  of  Gorham  ;  while  it  was  later  than  some  others  in  the  date  of 
its  settlement,  and  was  an  inland  town,  cut  off  from  shipping  and 
commerce,  which  things  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  were  large 
factors  in  town  building,  yet  the  men  and  women  who  came  here 
and  took  up  the  land  and  cleared  the  forests  and  plowed  the  fields, 
were  such  men  and  women  as  gave  high  character  to  the  town,  and 
at  once  made  it  influential  beyond  its  own  narrow  limits.  They 
were  hardy,  heroic,  intelligent  and  pushing  people  who  believed  in 
God  first,  and  in  themselves  second  ;  people  who  plowed  and  sowed 
their  lands,  and  built  their  houses,  and  established  schools  and 
churches,  and  fought  the  savages,  in  the  interest  of  a  high  and  pure 
civilization.  While  their  immediate  object  was  their  daily  bread,  yet 
in  religion  and  in  education  they  were  working  for  a  future.  The 
present  history  would  emphasize  the  moral  fiber  of  the  men  who 
came  to  Gorham,  when  Gorham  was  a  wilderness,  and  caused  it  to 
blossom  as  the  rose.  Gorham  did  not  attain  its  wide  influence  in 
the  Province  of  Maine  by  reason  of  its  extent, — it  was  only  six  miles 
square.  Neither  did  it  gain  influence  by  reason  of  its  vast  and  over- 
powering wealth, — there  was  comparatively  little  of  this.  There 
were  neither  mines  nor  quarries  here  to  attract  adventurers  and  make 
them  suddenly  rich.  There  was  indeed  a  good  body  of  timber 
growing  on  the  hills  and  along  the  vales  and  some  of  this  was  fairly 
valuable.  When  pine  trees  were  large  enough  to  have  the  broad 
arrow  of  the  king  cut  in  their  bark,  which  signified  that  they  were 
destined  for  masts  in  the  royal  navy,  they  gave  to  the  settlers  some 
bright  visions  of  gold  and  silver.  There  were  on  this  tract  quite  a 
goodly  number  of  such  trees.  Then  there  was  much  timber  here  of 
a  smaller  size,  which  became  quite  valuable  in  course  of  time.  But 
timber  at  the  best  is  a  crop  which  yields  its  harvest  only  at  long 
intervals,  and  therefore,  while  it  brings  into  a  region  laborers  and 
teams  and  builds  camps  there,  the  occupancy  is  temporary.  Lum- 
ber does  not  bring  permanent  settlers  ;  it  does  not  bring  civilization. 
Gorham  was  settled  because  after  the  trees  were  cut  away  the  land 
was  left,  and  the  land  of  that  place  was  good.  It  was,  perhaps,  not 
altogether  of  the  variety  of  an  Iowa  prairie,  of  which  it  has  been 
said  that  "  when  tickled  with  a  hoe  it  laughs  with  a  harvest,"  but  it 
was  good,  honest,  hearty  soil,  that  paid  back  many  fold  in  produce 
for  any  work  that  was  done  upon  it.  This  certainly  was  good  basis 
for  a  town,  and  the  town  came. 

This  section  of  territory  was  one  of  the  townships  granted  by  the 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

General  Court  of  Massachusetts,  as  payment  for  service  rendered  in 
the  old  King  Philip's  War.  In  the  seventeenth  century  Massachu- 
setts was  poor,  and  the  colonies  had  little  or  nothing  to  pay  their 
soldiers  with,  except  land.  In  no  very  long  time  after  the  long  con- 
test with  the  Narragansetts  was  ended  in  1677,  by  the  almost  total 
extinction  of  the  tribe,  they  who  remained  alive  of  those  who  had 
participated  in  the  war,  and  the  heirs  of  those  who  were  dead  began 
to  petition  the  General  Court  for  some  remuneration  for  military  ser- 
vices. The  claim  was  acknowledged  and  finally  some  unsettled 
townships  of  land  were,  by  vote  of  the  Assembly,  set  apart  for  this 
purpose.  One  township  was  given  to  the  soldiers  who  dwelt  in  one 
section  of  the  country  and  another  one  assigned  to  those  who  dwelt 
in  another  section.  What  is  now  Gorham,  then  known  as  Narragan- 
sett  No.  7,  was  granted  to  the  parties  who  were  dwelling  at  Barnstable 
on  Cape  Cod  and  the  region  adjacent,  to  the  number  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty.  These  people  were  all  of  Pilgrim  and  Puritan  stock  and 
when  they  came  here,  they  brought  with  them  their  Puritan  faith, 
traditions  and  practices.  They  were  sturdy  religionists  from  Massa- 
chusetts, and  this  meant  a  good  deal.  When  they  came  to  the 
Province  of  Maine  they  did  not  come  to  a  region  that  was  altogether, 
or  even  to  any  large  extent,  under  the  dominion  of  puritanic  ideas. 
The  early  settlements  along  the  coast  of  Maine  were  not  made  under 
Puritan  patronage.  Gorges,  who  not  far  from  1640  was  made  Lord 
Proprietary  of  Maine,  was  a  Church-of-England  man  and  was  in  full 
sympathy  with  Charles  and  Laud.  Our  State,  therefore,  was  never 
any  refuge  for  persecuted  Puritans.  The  earliest  settlements  here 
were  for  the  sake  of  trade  and  agriculture.  Men  came  to  Maine, 
not  so  much  to  find  a  freer  atmosphere  for  their  religious  faith,  as  an 
opportunity  to  better  their  worldly  fortunes.  It  was  quite  otherwise 
in  Massachusetts.  That  was  colonized  by  Pilgrims  and  Puritans, 
who  came  there  on  purpose  that  they  might  be  free  from  any  over- 
lordship  of  Episcopacy.  In  several  instances  indeed  whole  church 
organizations  were  transferred  from  one  side  of  the  Atlantic  to  the 
other.  The  history  of  Massachusetts  Colony  is  church  history,  for 
the  entire  colony  was  a  church,  or  rather  according  to  the  Puritan 
idea,  a  collection  of  churches.  There  was  no  settlement  there,  prior 
to  the  church — the  settlers  were  the  church. 

In  Maine,  however,  a  good  many  years  elapsed  between  the  settle- 
ments along  the  shore  and  the  organization  of  churches.  When 
migrations  began  to  take  place  from  the  Massachusetts  Colony  to  the 
District  of  Maine,  they  were  Puritans  who  came  and  they  brought 


12  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

with  them  the  church  and  the  minister.  The  owners  of  the  Gorham 
township  were  Puritans,  and  in  this  respect  differed  from  the  large 
majority  of  those  then  living  in  the  District.  The  early  history  of 
this  town,  like  that  of  a  great  many  others,  ^hows  a  good  deal 
of  ecclesiastical  disturbance  and  unrest;  but  it  was  a  friction  pro- 
duced inevitably  by  certain  religious  principles  and  ideals  coming 
into  and  establishing  themselves  in  a  region  of  country  where  the 
prevailing  sentiment  was  not  sympathetic.  It  would  be  very  strange 
if  a  Puritan  church  sentiment  had  not  found  more  or  less  trouble 
with  such  an  environment  as  Maine  furnished  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years  ago.  Differences  of  sentiment  among  neighbors  and  troubles 
in  the  immediate  church  were  no  doubt  largely  incident  to  this 
broader  and  more  general  state  of  affairs.  However,  it  is  no  sign 
either  of  mental  weakness  or  of  moral  infirmity  that  there  should  be 
sharp  differences  of  opinion  touching  church  doctrines  or  church 
policy.  The  best  of  men  cannot  always  agree.  Cranmer  as  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  might  dispute  with  Sir  Thomas  More  and  help 
forward  his  execution.  But  to-day  we  recognize  both  of  those  men 
as  being  intellectually  great  and  morally  good.  So  it  is  nothing 
against  the  intellectual  and  moral  qualities  of  Gorham  that  her  his- 
tory shows  some  ecclesiastical  storms  and  some  calling  of  hard 
names.  It  argues  rather  a  pronounced  individuality  among  her  citi- 
zens, an  independence  of  thought,  and  a  disposition  to  rely  on  one's 
own  judgment,  that  are  always  elements  of  personal  strength.  And 
this  may  be  said  concerning  the  average  of  Gorham  citizens,  that 
they  have  been  men  of  strong  character,  men  of  great  independence 
of  thought  and  of  self  reliance,  men  who  felt  that  they  had  some 
errand,  some  business  in  the  world,  and  who  gave  themselves  to  the 
performing  of  that  errand.  The  early  settlers  of  the  town  were  not 
time  servers  or  timid  folk,  but  were  people  of  strong  fiber  and  with 
resolution  of  an  heroic  cast.  That  first  generation  left  its  image  and 
superscription  behind  it,  and  succeeding  generations  have  not  worn 
out  the  stamp.  Gorham  has  always  been  a  strong  and  weighty  town 
throughout  the  State.  The  solid  character  of  her  men  has  given  to 
her  an  influence  in  the  commonwealth  to  which  the  mere  number 
of  her  inhabitants  would  never  have  entitled  her.  Gorham  has  been 
a  town  of  large  influence.  This  influence  has  been  the  result  produced 
by  a  high  average  of  personal  character  on  the  part  of  her  citizens, 
and  we  present  here  a  book  whose  aim  is  to  perpetuate  the  memory 
of  those  men,  and  to  keep  alive  the  knowledge  of  institutions  that 
have  sprung  from  manly  brains  and  Christian  hands. 


CHAPTER  II. 

NARRAGANSETT  WAR  AND  GRANTS. 

To  the  Narragansett  war  the  town  of  Gorham  owes  its  origin  and 
settlement.  It  is  one  of  the  seven  townships  granted  by  the  General 
Court  of  Massachusetts  to  eight  hundred  and  forty  persons,  who 
were  either  "personally  present  at  the  fort  and  fight  at  Narragansett, 
or  descendants  from  those  who  were,  or  in  the  strictest  alliance  with 
them."  Since  our  existence  -as  a  town  is  due  to  this  war,  and  to  the 
consequent  grants,  it  may  not  be  unprofitable  or  uninteresting  to 
touch  lightly  upon  the  history  connected  with  these  matters. 

The  war  with  the  Narragansetts,  commonly  called  King  Philip's 
war,  began  in  the  Plymouth  Colony,  and  spread  in  extent  about  three 
hundred  miles  through  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire  and  the 
Province  of  Maine.  Within  the  space  of  one  year  the  tribes  of 
savages  in  New  England  were,  with  few  exceptions,  drawn  into  it 
against  the  settlers.  Philip,  the  second  son  of  Massasoit  the  firm 
friend  of  the  whites,  had  on  the  death  of  his  brother  Alexander, 
succeeded  to  the  chieftainship  of  the  Pokanokets,  or  Wampanoags, 
and  like  him  was  the  determined  enemy  of  the  white  man.  Many 
reasons  combined  to  produce  this  hatred,  one  of  which  was  the  not 
infrequent  summoning  of  Philip  and  other  chiefs  to  Boston  and 
Taunton  to  make  explanations  of  their  conduct,  which  proceedings 
they  naturally  resented,  as  insulting  to  their  dignity  and  independ- 
ence. They  also  began  to  find  their  hunting  grounds  invaded  ;  their 
ancient  domains  narrowing  and  slipping  from  them.  In  a  letter 
dated  May  i,  1676,  Gov.  Winslow  says,  "I  think  I  can  clearly  say 
that  before  these  troubles  broke  out  the  English  did  not  possess  one 
foot  of  land  in  this  Colony,  but  what  was  fairly  obtained  by  honest 

purchase  of  the   Indian  proprietors And  lest  yet  they 

should  be  straightened,  we  ordered  that  Mount  Hope,  Pocasset,  and 
several  other  necks  of  the  best  land  in  the  Colony,  because  most 
suitable  and  convenient  for  them,  should  never  be  bought  out  of 
their  hands,"  etc.  While  this  is  undoubtedly  true,  the  Indians  did 
not  at  first  comprehend  to  what  their  frecjuent  sales  of  land  were 
tending.  Probably,  they  did  not  fully  realize  the  binding  nature  of 
the  deeds  and  grants  which  they  made  to  the  whites,  and  as  they 


14  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

found  themselves  more  and  more  circumscribed,  their  suspicions 
and  hatred  of  their  white  neighbors  grew  apace. 

In  167 1  Philip  pretended  that  injuries  had  been  done  to  him  by 
the  English,  but  when  he  appeared  at  Boston  to  lay  his  claims 
before  the  authorities,  he  could  prove  nothing,  and  he  again  signed 
articles  of  peace,  and  covenanted  "to  pay  one  hundred  pds  of  such 
things  as  he  had,  and  five  wolves'  heads  yearly  to  the  governor  of 
Plymouth,  and  not  to  make  war  without  the  Governor's  approbation." 
But  shrewd,  crafty  and  ever  hostile  to  the  whites  even  while  professing 
friendship  and  signing  treaties  of  peace  with  them,  he  was  nourishing 
a  deep  laid  plan  for  revenge,  and  sent  messages  to  all  the  Indians 
to  engage  in  war,  telling  them  that  the  English  were  preparing  to 
invade  the  Indian  country;  and  soon  under  his  wise  and  skillful 
leadership  the  Indians  were  plotting  the  entire  destruction  of  the 
colonies.  The  murder,  by  order  of  Philip,  of  Sausamon,  a  friend  to 
the  English,  who  had  disclosed  to  the  authorities  a  plot  of  the 
savages  to  blot  out  the  whites  ;  and  the  subsequent  punishment  of 
the  murderers  by  the  authorities  in  1675,  undoubtedly  caused  Philip 
to  fear  for  his  own  safety,  and  hurried  him  on  to  take  vengeance, 
and  by  this  very  thing  defeated,  in  great  measure,  his  own  plans  for 
the  extermination  of  his  hated  foes. 

Cotton  Mather  tells  us,  "Things  by  this  time  began  to  have  an 
ominous  aspect.  Yea,  and  now  we  speak  of  things  oviiiious,  we  may 
add,  some  time  before  this,  in  a  clear,  still,  sunshiny  morning,  there 
were  divers  persons  in  Maldon  who  heard  in  the  air,  on  the  south- 
east of  them,  a  great  gun  go  off,  and  presently  thereupon  the  report 
oi  small  guns  \\k^  musket  shot,  very  thick  discharging,  as  if  there 
had  been  a  battel.  This  was  at  a  time  when  there  was  nothing 
visible  done  in  any  part  of  the  colony  to  occasion  such  noises ;  but 
that  which  of  all  astonished  them  was  the  flying  of  bullets,  which 
came  singing  over  their  heads,  and  seemed  very  near  to  them,  after 
which  the  sound  of  drums  passing  along  westward  was  very  audible  ; 
and  on  the  same  day,  in  Plymouth  colony  in  several  places,  invisible 
troops  of  horses  were  heard  riding  to  and  fro.  Now,  reader,  pre- 
pare for  the  event  of  X\\^s&  prodigies,  but  count  me  not  struck  with  a 
Lii'ian  superstition  in  reporting  prodigies,  for  which  I  have  such 
incontestable  assurance." 

The  Indians  began  their  bloody  work  in  June,  1675,  falling  upon 
the  town  of  Swanzey  in  Plymouth  Colony  (now  Bristol,  R.  I.,) 
burning  the  town,  and  killing,  it  is  said,  nine  English.  Deso- 
lation   and    devastation    reigned     throughout    the    country.      The 


NARRAGANSETT  WAR  AND  GRANTS.  15 

Indians,  from  their  knowledge  of  the  country,  and  their  acquaint- 
ance, in  time  of  peace,  with  the  settlers,  and  their  mode  of  life,  were 
well  prepared  to  fall  upon  them  in  their  unguarded  moments,  after 
the  fashion  of  Indian  warfare.  It  is  well  nigh  impossible  for  us  at 
the  present  day  to  realize  the  state  of  affairs,  the  terror  and  suffer- 
ing that  prevailed.  From  official  records  it  is  estimated  that  in  the 
space  of  one  year  several  towns  were  nearly  or  wholly  destroyed, 
six  hundred  buildings,  mostly  dwelling  houses,  were  burned,  and  at 
least  six  hundred  inhabitants  were  slain,  either  in  battle,  or  mur- 
dered by  the  Indians.  An  early  and  reliable  historian  of  the  times, 
Trumbull,  says  after  careful  consideration,  that  one  out  of  every 
eleven  men  capable  of  bearing  arms  was  slain,  and  one-eleventh  of 
all  the  dwellings  in  the  united  colonies  burned  in  the  war  with 
the  savages.  There  was  mourning  throughout  all  New  England, 
for  few  were  the  homes  where  death  had  not  entered  during  the 
strife. 

The  Narragansetts  were  a  numerous  and  powerful  tribe,  number- 
ing many  warriors.  Though  under  a  treaty  of  neutrality  with  the 
whites,  suspicions  began  to  arise  of  them.  It  was  believed  that 
they  welcomed  and  gave  shelter  to  the  Indians  returned  from  the 
western  frontier  along  the  banks  of  the  Connecticut.  They  were 
jealous  of  the  English  and  ot  the  Mohicans,  who  remained  friendly 
to  the  English.  It  was  thought  that  they  had  joined  the  confederacy 
under  King  Philip,  now  numbering  some  three  or  four  thousand 
warriors.  The  commissioners  of  the  united  colonies  agreed  to  raise 
an  army  of  one  thousand  men,  and  as  many  friendly  Indians  as 
could  be  persuaded  to  join  them,  and  to  march  against  this  foe.  Of 
these  men,  Massachusetts  was  to  furnish  527,  Plymouth  158,  and 
Connecticut  315.  There  were  two  Plymouth  companies,  one  under 
Capt.  John  Gorham  of  Barnstable.  It  is  interesting  to  note,  from 
the  Message  sent  up  from  the  House  of  Representatives  to  the 
Council  in  1731,  what  manner  of  men  these  were  who  engaged  in 
this  fight.  It  specifies  that  those  who  fought  to  rid  the  country  of 
those  enemies,  before  whom  even  Boston  trembled,  were  not  vaga- 
bonds and  beggars  and  outcasts,  but  they  were  some  of  the  best  of 
our  men,  and  the  fathers  and  sons  of  some  of  the  greatest  and  best 
of  our  families. 

It  was  now,  1675,  ^^  the  midst  of  a  winter  of  unusual  severity, 
with  a  great  depth  of  snow,  but  it  was  deemed  dangerous  to  wait 
until  spring,  lest  the  great  numbers  of  Indians  known  to  be  gathered 
together  might  rise  then  and  destroy  all  before  them.     The  leaves 


16  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

of  summer  covering  the  thickets  would  furnish  hiding  places  and 
ambuscades  for  them,  from  which  to  dart  upon  their  victims,  and  in 
which  they  could  vanish  secure  from  pursuit.  It  was  decided 
to  proceed  at  once  upon  the  enemy  in  their  stronghold  in  the  coun- 
try of  the  Narragansetts.  There  could  be  no  hesitancy  in  fighting 
against  the  Narragansetts,  as  there  was  now  no  question  as  to  their 
hatred  of  the  whites  and  their  treachery  toward  them.  The  Mas- 
sachusetts forces  were  mustered  at  Dedham  plains,  Dec.  9,  1675, 
and  to  Gen.  Josiah  Winslow,  Governor  of  Plymouth  Colony,  was 
given  the  command  of  the  army.  That  same  day  they  marched 
twenty-seven  miles  on  their  way.  On  Dec.  18,  the  whole  force 
reached  Pettisquamscot,  where  they  had  hoped  to  rendezvous  at 
the  garrison  of  one  Jerry  Bull.  They  found  the  house  in  ruins, 
it  having  been  burned  three  days  previous  by  a  party  of  Indians, 
and  seventeen  people  at  this  garrison  had  been  killed.  As  there 
was  no  shelter  left  our  army  was  compelled  to  march  on  in  the  cold 
stormy  evening,  and  to  pass  the  night  with  no  covering  save  the 
drifting  snow  and  the  darkness.  Before  dawn  on  Dec.  19,  piloted 
by  Peter,  a  friendly  Indian,  they  recommenced  their  journey,  and 
waded  through  the  deep  snow  until  one  p.  m.,  without  stopping  to 
warm  themselves,  or  to  take  food,  "save  such  as  they  could  chew 
in  their  mouths."  After  proceeding  in  this  way  some  fifteen  or 
sixteen  miles  they  came  to  the  borders  of  the  Pettisquamscot  swamp, 
where  the  fortress  of  the  Indians  was  situated.  This  fort  was  on 
rising  ground  on  an  island  of  some  acres  in  the  middle  of  the 
swamp.  There  were  some  hundreds  of  wigwams  surrounded  by 
palisades  four  or  five  feet  high,  and  the  whole  by  a  wall  or  hedge 
of  brush  a  rod  in  width.  There  was  but  one  entrance  to  the  fort, 
and  this  by  a  fallen  tree  four  or  five  feet  from  the  ground  above  the 
water.  This  was  protected  by  a  kind  of  blockhouse  over  it,  and 
many  were  killed  in  trying  to  force  an  entrance.  There  was  a  fierce 
and  bloody  fight,  in  which  six  English  captains  were  killed,  but  at 
length  the  enemy  was  driven  out,  and  the  huts  within  the  enclosure 
were  set  on  fire  and  consumed,  thus  leaving  no  shelter  for  either 
party,  and  our  men  retired  to  their  quarters  of  the  night  before, 
carrying  their  dead  and  wounded.  That  night  a  tremendous  snow 
storm  raged,  and  the  severity  of  the  cold  was  fearful.  They  had  no 
provisions,  and  Mr,  Dudley  says  the  whole  camp  must  have  perished 
but  for  the  arrival  of  Goodale  next  morning. 

It  was  told  afterwards  by  the  Indians  that  one-third  of  the  Narra- 
gansetts were  killed  by  the  English,  or  perished  in  the  cold  of  that 


NARRAGANSETT    WAR    AND    GRANTS.  17 

night.  It  has  been  estimated  that  the  Indians  lost  that  day  seven 
hundred  men,  and  that  three  hundred  died  afterwards  of  wounds. 
This,  with  the  burning  of  their  wigwams  and  the  losing  of  their 
provisions,  was  a  blow  from  which  they  never  recovered.  The  Eng- 
lish lost  eighty  killed  ;  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  were  wounded, 
but  recovered.  Twenty  men  of  Major  (Capt.)  Bradford's  and  Capt. 
Gorham's  Plymouth  companies  were  killed. 

The  Narragansett's,  though  reduced  in  numbers,  were  still  a  for- 
midable and  dangerous  foe,  and  urged  on  by  hatred  and  desire  of 
revenge,  did  not  abandon  hostilities.  Under  their  dauntless  leader, 
Canonchet,  they  continued  to  strike  terror  to  all  hearts  by  burning, 
plundering,  slaying  and  destroying.  Our  army  was  ordered  to  pur- 
sue them,  and  did  so  for  many  days,  until  provisions  failed  them, 
and  the  pursuit  was  abandoned.  The  men  suffered  so  intensely 
from  privation  and  hunger  on  this  expedition  that  it  is  known  in 
history  as  "  the  hungry  march." 

The  Narragansetts  joined  themselves  to  Philip  and  his  forces,  and 
after  the  capture  of  Canonchet,  and  his  execution  by  order  of  the 
authorities,  Philip  still  continued  his  bloody  work.  One  reverse, 
however,  after  another  overtook  him,  and  many  of  his  followers  for- 
sook him.  He  scornfully  rejected  all  overtures  of  peace,  and  struck 
dead  an  Indian  who  ventured  to  suggest  submission  to  him.  His  wife 
and  son  were  captured,  and  the  boy  sold  into  slavery.  In  less  than 
a  year  from  the  great  battle  in  the  Swamp,  Philip,  to  quote  from  an 
old  writer,  was,  "by  a  divine  mandate  sent  back  there,  (Mt.  Hope)  to 
receive  the  reward  of  his  wickedness  where  he  first  began  his  mis- 
chief." He  was  killed,  August  12,  1676,  by  the  brother  of  the 
Indian  whom  he  had  slain  for  advising  him  to  sue  for  peace.  With 
his  death  hostilities  ceased.  Some  of  the  Indians  submitted  to  the 
authorities  of  the  colonies,  and  some  betook  themselves  to  remote 
tribes,  and  welcome  peace  reigned  once  more. 

We  learn  from  the  Message,  mentioned  above,  given  in  full  else 
where,  that  a  proclamation  was  made  to  the  army  in  the  name  of  the 
government,  before  they  began  their  march  against  King  Philip,  that 
if  they  would  play  the  man  and  take  the  fort  and  drive  the  enemy 
out  of  the  Narragansett  country,  they  should  have  a  gratuity  of  land 
besides  their  wages.  As  early  as  1685,  the  officers  and  soldiers  of 
the  Narragansett  War  commenced  to  petition  for  the  promised 
land  bounty,  or  for  a  tract  of  land  eight  miles  square,  and  the 
grant  was  made  the  same  year,  as  the  following  documents  will 
show  : 


18  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


Action  of  the  General  Court  on  the  Petition  of  William  Basset 

and  others. 

(From  the  Massachusetts  Court  Records,  June  4,  1685.) 

"  In  ans""  to  the  petition  of  W^"  Basset,  Jn°  Lynsey,  Robert  Porter, 
Sen,  &  a  twenty  two  more  inhabitants  of  Ljn,  Jeremiah  Swayne, 
Samll  Damon,  Sam  Lambson,  W™  Robbins,  James  Pyke,  Jun,  & 
James  Nicholls,  of  Reading,  W"'  Raymond  &  5  more  of  Beverly,  & 
Samuel  Lyncolne,  &  three  more,  of  Hingham,  as  on  ye  peticon  on  file, 
the  Court  judgeth  it  meet  to  grant  the  peticoners  a  tract  of  land,  in 
the  Nipmug  country,  of  eight  miles  square,  for  their  encouragement 
and  others  that  were  serviceable  to  the  country  in  the  late  Indean 
warr,  to  a  competent  number,  who  shall  see  meet  to  joyne  themselues 
to  them  in  order  to  the  making  of  a  plantation  or  touneship,  provided 
it  be  lajd  out  so  as  not  to  interfere  w'"^  any  former  grants,  &  that  an 
orthodox  minister,  on  their  settlement  of  thirty  familjes,  be  settled 
w"Un  the  space  of  fower  yeares  next  coming.'' 


B. 

Action  of  the  General  Court  on  the  Petition  of  Joseph  Sill 
Praying  for  a  Grant  of  Land. 

(From  the  Massachusetts  Court  Records,  November  17,  16S5.) 

"In  answer  to  the  peticon  of  Joseph  Sill,  humbly  desiring  the 
Courts  favor  to  grant  him  some  lands  where  he  can  find  it,  hauing 
binn  imployed  in  the  country^  service  in  y^  late  Indean  warr, — 

"  VPON  the  consideration  that  this  Court  hath  already  granted  a 
plantation  of  eight  miles  square,  in  the  Nepmug  country,  for  the 
accomodating  such  as  were  souldiers  in  the  late  warr,  w''^  whom 
the  petitioner  may  haue  liberty  to  come  in  for  a  settlement,  if  he 
thinke  good." 

One  of  the  conditions  of  the  grant  here  was  actual  settlement,  and 
as  this  and  other  conditions  were  not  performed  the  land  was  after- 
wards sold  by  the  colony.  The  Nipmuck  territory  included  some  of 
the  best  land  in  the  colony,  being  land  near  the  great  ponds  in  the 
towns  of  Webster,  Oxford  and  others  in  Worcester  county. 

After  this  the  matter  of  the  land  grant  seems  to  have  rested  many 
years.  July  i,  1727  the  General  Court  took  the  following  action  on 
the  petition  of  Samuel  Chandler  and  Jacob  Wright,  and  again  at  the 
fall  session  Dec.  14,  1727,  on  the  same  : 


NARKAGANSETT    WAR    AND    GRANTS.  19 

c. 

Action  of  the  General  Court  on  the  Petition  of  Samuel 
Chandler  and  Jacob  Wright,     (post,  "  d.") 

(From  the  Massachusetts  Court  Records,  July  i,  1727.) 

"A  Petition  of  Samuel  Cliandler  &  Jacob  Wright  in  Behalf  of 
themselves  and  a  great  Number  of  other  persons,  SHEWING  that 
the  General  Court  of  the  late  Colony  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay 
in  the  Year  1685,  did  in  answer  to  the  Petition  of  divers  Persons 
of  the  Towns  of  Hingham,  Lyn,  Reading,  &  Beverly  grant  them  a 
Tract  of  Land  in  the  Nipmug  Countrey  of  eight  miles  square  for 
their  encouragem'  Sz  others  that  were  serviceable  in  the  late  Indean 
war ;  w'^'^  Grant  was  not  persued  to  Effect,  and  for  as  much  as  the 
Petitioners  were  either  personally  present  at  the  Fort  &  Fight  at 
Narraganset  or  Descendants  from  those  that  were  or  in  the  strictest 
alliance  to  them;  THEREFORE  Praying  that  a  Grant  maybe  made 
them  of  such  vacant  Lands  as  may  Serve  the  Petition''^  for  Settle- 
ment under  such  Restrictions  &  Limitations  as  this  Court  shall 
judge  fit. 

"  In  the  House  of  Represet^"  Read  and  In  answer  to  this  Peti- 
tion, RESOLVED  that  Major  Thomas  Tilestone,  Capt.  John  Alden, 
M""  Edward  Shove,  M""  Samuel  Healy  of  Newton  &  M''  Samuel 
Chandler  of  Concord  be  a  Committee  fully  authorized  &  impowered 
to  survey  &  lay  out  the  Contents  of  eight  miles  square  in  some  of  the 
unappropriated  Lands  of  this  Province,  and  that  the  said  Lands  be 
granted  &  disposed  of  to  the  Persons  (whether  Officers  or  Soldiers) 
belonging  to  this  Province,  who  were  in  the  Service  of  their  Countiy 
in  the  said  Narraganset  War  or  to  their  legal  Representatives,  as  a 
Reward  for  their  publick  Services,  and  is  in  full  Satisfaction  for  the 
Grant  formerly  made  them  by  the  Great  &  General  Court ;  and  for  as 
much  as  it  is  the  full  Intent  &  Purpose  of  this  Court  that  every 
Officer  &  Soldier  who  served  in  the  said  War  should  have  a  Compen- 
sation made  them  over  &  above  what  wages  &  Gratuities  any  of  them 
have  received  already,  THAT  the  said  Committee  give  publick  Notice 
in  the  NEWS  LETTER,  or  otherwise,  six  months  at  least  before  their 
meeting.  When  &  where  they  intend  to  meet,  so  every  Officer  &  Sol- 
dier that  served  in  the  said  War,  or  the  lawful  Representatives  of  such 
as  served  and  are  since  Deceased  may  have  an  Opportunity  of  enlist- 
ing their  Names  with  the  said  Committee,  who  are  hereby  directed  to 
take  a  List  accordingly;  and  when  &  so  soon  as  the  said  Committee  has 
received  a  compleat  List  of  the  names  of  such  Persons  as  have  served 
as  aforesaid  or  their  legal  Representatives ;  which  they  are  enjoined 
to  do  with  all  convenient  speed,  the  Grantees  shall  be  obliged  to 
assemble  within  as  short  a  time  as  they  can  conveniently,  &  proceed 
to  the  Choice  of  a  Committee  to  regulate  the  Propriety,  who  shall  pass 
such  Orders  &  Rules  as  will  effectually  oblige  them  to  settle  sixty 
Families  at  least  thereon  with  a  learned  orthodox  Minister  within  the 
Space  of  seven  Years  from  the  Date  of  the  Grant ;  PROVIDED  never- 


20  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

theless,  if  the  said  Grantees  shall  not  effectually  settle  the  said  nvunber 
of  Families,  &  also  lay  out  a  Lot  for  the  first  settled  Minister,  one  for 
the  Ministry  &  one  for  the  School,  they  shall  have  no  advantage  of 
but  forfeit  the  Grant ;  any  thing  to  the  Contrary  herein  contained 
Notwithstanding. 

"  In  Council ;  Read  &  Refer'd  for  further  Consideration  to  the  next 
Fall  Session." 

After  this  postponement  by  the  Council,  the  petition  was  again 
brought  up  before  the  House  at  the  fall  session,  when  a  grant  was 
made  of  two  townships,  each  six  miles  square,  with  the  same  condi- 
tions as  before.     In  this  the  Council  concurred. 


D. 

The  General  Court  Again   Took  Action  on  the  Petition  of 
Samuel  Chandler  and  Jacob  Wright. — (Ante,  "C") 

(From  the  Massachusetts  Court   Records,  December  14,  1727.) 

"  On  the  Petition  of  Samuel  Chandler,  Jacob  Wright  &c  in  Behalf 
of  themselves  &  others  Praying  as  Enter'd  July  i,  1727. 

In  the  House  of  Represent^«^*  RESOLVED  that  Major  Thomas 
Tilestone,  Capt.  John  Alden,  M""  Edward  Shove,  M""  Nathaniel  Healy 
of  Newton,  M""  Samuel  Chandler  of  Concord  John  Wainwright  & 
Ezra  Bourn  Esq""^  (any  four  of  whom  to  be  a  Quorum)  be  a  Commit- 
tee fully  authorized  &  impowered  to  survey  and  lay  out  two  Tracts  of 
Land  for  Townships  of  the  Contents  of  six  miles  square,  of  the 
unappropriated  Lands  in  this  Province,  and  that  the  said  lands  be 
granted  &  disposed  of  to  the  Persons,  whether  Officers  or  Soldiers, 
belonging  to  this  Province,  who  were  in  the  Service  of  their  Country 
in  the  said  Narraganset  War,  or  to  their  lawful  Represent''^*  as  a 
Reward  for  their  publick  Services  &  in  full  satisfaction  of  the  Grant 
formerly  made  them  by  the  Great  &  General  Court;  and  for  as  much 
as  it  is  the  full  Intent  &  Purpose  of  this  Court  that  every  Officer  & 
Soldier  who  served  in  the  said  War  should  have  a  Compensation 
made  them  over  &  above  what  Wages  &  Gratuities  any  of  then  have 
already  received,  THAT  the  said  Committee  give  publick  Notice  in  the 
NEWS  LETTER  or  otherwise  six  months  at  least  before  the  Time  of 
their  Meeting,  where  &  when  they  intend  to  meet,  that  so  every 
Officer  &  Soldier  that  served  in  the  said  War,  or  the  lawful  Repre- 
sentatives of  such  as  served  &  are  since  Deceased,  may  have  an 
Opportunity  of  enlisting  their  names  with  the  said  Committee,  Who  are 
hereby  ORDERED  to  take  a  list  accordingly;  and  when  and  so  soon 
as  the  said  Committee  has  received  a  compleat  List  of  the  Names  of 
such  Persons  as  have  served  as  aforesaid  or  their  legal  Represent'^'^^ 
(which  they  are  enjoined  to  do  with  all  convenient  speed,)  the 
Grantees  shall  be  obliged  to  assemble  within  as  short  a  Time  as  they 
can  conveniently  &  proceed  to  the  Choice  of  a  Committee  to  regulate 


NARKAGANSETT  WAR  AND  GRANTS.  21 

each  Society,  who  shall  pass  such  Orders  and  Rules  as  will  effectually 
oblige  them  to  settle  sixty  Families  in  each  Township  with  a  learned 
orthodox  Minister  within  the  Space  of  seven  years  from  the  Date  of 
the  Grant,  PROVIDED  nevertheless  that  if  the  said  Grantees,  shall 
not  effectually  settle  the  said  Numl>er  of  Families  in  each  Township  & 
also  lay  out  a  lot  for  the  first  settled  Minister,  one  for  the  Ministry 
&  one  for  the  School  in  each  of  the  said  Townships,  they  shall  take  no 
advantage  but  forfeit  the  said  Grant,  any  thing  to  the  Contrary 
contained  Notwithstanding. 

"  In  Council ;  Read  &  Concur'd  with  the  Amendments" 

The  next  June  there  was  further  action  taken  in  refrence  to  the 
laying  out  of  these  two  townships,  and  the  notifying  of  all  persons 
surviving  who  were  in  the  fight,  and  of  the  legal  representatives  of 
those  deceased,  in  order  that  a  full  list  of  the  claimants  could  be 
presented  to  the  Court  as  speedily  as  possible.  To  this  end,  public 
notice  was  to  be  given  in  the  NEWS  LETTER,  and  the  following 
advertisement  posted  up  in  every  town  in  the  Province : 

"  Advertisement.  These  may  Certify  whom  it  may  concern.  That 
the  General  Assembly  of  this  Province  at  their  Session  began  and  held 
the  29*  of  May  1728  Pass'd  a  Resolve  for  granting  two  Tracts  of 
unappropriated  Land  for  Townships  of  the  Contents  of  Six  Miles 
square  each,  to  the  Persons  whether  Officers  or  Soldiers,  belonging 
to  this  Province,  who  were  in  the  service  of  their  country  in  the  Nar- 
raganset  War ;  And  all  such  officers  and  Soldiers  now  surviving,  and 
the  legal  Representatives  of  those  that  are  Deceased,  are  desired  to 
give  or  send  into  the  Secretaries  Office  Lists  of  their  Names  and 
Descent,  to  be  laid  before  the  General  Court  at  their  next  Fall 
Session. 

J.   WILLARD,  Seer." 

{Massachusetts  Archives,   Vol.  72  :  367.) 

On  Dec.  18  following,  plans  were  given  in  by  Major  John 
Chandler,  Mr.  Edward  Shove  and  Mr.  John  Hobson,  a  Committee  of 
the  House,  describing  the  bounds  of  land  laid  out  for  the  two  town- 
ships. These  plans  were  accepted  by  the  House,  and  the  land 
described  confirmed  to  the  soldiers ;  the  Council  concurred,  and  the 
Governor,  W.  Burnett,  consented  thereto. 

The  next  April,  1728-9,  a  Committee  was  appointed  in  the  House 
"to  take  &  Examine"  a  list  of  the  claimants  to  the  lands  lately 
granted  to  the  Narragansett  soldiers,  and  to  make  report  on  their 
doings  at  the  next  May  session.  This  list  was  presented,  and  Dec. 
20,  1729,  the  House  voted  that  the  land  should  be  granted  to  the 
persons  contained  in  the  written  list,  and  that  the  Grantees  should 


22  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

meet  at  Boston  if  the  small-pox  should  not  be  there.  If  so,  at  Cam- 
bridge on  the  first  Wednesday  of  the  following  June.  This  time  was 
changed,  by  order  of  the  Court,  to  the  second  Wednesday  of  the  next 
fall  session,  and  by  an  order  in  October,  the  place  of  meeting  was 
appointed  to  be  at  Boston. 

It  seems  that  the  list  of  claimants  for  the  lands  proved  to  be  larger 
than  was  at  first  anticipated,  and  petitions  were  presented  to  the 
Court,  by  a  committee  of  the  Narragansett  officers  and  soldiers,  ask- 
ing for  a  larger  grant  of  land,  and  more  time  to  perfect  the  list  of 
claimants.  On  these  petitions  action  was  taken  by  the  House,  in 
which  the  Council  concurred,  that  the  time  for  persons  to  bring 
in  their  claims  to  the  Narragansett  lands  should  be  extended  to  the 
first  Wednesday  of  the  next  April ;  and  a  further  grant  of  land  be 
made  to  the  petitioners,  of  a  township  of  the  contents  of  six  miles 
square  to  each  hundred  and  twenty  persons,  under  the  same  condi- 
tions and  limitations  with  those  already  granted.  But  notwithstanding 
this,  we  find  two  months  later,  the  following  action  on  the  petition  of 
Thomas  Hunt  and  others : 

(From  the  Massachusetts  Court  Records,  February  17,  1730.) 

"A  PETITION  of  Thomas  Hunt  &  others  a  Committee  for  the 
Narraganset  Soldiers,  setting  forth  that  their  number  is  so  great  that 
the  Grant  of  Land  already  made  will  not  be  sufiicient,  when  it  comes 
to  be  divided  among  them  all,  to  make  any  tollerable  Lots  for  settlem* 
and  therefore  PRAYING  an  Enlargem'  of  the  s'^  Grant,  as  also  that 
further  time  may  be  allowed  for  Persons  to  put  in  their  Claims  to  said 
Land. 

"  In  the  House  of  Represent^'^^  Read  &  ORDERED  that  there  be 
Liberty  given  to  the  persons  to  bring  in  their  Claims  to  the  Narra- 
ganset Lands  to  a  Committee  to  be  appointed  by  this  Court  until  the 
first  Wednesday  in  Jvme  next ;  and  that  such  further  Grant  of  Land 
be  made  to  the  Petitioners,  as  that  each  One  hundred  &  twenty 
Persons,  whose  Claims  are  or  shall  be  allowed  of  by  this  Court,  may 
have  a  Township  of  the  Contents  of  Six  Miles  square,  under  the 
same  restrictions  &  limitations,  with  those  already  granted,  and  that 
the  Committees  formerly  appointed  to  lay  out  the  Towns  for  the 
Narraganset  Soldiers,  &  for  examining  the  Claims  of  said  Soldiers  be 
the  respective  Committees  for  performing  the  like  services  as  above 
directed  to,  and  that  the  PROVINCE  be  at  the  Charge  of  laying  out 
the  Land  to  be  granted  as  above  into  Tracts  of  six  miles  square,  but 
not  of  any  subdivisions  to  particular  Grantees. 

"In  Council;  Read  &  Non  Concur'd,  »&  ORDERED  that  there  be 
Liberty  given  to  all  Persons  concerned  to  bring  in  their  Claims  to  the 
Lands  granted  to  the  Officers  &  Soldiers  in  the  Narraganset  War, 
unto  the  Committee  formerly  appointed  by  this  Court  for  that  service, 


NARRAGANSETT  WAR  AND  GRANTS.  23 

until  the  tirst  \\'ednesday  in  June  next,  (Iv:  that  the  Lands  already 
granted  by  this  Court  to  the  said  Officers  &  Soldiers  &  their  legal 
Represent^'^^  under  certain  Conditions  and  Restrictions  be  &  hereby 
are  absolutely  given  &  granted  to  such  Persons  whose  Claims  are  or 
shall  be  allowed  by  this  Court  &  to  their  Heirs  &  assigns  for  ever; 
any  former  Order  of  this  Court  referring  to  the  said  Crant  notwith- 
standing." 

The  petitioners,  however,  still  further  pressed  their  claims  express- 
ing their  discouragement  as  to  settling  the  lands  formerly  granted,  and 
calling  to  mind  the  vote  of  the  two  Houses  to  give  each  hundred 
and  twenty  claimants  a  town  of  six  miles  square,  to  which  the  Council 
had  not  agreed ;  and  again  prayed  for  an  additional  grant  of  land  and 
more  time  to  prove  their  claims.  Once  more  the  House  extended  the 
time,  and  again  voted  the  additional  land,  and  once  more  the  Council 
refused  to  concur.  Then  followed  the  sending  up  from  the  House 
the  message  to  which  reference  has  already  been  made  in  these  pages. 
This  message  goes  over  the  whole  ground  with  great  skill  and  weight 
of  argument.  It  shows  most  clearly  the  claim  the  soldiers  had  for 
the  grant  of  land  (Gorham  as  well  as  the  other  Societies).  This 
message  was  read  in  the  Council,  but  action  on  it  was  deferred. 

The  message. 

(From  the  Massachusetts  Court  Records,  January  19,  1731.) 

"In  the  House  of  Representat^^^  ORDERED  that  y^  following 
message  be  sent  up  to  the  Hon^''^  Board.  Viz  —  WHEREAS  there 
have  been  several  Endeavours  to  accommodate  the  Narrhagansett 
Soldiers  &  their  Descendants  with  a  Sutable  quantity  of  Land  for  th"" 
Settlem^  as  an  acknowledgement  &  Reward  of  their  great  Service  to 
this  Countiy  which  have  failed  hitherto  of  the  desired  Success;  This 
House  have  thought  it  might  tend  to  promote  a  good  understanding 
&  Harmony  in  this  Court  to  lay  before  the  Hon"^'*^  Board,  WHERE- 
FORE it  is  that  the  Represent^*^^  have  come  into  the  Grant  of  a  Tract 
of  Six  miles  square  to  Each  number  of  One  hundred  &  Twenty 
persons  which  they  have  made  this  Session  in  answer  to  the  Petition 
of  Thom^  Tilestone  &  others  a  Comm'"  in  behalf  of  themselves  &  the 
rest  of  the  Soldiers  &  their  Descendants,  who  were  in  the  Narraganset 
War.  AND  one  great  Reason  is  that  there  was  a  Proclamation 
made  to  the  Army  in  the  name  of  the  Governm'  (as  living  Evidences 
very  fully  testify)  when  they  were  muster'd  on  Dedham  Plain  where 
they  began  their  March,  that  if  they  played  the  man,  took  the  Fort  & 
Drove  the  Enemy  out  of  the  Narraganset  Country,  which  was  their 
great  Seat,  that  they  should  have  a  gratuity  in  Land  besides  their 
Wages  J  and  it  is  well  known,  &  our  Sitting  to  hear  this  petition  is 
an  Evidence  that  this  was  done ;  and  as  the  Conditions  has  been 


24  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

performed,  certainly  the  promise  in  all  Equity  &  Justice  ought  to  be 
fulfilled ;  and  if  we  Consider  the  Difficulties  these  brave  men  went 
thro'  in  Storming  the  Fort  in  the  Depth  of  Winter,  &  the  pinching 
wants  they  afterwards  underwent  in  pursuing  the  Indians  that  escaped 
thro'  a  hideous  Wilderness  famously  known  throughout  New  England 
to  this  Day  by  the  Name  of  the  hungry  March ;  and  if  we  further 
Consider  that  until  this  brave  tho'  small  army  thus  played  the  Man, 
the  whole  Country  was  filled  with  Distress  &  fear,  &  We  trembled  in 
this  Capital  Boston  itself  &  that  to  the  Goodness  of  God  to  this  army 
We  owe  our  Fathers  &  our  own  Safety  &  Estates,  We  cannot  but 
think  y'  those  Instrum*^  of  our  Deliverance  &  Safety  ought  to  be  not 
only  justly  but  also  gratefully  &  generously  rewarded  &  even  with 
much  more  than  they  prayed  for,  If  we  measure  w'  they  receive  from 
us,  by  w*  we  enjoy  &  have  receiv'd  from  them,  We  need  not  mention 
to  the  y^  Hon^^^  Board  the  Wisdom  Justice  &  Generosity  of  Our 
Mother  Countiy  &  of  the  ancient  Romans  on  such  Occasions,  Tri- 
umph, Orations  Hereditaiy  Honors  &  privileges  all  the  Riches,  Lands 
&  Spoils  of  War  &  conquer'd  Countrys  have  not  been  thought  too 
great  for  those  to  whom  they  have  not  owed  more  if  so  much  as  We 
do  to  those  our  Deliverers ;  and  We  ought  further  to  observe  what 
greatly  adds  to  their  merit  that  they  were  not  Vagabonds  &  Beggars 
&  Out-casts,  of  w*^*^  Armies  sometimes  are  considerably  made  up  who 
run  the  Hasards  of  War  to  Avoid  the  Danger  of  Starving;  so  far 
from  this  that  these  were  some  of  y^  best  of  Our  men,  the  Fathers  & 
Sons  of  some  of  y*^  greatest  &  best  of  Our  famil^^  &  could  have  no 
other  View  but  to  Serve  y^  Country  &  whom  God  was  pleased 
accordingly  in  every  remarkable  mann""  to  Honour  &  Succeed.  Of 
these  things  the  Hon"^'^  the  General  Court  of  the  Late  Colony  of  the 
Massachusetts  in  those  days  was  not  insensible  &  accordingly  gave 
to  y^  Soldiers  being  upward  of  Five  Hundred,  ab'  Two  thirds  of  the 
Army  that  went  from  y^  Massachusetts,  &  the  late  Colony  of  Plimouth 
a  Tract  of  ab'  forty  thousand  acres  in  the  Nipmug  Country,  this  or 
the  Value  of  it  these  Soldiers  would  be  contented  with  &  take  in  their 
Brethren  of  Plimouth  too,  tho'  that  sh''  take  away  two  thirds  of  w* 
was  granted  them  &  would  after  that  have  more  in  Value  than  w'  they 
now  ask  for  them  all,  for  every  one  must  own  that  40000  acres  in  the 
Heart  of  the  Country  as  the  Nipmug  Country  is,  is  of  more  Value 
than  five  times  that  quantity  remote  in  the  Borders  &  in  Danger,  if 
there  should  be  a  french  War,  as  is  &  would  be  the  Case  with  all  the 
unappropriated  Lands  of  the  province,  wh<^'^  they  now  ask  for.  — 

"IT  IS  HOPED  THAT  the  neglect  of  these  petition"  so  long  or 
the  provinces  having  disposed  of  the  Nipmug  Country  to  others  &  so 
defeated  their  ancient  Grants  will  not  be  thought  to  wear  out  any 
more  than  it  rewards  their  merit.  The  Grant  seems  to  be  made  in 
acknowledgm^  both  of  y''  promise  &  of  y''  fulfilling  y^  Condition  & 
being  well  entitled  to  it,  &  there  is  great  Reason  to  fear  that  publick 
Guilt  w'^  ly  upon  the  Country  if  we  should  neglect  and  continue  in  the 
Breach  of  this  promise  after  it  has  been  made  &  omitted  for  above 
fifty  years.     As  to  the  late  Grant  of  two  Townships  to  Seven  or  Eight 


NARRAGANSETT    WAR    AND    GRANTS.  25 

hundred  of  these  Soldiers,  It  is  so  far  below  the  Value  of  the  Land 
they  Conquer'd,  &  the  Price  the  province  had  for  it  when  it  was  sold, 
&  the  money  divided  to  the  Colonies  that  carried  on  the  War,  It  is 
such  a  Pittance  of  w*  they  obtained  for  us,  so  exceedingly  beneath  w' 
the  province  has  defeated  them  of  which  was  granted  to  ab^  Two 
thirds  of  them  in  the  Nipmug  Country,  that  it  is  rather  mocking  & 

deriding them  to  offer  it.     Beyond  w*  has  been  offered  it  sh'^  be 

Considered  that  to  Grant  the  present  petition,  &  give  such  a  quantity 
of  Land  as  may  be  w^orth  Settling,  &  upon  Conditions  of  bringing 
forward  Townships  is  much  more  agreeable  to  Charter  &  for  the 
publick  Good  than  to  Give  away  Tracts  of  Land  &  sutTer  &  even 
tempt  men  to  let  them  ly  waste  &  unimprov'd,  for  in  the  way  that 
has  been  proprosed  &  in  which  some  Progress  has  been  made,  the 
Lands  will  be  divided  into  such  Scraps  that  they  will  not  be  worth 
receiving. 

"  In  Council  read " 

A  year  from  this  time  the  matter  was  again  brought  up  by  a  second 
petition  from  Thomas  Tilestone  and  others;  and  in  June,  1732,  on  a 
third  petition  from  the  same  the  following  action  was  taken : 

(From  the  Massachusetts  Court  Records,  June  9,  1732.) 

"  A  PETITION  of  Thomas  Tilaston  &  others  a  Committee  in 
behalf  of  the  Officers  &  Soldiers  in  the  Narrhaganset  War,  PRAY- 
ING the  Revival  of  a  Vote  pass'd  by  both  Houses  on  their  former 
Petition  given  in  at  the  last  winter  Session  for  Enlarging  the  Grant  of 
Land  formerly  made  to  them  in  Consideration  of  their  great  Services 
to  this  PROVINCE  in  the  S^'  War  —  In  the  House  of  Represent^'^^ 
Read  &  in  answer  to  this  Petition,  —  ORDERED  that  such  further 
Grant  be  made  the  petition'^^  as  y^  Every  One  Hundred  &  Twenty 
Persons  whose  Claims  have  been  or  shall  be  allowed  of  by  this  Court 
within  four  months  of  this  Time  may  have  a  Township  of  the  Con- 
tents of  Six  Miles  square  under  y'=  same  Restrictions  &  Limitations 
with  those  Towns  already  granted,  &  that  the  Comm^'^'^  formerly 
appointed  to  lay  the  Towns  of  the  Narraganset  Soldiers  be  a  Com- 
mittee to  lay  out  the  Land  above  granted,  &  the  PROVINCE  be  at 
the  Charge  of  laying  out  the  Same,  but  not  of  any  Subdivisions  to  any 
particular  persons. 

"  In  Council  Read  &  Concurred 

Consented  to." 

An  additional  list  of  officers  and  .soldiers  of  the  Narragansett  war 
was  presented  to  the  General  Court,  and  the  following  action  taken, 
April  26,  1733: 

(From  the  Massachusetts  Court  Records,  April  26,  1733.) 

"  A  PETITION  of  a  Commt^'=  for  the  Narraganset  Soldiers,  SHEW- 
ING that  there  are  the  Number  of  EIGHT  HUNDRED  &  FORTY 
persons   Enter'd  as  Officers  &  Soldiers  in  the  late  Narraganset  War 


26  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

PRAYING  that  there  may  be  such  an  addition  of  Land  granted  to 
them  as  may  allow  a  Tract  of  six  miles  Square  to  Each  One  Hundred 
&  Twenty  men  so  adiiftitted. 

In  the  House  of  Represent^<=^  Read  Sz  ORDERED  that  the  Prayer 
of  the  Petition  be  granted  and  that  Major  Chandler  M"'  Edward 
Shove  Coll :  Tho^  Tilestone  M""  John  Hobson  &  M''  Samuel  Chandler 
(or  any  three  of  them)  be  a  Comm'^^  fully  authorized  &  impowered  to 
Survey  &  lay  out  five  more  Tracts  of  Land  for  Townships,  of  the 
Contents  of  Six  miles  Square  each,  in  some  of  the  unappropriated 
Lands  of  this  province  &  y^  s^  Lands  (together  with  the  two  Towns 
before  granted),  be  granted  &  disposed  of  to  the  Officers  &  Soldiers 
who  were  in  the  Narraganset  War,  or  to  their  lawful  Represent^^^  as 
they  are  or  have  been  allowed  by  this  Court  being  Eight  Hundred  & 
forty  in  number  in  the  whole,  and  is  in  full  Satisfaction  of  the  Grant 
formerly  made  them  by  the  General  Court  as  a  reward  for  their 
publick  Service ;  and  the  Grantees  shall  be  obliged  to  Assemble 
within  a  short  Time  as  they  can  conveniently,  not  exceeding  the 
Space  of  two  months  &  proceed  to  the  Choice  of  Comm'^'=^  respectively 
to  regulate  Each  Propriety  or  Township  wh'='^  is  to  be  held  «Sc  enjoyed 
by  One  Hundred  Si  twenty  of  the  Grantees  each  &  in  equal  propor- 
tion who  shall  pass  such  Orders  &  Rules  as  shall  effectually  oblige 
them  to  Settle  Sixty  Families  at  least  within  each  Township  with  a 
learned  orthodox  Minister  within  the  space  of  Seven  Years  from  the 
Date  of  this  Grant,  PROVIDED  always  that  if  the  said  Grantees 
shall  not  Effectually  settle  the  s*^  Number  of  Families  in  Each  Town- 
ship &  also  lay  out  a  Lot  for  y^  first  Settled  Minister  one  for  the 
Ministiy  &  one  for  the  School  in  Each  of  the  said  Townships,  they 
shall  have  no  Advantage  of,  but  forfeit  their  respective  Grants,  any- 
thing to  the  Contrary  contained  Notwithstanding ;  the  Charge  of  the 
Survey  to  be  paid  by  the  province 

"In  Council;   Read  &  Concurr'd. — Consented  to  J  BELCHER. 

In  this  we  find  the  rule  of  settlement  for  the  five  last  townships 
granted,  which  includes  Narragansett  No.  7. 

The  Narragansett  battle  took  place  in  1675,  and  by  the  time  the 
Grants  were  made  by  the  General  Court  in  1733  it  will  be  seen  that 
besides  those  that  perished  in  the  fight,  most  of  the  survivors,  by 
reason  of  the  lapse  of  time,  must  have  passed  away ;  and  it  would  be 
but  natural  that  there  should  be  many  conflicting  claims  among  the 
heirs.  To  settle  these  claims  and  rectify  mistakes  in  the  list  of 
Grantees,  committees  were  appointed  from  both  Houses  to  attend  to 
the  affair.     On  April  18,  1734, 

(From  the  Massachusetts  Court  Records,  April  18,  1734.) 

"  Thomas  Palmer  Esq''  from  the  Committee  of  both  Houses  on 
the  Affair  of  settling  the  Towns  granted  to  the  Narraganset  soldiers 
gave  in  the  following  Report ;  viz. 


NARRAGANSETT    WAR    AND    GRANTS.  li 

"The  COMMITTEE  to  whom  was  referr'd  the  Affair  of  the 
Narraganset  Claimers  are  of  OPINION  that  the  Consideration  of 
Admitting  such  Claimers  as  heretofore  omitted  presenting  or  proving 
their  Claims  should  be  refer'd  to  the  Session  of  the  General  Court  in 
May  next;  THAT  the  true  Intent  &  Meaning  of  the  Grant  made  of 
Lands  to  those  that  were  in  that  War  was  that  the  Persons  who  were 
in  that  War,  only  should  be  entitled,  if  alive,  whosoever  put  in  his 
Claim,  and  if  deceased,  then  his  legal  Represent'"^'*  were  entitled  to 
benefit  thereby,  in  such  way  as  was  consistent  with  the  Conditions  & 
Limitations  of  Settlement  &c,  upon  which  said  Lands  were  granted ; 
which  it  was  never  supposed  a  Deceased  Claimers  Heir  (in  ordinary 
Cases)  could  or  would  receive  where  there  were  more  than  one  on  the 
Conditions  of  the  Grant,  but  that  where  there  were  divers  descend- 
ants of  a  person  that  had  a  Right  they  would  agree  &  consent  it 
should  belong  to  one  only;  but  WHEREAS  in  some  cases  by  reason 
of  an  evil  Mind  ^  turbulent  disposition,  &  in  others  by  reason  of 
Minority  there  is  a  great  difficulty  ;  We  propose  that  it  be  RESOLVED 
&  ORDERED  That  where  the  Person  is  deceased  who  was  in  the 
service,  the  Grant  shall  be  and  belong  to  his  legal  Represent"*^^  in  the 
following  manner;  viz.  THAT  the  oldest  Heir  Male,  if  such  there 
be,  otherwise  the  oldest  Female,  if  they  please  shall  hold  the  Land, 
paying  to  the  other  descendants  or  Heirs  such  proportionable  parts 
of  Ten  Pounds  (at  which  we  judge  a  Right  ought  to  be  valued)  as 
such  descendants  or  Heirs  would  be  entitled  to  in  the  Land,  if  such 
Land  descended  according  to  the  Law  of  this  Province  for  the  Settle- 
ment of  Intestate  Estates:  &  also  pay  what  charge  any  of  said 
descendants  may  have  been  at  to  prove  or  bring  forward  such  claims  ; 
and  if  any  dispute  shall  happen  about  the  Person  or  charge,  the 
Settlers  or  Grantees  in  such  of  the  Towns  shall  fix  and  settle  it  by  a 
Major  Vote.  THE  COMMITTEE  IS  FURTHER  OF  OPINION 
that  the  seven  years  for  settling  the  Towns  granted  to  the  Narragan- 
set Claimers  as  well  the  two  first  as  the  five  last  be  computed  from 
the  first  day  of  June  next :  In  the  Name  &  by  the  order  of  the 
Comm'^^  Tho.  Palmer. 

"In  Council;  Read  and  ORDERED  that  this  Report  be  accepted: 

In  the  House  of  Represent^'^^  Read  and  Concur'd ;   Consented 

to,  J.  BELCHER." 

The  eight  hundred  and  forty  grantees  met  on  Boston  Common  in 
1733,  where  on  the  6th  of  June,  at  an  adjourned  meeting,  it  was 

"  Voted  that  the  Grantees  allowed  by  the  General  Court  amounting 
to  the  Number  of  Eight  hundred  &  forty  in  the  whole  be  divided  into 
Seven  distinct  Society"^ :  each  Society  to  Consist  of  One  Hundred  & 
Twenty  of  the  old  Grantees  which  Society  shall  be  Intitled  to  one  of 
the  Townships  Granted  to  the  Narrogansit  Soldiers 

"  That  one  of  the  said  Societys  shall  Consist  Mostly  of  the  pro- 
prietors belonging  to  the  Towns  of  Barnstable  Yarmouth  Eastham 
Sandwich  Plimouth  Tisbury  Abbington  Duxbur}- &  one  of  Scituate." 


28  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

It  was  also  voted  that  Col.  Shubal  Gorham,  Mr.  Timothy  White, 
and  Robert  Sandford  should  be  a  committee  for  this  society,  to  form 
a  part  of  the  Joint  Committee  of  twenty-one  members  —  three  from 
each  society  —  to  assign  the  different  townships.  This  committee 
met  at  Luke  Verdey's  in  Boston,  on  the  seventeenth  of  October,  of 
the  same  year  (1733),  and  proceeded  to  number  the  townships.  It 
is  said  that  No.  i  (Buxton),  on  the  Saco  river,  was  first  assigned  to 
the  society  from  Ipswich  and  vicinity,  and  that  the  remainder  were 
then  disposed  of  by  lot,  which  resulted  as  follows :  Narraganset  No. 
2,  at  "  Wachuset,"  now  Westminster,  Mass.,  to  J  as.  Lowden  and 
others;  No.  3,  at  "  Souhegan-West,"  now  Amherst,  N.  H.,  to  Richard 
Mower  and  others;  No.  4,  first  laid  out  at  "  Amoskeag  Falls,"  on 
Merrimack  river,  now  Goffstown  and  a  part  of  Manchester,  N.  H.. 
and,  subsequently  at  what  is  now  Greenwich,  Mass.,  to  Edward 
Shove  and  others  ;  No.  5,  called  "  Souhegan-East,"  now  Bedford,  part 
of  Manchester  and  part  of  Merrick,  N.  H.,  to  Col.  Thomas  Tileston 
and  others;  No.  6,  now  Templeton,  Mass.,  to  Samuel  Chandler  and 
others;  and  No.  7,  now  Gorham,  Me.,  to  Shubael  Gorham  and  others. 

Following  is  the  list  of  Grantees  of  Narragansett  No.  7,  together 
with  the  number  of  the  lot,  consisting  of  thirty  acres,  and  bearing  the 
same  number  as  the  right,  affixed  to  each  Proprietor's  name. 

BARNSTABLE. 


Marj'  Douenour, 

38 

John  Phinney, 

87 

Jacob  H  ink  ley, 

122 

Joseph  Bearse, 

81 

John  Carmon, 

22 

Samuel  Hinkley, 

80 

George  Lewis, 

14 

Samuel  Davis, 

98 

John  Hathaway, 

40 

Samuel  Allyn, 

70 

Joseph  Higgin, 

86 

John  Lewis's  heirs, 

I 

Samuel  Bvyant, 

54 

Caleb  Lumbert, 

19 

Richard  Ellingham, 

21 

Joseph  Gorham, 

64 

Samuel  Childs, 

118 

Josiah  Davis, 

-3 

Samuel  Barnam, 

13 

Ebenezer  Goodspeed, 

85 

Samuel  Linnell, 

89 

Ebenezer  Clap, 

100 

Dr.  Matthew  Fuller, 

69 

Lot  Conant, 

33 

Samuel  Fuller, 

20 

Jedediah  Lumbert, 

47 

Thomas  Fuller, 

25 

Samuel  Cops, 

97 

Increase  Clap, 

16 

Joseph  Blush, 

27 

Joseph  Taylor, 

72 

John  Howland, 

1 1 1 

John  Duncan, 

IS 

John  Clarke, 

I'S 

Bartholomew  Hamblen, 

88 

Shubal  Gorham,  Jr.,  for  his 

Eleazer  Hamblen, 

42 

father  John, 

63 

Thomas  Huggins, 

141 

Joseph  Crocker, 

114 

John  Goodspeed, 

112 

NARRAGANSETT  WAR  AND  GRANTS. 


29 


YARMOUTH. 

vSamuel  Barker,  for  his 

Richard  Taylor, 

120 

father,  Samuel, 

74 

William  Chase, 

113 

William  Gray,  for  his 

Capt.  Jno.  Gorham, 

96 

father,  William, 

71 

Thos.  Baxter, 

84 

John  Thatcher, 

31 

John  Hallitt, 

93 

John  Matthews, 

55 

Thos.  Thortons, 

3 

William  Gray, 

4 

James  Maker, 

6 

Samuel  Hall, 

5 

James  Claghorn, 

7 

Joseph  Hall, 

119 

Samuel  Hedge, 

83 

Nathaniel  Hall, 

8 

Joseph  Wildens, 

30 

Samuel  Thomas, 

34 

Jonathan  Smith, 

17 

Samuel  Jones, 

9 

Richard  Tayler, 

18 

Thomas  Felton, 

ID 

John  Gage, 

52 

William  Fellows, 

12 

William  Gage, 

49 

Ananias  Wing, 

110 

John  Crowell, 

75 

John  Chase, 

108 

Henry  Golds, 

60 

Richard  Lake, 

102 

Jabez  Gorham, 

109 

Henry  Gage, 

50 

Yelverton  Crowell, 

62 

John  Pugsley, 

106 

Daniel  Baker, 

107 

Jonathan  Whites, 

7S 

Samuel  Baker, 

79 

William  Baker, 

43 

EASTHAM. 

Timothy  Cole,  for  his 
father,  Timothy, 
Jonathan  Grew  for  his 
father-in-law 
Daniel  Cole, 
Thomas  Paine, 
Eliakim  Higgins, 
Benjamin  Downings, 
Jonathan  Sparrow, 
Samuel  Atkins, 
Thomas  Mulford, 
John  Walker, 
Nathaniel  Williams, 
Joseph  Harding, 


41 


59 
94 
II 
103 
92 

67 
90 

53 
58 
39 


Jeremiah  Smith,  for  his 
father,  Jeremiah, 

Joseph  and  Samuel 
Doan,  for  their 
father  Saml  Berry, 

Jedediah  Higgins, 

Joseph  Downings, 

John  Freeman, 

John  Knowles, 

John  Doan, 

Daniel  Doan, 

John  Myrick, 

Josiah  Cooks, 

George  Brown,  for  his 
father  George, 


91 


36 

65 
104 

34 
73 
51 
29 
82 
76 

44 


Jonathan  Morrey,  for 
his  wife's  brother 
Foster, 
Samuel  Gibbs, 
John  Davis,  for  his 
brother  Ben, 


SANDWICH. 

Samuel  Tobey,  for  his 
uncle  Samuel  Knott, 
68  Nathaniel  Wing,  for  his 

37  father  Nathaniel, 

James  Atkins, 
56  Jehosophat  Eldridge, 


45 
61 

35 


30  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


PLYMOUTH. 

William  Ring, 

46             Peter  Tinkman,  for  his 

Thomas  Savery,  for  his 

father  Peter, 

28 

father  Samuel, 

26 
TISBURY. 

Jonathan  Lumbert, 

117 
ABBINGTON. 

William  Harrage, 

66 
DUXBURY. 

Robert  Barker, 

1 01              Robert  Sandford,  for  his 

Thomas  Bonney, 

32                     father  Robert, 

95 

Stephen  Sampson, 

97             Thomas  Hunt,  for  his 

Thomas  Standish,  for  his 

uncle  Thos.  Hunt, 

77 

uncle  Henry  Clark, 

105 
SCITUATE. 

Timothy  White,  for  his 

father  Timothy,  116 

That  the  committee  appointed  to  rectify  the  list  did  not  perform 
their  work  very  thoroughly  is  shown  by  the  following  petition,  which 
we  find  in  the  old  Proprietors'  Records: 

"To  his  Excellency  Jonathan  Belcher,  Esq.,  Captain  General  and 
Commander  in  Chief,  in  and  over  his  Majesty's  Province  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England,  &c. 

"To  the  hono:^'"^  the  Council  &  Representatives  now  sitting,  April 
7,  1 741,  Humbly  sheweth  Shubal  Gorham,  Esq  in  Behalf  of  several 
of  his  neighbours  &  at  their  requests, 

"That  wheras  the  General  Court  some  time  since  made  a  Grant 
of  Lands  to  the  Soldiers  of  Narrogansett  Fight  so  Call"^.  &  a  List  of 
Names  of  such  was  accordingly  Taken  ;  But  so  it  was  in  the  perfect- 
ing or  Taking  said  List  By  Mistake  of  the  Clark,  or  scribers,  the 
names  of  some  was  wrong  Entered  viz.'  in  said  List  is  Entered 
Richard  Tayler  alive  and  Richard  Taylers  heirs,  wheras  the  Latter 
should  have  been  Jn°  Taylers  heirs;  There  not  being  Two  Rich'^. 
Taylers  in  said  Company,  But  that  there  was  one  Jn°  Tayler  :  & 
another  viz.*  Entered  W"i  Gray  For  his  Father  Will'"  &  Will'"  Gray:s 
heirs,  there  not  Being  two  W'"  Grays  in  said  Company,  But  that  their 
was  one  Edward  Gray :  cSj  another  viz'  Entered  Joseph  Croker 
wheras  It  should  have  Been  Josiah  Croker.  Your  Memoralist  well 
knowing  their  mistakes  to  be  so  &  that  there  was  no  such  person  as 
Joseph  Croker  of  Barnstable  in  said  Company  in  Service,  But  that 
there  was  Josiah  Croker  in  said  Company;  &  that  their  several 
heirs  have  Carried  on  the  Charges  of  Bringing  on  the  settlement  & 
performed  the  order  of  Court  Accordingly.     Wherfore  your  Memor- 


NARRAGANSETT    WAR    AND    GRANTS.  31 

alist  in  Behalf  of  his  neighbors  humbly  Moves  that  an  order  of  This 
Court  may  Be,  so  that  the  Names  of  the  said  John  Tayier  Edward 
Gray  &  Josiah  Croker  may  be  Entered  &  that  Their  several  heirs 
may  Accordingly  Enjoy  the  wrights  of  Their  said  Ancestors,  &  your 
Memoralist  in  there  Behalf,  as  in  duty  Bound,  Shall  pray. 
April  8,  1741.  Shubal  Gorham. 

"In  the  House  of  Representatives  April  10,  1741. 

Read  &  Ordered  that  Y^  prayer  of  The  Petition  Be  Granted  &  the 
Mistakes  Mentioned  are  allowed  to  be  Rectify'd  Accordingly. 

Sent  up  for  Concurrance 

J  Quincy  Speaker. 
"  In  Council  April  10,  1741, 
Read  &  Concurred,  J.  Williard  Secty. 

Consent'*  to  J  Belcher." 

In  1736  Shubael  Gorham  received  the  following  order  from  the 
General  Court :  — 

(f^'om  the  Massachusetts  Court  Records,  July  5,  1736.) 

"  In  the  House  of  Represent^  ORDERED  that  Shubal  Goreham 
Esq''  be  and  hereby  is  fully  authorized  and  Impowered  to  Assemble 
and  Convene  in  some  Suitable  place  and  as  soon  as  may  be  the 
Grantees  of  the  Narragansett  Town  Number  Seven,  adjoining  to 
Falmouth,  &:  Pesumpsutt  River,  in  the  County  of  York,  made  to  the 
Narragansett  Officers  and  Soldiers  in  the  Company  Under  the  Com- 
mand of  the  late  Cap'  Goreham  dese"^,  and  in  answer  to  the  petition 
of  the  said  Shubal  Goreham  Esq''  That  the  said  Grantees  in  such 
time  and  place  make  choice  of  a  proprietors  Clerk  and  pass  such 
Rules  and  Orders  as  may  be  agreeable  to  the  Conditions  of  the 
Grant  for  bringing  forward  the  Settlement  of  the  Township  and  also 
to  agree  on  Some  Regular  method  how  to  Call  proprietors  meeting 
for  the  future. 

"  In  Council  Read  &  Concur'd  Consented  to  J  BELCHER  " 

A  meeting,  in  accordance  with  the  above  order,  was  held,  and  after 
choosing  a  clerk,  adjourned  for  further  business.  (This  was  the  first 
meeting  called.)  The  adjourned  meeting  failed  on  account  of  the 
clerk  not  appearing  at  the  meeting,  as  the  following  taken  from  the 
Massachusetts  records  will  show;  but  of  these  meetings  no  record, 
so  far  as  we  are  aware,  has  been  preserved. 

(Massachusetts  Archives,  Vol.  i  14,  pp.  670-2.) 

"  To  his  Excely  William  Shirley,  Esq'',  Cap'  Gen'  &  Gov  in  Chief, 
the  hon''''^,  the  Council  &  Represenf^*  in  Gen'  Court  assembled 
II  Aug.  1741. 

"  The  petition  of  Shubal  Goiham  Esq'^  for  himself  &  rest  of  y''  pro- 
prietors of  the  Naraganset  Township  No  Seven  joyning  to  Falmouth 
&  Pesumpsutt  River  in  the  County  of  York 


32  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

"  Humbly  Sheweth  : 

That  on  the  fifth  of  July  1736  by  an  Act  of  the  Gen^  Court 
the  s'^  Shubal  was  iinpowered  in  some  suitable  place  as  soon  as  might 
be  to  convene  the  Grantees  of  the  s'l  Townships  for  divers  purposes 
&:  among  the  rest  to  agree  upon  some  regular  method  how  to  call 
proprietors'  meetings  for  the  future. 

That  he  then  accordingly  called  the  s^'  meeting  &  did  several 
things  &  adjourned  to  a  future  day,  when  they  should  have  proceeded 
upon  further  business  &  particularly  to  agree  on  y^  method  for  call- 
ing future  meetings,  but  that  adjournment  failed  by  the  clerk's  casual 
absence,  &  so  they  are  disabled  to  call  any  meetings  as  their  present 
occasions  necessarily  require 

Wherefore  y""  petitioner  humbly  prays  that  he  may  be  anew  empow- 
ered to  convene  the  Grantees  &  proprietors  afores^  to  do  what  their 
present  occasions  require  &  agree  on  some  proper  method  to  call 
proprietors'  meetings  for  the  future  &  y''  petitioner  as  in  duty  bound 
shall  ever  pray. 

Shubal  Gorham. 
"In  Council  Oct.  7'''  1741-  Read  and 
ORDERED  that  the  prayer  of  the  Petition  be  granted  &  that  the 
Petion""  be  &  hereby  is  empowered  to  convene  the  Grantees  &  Pro- 
prietors within  mentioned  for  the  Purposes  mentioned  in  the  Petition 
— Sent  down  for  Concurrence 

J.  Willard  Secry. 
"In  the  House  of  Represent^'^'^  Read  &  Concur'd 
J.  Hobson  Spkr 
"Consented  to  W.  Shirley." 

Upon  receipt  of  this  order,  Col.  Gorham  issued  this  warrant  for  a 
meeting  : 

"To  the  Proprietors  or  Grantees  of  the  Narrogansett  Township 
No.  7.  Persuant  to  the  Authority  to  me  for  This  purpose  Granted 
by  the  Great  &  General  Court  you  are  here  by  required  to  assemble 
&  meet  at  the  dwelling  house  of  Mr.  John  Phinney  at  the  aforesaid 
Township  at  Tuesday  the  24th  of  November  Next  at  Ten  of  the 
Clock  before  Noon  &  there  to  Chuse  a  proprietors  Clark  &  to  Agree 
on  some  Methods  for  Calling  Meetings  of  said  Proprietors  for  the 
future  as  also  to  Take  the  proper  measure  for  defraying  the  Needful 
Charge  that  May  arise  in  Erecting  a  Meeting  house  for  the  Public 
worship  supporting  a  Minister  in  the  Winter  season  or  otherwise  as 
said  proprietors  shall  agree  &  to  act  &  Transact  such  Other  Matters 
&  things  as  by  the  said  proprietors  shall  then  be  thought  Necessary. 

Given  under  my  hand  &  Seal  this  18th  day  of  October  Anno 

Domini  1741 

Shubal  Gorham." 

The  meeting  was  held  Nov.  24,  1741,  and  is  the  first  meeting  of 
which  we  have  any  record.     At  this  meeting  Moses  Pearson  was 


NARRAGANSETT  WAR  AND  GRANTS.  33 

chosen  Moderator,  and  John  Gorham,  Clerk.  It  was  adjourned  until 
the  26th,  when  among  other  business  done,  it  was  voted  to  build  a 
meeting  house.  This  meeting  was  adjourned  till  April  27.  As  Mr. 
Pearson,  being  a  member  of  the  General  Court,  could  not  attend  this 
adjournment,  Shubal  Gorham,  Esq.,  again,  April  23,  1742,  petitioned 
the  General  Court  for  liberty  to  call  another  meeting,  and  liberty  was 
granted  him  to  call  a  Proprietors'  meeting,  which  was  notified  to 
meet  at  the  house  of  Moses  Pearson  at  Falmouth,  May  19th,  at  10 
o'clock  A.  M. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    INDIANS    IN    AND    ABOUT    GORHAM. 

The  history  of  the  Indian  tribes  that  inhabited  the  region  of  coun- 
try now  known  as  the  County  of  Cumberland,  in  the  State  of  Maine, 
in  or  about  the  year  1736,  when  the  white  man  first  attempted  a 
settlement  in  the  town  of  Gorham,  is  involved  in  much  mystery. 
Historians  at  that  day  were  few  to  chronicle  their  deeds  of  arms  and 
civil  and  religious  history.  They  noted  only  those  deeds  which  were 
called  Indian  aggressions,  and  Indian  murders.  The  settlers  were  men 
who  had  other  business  on  their  hands,  which  to  them  was  of  more 
vital  importance.  Most  of  these  men  were  poor,  and  came  here  for 
the  purpose  of  making  a  settlement  and  getting  a  living,  having  fam- 
ilies to  provide  for ;  and  all  their  time  was  required  to  procure  even 
the  bare  necessaries  of  life  for  their  support,  and  they  were  often 
much  harassed,  and  their  lives  jeopardized  by  the  very  people  with 
whose  history  we  at  this  day  would  be  glad  to  be  made  more 
acquainted. 

At  the  time  of  the  first  settlement  of  Maine,  the  country  was  not 
very  thickly  settled  by  the  natives  ;  disease  and  other  casualties  had, 
we  have  reason  to  believe,  much  thinned  their  numbers,  but  those 
that  remained  were  a  brave,  hardy  race,  inured  to  a  cold  climate  and 
the  hardships  of  the  chase  and  of  war.  And  as  we  wish  to  confine 
our  history  to  a  small  space  of  territory,  we  do  not  deem  it  necessarj'^ 
to  go  far  into  the  history  of  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  State  generally, 
but  will  treat  more  particularly  of  those  of  that  part  now  known  as 
the  town  of  Gorham,  and  its  immediate  neighborhood.  The  natives, 
that  in  time  of  peace  were  usually  met  with  by  the  first  settlers  on 
the  above-named  territory,  were  of  the  Ossipee,  Pickwocket  and 
Androscoggin  tribes.  The  Ossipee  were  on  the  river  of  that  name, 
on  the  borders  of  New  Hampshire  ;  the  Pickwockets  on  the  Saco 
River,  at  what  is  now  called  Fryeburg,  and  the  Androscoggins  were 
on  the  Androscoggin  River.  These  were  the  principal  locations  of 
the  tribes,  or  where  they  had  their  villages.  At  this  time  these  tribes 
were  much  reduced  in  the  number  of  their  warriors,  owing  to  their 
frequent  wars  with  each  other,  and  their  battles  with  the  English,  and 


THE    INDIANS    IN    AND    ABOUT    GORHAM.  35 

the  migration  which  had  taken  place  among  them  ;  many  having  gone 
to  Canada,  and  joined  the  St.  Francis  and  other  Canadian  tribes,  not 
choosing  to  submit  to  the  English.  These  were  much  under  the 
influence  of  the  Catholic  priests,  who  were  French  Jesuits,  and  with 
whom  their  religion  was  as  much  for  the  service  of  the  State  as  for 
the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  men,  and  to  the  French  this  influence 
over  the  natives  was  of  no  small  consequence. 

Those  of  the  tribes  who  remained  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
English  settlements  were  induced  to  do  so  from  the  fact  that  their 
local  situation  was  such  as  to  insure  them  the  means  of  an  easy  sub- 
sistence. Good  fishing-places,  and  the  opportunities  of  trade  were, 
in  the  opinion  of  the  natives,  not  to  be  thought  of  lightly.  And  as 
hunting  for  peltry  for  the  English  market  was  not  the  work  for  all  sea- 
sons, and  as  subsistence  had  to  be  procured  when  the  chase  failed,  no 
place  could  afford  better  facilities  for  this  than  the  seashore.  The 
seashore  then  was  as  much  a  summer  resort  for  the  natives  of  the 
forest  as  now  for  the  more  modern  inhabitants  of  the  land.  Shell- 
fish were  consumed  by  them,  as  appears  from  the  remains  of  the 
shells  found  in  large  quantities  about  the  shore.  The  clambake  is 
not  the  invention  of  modern  fashionables,  but  dates,  probably,  far 
back  with  the  Red  man.  The  bow  and  arrow,  spear,  hook  and  net 
were  used  in  their  hunting  and  fishing,  and  besides  this,  the  Indi- 
ans were  expert  at  snaring  and  trapping.  Their  arms  and  implements, 
before  acquaintance  with  the  whites,  were  of  rude  construction,  made 
of  bones  of  animals  and  hard  stones  ;  and  the  nets,  of  twine  twisted 
from  the  bark  of  trees  ;  and  to  ensure  success  in  their  use  required 
much  dexterity,  skill  and  patience.  Many  of  these  ancient  imple- 
ments are  found,  at  the  present  day,  in  the  piles  of  clam  shells, 
which  accumulated  under  the  hands  of  the  natives  on  the  seashore. 

Previous  to  the  war  of  1745,  the  Indians  in  Gorham  were  much 
more  numerous  than  the  whites,  but  were  not  troublesome,  otherwise 
than  by  continual  begging  and  stealing  from  the  settlers.  This  was 
often  exceedingly  aggravating  to  the  latter,  as  it  was  only  by  the 
greatest  exertions,  and  many  privations,  that  they  were  enabled  to 
support  their  families,  and  to  supply  their  necessary  wants,  but  their 
situation  made  it  for  their  interest  to  keep  on  good  terms  with 
their  neighbors  when  the  sacrifice  was  not  too  much. 

When  the  first  settlers  came  into  the  town  of  Gorham  there  were 
a  number  of  Indian  trails  or  roads  through  the  town.  There  was 
quite  a  resort  for  the  Indians  about  Sebago  Pond,  in  the  vicinity  of 
what  is  called  Indian  Island.     From  there  they  had  a  trail  toward 


36  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

the  southerly  part  of  the  town,  where  it  branched  toward  Portland 
and  Scarborough ;  and  a  trail  to  all  the  fishing-places,  or  falls  on  the 
river.  There  was  also  a  thoroughfare  through  the  south  part  of 
the  town,  from  Saco  River  toward  Saccarappa  Falls,  and  to  Portland. 
In  the  Pond  fishing  was  good,  and  many  salmon  were  caught  on  the 
falls  on  Presumpscot  River. 

Gorhamtown  was  then  thought  to  be  far  into  the  wilderness  ;  the 
inhabitants  were  few,  and  suffered  many  privations,  but  they  were 
stout  hearted,  and  possessed  that  great  resolution  and  firmness  which 
was  required  to  manage  their  affairs.  They  knew  that  their  Indian 
neighbors  were  disposed  to  favor  the  French  in  case  of  a  war,  and, 
therefore,  as  little  cause  as  possible  was  given  them  for  complaint. 
The  English  and  Indian  children  were  always  at  play  together,  and 
when  the  young  Indians  would  be  a  little  vexed  at  something  done 
by  their  white  playmates  they  would  at  once  say,  "  //  come  luar  by 
and  by,  and  me  pay  you  for  this ;  "  and  the  words  of  the  children  were 
deemed  to  be  the  echo  of  the  thoughts  of  the  elders. 

When  the  war  was  declared  between  England  and  France,  the 
tribes,  to  which  the  scattering  Indians  about  Gorhamtown  belonged, 
joined  the  French,  and  individually  all  the  stragglers  went  home  to 
prepare  for  war.  This  was  much  regretted  by  the  settlers,  as  it  fur- 
nished the  enemy  with  a  great  number  of  rangers  and  spies  who  were 
able  to  lead  their  friends  into  the  settlements  at  any  time,  and  who 
knew  every  individual,  with  all  the  resources  and  means  of  defence 
possessed  by  the  inhabitants.  This  gave  to  the  war  a  bad  feature, 
and  to  the  enemy  a  great  and  much  dreaded  advantage.  Often  when 
war-parties  were  discovered  about  Gorhamtown,  Indians  were  seen 
and  recognized  as  those,  who,  in  time  of  peace,  had  made  the  town 
their  residence.  The  young  men  of  the  settlement  more  than  once 
met  those  with  whom  they  had  been  playmates.  In  a  skirmish,  which 
the  inhabitants  had  with  a  war-party,  one  of  the  young  Phinneys  rec- 
ognized a  young  Indian  of  his  own  age,  who  grew  up  in  town,  and 
with  whom  he  had  had  many  a  happy  time  at  play,  and  in  sliding 
down  hill  in  the  winter  on  birch  bark.  But  the  meeting  now  was  not 
for  play,  but  for  life  or  death.  A  few  taunting  words  passed  between 
them  ;  they  both  fired  at  the  same  moment ;  the  Indian  missed,  but 
Phinney  brought  his  game,  dead,  to  the  ground. 

William  McLellan,  or  young  Bill  as  he  was  then  called,  when  at 
work  one  day  in  the  field,  saw  a  young  Indian  about  his  own  age  who 
had  often  eaten  and  played  with  him,  and  whom  he  had  many  times 
hired  to  help  him  do  his  boy's  stint  that  they  might  have  the  more 


THE    INDIANS    IN    AND    ABOUT    GORHAM.  37 

time  to  play.  They  had  often  in  sport,  when  at  play,  threatened  to 
shoot  or  make  prisoners  of  each  other  in  case  a  war  should  come. 
Little,  probably,  did  they  think  of  what  would  really  happen  when 
war  did  come.  At  the  time  young  Bill  discovered  his  friend,  he  was 
crawling  on  his  hands  and  knees,  trailing  his  gun,  and  Billy  was  hoe- 
ing corn,  and  his  row  would  lead  him  directly  to  the  point  to  which 
the  Indian  was  crawling,  from  which  with  a  sure  aim  he  could  bring 
down  his  victim.  McLellan  had  his  gun  in  the  field,  but  it  was  by  a 
stump  some  rods  behind  him.  He  soon  made  up  his  mind  what 
course  to  pursue.  Knowing  from  appearances  that  the  Indian  was 
not  aware  that  he  was  discovered,  he  kept  on  at  his  hoeing,  occasion- 
ally looking  in  a  careless  manner  back  on  his  work,  as  if  to  see  how 
it  looked,  and  once  in  a  while  stepping  back  a  few  steps  to  strike 
down  a  straggling  weed,  that  he  had  left  standing.  Thus  he  kept 
along  till  he  had  got  nearly  within  gun-shot  of  the  suspicious  point, 
where  his  enemy  had  secreted  himself,  when  he  slowly  turned  on  his 
track,  threw  his  hoe  over  his  shoulder  and  walked  carelessly  toward 
the  other  end  of  the  field,  taking  the  stump  in  his  way.  When  he 
arrived  at  the  stump,  he  set  down  and  in  a  careless  way  commenced, 
as  if  at  play,  to  strike  his  hoe  into  the  ground,  and  finally  moved 
around  the  stump  to  where  his  gun  lay,  thus  bringing  the  stump 
between  him  and  the  Indian.  Here  he  was  not  inactive,  but  seized 
his  gun,  and  crawled  on  his  belly  some  distance,  till  he  got  behind  a 
clump  of  bushes,  from  whence  he  could  have  a  good  view,  and  here 
waited  patiently  the  movements  of  the  Indian,  whom  he  thought  he 
had  thrown  off  the  track.  As  expected,  the  Indian  was  completely 
deceived.  He  thought  young  William  had  lain  down  to  rest  himself, 
and  was  still  behind  the  stump,  and  that  he  was  sure  of  his  prize. 
Could  he  get  at  the  stump,  and  surprise  his  victim,  he  would  make  a 
safe  and  easy  job  of  it.  William  could  but  chuckle  a  little  when  he 
saw  his  yoxing  friend  raise  himself  up  and  look  cautiously  about,  and 
with  soft  and  cat-like  steps  steal  his  way  from  bush  to  stump, 
and  from  stump  to  bush,  toward  the  spot  where  he  believed  his  victim 
lay  entirely  unprepared  for  \{vs>  friendly  visit.  William  was  not  an 
indifferent  spectator,  but  he  lay  still  till  the  Indian  had  got  near  the 
stump,  and  in  his  immediate  vicinity,  and  where  he  had  a  clear  range 
at  him.  As  the  thing  stood  between  them  he  rather  wished  to  speak 
to  his  old  acquaintance  before  he  fired.  And  after  he  had  taken  a 
good  aim,  he  called  out,  '•  You  no  shoot  young  Bill  this  time,"  but 
was  careful  not  to  wait  for  a  reply.  His  leaden  messenger  was  on  its 
way  as  soon  as  his  words  had  arrived.     The  ball  took  effect  in  the 


38  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Indian's  bowels.  He  immediately  put  his  hand  over  the  wound  and 
made  for  the  woods,  calling  out,  "  Bill,  you  shoot  him  well."  Whether 
the  Indian  died  from  his  wound  was  never  known.  William  did  not 
think  it  prudent  to  follow  him.  The  young  Indian  was  never  seen 
afterwards,  and  no  others  were  seen  or  heard  from  about  the  town  at 
that  time.  It  was  supposed  that  this  was  the  first  war-path  of  the 
young  brave  ;  that  he  had  left  his  company,  who  had  gone  to  some 
other  place,  and  he  intended  to  have  commenced  his  war-like  career 
by  the  murder  of  his  young  friend  and  playmate.  The  gun  barrel 
with  which  the  Indian  was  shot  is  still  in  the  family,  and  owned  by 
the  author. 

The  Indians  had  no  permanent  village  within  the  bounds  of  Gor- 
ham,  but  in  their  migrations  to  and  from  the  seacoast,  the  places  of 
trade,  and  their  hunting  excursions,  more  or  less  of  them  could 
generally  be  found  encamped  on  the  territory  where  the  streams  pro- 
duced good  fishing  and  many  valuable  furs.  On  the  falls  along  the 
Presumpscot  were  caught  large  quantities  of  salmon,  and  in  the  small 
streams,  the  finest  of  trout.  Many  valuable  furs,  such  as  beaver, 
otter,  mink  and  musk-rat  were  taken  from  the  streams  about  here  ; 
and  the  forest  was  thought  to  be  good  hunting  ground.  Game  was 
abundant,  both  for  food  and  peltry,  such  as  moose,  deer,  foxes, 
wolves,  and  other  smaller  animals. 

An  anecdote  is  related  of  the  wife  of  one  of  the  early  settlers, 
Mrs.  McLellan,  wife  of  Hugh.  When  they  came  into  town  they 
were  the  owners  of  an  old  white  horse,  but,  being  old,  he  soon  paid 
the  debt  of  nature,  and  finished  his  earthly  labors.  His  death  was 
much  mourned  by  the  family,  particularly  by  Mrs.  M.,  and  she  often 
wished  that  his  loss  might  be  made  up  to  them,  and  that  they  might 
have  another  horse,  so  that  when  she  became  homesick  and  lonely 
she  might  jump  on  to  his  back,  and  trot  off  to  Portland,  and  cheer 
up  her  spirits  by  having  a  good  time  and  chat  with  her  friends.  With 
this  idea  in  her  head,  she  was  standing  one  day  in  the  door  of  her 
log  house,  when  a  fine  looking  horse  came  in  sight,  trotting  directly 
toward  her,  over  what  is  now  the  Academy  hill.  The  thought 
occurred  to  her  that  he  was  from  below  (Portland),  and  that  she 
would  stop  him,  and  have  at  least  one  good  ride  before  his  owner 
should  have  the  luck  to  recover  him.  When  he  came  near,  she  ran 
into  the  path  in  order  to  stop  and  turn  him  toward  the  hovel,  or 
barn,  and  for  that  purpose  shook  her  apron  at  him.  But  instead  of 
a  horse,  it  turned  out  to  be  a  fine  large  moose,  and  at  this  unexpected 
salutation  he  left  in  a  hurry,  clearing  fences,  bushes,  logs  and  stumps 


THE    INDIANS    IN    AND    ABOUT    GORHAM.  39 

in  his  bounds  for  liberty,  and  was  not  seen  afterwards  to  be  recog- 
nized, and  Mrs.  McLellan  had  for  a  long  time  to  stand  the  joke  of 
not  getting  her  horse,  and  of  losing  the  expected  ride. 

We  have  reason  to  suppose  that  the  Indians  about  Gorham  were 
not  wholly  dependent  upon  the  chase  and  the  fisheries  for  a  subsist- 
ence. When  the  whites  first  came  to  the  town,  tradition  says  that 
there  were  a  number  of  clear  spots  of  land,  where  neither  tree  nor 
bush  was  found.  Some  of  these  clearings  were  of  several  acres  in 
extent.  One  was  on  the  Jacob  and  Joseph  Hamblen  farm,  so  called, 
now  owned  by  Henry  B.  Johnson,  about  half  a  mile  easterly  from  the 
village.  Many  acres  of  the  field  north  of  the  buildings  on  said  farm 
were  never  cleared  by  the  white  man.  Neither  tree  nor  stump  was 
found  on  them.  Here  it  was  believed  was  an  Indian  planting  place, 
and  that  here  Indian  corn  was  raised  before  the  white  man  ever  set 
foot  in  Gorham.  On  this  spot  the  early  settlers  made  a  common 
corn  field  for  the  benefit  of  all,  while  confined  to  the  fort.  At  times 
when  little  danger  was  apprehended  from  the  Indians,  the  women 
would  take  their  husbands'  dinners  to  them  in  this  field.  It  is  said 
that  at  one  time,  when  the  men  were  in  this  field  at  work,  one  of  the 
women  at  the  fort  took  her  husband's  dinner  in  order  to  carry  it  to 
him.  Having  arrived  at  the  brook  near  the  field,  she  was  in  the  act 
of  passing  the  stream  on  a  log,  when  an  Indian  suddenly  sprang 
from  a  clump  of  alders  to  arrest  her  and  make  her  a  captive,  or  kill 
her.  She  instantly  sprang  back,  screamed  at  the  top  of  her  voice, 
and  fled  into  the  woods.  The  noise  she  made  was  heard  in  the  field 
by  the  men,  who  immediately  came  to  the  rescue,  and  the  Indian 
made  off,  with  sundry  leaden  messengers  flying  after  him.  There 
was  a  clearing  in  the  southeasterly  part  of  the  town,  near  the  river, 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Mr.  Riggs's  house,  where  there  had  been  an 
encampment,  or  Indian  village,  and  it  is  believed  that  here  was  once 
a  planting  place,  or  an  occasional  stopping  place  of  the  natives  in 
their  migrations  from  Sebago  Pond  to  Scarborough  and  Portland, 
and  from  Saco  River  to  Portland. 

When  we  look  over  the  territory,  now  Gorham,  Buxton  and  Stand- 
ish,  as  then,  1736,  covered  with  forest,  with  its  many  excellent 
springs,  sparkling  streams,  and  clear  ponds,  and  apply  our  present 
knowledge  of  the  then  Indian  wants,  we  cannot  wonder  that  they 
clung  to,  and  lingered  around  the  spot,  dear  to  them  by  every  tie  of 
nature.  The  home  of  their  families,  the  burying  places  of  their 
fathers,  the  stately  old  forest,  the  trees  grown  mighty  from  age,  where 
none  had  roamed  except  men  of  their  own  race ;  the  abundance  of 
game  ;  the  springs  of  cold  water,  where   they  had  for  ages  slaked 


40  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

their  thirst ;  the  streams  ^uU  of  the  most  delicious  fish  ;  the  hunting 
ground  affording  the  finest  of  furs  ;  the  proximity  to  the  sea,  should 
necessity  compel  them  to  go  there  ;  the  facilities  for  going  deeper 
into  the  forest,  its  streams  and  ponds  being  navigable  for  their  light 
canoes,  which  would  in  a  short  time  take  them  far  to  new  hunting 
grounds  :  these  things  were  their  life,  they  knew  their  worth  and  vast 
importance  to  them. 

The  Indians  were  migratory  in  their  habits.  Their  subsistence, 
and  manner  of  procuring  it,  required  a  great  extent  of  territory  ;  and 
the  chase  was  often  precarious,  even  with  a  good  and  large  hunting 
ground.  This,  coupled  with  their  known  improvident  habits,  rendered 
privation  and  want  often  known  to  them.  The  settlements  of  the 
whites  they  looked  upon  as  encroachments,  notwithstanding  the  many 
benefits  dealt  out  to  them  in  the  shape  of  rum  and  Christian  instruc- 
tion. They  saw  only  one  side  —  that  the  whites  were  intruders, 
stealing  their  land,  and  driving  off  the  game,  which  they  believed  to 
be  their  own  private  property.  The  Indians  were  not  insensible 
to  their  situation.  They  knew  that  the  advance  of  the  white  popu- 
lation, and  the  cutting  and  the  clearing  of  the  land,  were  gradually 
circumscribing  the  limits  of  their  ancient  hunting  ground.  They 
believed  that  they  had  much  reason  to  complain  of  the  want  of  faith 
in  the  whites,  in  their  not  keeping  their  treaties.  Limits  to  the 
encroachments  of  the  English  would  be  fixed  by  a  treaty,  to  which 
no  heed  would  be  paid.  They  would  settle  where  they  pleased,  and 
would  be  protected  ;  and  the  poor  Indian  would  have  nothing  to  say, 
only  when  the  next  treaty  was  made,  he  must  enlarge  the  bounds,  or 
give  up  more  of  his  land,  so  as  to  include  the  squatter.  The  Indian 
would  return  home  from  the  Treaty  Conventions,  believing  that  now 
he  had  the  bounds  of  his  hunting  grounds  fixed  and  secured  from 
further  aggressions,  but  this  security  would  be  only  transient.  When 
other  conventions  would  be  held  to  settle  difficulties,  what  would  be 
his  surprise  to  see  a  treaty  exhibited  to  him,  made  up  at  some  previ- 
ous time,  of  which  he  knew  nothing,  covering  territory  he  believed  to 
be  his  own,  and  which  he  had  no  knowledge  of  having  sold.  What 
could  he  say  ?  Why  the  Indians  said  at  once,  and  probably  they 
told  the  truth,  that  a  gross  fraud  had  been  committed  on  them,  that 
their  chiefs  had  been  made  drunk  with  the  fire-water  of  the  whites 
and  made  to  sign  a  treaty,  when  they  knew  not  what  they  were 
doing;  that  they  were  cheated  out  of  their  lands  and  hunting 
grounds,  and  also  cheated  out  of  their  furs,  for  when  a  small  com- 
pensation was  given  them  for  their  hard-earned  goods,  it  was  usually 
in  fire-water,  which  made  them  poor  and  miserable,  and  was  worse 


THE    INDIANS    IN    AND    ABOUT    GORHAM.  41 

than  useless,  being  often  the  source  of  quarrels  and  bloodshed  among 
themselves.  "  Long  and  dismal,"'  says  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hackewelder, 
"are  the  complaints  which  the  Indians  make  of  the  Europeans'  ingrat- 
itude and  injustice.  They  love  to  repeat  them,  and  always  do  it  with 
the  eloquence  of  nature,  aided  by  their  energetic  and  comprehensive 
language,  which  our  polished  idioms  cannot  imitate.  Often  I  have 
listened  to  their  description  of  their  hard  sufferings,  until  I  felt 
ashamed  of  being  a  white  i>ia>iy 

It  is  not  strange,  or  to  be  wondered  at,  that  they  should  have 
looked  upon  the  English  with  jealousy  and  distrust,  and  with  an  eye 
of  favor  on  the  French,  who  were  far  from  them,  and  whom  they  did 
not  meet  on  their  hunting  grounds  ;  who  had  never  cheated  them  of 
their  lands,  or  of  their  furs^  being  from  situation  so  far  apart  that 
trade  could  not  be  conveniently  carried  on  between  them.  To  this 
was  added  the  influence  of  the  priests,  who  taught  the  natives  that 
the  French  were  their  brothers  and  friends,  who  would  help  to  exter- 
minate the  English,  and  restore  them  to  their  homes  and  hunting 
grounds. 

There  was  one  class  of  settlers  upon  whom  the  Indians  looked 
with  perfect  hatred,  and  with  whom  it  was  hard  for  them  to  keep 
peace.  These  were  the  white  hunters,  who  were  a  class  of  hardy, 
fearless  men,  inured  to  hardship  and  fatigue  ;  well  equipped  for  their 
business  ;  indefatigible  in  their  hunts  after  game,  and  who  gave  the 
Indians  much  trouble.  The  latter  said  that  they  were  thieves,  would 
rob  their  traps  and  steal  their  furs.  However  this  may  be,  there  was 
hostile  feeling  between  the  hunters  and  the  natives  which,  it  was 
said,  often  ended  only  in  death,  when  the  two  would  meet  in  the 
woods,  far  from  the  settlements.  Of  this  class  of  persons,  one  is 
known  to  have  hunted  on  the  territory  we  have  described,  and  some 
small  account  of  him  has  come  down  by  tradition  to  our  time. 

Bartholomew  Thorn,  or,  as  he  was  called  by  both  Indians  and 
whites,  "Bart,"  had  hunted  over  this  region,  now  known  as  Gorham, 
Buxton  and  Standish,  for  some  years  before  the  first  settlement  of  Gor- 
ham. Every  pond,  stream,  and  hill  was  known  to  him.  Every  Indian 
knew  him,  and  a  mutual  hatred  existed  between  them,  but  he  was  wary 
and  brave,  of  an  iron  constitution,  an  athletic  and  sinewy  frame,  a 
quick  eye,  and  was  a  sharpshooter  and  the  possessor  of  one  of  the  best 
guns  in  the  region,  and  was  a  man  with  whom  few  were  willing  to 
engage.  He  was  said  to  be  of  a  taciturn  disposition.  It  was  rare 
that  he  communicated  with  any  one ;  when  he  did  it  was  on  business. 
The  woods  were  his  home,  where  he  would  spend  months,  and  not 
see  the  face  of  a  white  man.     Often,  for  injuries  done,  the  Indians 


42  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

had  threatened,  and  attempted  to  take  his  life ;  but  as  often  were 
they,  in  some  way,  by  his  quickness  at  subterfuge  and  stratagem, 
baffled  in  their  attempts,  and  lucky  were  the  ones  who  made  the 
attempt,  if  they  escaped  as  readily.  Tradition  says  that  more  than 
one  Indian  had  been  missed,  when  he  was  about,  of  whom  no 
account  could  be  obtained.  His  hatred  of  the  Indians  did  not  extend 
to  their  game  or  peltries.  These  things  he  had  a  fondness  for,  and 
was  always  willing  to  appropriate  them  to  his  own  use,  however  they 
were  come  at.  One  day  an  Indian  went  to  examine  his  traps,  near 
the  mouth  of  Little  River,  and  found  the  leg,  of  what  had  apparently 
been  a  fine  large  otter,  in  his  trap,  but  the  body  was  gone.  The  leg 
had  been  unjointed  with  a  sharp  knife.  The  Indian  looked  a  moment, 
and  the  way  the  thing  was  done  made  it  as  clear  as  a  plain  written 
book  to  him.  He  at  once  believed  that  Bart  was  the  culprit.  After 
a  careful  examination  of  his  trap,  the  leg,  and  the  ground,  he  made 
his  conclusion  that  but  a  short  time  had  elapsed  since  his  otter  was 
taken,  and  that  the  robber  could  be  but  a  short  distance  from  the 
spot,  and  if  he  was  right  and  Bart  had  taken  his  game,  he  knew  that 
Thorn  would  not  run,  and  that  to  get  justice  he  had  a  desperate 
game  to  play.  He  began  to  look  cautiously  about,  and  soon,  with 
Indian  sagacity,  discovered  signs  indicating  the  course  taken  by  the 
thief,  and  followed  on.  He  had  not  gone  far  before  he  discovered 
a  smoke  where  he  believed  he  should  find  his  otter.  When  he  had 
obtained  a  position  giving  him  a  view  of  the  fire,  he  discovered  Thorn 
before  the  blaze,  in  the  act  of  cooking  some  game  ;  on  a  log  near  by 
was  what  he  believed  to  be  'the  skin  of  his  otter,  and  the  much 
dreaded  gun  was  standing  agairlst  a  sapling  a  few  feet  from  Thorn. 
The  Indian  thought  that  he  had  things  all  his  own  way,  and  that  his 
dreaded  enemy  was  unarmed,  and  completely  in  his  power;  still  he 
was  unwilling  to  shoot  Bart  if  he  was  not  the  thief.  Of  this,  however, 
he  had  but  little  doubt.  He  cocked  his  gun,  took  a  good  range,  and 
then  spoke  to  Thorn  and  told  him  that  he  had  stolen  his  otter, 
and  that  he  must  give  it  up.  Thorn  replied  that  the  otter  was  his, 
that  he  had  shot  him,  and  that  he  should  keep  him.  The  Indian  held 
up  the  leg  he  had  found  in  the  trap  and  asked  how  many  legs  his  otter 
had.  By  this  time  Thorn  had  got  his  hand  on  his  gun,  and  the  Indian 
knew  the  talk  must  end,  that  no  more  words  would  be  used,  and  if 
he  was  to  recover  his  property  a  desperate  remedy  must  be  applied 
to  the  case.  He  at  once  raised  his  gun  and  attempted  to  fire,  but 
it  flashed  in  the  pan.  The  Indian's  time  had  come,  his  doom  was 
fixed.  Instantly  the  unerring  gun  of  Thorn  was  discharged,  and  the 
injured  Indian  lay  a  bleeding  corpse  at  his  feet. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MILITARY    MATTERS. 
SOLDIERS    IN    THE    FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WARS.  —  THE    MILITLA. 

In  1740,  after  the  death  of  Charles  VI.,  Emperor  of  Germany, 
Europe  became  embroiled  over  the  claim  of  Maria  Theresa,  his 
daughter,  to  the  kingdoms  left  by  her  father.  Charles  Albert,  the 
Elector  of  Bavaria,  also  set  up  a  claim  to  the  Austrian  States. 
England,  in  this  war,  which  is  known  as  the  "War  of  the  Austrian 
Succession,"  took  the  side  of  Maria  Theresa. 

It  was  foreseen  in  this  country,  by  both  the  French  and  English 
colonists,  that  France,  ever  a  bitter  enemy  to  the  House  of  Austria, 
would  lend  its  strength  to  assist  the  pretensions  of  the  Elector,  and 
declare  war  upon  England.  A  formal  declaration  of  hostilities 
between  the  two  countries  was  not  declared  until  March,  1744,  but 
during  the  preceding  year,  1743,  the  Indians  seemed  to  be  uneasy, 
and  things  had  much  of  the  appearance  of  an  outbreak.  The 
Province  authorities  thought  it  best  to  prepare  for  defence,  and 
the  General  Court  took  measures  for  the  protection  of  the  eastern 
settlements  of  Maine. 
"Fryday,  Oct.  8*    1743. 

In  Council  Ordered  that  William  Pepperell  and  Samuel  Danforth, 
Esq""^,  with  such  as  the  Honorable  House  shall  joyn,  be  a  committee 
to  prepare  the  Draught  of  a  bill  for  regulating  Houses  of  Defence 
(commonly  called  Garrisons)  for  the  Security  of  the  Inhabitants  in 
the  Frontiers  of  this  province. 

"In  the  House  of  Representatives  read  and  concurred,  and 
Captain  Choate,  M""  Prout  and  M''  Leighton  are  joyned  in  the 
affair." 

"Fryday,  Nov.  11 'i^,  1743. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives  whereas  it  appears  necessary 
from  the  apprehensions  this  House  have  of  a  speedy  Rupture 
between  the  Crowns  of  Great  Britain  and  France,  that  the  Inland 
Frontiers  in  this  Province  be  put  into  a  better  posture  of  Defence, 
Therefore,  Voted  that  the  following  sums  be  and  are  hereby  granted 
to  be  paid  out  of  the  publick  Treasury  to  be  laid  out  in  some  of  the 
Settlements  in  the  County  of  York. 


44  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

"Viz.  To  Berwick  one  hundred  pounds;  to  New  Marblehead  one 
hundred  pounds;  to  Scarborough  one  hundred  pounds;  to  Gorham- 
town  one  hundred  pounds  ;  to  Sheepscot  one  hundred  pounds.  *  *  * 
All  of  which  sums  shall  be  taken  out  of  the  Seven  Thousand  Pounds 
Appropriation  provided  in  the  Supply  Bill  now  before  this  Court,  and 
shall  be  paid  into  the  hands  of  Messieures  Moses  Butler,  Tobias 
Leighton,  Samuel  Moody',  James  Skinner  and  Jacob  Perkins,  with 
such  as  the  Honorable  Board  shall  joyn  as  a  committee  fully  author- 
ized and  empowered  to  receive  the  same,  and  (first  taking  the 
direction  of  the  Captain  General)  to  lay  out  in  .  the  most  prudent 
manner,  in  erecting  in  each  of  the  before  mentioned  Settlements,  for 
their  security  during  the  War,  a  Garrison  or  Garrisons  of  stockades 
or  square  timber  round  some  Dwelling-house  or  houses,  or  otherwise, 
as  will  be  most  for  the  security  and  defence  of  the  whole  Inhabitants 
of  each  place." 

A  committee  was  sent  to  Maine  to  locate  points  at  which  to  build 
six  forts  or  fortified  blockhouses  between  New  Marblehead  (Wind- 
ham) and  Berwick.  This  committee  was  in  Falmouth  (Portland)  on 
the  15th  of  December,  1743,  when  they  probably  fixed  upon  the 
locations  for  the  several  forts.  As  Gorhamtown  was  one  of  the 
places  selected  by  this  committee,  there  could  have  been  no  fort 
there  before  this  date. 

The  first  mention  made  of  the  fort  in  any  records  in  Gorham,  is  in 
that  of  the  old  Proprietors.  Falmouth,  Aug.  10,  1744,  application 
was  made  by  Moses  Pearson,  Joshua  Freeman,  Cornelius  Brimhall, 
William  Cotton  and  Samuel  Moody  to  John  Gorham  to  call  a  Propri- 
etors' meeting  ;  which  meeting  was  called  by  John  Gorham,  the  clerk, 
to  meet  at  the  fort  in  said  Gorhamtown  on  the  28th  day  of  August, 
1744,  at  ID  o'clock  in  the  forenoon.  In  his  return  Gorham  says  that 
he  posted  up  the  notice  for  the  said  meeting  in  the  fort  in  the  said 
town,  fourteen  days  before  the  time  of  the  said  meeting,  which  would 
make  it  the  14th  of  August.  The  meeting  was  held  at  the  fort  on 
said  day,  when  John  Phinney  was  chosen  moderator  and  Moses 
Pearson  clerk. 

The  fort  was  situated  on  the  highest  land  in  town,  the  top  of  Fort 
Hill,  on  the  thirty  acre  lot  No.  2,  on  the  westerly  side  of  the  old  road 
to  Standish,  and  a  little  south  of  where  Mr.  Palmer  recently  lived.  It 
was  built  by  the  Proprietors  of  the  town,  was  constructed  of  hewn 
timber,  and  was  an  oblong  square  about  fifty  feet  long.  It  was 
surrounded  by  a  palisade  of  heavy  timber,  set  in  the  ground.  This 
wall  was  about  twelve  feet  high,  and  had  watch  towers,  or  flankers, 


iThis  was  prol)ably  Major  Samuel  Moody  of  Falmouth,  who  was  one  of  the  Proprietors 
of  Gorhamtown. 


MIT.ITAKV    MATTERS. 


45 


at  two  diagonal  corners.  There  were  two  cannon  mounted  on  these 
Hankers  for  the  purpose  of  defence  against  the  Indians,  and  to  warn 
the  neighboring  towns  when  these  were  discovered  to  be  prowling 
about  the  vicinity.     These  guns  were  six-pound  swivels,  and  in  the 


time  of  the  Revolution  were  carried  to  Portland,  and  never  returned. 
After  the  burning  in  1747,  by  the  Indians,  of  the  log  meeting-house 
on  Fort  Hill,  the  inhabitants  for  several  years  used  the  southeast 
flanker  of  the  fort  as  a  place  for  public  worship.  As  the  fort  was 
bullet  proof  it  was  thought  by  the  inhabitants  that  with  a  proper 


46  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

garrison  it  could  be  defended  against  any  force  the  Indians  could 
bring  against  it.  Happily  this  point  was  never  tested,  as  in  all  the 
trying  times  through  which  the  first  settlers  had  to  pass,  they  never 
were  attacked  by  a  powerful  force  at  any  one  time. 

The  General  Court  in  1754  voted  four  hundred  and  seventy  pounds 
toward  building  and  repairing  different  forts  and  blockhouses. 
Among  those  to  be  repaired  were  Gorhamtown,  Windham  and  Sac- 
carappa.  Repairs  were  made  on  the  fort  as  late  as  1757,  and  these 
are  the  last  of  which  we  find  any  record.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Pro- 
prietors of  Gorhamtown,  or  Narragansett  No.  7,  held  at  the  house 
of  Mr.  Joshua  Freeman  in  Falmouth,  March  25,  1757,  it  was  "Voted 
there  be  paid  to  Hugh  McLellan,  one  shilling  and  four  pence,  lawful 
money,  per  foot  for  stockading  the  fort  where  the  walls  are  defective, 
supposed  to  be  about  one  hundred  feet,  and  to  be  done  with  spruce, 
pine,  or  hemlock  timber,  and  the  bark  peeled  off,  and  to  be  thirteen 
feet  long  and  ten  inches  diameter,  to  stand  three  feet  in  the  ground 
and  ten  feet  above  ground,  where  the  rocks  will  admit  of  digging 
three  feet ;  and  to  be  lined  with  six  inch  stuff,  peeled  as  the  other 
timber,  and  to  be  done  to  the  acceptance  of  Moses  Pearson,  Esq., 
Messrs.  William  Cotton  and  Samuel  Crockett,  a  committee  chosen 
to  oversee  said  work."  Hugh  McLellan  agreed  to  complete  the  same 
on  or  before  the  15th  day  of  April,  1757,  and  they  then  "  Voted  there 
be  raised  on  each  right  one  shilling  four  pence,  lawful  money,  for 
repairing  the  fort.'' 

The  war  between  England  and  France  quickly  spread  to  their  col- 
onies, and  the  inhabitants  of  the  frontier  towns  of  New  England 
found  themselves  exposed  to  the  murderous  attacks  of  the  hordes  of 
savages,  which  the  French  in  Canada  poured  down  upon  our  defence- 
less borders. 

The  French  possessed  a  stronghold  called  Louisburg,  a  town  situ- 
ated on  the  island  of  Cape  Breton,  and  which  they  had  fortified  very 
strongly,  —  a  place  deemed  to  be  almost  impregnable.  Notwithstand- 
ing this,  however.  Governor  Shirley  determined  to  undertake  its 
capture  and  reduction,  and  preparations  were  begun  early  in  1745 
for  that  purpose. 

In  1739,  just  previous  to  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  in  Europe, 
the  York  County  regiment,  at  that  time  commanded  by  Col.  William 
Pepperill,  was  divided.  The  command  of  the  new,  or  Eastern  regi- 
ment thus  formed  was  given  to  Col.  Samuel  Waldo  of  Falmouth. 

The  Province  of  Maine  had  the  honor  of  furnishing  the  command- 
ing officers  for  this  expedition  against  Louisburg,  who  were  the  two 


MILITAKV    MATTERS.  47 

colonels  just  mentioned.  The  chief  in  command  was  Col.  William 
Pepperell  of  Kittery,  who  received  the  commission  of  Lieut. -General. 
Col.  Samuel  Waldo  was  given  the  commission  of  Brig.-General,  and 
appointed  second  in  command.  Capt.  Edward  Tyng,  with  the  com- 
mission of  Commodore,  was  placed  in  command  of  the  Provincial 
fieet,  which  consisted  of  thirteen  vessels  of  war,  carrying  some  two 
hundred  and  four  guns.  The  expedition  was  very  popular,  and  there 
was  no  trouble  in  procuring  men,  the  enlistment  of  volunteers  begin- 
ning on  the  2d  of  February.  Falmouth  on  the  28th  held  its  annual 
Fast,  as  Mr.  Smith  says,  "  Earlier  in  the  year  than  usu^,  on  account 
of  the  expedition  to  Louisburg."  The  troops  numbered  something 
short  of  four  thousand  men,  of  whom  Massachusetts  and  Maine  fur- 
nished more  than  three-fourths.  At  Canseau  they  were  joined  by  a 
fleet  of  English  men-of-war,  under  the  command  of  Commodore 
Warren. 

The  first  attack  on  the  place  was  made  on  the  2d  of  May;  the 
appearance  of  the  fleet  off  the  port  being  the  first  intimation  that 
the  garrison  had  of  the  proposed  investment.  Some  rumors  of  the 
expedition,  which  had  reached  Canada,  were  regarded  as  so  improb- 
able, that  no  report  of  them  was  made  to  Cape  Breton.  After  con- 
siderable fighting,  Duchambon,  the  Governor,  becoming  somewhat 
discouraged  and  learning  of  a  contemplated  attack  determined  on 
for  the  i8th,  decided  to  surrender  the  place,  and  on  the  17th  of  June 
Louisburg  capitulated,  and  with  all  its  spoils  passed  into  the  hands  of 
the  victors.  There  was  the  greatest  joy  and  rejoicing  throughout  the 
Colonies  on  account  of  this  astonishing  and  resplendent  victory. 
Even  Europe  felt  profound  amazement,  tinged  in  England  with  some 
jealousy  at  our  success. 

Col.  Shubael  Gorham  commanded  the  7th  regiment  of  Massachu- 
setts troops.  The  Lieut.-Colonel  of  the  regiment  was  his  brother, 
John  Gorham.  The  ist  regiment  of  Massachusetts  troops  was  com- 
manded by  Col.  William  Pepperill.  In  this  latter  regiment  the  loth 
company,  which  was  raised  in  Falmouth  in  March,  1745,  was  under 
the  command  of  Capt.  Moses  Pearson  of  Falmouth.  Belonging 
to  Capt.  Pearson's  company  were  Corporal  Gamaliel  Pote,  and  pri- 
vates John  Ayer,  James  Gilkey  and  Ebenezer  Hall.  Pote's  father's 
family  was  one  of  those  which  left  Gorham  at  the  breaking  out  of 
the  war  and  retired  to  Falmouth.  John  Ayer  had  also  been  a  resi- 
dent. Hall  may,  or  may  not,  have  been  the  Ebenezer  Hall  who  left 
Gorham  at  the  same  time  with  Pote  and  others,  but  it  seems  probable 
that  he  was   the   man.     James  Gilkey  shortly  afterwards  moved  to 


48  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Gorham,  where  he  settled  about  1750.  Among  the  names  of  sol- 
diers in  this  expedition  appears  that  of  John  McDaniel,  who  belonged 
to  York  or  Wells,  but  came  later  to  Gorham. 

Capt.  Pearson  was  one  of  the  Proprietors  of  Gorhamtown,  and 
was  a  man  very  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  that  place.  He  was  Pro- 
prietors' Clerk  for  many  years,  and  was  usually  a  member  of  the 
more  important  committees.  After  the  surrender  of  Louisburg,  Capt. 
Pearson  was  appointed  agent  of  General  Pepperill's  regiment,  and 
treasurer  of  the  entire  force,  to  take  charge  of  the  distribution  of 
the  spoils  of  wictory.  In  1750  the  General  Court  granted  to  Capt. 
Pearson  and  forty-five  others,  for  their  services  at  and  around  Louis- 
burg, what  was  known  as  "  Pearsonstown,"  until  its  incorporation  as 
the  town  of  Standish.  Among  the  names  of  these  grantees  are  the 
following,  who  were,  either  before  or  afterwards,  connected  with  Gor- 
ham :  Gamaliel  Pote,  James  Gilkey,  Jeremiah  Pote,  Elisha  Pote, 
John  Irish  and  John  Ayer. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1746,  the  town  of  Gorham  had  but  ten 
families,  some  of  whom,  whose  lands  were  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood, had  remained  in  the  fort  the  preceding  winter,  while  part  of 
the  others  had  completed  their  arrangements,  and  moved  in,  thinking 
that  probably  before  many  days  the  Indians  would  commence  their 
depredations.  There  were  still  four  families  out,  and  these  were 
advised  to  make  no  delay,  but  hasten  to  the  fort.  Capt.  Phinney, 
who  held  a  fatherly  care  over  the  weak  and  unprotected  plantation, 
was  urgent,  knowing  that  safety  depended  on  keeping  in  a  compact 
body  and  in  a  place  of  some  strength,  and  on  not  allowing  themselves 
to  be  caught  singly  and  unprepared.  The  spring  was  remarkably 
early,  and  the  weather  warm  and  pleasant,  which  added  to  the 
anxiety  of  all,  they  knowing  full  well  that  the  Indians  would  take 
advantage  of  it,  and  that  some  one  or  more  of  their  number  might 
soon  feel  the  effect  of  their  murderous  warfare.  Still,  those  out  of 
the  fort  were  unwilling  to  leave  their  work,  knowing  that  if  they 
could  not  prepare  their  land  and  plant  their  crops,  starvation  or 
abandonment  of  the  place  would  be  the  final  result,  for  the  whole 
country  was  alike  subject  to  the  depredations  of  the  enemy,  and 
none  were  able  to  help,  being  all  equally  poor  and  dependent  on  the 
labor  of  their  hands  for  the  bread  they  eat;  thus  they  labored  hard 
and  fast  that  they  might  flee  and  join  their  brethren  in  a  place  of 
comparative  safety. 

On  the  evening  of  the  i8th  of  April  the  McLellan  family  had  fin- 
ished their  day's  labor,  eaten  their  supper,  and  were  all  assembled  in 


MILITARY    MATTERS.  49 

their  log  house,  talking  over  their  prospects  and  the  probability  of 
soon  expecting  the  visits  of  the  Indians,  and  having,  as  before  said, 
been  repeatedly  admonished  by  C'apt.  Phinney  and  others  to  hasten 
their  work,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  they  would  so  far  complete  it 
on  the  next  day  as  to  be  able  to  leave  and  join  their  friends  in  the 
fort.  The  weather  on  this  evening  was  warm  and  pleasant  and  they 
had  not  closed  the  door  of  their  house,  near  which  their  old  dog  was 
lying.  Suddenly  the  dog  became  much  excited  ;  he  sprang  on  to  his 
feet,  and  made  every  demonstration,  as  if  he  had  made  a  discovery 
of  immediate  danger,  but  would  not  go  toward  the  direction  from 
which  he  evidently  expected  an  attack.  His  conduct  was  remarked 
by  all ;  Indians !  was  the  first  word  uttered,  for  the  expected  visit 
was  uppermost  in  their  minds.  The  door  was  immediately  closed  and 
the  proper  fastenings  put  to  it,  all  the  lights  were  extinguished,  not  a 
word  was  spoken  except  in  a  whisper,  the  windows  were  closed  up 
(they  were  only  square  holes  cut  in  the  logs  of  which  the  house  was 
built),  and  blankets  and  other  things  were  hung  around  the  fire  that 
its  rays  might  not  discover,  through  the  chinks  of  the  logs,  the  posi- 
tion of  the  inmates. 

They  had  four  guns  in  the  house,  and  two  men,  Hugh  McLellan, 
the  father,  and  his  son  William,  capable  of  using  them,  while  Mrs. 
McLellan  was  not  much  behind  her  husband  in  point  of  courage  and 
ability  to  defend  this  home  in  the  wilderness.  William  was  then 
about  sixteen  years  old,  stout  and  hardy  of  his  age  and  abundantly 
able  to  handle  a  musket  and  perform  a  man's  part.  When  they 
had  put  their  castle  in  the  best  possible  state  of  defence  that  their 
resources  would  allow,  they  began  to  look  about  and  see  what  were 
their  means  of  continuing  to  hold  out,  provided  they  were  besieged, 
and  in  the  words  of  Mrs.  McLellan,  when  she  had  lived  through  her 
many  trials  and  had  become  an  old  lady,  "  We  had  a  milk  pan  full 
of  powder,  and  lead  enough,  but  it  was  not  in  balls."  Here  was  work 
for  the  female  hands  ;  and  while  the  men  lay  at  the  loopholes,  with 
one  gun  by  their  side  and  the  other  pointed  into  the  dark  atmosphere 
outside  the  house,  which  to  them  was  full  of  infernal  savages  ready 
to  cut  their  throats  and  take  their  scalps,  Mrs.  McLellan  was  by  the 
fire  behind  the  screen  with  her  little  daughter  Abigail,  employed  in 
melting  lead  in  a  skillet  and  with  an  iron  spoon  pouring  it  into  the 
bullet  mould  thus  casting  balls,  and  manufacturing  cartridges  for 
the  use  of  the  little  garrison.  No  eyes  closed  in  that  log  house  dur- 
ing that  long  night,  nor  did  they  much  expect  to  see  another  rising 
sun ;    often  were   their   eyes   turned   toward   the   roof,   expecting  to 


50  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

behold  it  in  flames  over  their  heads,  being  firm  in  the  belief  that 
they  were  beset  by  the  Indians,  or  that  these  were  in  their  immediate 
neighborhood ;  and  well  may  we  suppose  that  their  anxiety  was 
intense,  expecting  each  moment  an  attack,  and  not  knowing  from 
whence  or  in  what  form  it  would  come  upon  them.  More  than  once 
during  this  long  and  anxious  night  their  faithful  and  intelligent  dog 
showed  signs  of  uneasiness,  and  would  move  cautiously  toward  the 
side  of  the  house  and  give  a  low  growl,  and  then  he  would  return 
to  the  side  of  his  master,  as  if  to  notify  him  that  all  was  not  right 
outside.  Once  he  made  a  spring  at  the  door  and  put  his  feet  against 
it  and  gave  a  growl  that  must  have  reached  the  ears  of  any  one 
outside.  His  warnings  were  not  lost ;  never  was  a  garrison  more 
watchful  than  were  the  inmates  of  that  log  house  during  that  night. 

With  the  watchers  the  night  seemed  endless,  but  at  last  daylight 
appeared  through  the  loopholes.  The  morning  was  warm  and  pleas- 
ant, the  birds  sang  their  songs  as  if  nothing  had  happened  to  disturb 
the  quiet  of  the  wilderness  ;  the  sun  rose  bright  and  clear ;  all  looked 
peaceful  and  innocent  without.  The  door  was  opened  and  the  clear- 
ing was  cautiously  examined  ;  the  old  dog  snuffed  the  morning  air 
with  apparent  enjoyment.  He  walked  about  the  house  for  some 
time  ;  was  sent  by  his  master  to  hunt  out  the  trouble,  but  returned? 
and  by  his  looks  and  actions  reported  all  clear.  No  marks  could  be 
discovered  of  visitors,  either  wild  beast,  or  the  more  to  be  dreaded 
wild  savages  ;  the  cattle  were  all  in  their  proper  places,  nothing  had 
been  moved  or  disturbed  about  the  place  during  the  night.  These 
things  were  carefully  noted,  after  which  their  frugal  breakfast  was 
prepared  and  eaten,  when  from  all  appearances  around,  it  was  con- 
cluded that  the  alarm  was  false,  at  least  as  far  as  Indians  were 
concerned,  and  that  the  dog  must  have  discovered  some  wild  beast 
of  the  forest. 

After  due  consultation  it  was  decided  to  put  the  oxen  into  the 
yoke,  and  go  on  with  the  work,  and  as  soon  as  possible  get  into 
the  fort.  The  men  departed  for  the  field,  each  taking  a  gun  with 
him,  being  cautioned  by  the  women  not  to  go  far  from  the  house. 
As  every  thing  had  so  pleasant  a  look  the  wife  was  assured  by  her 
husband  that  there  would  be  no  danger,  still  he  directed  her  to  keep 
the  dog  at  the  house,  and  at  the  least  alarm  to  blow  the  horn. 
Before  the  men  left  the  house,  one  of  their  neighbors,  Mr.  Reed, 
came  in  to  borrow  a  chain,  and  to  him  they  made  known  their  appre- 
hensions. He  said  that  he  had  seen  nothing,  and  did  not  think  the 
Indians  had  arrived,  as  no  signs  had  been  seen  by  any  one,  and  he 


MILITARY    MATTERS.  51 

should  finish  his  work  before  he  went  into  the  fort.  He  took 
the  chain,  put  it  over  his  shoulder,  went  into  the  house,  lighted  his 
pipe  and  started  for  his  home,  which  was  above  the  McLellans', 
toward  the  fort.  The  words  and  manner  of  Reed  tended  to  allay 
the  fears  of  the  McLellans,  and  to  confirm  them  in  their  resolution 
to  go  on  with  their  work. 

It  was  learned,  afterwards,  that  Reed,  on  his  way  home,  had  arrived 
at  the  brook  above  the  McLellan  house,  when  he  was  suddenly  set 
upon  by  two  powerful  Indians,  who  had  secreted  themselves  in  the 
bushes,  having  had  notice  of  his  approach  by  the  noise  made  by 
the  chain,  which  he  carried  on  his  shoulder.  Reed  was  a  large  and 
powerful  man,  but  at  this  time,  unfortunatel}-,  entirely  unarmed;  his 
resistance  was  manful  and  long,  but  the  Indians,  being  two  to  one, 
finally  succeeded  in  making  him  prisoner,  and  bound  him  fast,  with- 
out using  firearms,  however,  for  they  knew  that  the  report  of  a  gun 
would  alarm  the  inhabitants  and  probably  frustrate  all  their  plans. 

It  appears  that  there  were  about  a  dozen  Indians  engaged  in  this 
attack  on  Gorham.  They  had  reconnoitered  during  the  first  part  of 
the  night,  and  a  part  of  them  had  been  at  the  McLellan  house,  which 
was  the  cause  of  the  dog's  uneasiness;  and  some  of  them  afterwards 
told  that  they  "saw  'Young  Bill'  and  dog  go  spring  for  water,  not 
take  him,  fear  dog  make  noise  and  have  to  fire  gun  and  make  noise 
alarm  all  people  and  no  make  nothing."  Thus  from  true  Indian 
policy  he  was  suffered  to  escape,  and  the  family  were  preserved,  for 
had  a  rush  been  made  at  that  time  they  probably  would  have  been 
taken  unnotified ;  and  unprepared  as  they  were,  they  must  have 
fallen  an  easy  prey. 

Thus  having  made  the  reconnoisance  and  arrangements,  they 
intended,  if  possible,  to  capture  or  kill  every  person  in  town  who 
was  not  in  the  fort;  and  their  plan  was  to  do  it  without  firing  a  gun, 
or  doing  anything  that  might  in  any  way  alarm  the  fort.  When  the 
Indians  had  completed  their  plans  and  had  got  near  to  the  houses 
of  their  intended  victims  they  separated  to  their  several  works  of 
blood ;  a  part  went  for  the  Bryants,  a  part  for  the  Cloutmans,  a  part 
for  the  Reeds  and  a  part  for  the  McLellans.  The  party  sent  to 
Bryant's  fearfully  fulfilled  their  bloody  work ;  the  wife  and  children 
were  found  in  the  house,  and  captured  without  trouble.  Four  of  the 
children  were  dispatched  with  the  tomahawk  and  scalped,  and  an 
infant,  two  weeks  old,  had  its  brains  beaten  out  on  the  stones  of  the 
fireplace.  The  oldest  child  in  the  house  was  a  girl  about  fifteen 
years  of  age,  and  tradition  says   that  she  would    have  been  made 


52  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

captive  with  her  mother,  had  it  not  been  that  one  of  her  captors  had, 
at  a  previous  time,  received  an  indignity  from  her,  for  which  he  had 
promised  her  that  he  would  have  his  revenge  when  war  came.  Mrs. 
Bryant,  in  her  weak  and  sick  state,  was  dragged  into  captivity  and 
carried  to  Canada,  where  she  subsequently  married,  and  soon  after 
died.  The  savages,  not  finding  Bryant  and  his  son  at  home  as  they 
had  expected,  dispatched  two  of  their  number  to  the  field  to  capture 
them.  When  they  saw  the  Indians  the  boy  ran  into  the  woods  and 
thus  escaped.  Bryant  immediately  made  for  the  fort.  His  house 
was  in  or  near  the  two-rod  road  running  between  the  land  of  Isaac 
Dyer,  and  that  of  the  late  Nathaniel  Hamblen,  and  his  field  was 
where  the  orchard  now  is,  on  the  hill  above  said  road  toward  Fort 
Hill.  The  Indians  followed  Bryant;  as  he  ran  well  they  were  fear- 
ful of  losing  him,  and  contrary  to  their  first  intentions  one  of  them 
fired  at  him  and  broke  his  arm.  Bryant  made  his  way  into  the  road 
leading  to  the  fort;  it  was  a  race  for  life  or  death,  the  bloodhound 
after  its  victim,  and  only  death  could  stop  this  race.  The  Indians 
were  gaining  fast,  when  Bryant  discovered  on  the  hill,  where  the 
Hamblen  house  now  stands  or  near  there,  Daniel  Mosher  with  his 
gun  on  his  shoulder  coming  toward  them,  evidently  unaware  of  his 
proximity  to  so  fearful  a  chase.  He  had  heard  the  gun,  but  did  not 
know  the  cause  of  the  firing.  When  the  victim  and  his  pursuers 
came  in  sight  he  was  made  aware  of  the  cause,  but  did  not  know  the 
number  of  the  Indians;  he  saw  two;  Bryant  called  to  him  to  fire  on 
them,  and  instantly  sprang  over  a  log  into  the  brook  which  is  at  the 
foot  of  the  hill  and  got  behind  the  log  that  Mosher  might  fire  with 
more  certainty  of  hitting  them,  or  at  least  one  of  them.  But  Mosher 
was  at  the  top  of  the  hill,  a  long  gunshot  off,  and  almost  at  the  same 
minute  the  foremost  Indian,  who  had  discharged  his  gun,  sprang 
over  the  log,  where  a  struggle  of  but  a  moment  took  place.  Bryant 
was  weak  from  exertion  and  loss  of  blood,  and  the  rapid  blows  of 
the  tomahawk  quickly  dispatched  him,  and  before  Mosher  had  hardly 
become  aware  of  what  was  going  on,  the  Indians  had  scalped  their 
victim  and  made  their  escape  into  the  woods;  and  Mr.  Mosher  went 
back  and  gave  the  alarm  at  the  fort. 

The  capture  of  Edward  Cloutman,  whose  house  was  on  the  farm 
for  many  years  occupied  by  Col.  Nathaniel  Frost,  and  afterwards  by 
his  son  Jeremiah,  on  the  easterly  side  of  the  Fort  Hill  road,  so  called, 
about  half  a  mile  northerly  of  Gorham  Village,  was  much  desired  by 
the  Indians.  He  was  a  powerful  man,  in  full  vigor  and  prime  of  life  ; 
and  the  owner  of  a  remarkably  good  gun  which  was  much  coveted 


MILITARY    MATTERS.  53 

by  the  Indians,  who  were  well  acquainted  with  its  qualities,  and  well 
knew  its  value  in  the  hands  of  a  man  like  Cloutman.  His  capture 
was  looked  upon  by  the  enemy  as  a  blow  which  would  be  of  much 
benefit  to  them,  and  which  would  bear  hardly  on  the  settlers. 

Cloutman  was  at  work  in  his  field ;  the  Indians,  not  finding  him 
at  his  house,  separated  and  made  a  reconnoissance,  when  he  was 
discovered,  and  their  plans  laid.  Two  were  to  show  themselves 
between  him  and  his  house,  while  others  were  to  secrete  them- 
selves between  him  and  the  direction  of  the  fort,  thinking  that  if  he 
discovered  the  open  enemy  between  himself  and  his  house,  where 
he  could  get  no  assistance  even  if  he  should  succeed  in  reaching 
it,  he  would  naturally  flee  toward  the  point  from  whence  he  might 
expect  succor,  and  the  result  proved  the  sagacity  of  their  plans. 
When  Cloutman  discovered  the  enemy  between  him  and  his  house, 
he  was  unarmed ;  strong  as  he  was,  he  knew  that  a  contest  with  two 
well-armed  Indians  must  be  to  his  disadvantage,  consequently  he 
thought  only  of  making  his  way  to  the  fort,  and  commenced  his 
flight  in  that  direction,  with  his  two  pursuers  in  full  chase.  When  he 
arrived  at  the  northwesterly  part  of  his  field,  near  the  road  leading 
to  the  fort,  he  attempted  to  leap  the  brush  fence  which  he  thought  to 
be  the  only  barrier  between  himself  and  safety,  but  at  this  point  he 
was  met  by  the  concealed  party.  He  made  a  most  desperate  strug- 
gle, believing  as  he  did  that  it  was  a  struggle  for  life  or  death,  and 
was  on  the  point  of  freeing  himself  from  his  captors,  when  the  arrival 
of  the  two  who  were  in  pursuit,  settled  the  thing.  He  was  quickly 
and  most  securely  bound  as  a  prisoner,  to  the  great  exultation  of  his 
captors.  He  was  taken  captive  to  Canada,  in  company  with  Mrs. 
Bryant  and  Reed.  Reed  died  in  prison  in  Quebec,  Oct.  20,  1746, 
but  Cloutman  made  his  escape  a  few  days  later,  never  reaching 
home,  however.  Some  effects,  known  to  have  belonged  to  him,  were 
afterwards  found  on  the  shore  of  one  of  the  lakes  which  would  lie 
in  his  homeward  track,  as  well  as  the  body  of  a  man,  but  in  such  a 
state  that  it  could  not  be  identified  ;  this,  taken  with  other  well- 
known  facts,  lead  to  the  belief  that  on  his  way  home  he  attempted  to 
swim  the  lake  and  was  drowned.  Whether  the  famous  gun  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  Indians  is  not  now  known. 

Cloutman  with  his  family,  consisting  of  his  wife  and  two  children, 
had  moved  to  the  fort  some  days  before  this,  but  not  thinking  that 
there  were  any  Indians  about,  he  was  out  this  morning  at  work  com- 
pleting his  planting.  His  daughter,  Sarah,  married  Eli  Webb  of 
Gorham.     From   his    son,   Timothy,   who    married   Katy    Partridge, 


54  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

descended  a  numerous  family,  many  of  whose  descendants  now  live 
in  town.  After  the  death  of  Cloutman,  his  widow  married  Mr. 
Anderson  of  Windham,  from  whom  descended  also  a  goodly  race  of 
citizens  now  resident  in  Windham  and  Gorham.  Mrs.  Cloutman  was 
the  grandmother  of  the  Hon.  John  Anderson,  who  has  represented 
Cumberland  district  in  Congress. 

The  party  dispatched  for  the  McLellans,  having  on  their  way 
so  unexpectedly  made  prisoner  of  Reed,  did  not  think  it  prudent, 
being  only  two  and  encumbered  with  a  prisoner,  to  attempt  further 
mischief,  and  made  off.  The  party  dispatched  for  Reed  were  unsuc- 
cessful, as  he  had  left  home  and  fallen  into  other  hands.  The  gun 
was  heard  by  Mrs.  McLellan,  but  nothing  was  known  of  the  havoc 
and  fearful  struggles  that  had  been  going  on  so  near  her ;  there 
all  was  peace  and  quiet.  The  inhabitants  were  ever  alive  to  dan- 
ger, and  the  firing  of  a  gun  was  always  cause  of  inquiry  and  alarm. 
It  was  evident  that  the  gun  was  fired  toward  the  fort,  in  the  direction 
of  Bryant's,  and  they  being  the  nearest  neighbors,  Mrs.  McLellan 
was  desirous  to  know  the  cause,  and  directed  her  little  daughter  Abi- 
gail to  go  to  Bryant's  and  ascertain  what  the  gun  was  fired  for,  but 
the  child,  having  the  fear  of  Indians  in  her  head  and  before  her  eyes, 
secreted  herself  under  the  bed,  where  she  remained  some  time  before 
the  cheat  was  discovered.  When  her  mother  found  her  she  com- 
pelled a  compliance  with  her  orders.  The  child  was  not  long  on  the 
road,  for  fear  lent  her  wings,  and  she  cleared  the  distance  in  a  short 
time.  The  sight  that  met  her  eyes  when  she  entered  the  house  is  past 
the  description  of  any  one  ;  on  the  floor  lay  the  poor  children  wel- 
tering in  their  blood ;  they  had  all  fallen  under  the  tomahawk  except 
the  infant,  and  their  scalps  were  torn  off.  The  eldest  daughter  was 
alive  and  called  her  by  name  in  a  feeble  voice,  scarcely  audible ;  they 
had  been  companions  in  play,  and  were  nearer  of  an  age  than  were 
any  other  girls  in  the  settlement  and  intimate  friends,  but  what  could 
she  do.  Stricken  with  horror  at  the  sight  before  her,  she  was  com- 
pletely paralyzed  with  fear  and  her  tongue  could  not  utter  a  word. 
At  this  moment  she  heard  the  Indians  talking  near  by  back  of  the 
house  ;  instantly  she  was  flying  with  the  swiftness  of  an  arrow  toward 
her  home.  Looking  neither  to  the  right  nor  to  the  left,  she  did  not 
stop  in  her  course  till  she  fell  prostrate  on  the  fioor  at  her  mother's 
feet.  She  caught  her  up  in  her  arms,  her  face  was  as  white  as  mar- 
ble, not  a  word  could  she  tell  of  the  horrid  scenes  she  had  looked 
upon,  she  was  apparently  dead.  Her  mother  laid  her  on  the  bed, 
flew  to  the  door  to  blow  the  horn,  and  then  back  to  her  daughter  and 


MILITARY    MATTERS.  55 

in  a  few  minutes  by  the  application  of  proper  remedies,  animation 
was  so  far  restored  that  she  was  able  to  utter  the  word  "  Indians," 
but  immediately  fainted  again.  The  father  and  son  hearing  the  note 
of  warning,  only  stopped  long  enough  to  cast  off  from  the  oxen  the 
chain  that  confined  them  to  the  plough,  and  immediately  repaired  to 
the  house,  where  in  time  Abigail  was  so  far  restored  to  conscious- 
ness as  to  be  able  to  relate  the  particulars  of  what  she  had  seen  at 
Bryant's.  Everything  was  immediately  put  in  order  about  the  house, 
water  was  procured,  the  windows  and  doors  were  closed,  and  all 
things  were  prepared  for  a  siege.  They  knew  neither  how  long  they 
would  be  compelled  to  remain  thus,  nor  how  long  it  would  be  before 
they  would  be  attacked  and  perhaps  suffer  the  same  fate  as  the 
Bryants.  Nor  were  they  at  all  sure  of  the  safety  of  the  fort ;  if  that 
had  been  taken,  they  deemed  their  chances  small ;  still,  resistance 
was  all  they  thought  of.  Ere  long,  however,  they  heard  a  gun  fired 
from  the  fort ;  this  they  knew  was  the  alarm  gun  to  give  notice  to 
any  still  alive  that  the  enemy  were  about,  and  to  warn  them  against 
surprise.  This  gun  gave  new  life  to  the  inhabitants  of  that  log 
house;  they  knew  from  that  that  they  were  not  alone,  and  that  there 
was  a  small  prospect  of  help. 

Capt.  Phinney  and  the  others  in  the  fort  were  apprised  by  Daniel 
Mosher  of  the  fact  that  the  Indians  were  out  and  that  they  had  killed 
Bryant ;  but  as  to  their  numbers  and  the  other  mischief  committed  by 
them  they  knew  nothing.  With  their  present  uncertainty  as  to  the 
force  of  the  enemy,  they  did  not  deem  it  prudent  to  venture  out. 
The  distance  from  the  fort  to  Bryant's  house  was  not  far ;  still  many 
places  along  the  way  to  it  would  afford  to  the  enemy  every  opportu- 
nity for  ambush  and  surprise,  and  their  own  force  was  not  sufficient 
to  scout  the  woods.  They  passed  the  day  putting  the  fort  in  the  best 
state  of  defence  possible.  As  none  of  the  inhabitants  remaining  out 
of  the  fort  appeared  during  the  day,  they  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  attack  and  surprise  were  complete,  that  all  were  either  murdered 
or  carried  off  as  prisoners,  and  that  none  were  left. 

While  the  time  passed  thus  with  those  in  the  fort,  the  McLellans 
kept  anxious  watch  in  their  house  through  the  day  and  long  night 
following.  On  the  next  day,  the  20th,  about  noon  men  were  seen 
coming  in  Indian  file  toward  the  house  whom  at  first  they  took  for 
Indians,  but  when  they  came  near  they  discovered  them  to  be  a 
scouting  party  going  to  the  fort,  and  they  immediately  made  known 
to  them  their  situation.  The  oxen  were  hunted  up  and  found  in  the 
woods  near  by  with  the  yoke  still  on  their  necks  as  left  the  morning 


56 


HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


/ie^ey  enccs. 

I-     7<rs^    /Mi'«. 
3.    IcyX.  ' 

^  Ca/>t.  Phinncy'i  ffou.ie. 

/J.£°</K/ar<(  r<oi<.cifn«.n'(  //ofcte. 
/^  /»/*te  o^  /f  «e<<s  Ctt^tu  re. 

/<,  S/>rii%f, 


I'l.AN   SHOWINc;   LOCATION   OF   FIRST  SKTTLERs'   HOUSES. 


I 


MILITARY    MATTERS.  57 

previous.  What  worldly  goods  they  possessed  were  quickly  loaded 
on  to  the  cart,  and  the  family  started  for  the  fort  under  the  protection 
of  the  company  of  scouts,  who,  having  had  notice  that  the  enemy 
were  hovering  around  Gorham  and  Windham,  had  come  up  from  Fal- 
mouth, now  Portland.  A  portion  of  their  number  had  gone  to 
Windham,  to  assist  the  settlers  there.  When  the  company  arrived  at 
Bryant's  house  they  met  a  party  from  the  fort,  who  had  discovered 
the  scouts  and  had  ventured  out  to  ascertain  the  extent  of  the  dep- 
redations committed  by  the  enemy.  The  dead  bodies  were  carried  to 
the  fort  and  buried  with  due  propriety.  It  is  probable  that  Mr.  Bryant 
and  his  four  children  were  the  first  persons  to  be  buried  in  the  old 
burying  yard  at  Fort  Hill.  The  family  of  Reed  was  immediately 
removed  to  the  garrison.  They  did  not  find  Mrs.  Bryant  and  this 
confirmed  them  in  the  belief  that  she  had  been  taken  captive  and 
carried  to  Canada,  which  proved  to  be  the  fact.  Of  the  son  James, 
nothing  could  be  learned  till  the  next  day  when  he  came  into  the  fort ; 
having  run  from  the  Indians,  when  he  discovered  them  in  pursuit  of 
his  father,  he  had  secreted  himself  in  the  woods,  where  he  remained 
till  he  thought  the  Indians  had  departed,  and  the  danger  had  passed. 

From  accounts  which  we  have,  the  Indians  must  have  been  about 
in  the  back-tier  of  towns  from  the  coast  in  great  numbers,  killing 
many  of  the  settlers  and  carrying  off  many  prisoners.  The  Indians, 
after  they  had  massacred  Bryant  and  his  family,  and  taken  Cloutman, 
Reed  and  Mrs.  Bryant  prisoners,  made  but  a  short  march,  not  over 
a  mile  from  the  fort,  before  they  made  a  halt,  which,  by  their  not 
greatly  fearing  immediate  pursuit,  clearly  shows  their  confidence  and 
knowledge  of  the  situation  in  the  fort.  This  stopping  place  was  on 
the  bank  of  Little  River  below  what  is  now  known  as  Files's  Bridge_ 
Here  they  rested  and  spent  the  night,  and  in  the  meantime,  they 
found  and  killed  John  Phinney's  "little  cow,"  as  some  of  them  after- 
ward boasted,  and  made  a  good  square  meal  or  two,  to  strengthen 
them  for  their  long  and  tedious  march  to  Canada.  This  camping 
place  was  found  a  few  days  afterwards,  when  the  fort  had  been 
reenforced  by  the  scouts,  showing  conclusive  signs  that  the  party 
numbered  about  sixteen  persons. 

In  the  summer  of  1747  the  Indians  were  about  in  considerable 
numbers,  around  Gorham,  Windham,  Saccarappa  and  Scarborough. 
There  was  great  fear  of  them  among  the  settlers  ;  and  much  damage 
was  done  by  them  to  man,  beast  and  crops.  It  was  at  this  time  that 
Edmund  Phinney  was  fired  upon  by  the  Indians  when  after  his  cows. 
This  attack  was  made  in  plain  sight  of  the  fort.     Instantly,  after  the 


58  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

firing  of  the  gun  was  heard,  all  were  on  the  lookout  and  could  see 
both  the  Indians  and  Phinney.  Watson,  Phinney's  brother-in-law, 
with  Harvey  and  Hodgdon  it  is  said  immediately  went  to  the  rescue. 
They  met  Phinney  running  for  the  fort  near  where  the  house  of  Leonard 
Roberts  now  stands,  and  looking  across  the  gulley  they  saw  the  Indi- 
ans on  the  brink  of  the  hill  lately  owned  by  Daniel  Billings.  The 
Indians,  seeing  the  rescue,  had  come  to  a  halt,  and  both  parties 
thought  themselves  out  of  gunshot  range.  One  of  the  Indians 
made  some  insulting  demonstrations  toward  the  whites,  when  one  of 
these  brought  his  gun  into  range  and  fired,  giving  the  Indian  a  mor- 
tal wound  of  which  he  died  before  he  reached  his  tribe  in  Canada, 
All  the  dressing  the  Indian  had  for  his  wound  was  to  chew  to  a  soft 
wad  leaves  and  herbs,  which  he  found  on  the  way,  and  press  them 
into  the  wound.  The  report  of  the  Indian's  death  was  brought  back 
by  one  of  the  returned  captives.  The  following  day,  Phinney,  with 
Hugh  McLellan  and  Eliphalet  Watson  for  a  guard,  walked  to  Fal- 
mouth and  had  his  arm  set  and  wounds  dressed  by  Dr.  Coffin.  In 
scouting  around,  a  few  days  after,  the  camping  place  of  these  Indians 
was  discovered  on  a  little  round  knoll,  not  far  from  what  is  now 
known  as  Stephenson's  Bridge,  on  the  land  recently  owned  by  Mr. 
Sturgis,  where  signs  were  found  showing  the  band  to  have  been  at 
least  a  dozen  strong,  and  that  they  had  captives  with  them,  or  at 
least,  plunder  taken  from  the  whites. 

During  this  war,  the  Indians  made  their  appearance  one  spring; 
the  year  we  are  unable  to  give.  Their  presence  in  town  not  being 
known,  or  even  suspected,  the  inhabitants  were  planting  their  crops, 
taking  each  farm  in  succession,  the  men  all  going  in  a  company  for 
mutual  protection,  taking  the  boys  along  for  lookouts  against  sur- 
prise. All  had  arms.  We  have  heard  the  names  of  only  four  of  the 
boys,  Edmund  Phinney,  William  McLellan,  Jeremiah  Hodgdon  and 
Meserve ;  probably  there  were  more.  When  the  day's  work  was 
done,  which  was  on  one  of  the  farms  southerly  of  the  garrison,  they 
all  started  for  the  fort.  Probably  anxiety  for  their  supper  carried  the 
boys  ahead,  when,  on  or  near  the  hill  above  them  near  where  Bryant's 
house  stood,  they  were  suddenly  fired  on  by  the  Indians  from  an 
ambush.  They  gallantly  stood  their  ground,  and  quickly  all  that  had 
guns  returned  the  fire  with  good  effect.  Several  discharges  took 
place  before  the  arrival  of  the  older  members  of  the  party,  when  the 
Indians  made  a  hasty  retreat,  leaving  five  of  their  number  dead  on 
the  ground  ;  thus  giving  the  men  no  reason  to  fire.  On  the  distrib- 
uting of  the  honors,  they  were  accorded  to  William  ;  he  being  one  of 


MILITARY    MATTERS.  59 

the  best  shots,  and  having  a  first  rate  gun,  and  a  flanking  position, 
probably  killed  three  out  of  the  five. 

All  the  inhabitants  were  gathered  into  the  fort  during  these  Indian 
troubles,  and  this  place  was  their  home  for  nearly  seven  years.  Some 
would  go  to  their  houses  for  that  part  of  the  winters,  when,  from 
the  depth  of  the  snow,  little  danger  was  to  be  apprehended  from  the 
enemy,  but  the  fort  was  never  left  without  some  person  to  take  care 
of  it,  and  guard  against  a  surprise.  During  this  time  the  early  set- 
tlers had  but  very  limited  means  of  procuring  money,  or  the  necessa- 
ries of  life.  The  provincial  government  sometimes  sent  them  a  very 
small  amount  of  food  in  the  shape  of  rations,  as  soldiers  in  defence 
of  the  fort.  The  settlers  often,  in  times  of  scarcity,  were  compelled 
to  eat  up  the  seed  they  had  laid  away  for  the  next  year's  planting. 
At  one  time  there  was  great  suffering  in  the  fort  from  this  cause. 
What  was  the  case  with  one  was  also  that  of  all ;  no  food  in  the 
fort,  and  scarcely  any  to  be  had  in  Falmouth,  and  the  procuring  of 
that  little  was  at  the  risk  of  life  itself,  as  the  woods  were  full  of  Indi- 
ans who  were  continually  on  the  watch.  When  the  settlers  went  for 
supplies,  they  had  to  carry  them  through  the  woods  in  the  night  to 
evade  the  enemy.  Though  game  was  plentiful,  the  hunting  of  it  was 
dangerous  in  the  extreme.  Sometimes,  some  of  the  females  were 
sent  off  to  Falmouth,  in  the  night  on  horseback  through  the  nearly 
trackless  forest,  to  procure  a  little  meal,  while  the  men  remained 
behind  to  defend  the  fort.  We  have  one  well  authenticated  case  of 
this  at  this  time,  and  have  reason  to  believe  that  it  was  not  the  only 
time  the  thing  occurred. 

One  of  the  families  was  nearly  destitute  of  bread,  or  the  where- 
with to  make  it.  With  children  sick,  and  nothing  with  which  to 
make  them  a  mouthful  of  suitable  food,  something  must  be  done  and 
that  quickly.  As  soon  as  it  became  dark  the  wife  mounted  her 
horse,  and  was  quietly  let  out  of  the  stockade,  courageously  begin- 
ning her  journey.  Through  the  dark  forest  she  pursued  her  way 
toward  Falmouth,  where  she  arrived  about  daylight  the  next  morn- 
ing, tarrying  with  her  friends  (her  husband's  sister),  till  afternoon. 
She  purchased  half  a  bushel  of  fndian  corn,  expending  all  the 
money  the  family  possessed,  even  to  the  last  penny.  With  the  corn 
she  started  homeward  ;  arriving  at  the  mill  at  Capisic,  she  had  it 
ground  into  meal,  and  she  was  often  heard  to  say  in  praise  of  the 
miller  that  he,  knowing  the  sufferings  of  the  settlers  in  Gorham, 
refused  to  take  toll  for  the  grinding.  She  remained  at  the  mill  till 
dark,  and  then  started  again  for  home,  where  she  arrived  before  light 


60  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

in  the  morning.  The  arrival  of  a  richly  laden  ship  safe  in  port, 
could  not  cause  more  heartfelt  joy  than  the  safe  return  of  one  of 
these,  our  early  mothers. 

In  addition  to  these  privations,  in  the  fall  of  1750  there  broke  out 
among  the  dwellers  in  the  fort  an  epidemic  of  putrid  sore  throat  and 
fever,  called  also  black  tongue.  P'ew  if  any  of  the  settlers  escaped 
its  ravages,  and  it  proved  quite  fatal,  especially  amongst  the  children. 
Nov.  20th,  Parson  Smith  records  in  his  journal  "twenty-five  persons 
sick  at  Gorhamtown  garrison,  four  have  died."  At  one  time,  notwith- 
standing they  had  eleven  soldiers  furnished  by  the  State,  they  had 
not  well  men  enough  to  stand  guard  and  the  women  had  to  lend  their 
aid  in  doing  this  necessary  duty. 

No  historian  will  ever  be  able  to  chronicle  the  many  privations  and 
sufferings  which  this  small  band  of  hardy  settlers  endured.  They 
have  all  passed  from  earth,  the  written  records  left  us  are  scarce  and 
meagre,  and  the  traditions  are  nearly  lost,  yet  we  know  that  sickness 
and  death  often  stared  them  in  the  face  ;  hunger  and  privation  were 
their  constant  companions,  but  their  hearts  and  their  hands  were 
strong,  and  with  a  pious  reliance  on  the  goodness  of  God,  they  kept 
a  good  watch,  and  persevered  in  their  labors ;  and  who  can  look  over 
this  goodly  town  and  not  admire  the  works  of  our  brave  and  pious 
ancestors. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1747,  provision  was  made  for  the 
protection  of  the  frontier  of  Maine  by  companies  of  men,  whose  duty 
it  was  to  scout  between  the  different  settlements.  Capt.  George 
Beriy  of  Falmouth  commanded  a  company  of  men,  who  scouted  back 
from  the  coast  as  far  as  Sebago  Pond.  They  served  from  May  19, 
1746,  to  Jan.  19,  1747.  x^mong  this  company  of  scouts  were  the 
following  Gorhamtown  men  : 

Benjamin  Stevens,  Sergeant. 

John  Phinney,  " 

William  McCollinson  [McCorrison],  Centinel. 
James  Irish,  " 

John  Irish,  " 

George  Strout,  " 

Gorham-town   division — Sergeant  John  Phinney   in  command. 
Jacob  Hamblen.  Jeremiah  Hodgdon.  Stephen  Phinney. 

Clement  Meserve.  Eliphalet  Watson.  John  Phinney,  Jr. 

William  McLellan.  Edmund  Phinney.  Hugh  McLallan. 

Daniel  Mosier. 


MILITARY    MATTERS.  61 


Wages  of  Sergeants,  £2 — 

1^- 

-,d 
0 

per 

month. 

"       "    Privates,     £\  — 

1 1*- 

-3'' 

•' 

•' 

(Mass.  Arch 

.  Vol 

•9-^; 

pag' 

^73-) 

Capt.  Daniel  Hill,  who  was  a  native  of  Newbuiy,  Mass.,  com- 
manded a  company  of  scouts,  who  had  their  headquarters  at  the  fort 
in  New  Marblehead,  and  scouted  through  the  region  above  there. 
This  company  served  from  March  to  December,  1748.  It  contained 
picked  men  from  New  Marblehead,  Gorhamtown  and  Saccarappa ; 
the  men  from  Gorham  were  : 

John  Phinney,  Sergeant. 

Timothy  CoUins  Cloutman.   William  McLallin.        John  Phinney,  Jr. 
Daniel  Mosier.  Jeremiah  Hodgdon.     Clement  Meservey. 

Clement  Meservey,  Jr.  Edmund  Phinney.       Hugh  McLallin. 

Jacob  Meservey. 

On  the  2d  of  July,  1748,  news  arrived  at  Falmouth,  that  Europe 
had  agreed  upon  preliminaries  of  peace,  and  a  cessation  of  fighting. 
A  treaty  of  peace,  between  France,  Spain  and  England,  was  signed 
at  Aix-la-Chapelle  in  October  of  the  same  year,  by  the  terms  of  which 
each  country  relinquished  to  their  former  possessor  all  prisoners  and 
conquered  territory.  By  the  stipulations  of  this  treaty,  Louisburg 
and  the  Island  of  Cape  Breton  reverted  to  the  French.  Notwith- 
standing the  nominal  peace,  however,  the  settlements  continued  to  be 
harrassed  by  the  Indians,  who  were  secretly  aided  and  encouraged 
by  the  French  in  Canada. 

Some  time  in  the  autumn  of  the  year  1750,  a  large  body  of  Indians 
made  their  appearance  in  and  about  what  is  now  the  County  of 
Cumberland.  Some  of  these  committed  depredations  in  the  town 
of  Windham,  and  a  party  of  them  came  to  Gorhamtown.  The  only 
mischief  the  latter  succeeded  in  accomplishing  was  the  capture  of 
Bartholomew  Thorn.  Fortunately  for  him,  his  captors  were  Canadian 
Indians,  who  knew  but  little  of  the  merits  of  their  prize.  As  we  have 
elsewhere  said,  he  was  a  noted  hunter  and  a  desperate  Indian  fighter, 
much  feared  by  the  Indians  who  knew  him.  Remarkable  for  his 
strength,  courage,  tact  and  cunning  in  warfare,  he  was  taken  by 
surprise,  and  unarmed,  having  been  to  meeting.  He  was  carried  to 
Canada  and  kept  a  captive  for  some  time,  and  was  very  roughly 
handled  by  his  captors,  but  made  his  escape,  and  came  home  through 
the  woods.  From  what  we  have  been  able  to  learn,  he  was  a  remark- 
able man  in  his  way.  He  had  but  little  intercourse  with  the  whites, 
and  kept  no  faith  with  the  Indians,  of  whom  he  was  the  sworn  enemy. 


62  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

He  was  of  a  medium  stature,  quick  in  his  movements,  and  always  on 
the  alert,  constantly  looking  to  the  right  and  left  at  the  least  noise,  as 
if  he  expected  some  one  was  after  him ;  with  a  quick,  roving  eye, 
which  it  was  said  never  slept. 

The  settlers  in  Gorham  at  this  time  had  all  their  families  in  the 
fort  for  the  greater  security  against  the  Indians.  The  inhabitants 
were  not  aware  that  the  enemy  were  in  their  immediate  vicinit}-.  As 
it  was  about  harvest  time,  all  the  men  and  boys  were  in  the  fields  at 
work,  and  if  they  did  not  work  with  their  guns  in  their  hands  they 
had  them  near  by,  and  usually  kept  one  of  the  small  boys  standing 
on  a  stump  to  look  out  for  Indians  and  keep  watch  over  the  arms. 
For  greater  safety  and  to  guard  against  surprise,  it  was  customary'  for 
them  in  times  of  danger  to  work  together  in  a  body  from  field  to 
field  till  all  the  work  was  completed. 

It  is  not  known  how  many  of  the  enemy  were  concerned  in  this 
visit  to  Gorham.  The  men  and  boys,  as  we  have  said,  were  all  in  the 
field.  As  no  Indians  had  been  seen,  no  danger  was  apprehended. 
The  number  in  the  fort,  at  that  time,  is  not  now  known,  but  there  were 
the  women  and  children  of  probably  some  ten  families.  The  McLel- 
lan  family  had  an  old  dog,  who,  when  the  men  were  away,  usually 
staid  about  the  fort.  This,  his  mistress  had  taught  him  to  do,  and  as 
far  as  she  was  able,  had  instructed  him  to  keep  no  peace  with  any 
Indian.  The  women  were  busy  about  their  work,  when  the  dog  came 
bounding  into  the  fort,  showing  indications  of  great  anger,  and  of 
being  much  disturbed.  When  his  mistress  saw  him,  she  said  to  the 
other  women,  "  There  are  Indians  about,"  and  at  once  closed  the  gate 
of  the  stockade  notwithstanding  that  the  others  thought  her  fears 
unnecessar}^  The  moment  that  the  dog  saw  the  door  closed  and 
secured,  he  became  quiet;  then  Mrs.  McLellan  said  that  she  was 
certain  sure,  for  Bose  knew  an  Indian.  She  immediately  took  a  gun 
and  went  into  the  watch-box  with  Mrs.  Watson,  who,  notwithstanding 
old  Bose's  intelligence,  was  rather  incredulous.  After  looking  in  all 
directions  for  some  time,  they  began  to  think  that  perhaps  the  old  dog 
had  raised  a  false  alarm  ;  but  Mrs.  McLellan  was  unwilling  to  doubt 
his  sagacity,  and  still  lingered  at  the  loophole.  As  at  last  she  was 
about  leaving,  she  thought  she  saw  a  small  bush  move.  As  it  was  a 
warm  day  and  no  air  stirring,  she  at  once  became  interested  in  the 
movements  of  the  bush,  and  was  sure  that  either  man  or  beast  had 
something  to  do  with  it.  She  put  the  gun  out  of  the  loophole,  to 
be  in  readiness  for  what  might  turn  up.  The  two  women  had  not 
remained  long  in  suspense,  before  there  appeared  plainly  in  sight. 


MILITARY    MATTERS.  63 

rising  cautiously  behind  the  bush,  the  head  of  an  Indian,  who,  after 
looking  warily  about,  stepped  out  from  his  cover  in  order  to  more 
clearly  view  the  fort.  Little  did  he  think  that  admiring  eyes  were 
watching  his  beautiful  person,  and  graceful  movements.  Probably  he 
was  not  so  cautious  as  he  would  have  been  but  for  the  fact  that 
he  and  his  companions  had  been  to  the  borders  of  the  field,  and  care- 
fully counted  all  the  men  and  boys  at  work  there,  and  thus  knew  that- 
there  was  not  a  man  or  boy  in  the  fort.  All  the  Indian  parties 
usually  had  with  them  some  of  the  Indians  who  had  resided,  or 
hunted,  in  the  region  which  they  intended  to  visit.  Thus  these  knew 
that  there  were  none  but  women  and  children  in  the  garrison,  and 
supposed  that  there  was  no  danger  to  be  apprehended ;  and  as  they 
thought  that  the  women  would  be  about  their  work,  and  the  door 
probably  not  secured,  they  expected  at  one  blow  to  capture  the  fort 
and  make  prisoners  of  eveiy  woman  and  child  in  the  settlement. 
This  was  the  plan  they  laid,  after  having  counted  the  men  in  the 
field.  The  Indians,  after  the  war,  told  that  they  knew  that  all  the  men 
were  in  the  field,  and  Phinney  on  the  stump.  This  was  probably 
John  Phinney,  Jr.  After  their  plans  were  made,  with  true  Indian 
character  they  went  about  their  execution  cautiously,  but  through 
Divine  Providence,  this  very  caution  was  probably  what  saved  the 
infant  plantation,  and  its  early  settlers. 

While  they  were  moving  stealthily  toward  the  fort,  not  knowing 
that  the  old  dog  had  discovered  them,  and  having  arrived  within  gun- 
shot, and,  as  they  thought,  near  enough  to  make  a  rush  should  all 
things  be  right,  it  was  necessary'  to  reconnoitre,  and  the  Indian  who 
made  his  appearance  from  behind  the  bush  was  there  to  make  a  more 
close  and  minute  survey  of  the  fort.  When  he  showed  himself,  Mrs. 
McLellan  pointed  the  gun  directly  at  him,  but  still  was  unwilling  to 
fire,  notwithstanding  that  she  thought  she  could  hit  him.  In  a 
moment,  he  moved  a  step  clear  of  the  bush,  thus  giving  her  all  the 
chance  she  could  desire,  and  she  was  not  slow  in  improving  it.  The 
gun  was  discharged  ;  the  Indian  gave  a  leap  into  the  air,  and  fell  on 
his  face  where  he  lay  a  minute,  pawing  the  earth  with  his  hands,  as  if 
tiying  to  draw  himself  behind  the  bushes.  His  movings  were  watched 
by  the  two  women  with  intense  anxiety.  The  other  inmates  of  the 
fort  had  put  no  confidence  in  the  news  brought  by  the  dog,  and 
rather  ridiculed  the  idea  of  Pose's  being  able  to  tell  when  Indians  were 
about ;  nor  were  they  aware  of  the  movements  which  had  been 
watched  by  the  two  women  in  the  lookout,  and  when  the  gun  was 
fired  they  came   running   to   know   how   many   Indians   were   killed. 


64  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

When  told  how  things  were,  they  looked  out,  but  no  dead  or  living 
Indian  was  to  be  seen,  for  his  companions,  who  were  near  him,  had 
extended  an  arm,  cavight  hold  of  his  body,  and  drawn  him  behind 
the  bushes,  and  immediately  made  off  with  him  through  the  woods  ; 
well  knowing  that  the  firing  of  the  gun  was  a  sure  signal  that  would 
in  a  few  minutes  bring  a  dozen  stout  men  upon  them,  whom  they  did 
not  think  it  prudent  to  face. 

As  expected,  the  men  came  in  haste  to  the  fort  to  learn  what  was 
the  matter.  When  told  that  Mrs.  McLellan  had  killed  an  Indian, 
most  of  them  partook  somewhat  of  the  incredulity  of  the  women,  but 
Mrs.  McLellan  and  her  companion  insisted  that  she  had  either  killed 
or  desperately  wounded  one.  Mrs.  McLellan,  who  was  chief  gunner, 
would  not  give  it  up,  and  insisted  on  an  examination  of  the  spot  where 
she  declared  the  enemy  fell.  Even  this  movement  required  caution, 
if  it  was  true  that  the  enemy  were  about  —  not  knowing  their  number. 
After  making  proper  arrangements  for  defence  and  against  surprise, 
the  spot  was  examined  and  proof  was  evident  that  either  death  or  a 
desperate  wound  had  been  the  result  of  the  shot.  A  large  pool  of 
blood  was  on  the  ground,  and  a  trail  of  blood  was  seen  running  some 
distance  through  the  woods,  where  the  living  had  carried  the  dead  or 
wounded  body  of  their  companion. 

This  unexpected  repulse  the  Indians  could  not  account  for,  know- 
ing, as  they  supposed  they  did,  that  every  man  and  boy,  capable  of 
bearing  arms,  was  in  the  field  at  work.  The  result  of  their  delibera- 
tions, and  their  conclusions  as  to  the  affair,  became  known  some  time 
afterwards,  from  escaped  prisoners  belonging  to  some  of  the  neigh- 
boring towns.  The  wounded  Indian  died  of  his  wound  before  they 
had  carried  him  far  into  the  woods,  and  when  they  had  reached  a 
place  fitting  for  that  purpose,  his  companions  held  a  consultation  on 
what  was  best  to  be  done.  They  were  anxious  to  strike  a  blow  in 
Gorham,  and  how  they  had  been  discovered,  and  who  it  was  who  had 
fired  upon  them  from  the  fort,  was  more  than  they  could  divine  ; 
never  once  supposing  that  a  woman  could  fire  a  gun,  and  kill  a  war- 
rior. They  knew  that  all  the  men  were  in  the  field,  and  they  could 
account  for  what  had  taken  place,  in  no  other  way  than  that  a  reen- 
forcement  of  soldiers  had  been  sent  to  the  fort  to  enable  the  men  the 
more  readily  to  gather  their  crops ;  and  their  final  conclusion  was, 
that  if  soldiers  had  been  sent  to  the  fort,  (and  certainly  that  must  be  the 
case,  for  no  one  but  a  soldier  could  fire  so  far,  and  kill  a  brave,)  they 
could  not  expect  to  take  the  fort  with  their  present  force  ;  consequently 
they  moved  off  to  do  their  deviltrj'  where  there  was  less  danger. 


MIIJTARY    MATTKRS. 


65 


Mrs.  McLellan  li\ed  to  a  good  old  age,  and  would  never  give  up 
that  she  did  not  either  kill  or  desperately  wound  an  Indian  and  save 
all  in  the  fort.  During  her  entire  life  she  held  an  unconquerable 
antipathy  against  Indians  ;  still  she  treated  them  kindly.  In  passing 
through  the  town  they  always  made  her  a  call,  and  she  never  let  one 
go  away  hungr)-,  and  made  her  conduct  invariably  kind  to  them. 
From  policy  she  did  not  let  them  know  her  feelings.  An  Indian  was 
never  known  to  treat  her  otherwise  than  with  kindness  and  respect, 
and  she  enjoined  on  e\'ery  member  of  her  family  to  treat  the  Indians 
kindly,  for  she  knew  the  talk  among  the  settlers  was  that  the  barbar- 
ities exercised  toward  the  Bryants  were  heightened  by  a  trifling  insult 
received  previous  to  the  war,  by  a  young  Indian,  from  one  of  the 
females  of  the  family.  And  as  peace  with  the  Indians  was  precarious, 
she  kept  an  eye  to  the  main  chance. 

The  continued  aggressions  of  the  French  and  Indians  finally 
brought  about  another  war  between  England  and  France,  which  com- 
menced on  this  continent  in  1754.  This  war,  which  is  known  as  the 
"  old  French  war,"  was  not  formally  declared  until  the  middle  of 
1756,  when  the  king  of  Great  Britain  published  a  declaration  of  war 
against  France. 

During  the  year  1757  Lord  Loudoun  attempted  the  reduction  of 
Louisburg  with  a  force  of  Regulars  and  Provincials,  but  when,  on  his 
arrival  at  Halifax,  he  learned  that  the  place  was  defended  by  a 
stronger  force  than  he  had  anticipated,  he  deferred  the  enterprise  and 
returned  to  New  York,  where  the   Provincial  troops  were  dismissed. 

t^apt.  Joseph  Woodman  of  Buxton  commanded  a  company  in  his 
Majesty's  forces  at  this  time.  This  company  served  from  May  2nd 
to  Nov.  14th,  1757.  In  this  company  were  the  following  men  from 
Gorham  : 

Wentworth  Stuart,  Lieut. 
Austin  Alden,  Sergt. 

Hart  Williams,         Corp. 

Privates. 
Solomon  Lombard,  Jr. 
Joseph  Hatch. 
Jonathan  Sawyer. 
John  Harding. 


Samuel  Staples. 
John  McDaniel. 
David  Sawyer. 
William  McLellan. 


Moses  Rolfe. 
Joseph  Pilkinton. 
George  Tinney. 
Benjamin  Frost. 


On  the  first  of  August,  the  Marquis  de  Montcalm,  with  a  force  of 
six  thousand  French  and  Canadians,  and  about  seventeen  hundred 
Indians,  attacked  Fort  William  Henry,  at  the  head  of  Lake  George. 


66  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

The  fort  was  defended  most  stubbornly  and  with  the  greatest  braveiy 
by  Lt.  Col.  Monro  of  the  35th  regiment  with  less  than  five  hundred 
men  ;  while  seventeen  hundred  lay,  useless,  intrenched  near  by.  At 
last,  when  nearly  half  his  guns  were  burst  and  his  ammunition  nearly 
expended,  the  gallant  Colonel  was  obliged  to  surrender  his  command. 
By  the  terms  of  capitulation  the  garrison  were  to  be  allowed  the  hon- 
ors of  war,  and  furthermore  were  to  be  protected  from  the  Indians. 
The  latter  becoming  intoxicated,  the  French  were  powerless  to 
restrain  them,  and  when  the  English,  on  the  morning  of  the  loth, 
having  laid  down  their  arms,  marched  out  of  the  fort,  the  savages, 
falling  upon  them,  murdered,  in  spite  of  the  frantic  and  desperate 
efforts  of  the  French  officers,  men,  women  and  children  with  all  sorts 
of  cruelties.  The  Indians  pursued  the  fugitives  into  the  forests  and 
defiles  of  the  mountains,  killing,  scalping  or  taking  prisoner,  all 
whom  they  could  lay  their  hands  upon.  Only  a  comparatively  small 
remnant  reached  Fort  Edward,  whither  the  French  had  promised 
them  a  safe  conduct.  Two  Gorham  men,  William  Files  and  Zepha- 
niah  Harding,  were  in  Col.  Monro's  regiment.  They  escaped  the 
massacre,  and  made  their  way  home  through  the  woods.  (See  article 
on  Files.) 

The  following  year,  1758,  three  expeditions  against  the  French 
were  undertaken ;  one  against  Louisburg,  another  against  Ticonder- 
oga  and  Crown  Point,  and  the  third  against  Fort  du  Quesne,  which 
latter  place  Gen.  Forbes  captured  and  called  Pittsburg. 

For  the  invasion  of  Canada,  Massachusetts  raised  a  force  of  sixty- 
eight  hundred  men,  of  whom  Maine  furnished  about  six  hundred. 
The  expedition  against  Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga  was  under  the 
command  of  Gen.  Abercrombie,  and  comprised  some  fifteen  thousand 
men. 

From  the  journal  of  a  captain  (Capt.  Cobb)  in  Col.  Jedediah  Preble's 
regiment,  we  take  the  following  : 

Falmouth,  May  21,  1758.  Sailed  with  three  transports  and  three 
hundred  soldiers,  including  officers,  for  the  intended  expedition  against 
Canada,  and  got  into  Winter  Harbor  about  5  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

May  23,  1758.  Arrived  to  Kittery  at  9  o'clock  and  went  ashore, 
and  waited  on  S''  W'"  Pepperill,  and  at  the  Point  meeting  house  the 
Rev  M""  Rogers  preached  a  sermon  to  officers  and  soldiers  from 
the  first  book  of  Samuel,  17  c,  45,  46,  47  verses,  and  after  sermon 
we  received  our  commissions  and  was  sworn  by  S""  W™  Pepperill  and 
Col  Wendal. 

May  27,  1758.  I  paid  my  company  off  their  billeting  money  and 
prepared  for  sailing,  and  sailed  1 1  o'clock  at  night  in  company  with 


MILITARY    MATTERS.  67 

seven  transports  and  received  order  from  our  commanding  ofificer, 
Col  Jedediah  Preble,  if  parted  by  hard  weather  to  rendezvous  at 
Albany. 

June  8,  1758.  Major-General  James  Abercrombie  left  orders  that 
300  of  the  Bay  forces  go  to  Schonectady,  in  compliance  whereof  Col. 
Preble  drafted  Capt.  Libby,  Capt.  Cobb,  Capt.  Bowen  with  their  com- 
panies to  march  to  the  said  Schonectady,  and  gave  us  orders  to 
furnish  our  companies  with  arms  as  soon  as  possible,  which  arms  we 
received  the  date  above. 

June  24,  1758.  We  arrived  at  Fort  Edward  8  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing. Dined  with  Col  Preble.  Capt.  Libbee's  company  and  mine 
joined  the  Regiment. 

June  25,  1758.  Sunday.  In  the  forenoon  we  were  alarmed  by 
the  firing  of  several  small  arms  in  the  woods  which  was  the  English 
Light  Infantry-,  whereby  our  Provincial  troops  mustered  immediately 
and  went  out  in  order  to  engage  the  enemy.  This  afternoon  Col 
Preble  marched  for  Lake  George  with  500  men,  and  Col  Hoar  is  to 
march  tomorrow  with  the  remainder  of  the  Regiment. 

June  26,  1758.  This  day  Lieut.  Col.  Hoar  marched  from  Edward 
to  Lake  George  with  my  Company  and  Capt.  Libbee's  and  arrived 
there  at  7  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Rained  considerable.  It  is  16 
miles  from  Fort  Edward  to  Lake  George. 

Lake  George,  Sunday,  July  2d,  1758.  General  for  the  day  to-mor- 
row, Brig.  Gen.  Gage.  Col.  for  the  day  to-morrow,  Haldiman ;  for  the 
Provincials,  Col.  Lyman.  Field  officers  for  the  night,  Maj.  Browning. 
For  the  Provincials,  Lieut.  Col.  Hoar,  Brigade  Maj.  Spittle.  The 
Provincial  Regiments  to  be  brigaded  as  follows,  viz  : 

r>-  U4.  w-       ^  Col.  Preble, 
Right  Wuig  -    „  ,    ..,.,,. 
*=  *'  (  Col.  \\  illiams. 

2   (  Col.  Ruggles,  3   \  Col.  Glazer, 

B  "(  Col.  Bagley.  B  (  Col.  Wolsey. 

T    f*  \\r-       f  Col.  Lyman, 
LeftWmgj^^j   P>^j^ 

The  eldest  Colonel  commanding  each  brigade  is  to  make  all  reports 
concerning  the  brigade  to  the  Colonel  commanding  the  ^^  ing. 
The  Provincial  Colonels  are  to  rank  as  follows : 

I  St     Col.  Lyman.  8th     Col.  Fitch. 

9th        "     Johnson, 
loth        "     Glazer. 
I  ith        "     Babcock. 
12th        "     Williams. 
13  th        "     Douty. 
14th        '*     Wolsey. 
July  3d.  1758.     Took  allowance  for  5  days  for  the   Regiment  and 
were  reviewed  by  our  Major  General   and   Lord   Howe.     Received 
powder  and  balls  to  complete  each  man  to  36  rounds  per  man. 

July  3d,  1758.  Order  from  Maj.  General  Abercrombie  to  set  out 
to-morrow  morning  to  the  French  Fort  called  Ticontoroque  as  soon 
as  day  appears. 


2d 

'     Preble. 

3d 
4th 

5th 
6th 

'     Delancey 
'     Ruggles. 
'      Bagley, 
Whiting. 

7th 

Wooster. 

68  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

July  4th,  1758.  Embarked  on  board  our  batteaux  and  whale-boats 
1500  men  and  pressed  down  the  Lake  towards  Ticontoroque.  Rowed 
that  day  about  30  miles  and  landed. 

July  6th,  1758.  At  I  o'clock  in  the  morning  embarked,  and  came  at 
8  o'clock  and  landed  within  3  miles  of  the  Fort.  The  French  guard 
ran  at  our  appearance.  Major  Rogers's  Rangers  came  up  with  part 
of  the  French  guard  killed  7  of  them  and  lost  2  of  our  men.  In  the 
afternoon  engaged  the  French,  took  180  of  them  prisoners,  and  killed 
no  more.  Lord  Howe  was  killed  in  the  battle  and  about  60  of  our 
men  amissing. 

July  7th,  1758.  We  marched  from  where  we  camped  to  the  end  of 
the  Lake,  where  it  empties  into  Lake  Champlain  which  is  about  one 
mile  from  the  Fort.  Brought  up  three  of  our  brass  cannon  and  hove 
up  a  breast-work  for  our  fortification. 

July  8th,  1758.  Marched  on  the  Army,  and  about  i  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  the  battle  began  at  the  French  lines  and  continued  a  con- 
stant firing  on  both  sides  till  sunset,  at  M'hich  time  we  retreated  and 
retired  into  our  breast-work.  Our  loss,  killed,  wounded  and  missing 
is  two  thousand  men.  Their  number  to  ours  is  unknown  to  us.  "  I 
had  two  of  my  company  killed  on  the  spot  and  four  wounded. 

The  journal  furthermore  states  that  in  this  battle  the  regular  troops 
lost  fifteen  hundred  and  twenty-two,  and  the  Provincials,  four  hundred 
and  twenty-two  men. 

Disheartened  by  the  loss  of  Lord  Howe,  and  discouraged  by  the 
failure  to  capture  the  fort,  this  expedition  ended  in  this  most  disas- 
trous defeat.  The  effect  of  the  failure  was,  however,  somewhat 
offset  by  the  success  of  Gen.  Amherst,  who  on  the  26th  of  July  cap- 
tured Louisburg. 

During  the  year  1759,  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  were  captured 
by  Gen.  Amherst,  and  Niagara  also  surrendered  to  our  arms.  The 
death  blow  to  the  French  cause  was  dealt  by  Gen.  James  Wolfe,  who 
on  the  night  of  the  12th  of  September,  scaled  the  heights  of  Quebec, 
and  defeated  the  enemy  upon  the  Plains  of  Abraham.  The  city 
itself  capitulated  on  the  17th,  and  with  this  victory  the  power  of 
France  on  this  continent  was  broken.  There  was  the  greatest  joy, 
when,  on  the  14th  of  October,  the  news  arrived  at  Falmouth.  For 
the  first  time  in  years  people  felt  that  they  could  leave  their  garrisons 
and  till  their  fields  without  fear  of  the  insinuous  and  murderous 
approach  of  the  cruel  and  blood-thirsty  savage.  The  relief  and 
thanksgiving  experienced  by  our  ancestors  on  this  glad  occasion  can 
hardly  be  imagined  by  us  at  the  present  time. 

In  March,  1763,  a  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  at  Paris,  by  the  terms 
of  which  France  surrendered  her  Canadian  possessions  to  England, 
and  to  Spain  the  territory  of  Louisiana,  and  by  thus  removing  herself 


MILITARY    MATTERS.  69 

from  this  continent,  banished  all  fears  from  our  people  of  any  further 
alarm  and  depredation  from  the  dreaded  French  and  Indians  of 
Canada. 

For  .some  years  after  the  first  settlers  came  into  town,  the  only 
living  things  they  had  to  contend  with  were  the  wild  beasts  of  the 
forest,  and  against  these  each  man  could  protect  himself  and  family ; 
but  with  the  uprising  of  the  savages,  things  assumed  a  different  com- 
plexion, and  the  settlers  were  compelled  to  band  together  for  mutual 
protection  against  the  common  foe.  Massachusetts,  about  the  year 
1745,  provided  ten  soldiers  and  an  officer  for  the  safety  and  protec- 
tion of  the  settlers  of  Gorhamtown.  These  men  were  placed  under 
the  command  of  Capt.  John  Phinney,  who  was  a  man  of  experience 
and  sagacity  in  matters  relating  to  Indian  fighting.  How  early  Gor- 
hamtown possessed  an  armed  and  organized  force  of  its  own  we  have 
now  no  means  of  knowing ;  but  it  seems  probable  that  it  had  its 
beginning  at  this  time,  since  it  was  extremely  doubtful  how  long 
Massachusetts  could  allow  her  soldiers  to  remain  here,  and  men  must 
be  in  readiness  to  take  their  places. 

When  the  new  fort  in  Pearsonstown  (Standish)  was  built,  ^vhich 
was  about  the  year  1755,  eight  men  were  assigned  to  keep  it.  These 
men  were  John  Meserve,  Clement  Meserve,  Jr.,  Wentworth  Stuart, 
Timothy  Crocker,  Israel  Thorn,  Joseph  Meserve,  John  Burnell  and 
Elijah  Dunham,  nearly,  if  not  all,  of  whom  were  of  Gorham.  It  is 
said  that  these  men  were  under  the  command  of  Edmund  Phinney. 
At  one  time  when  men  were  at  work  on  this  fort,  a  guard  of  six  men 
was  employed  to  protect  them.  This  guard  was  composed  of  Daniel 
Mosher,  James  Gilkey,  Jonathan  Ilsley,  Thomas  Morton,  Benjamin 
Titcomb  and  Daniel  Ilsley. 

During  this  Indian  war,  Capt.  John  Phinney  had  command  of  the 
Gorhamtown  company.  I  have  in  my  possession  the  following  order, 
signed  by  John  Phinney  as  captain  of  the  company : 

"Gorham  town  Jun  the  8:    1757 
Mr.  John  Hardan   Sir  be  Pies  to  Send  me  one  Bottle  of  Rhum  by  Sargent 
Irish  and  to  Let  the  Sargent  with  the  Rest  of  the  Company  have  the  Remandar 
of  the  treet    accordan    to    your  promas  and  you  will  oblige  yours 

John  Phinney." 
On  the  back  is  : 

"  John  Irish  Shar  Gent 
Hart  William  Ser 
Bamabus  Bangs  Ser 
James  Gilkey  Clark." 


70  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

A  few  years  later  Gorhamtown  had  a  company  of  soldiers  belong- 
ing to  Col.  Samuel  Waldo,  Jr.'s,  regiment.  Of  this  company  John 
Phinney  was  captain. 

There  was  a  large  company  of  militia  in  town  before  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  of  which  Edmund  Phinney,  as  early  as  1772,  was  captain. 
On  the  breaking  out  of  hostilities  in  1775  Capt.  Hart  Williams's 
Gorham  company  of  militia,  and  the  militia  company  of  Capt.  Went- 
worth  Stuart,  belonging  to  Gorham,  Standish  and  Windham,  were 
already  organized  and  equipped,  and  when  the  news  of  the  battles  of 
Lexington  and  Concord  reached  Falmouth  on  the  morning  of  April 
2ist  they  immediately  marched  for  the  scene  of  action.  After  reach- 
ing Wells,  however,  they  were  ordered  back  to  protect  the  seacoast 
towns.  These  companies  afterwards  enlisted  in  Col.  Phinney's  31st 
Mass. 

During  the  Revolution  there  were  two  companies  of  militia  in  town, 
belonging  to  the  3d  Cumberland  County  regiment,  commanded  by 
Col.  Reuben  Fogg  of  Scarborough.  The  officers  of  these  two  com- 
panies were  commissioned  May  10,  1776,  and  were  as  follows: 

3d  Company.  5th  Company. 

Samuel  Whitmore,  Capt.  Alexander  McLellan,  Capt. 

Ebenezer  Murch,  ist  Lieut.  Joseph  Knight,      ist  Lieut. 

Joshua  Crockett,    2d      "  Nathaniel  Frost,  2d 

The  3d  Cumberland  County  regiment  was  afterwards  commanded 
by  Col.  Edmund  Phinney,  and  among  the  Gorham  officers  commis- 
sioned under  him  July  i,  1781,  were  Samuel  Whitmore,  captain,  and 
Joshua  Crockett,  second  lieutenant. 

While  hostilities  were  in  progress  the  militia  formed  a  reserve  force, 
composed  of  more  or  less  well-trained  men,  from  which  recruits  for 
the  army  were  drawn  as  desired. 

After  the  Revolution,  public  sentiment  demanded  that  "  in  time  of 
peace  we  should  prepare  for  war."  In  accordance,  therefore,  with 
this  feeling,  the  law  required  that  all  able  bodied  males,  between  the 
ages  of  eighteen  and  forty-five,  should  be  enrolled  in  the  trainbands, 
and  that  they  should  meet  for  drill  and  improvement  at  least  four 
times  a  year,  in  the  fall  of  each  year  a  general  muster  being  held. 
Regimental  musters  took  place  in  Gorham,  and  sometimes  a  whole 
Brigade  was  gathered  at  the  village  to  spend  two  or  three  days  in 
military  evolutions.  During  one  of  these,  a  silken  standard  was 
presented  to  the  soldiers  from  the  steps  of  Col.  Lothrop  Lewis's  house 
by  Miss  Mary  McLellan,  who  shortly  afterwards  became  the  wife   of 


MILITARY    MATTERS.  71 

Royal  Twombly.  The  colors  were  received  with  an  appropriate 
speech  by  Lieut.  Greenlief  C.  Watson. 

These  General-muster  clays  were  rich  old  times,  for  both  old  and 
young.  Like  some  other  things  they  have  passed  by  and  gone  out  of 
fashion.  The  grounds  were  staked  off,  guards  posted  to  protect  the 
military,  and  keep  out  the  loafers  ;  one  side  of  the  field  lined  with 
shanties,  where  the  sweetened  grog  went  round  and  round.  Ginger- 
bread and  new  cider  were  plenty.  A  good  dinner  might  be  had  of 
the  best  of  roast  or  boiled, —  coffee,  pies,  and  cakes  thrown  in, —  and 
all  for  twenty-five  cents  ;  with  people  by  the  acre,  where  you  could 
find  everybody's  neighbor,  both  male  and  female.  You  could  play 
the  black  joke  at  a  cent  a  throw,  win  a  copper  or  lose,  according  to 
your  expertness  or  luck.  And  the  famous  old  Wheel  of  Fortune, 
which  always  came  out  on  muster  days,  must  not  be  forgotten,  on 
which  you  could  stake  a  cent  and  win  three,  if  the  needle  happened 
to  stop  on  the  right  number ;  but  the  luck  usually  was  to  lose  the 
one,  and  not  win  the  three.  It  is  true  there  would  be  occasionally  a 
knock-down  or  two  amongst  the  boys,  to  settle  some  little  difference 
of  opinion  ;  but  these  things  somehow  were  considered  as  a  part  of 
the  programme,  and  did  not  spoil  the  fun,  only  showed  the  pluck  of 
the  boys.  Drunkenness  was  not  common,  though  you  would  some- 
times see  a  friend  lifting  his  toes  to  step-over  his  own  shadow.  This 
was  ^.  peculiarity.  Some  say  the  rum  of  those  days  was  better  than 
that  of  the  present ;  perhaps  it  was.  The  musters  were  usually  held 
on  what  was  known  as  "  Broad's  Field,"  and  it  was  there  that  the  last 
one  took  place,  about  1S41.  Broad's  field  was  what  had  been  Parson 
Caleb  Jewett's  pasture,  and  a  part  of  it  has  since  been  covered  with 
houses. 

Oct.  2ist,  1789,  the  town  voted  that  the  selectmen  should  assist  in 
fixing  the  dividing  line  between  the  two  militia  companies  in  Gorham. 
Not  many  years  afterwards  the  town  was  again  divided,  and  a  third 
company  formed.  One  of  these  companies  was  commanded  by  Capt. 
Oliver  Hunt,  and  its  roll  was  as  follows : 

Muster  roll  of  the  "  South  Company,"  May  5,  1795. 

Oliver  Hunt,  Captain. 

Benjamin  Adams.  Lieutenant. 

Prince  Hamblen,  Fnsign. 

Daniel  Whitmore,  Sergeant. 
Edmund  Phinney,  " 

Daniel  Watson,  " 

Stephen  (Whitney?),         " 


72 


HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


William  Armstrong. 
Nathaniel  Bacon. 
Edmund  Brown. 
Joseph  Brown. 
Abiel  Briggs. 
James  Chadbourn. 
Benj.  Chamberlain. 
William  Cobb,  Jr. 
Ebenezer  Cobb. 
Elisha  Cobb. 
Eben  Cobb,  Jr. 
Samuel  Clark. 
Peter  Crockett. 
Edmund  Cloutman. 
Nathan  Cloutman. 
Jesse  Cloutman. 
John  Crocket. 
Isaac  Chadbourn. 
Daniel  Cresy. 
Reuben  Cobb. 
Prince  Davis,  Jr. 
William  Davis. 
James  Davis. 
Jesse  Davis. 
Samuel  Davis. 
Joseph  Davis. 
Christopher  Dunn. 
John  Dyer,  Jr. 
William  Dyer. 
John  Darling. 
Jonah  Dunn. 
Richard  Dresser. 
Thomas  Decker. 
Samuel  Edwards. 
James  Emory. 
Enoch  Edwards. 
Samuel  Frost. 
Ebenezer  File. 
Jonathan  Freeman, 
Benjamin  Frost. 


Rank  and  File. 

Daniel  Fogg. 
Jonathan  Gammon. 
John  Gammon. 
Elisha  Gallison. 
Nathaniel  Gould. 
William  Gammon. 
Josiah  Green. 
Jacob  Hamblen. 
Nicholas  Harding. 
Barnabas  Harding. 
John  Harding,  Jr. 
Jacob  Haskell. 
Joseph  Hanscome. 
Francis  Hunt. 
Daniel  Hunt. 
James  Irish. 
Ephraim  Jones. 
Joseph  Jones. 
James  Lewis. 
Stephen  Lary. 
John  Lombard,  Jr. 
Solomon  Lombard,  Jr. 
James  Lombard. 
George  Lewis,  Jr. 
James  Lamb. 
Ephraim  Lombard. 
John  McQuillan. 
John  Marriner. 
John  Merrill. 
Simon  D.  McDonald. 
David  McDugle. 
James  Mcintosh. 
William  McLellan,  Jr. 
Benjamin  Mosher. 
Ebenezer  Murch,  Jr. 
Zebulon  Murch. 
John  Murch,  Jr. 
George  Murch. 
Jr.  William  McLellan,  7,d. 
Reuben  Morton. 


Moses  Murch. 
John  Morton. 
William  Paine,  Jr. 
Benjamin  Patrick. 
Joseph  Phinney. 
Nathan  Phinney. 
Nathan  Cook  Penfield. 
Thomas  Paine,  Jr. 
Caleb  Prentiss. 
Samuel  Paine. 
David  Patrick. 
Joseph  Parker. 
Amos  Rich. 
Benjamin  Roberts. 
John  Roberts. 
Abiel  Rounds. 
William  Tyng  Riggs. 
Walter  Rose. 
John  Richardson. 
John  Butler  Ryan. 
Hezekiah  Smith. 
James  Sturges. 
Mark  Smith. 
Nathaniel  Sturges. 
Josiah  Shaw. 
Jeremiah  Tole. 
Peter  Thacher. 
Nathaniel  Warren. 
Edmund  Watson. 
Joseph  Weston. 
Jotham  Whitney. 
Coleman  Watson. 
Samuel  Warren,  Jr. 
Joseph  Watson. 
Samuel  Watson. 
Moses  Whitney,  Jr. 
Nathaniel  Wescott,  Jr. 
Joseph  Waterhouse. 
Joseph  Young,  3d. 
Solomon  Young. 


These  soldiers  furnished  their  own  guns,  but  the  town  provided 
ammunition.  For  instance,  in  June,  1798,  the  town  chose  Thomas 
McLellan,  as  its  committee,  to  provide  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds 
of  powder,  two  gross  of  flints,  and  camp  kettles  and  balls,  for  the  use 
of  the  militia  in  Gorham,  and  voted  to  raise  one  hundred  and  thirty 
dollars  to  pay  for  the   same.     The  town's   stock  of  ammunition   was 


MILITARY  imattp:rs.  73 

kept  in  the  little  brick  powder-house,  which  stood  on  the  eastern  side 
of  the  Fort  Hill  road,  nearly  opposite  the  mouth  of  Pendleton's  lane, 
so  called.  This  building,  which  will  be  remembered  by  many,  was 
placed  for  the  sake  of  safety  some  rods  back  from  the  road,  and  on 
the  bare  ledge  of  rock,  which  there  forms  the  surface  of  the  ground. 

During  the  War  of  1812  the  militia  of  Gorham,  comprising  four 
companies  of  Infantry,  commanded  by  Captains  Toppan  Robie, 
Barnabas  Higgins,  Jacob  P.  Bettis  and  Robert  McLellan,  and  a 
company  of  Cavalry,  commanded  by  Lieut.  Leighton,  served  in  Port- 
land, under  Gen.  Irish,  for  a  short  time,  but  saw  no  fighting. 

A  volunteer  company,  called  the  "  Gorham  Light  Guards,"  and 
furnished  with  arms  by  the  State,  was  organized  about  1856  ;  but 
interest  in  it  soon  abated,  and  after  a  short  time  it  gave  back  its  arms 
to  the  State,  and  ceased  its  existence. 

Gorham  has  furnished  to  the  State,  among  other  militia  officers,  the 
following :  Gen.  James  Irish,  Col.  Lothrop  Lewis,  Col.  Tyng  Smith, 
Major  George  Lewis,  Col.  Hugh  D.  McLellan,  Gen.  Edward  T.  Smith, 
Col.  William  B.  Harding,  Col.  Nathaniel  Frost,  Col.  Samuel  Whit- 
more,  Col.  Colman  Harding,  Col.  Edward  Files,  Major  Eben  Files, 
Jr.,  Major  William  Thomes,  Major  Nathaniel  Thomes,  and  Major 
William  Warren. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    FIRST    SETTLEMENT    AND    FIRST    SURVEYS. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1736,  the  first  tree  was  cut,  and  gave 
way  to  the  woodman's  axe,  for  the  purpose  of  clearing  the  land  for 
the  habitation  of  the  white  man  in  what  was  called  Narragansett  No. 
7,  or  Gorhamtown,  which  town  was  then  covered  by  a  dense  and 
heavy  growth  of  wood  and  timber,  and  it  is  said  that  its  superior 
could  not  be  found  in  the  State. 

Capt.  John  Phinney  moved  from  Barnstable,  Mass.,  and  settled  at 
that  part  of  Falmouth  then  called  Presumpscot.  In  May,  1736,  he, 
with  his  son  Edmund,  paddled  his  bateau  up  the  Presumpscot  into 
Little  River,  hauling  it  around  the  falls  at  Ammoncongin  and  Sacca- 
rappa,  landing  at  or  near  Blenham  Falls,  some  fifty  rods  below  the 
bridge,  where  Mr.  Parkhurst's  mill  now  stands.  Here  they  secreted 
the  boat  as  best  they  could,  and  with  their  axes  and  pack  of 
provisions  on  their  backs,  made  their  way  through  the  woods  to  what 
is  now  called  Fort  Hill,  where  they  arrived  late  in  the  afternoon. 
Their  track  (so  said  Mr.  James  Phinney)  was  nearly  where  the  road 
is  now  made,  till  they  arrived  on  the  southerly  slope.  Here  the  lay 
of  the  land  pleased  them,  and  after  looking  around  and  reconnoiter- 
ing  they  concluded  where  to  build  their  camp,  which  was  on  the  spot 
then  occupied  by  an  old  member  of  the  forest,  a  large  basswood  tree, 
which  was  somewhat  decayed  and  rotten-hearted  from  age.  This 
tree  stood  near  where  the  well  now  is,  in  the  thirty  acre  lot  No.  i, 
and  not  many  feet  from  the  northerly  side  of  the  house  owned  and 
occupied  by  the  late  Mr.  Moses  Fogg,  on  Fort  Hill. 

The  spot  having  been  selected  for  the  camp,  Capt.  Phinney  said 
to  his  son  Edmund,  "  We  will  build  our  camp  here,  and  you  may  cut 
that  basswood,  and  you  can  say  you  cut  the  first  tree  in  town  for  the 
purpose  of  settlement."  This  was  at  night;  the  two  camped  on  the 
ground  till  morning,  when  as  had  been  arranged,  Edmund  felled  the 
first  tree,  which  was  in  the  month  of  May,  1736.  It  is  not  now 
known  on  what  day  of  the  month  or  week  this  was  done,  but  the  two 
worked,  felling  the  trees  on  the  land  lying  to  the  north  of  Mr.  Fogg's 
house,  on  the  easterly  side  of  the  road  in  the  swale  up  to  the  rise  of 


TlIK    FIRST    SETTLEMENT    AND    FIRST    SURVEYS.  75 

the  Iiill,  on  what  is  now  the  northwesterly  corner  of  the  thirty  acre  lot 
No.  I,  till  Saturday  afternoon,  when  they  again  took  their  boat  and 
returned  home,  there  being  at  that  time  no  road  or  path  through  the 
woods   above  what  is  now  Congin  Falls,  on  the  Presumpscot  River. 

Thus  the  father  and  son  progressed  till  a  sufficient  piece  of  the 
forest  was  laid  low  for  their  purpose,  when  fire  was  put  to  the 
prostrate  trees,  and  they  had  the  fortune  to  get,  in  the  language  of 
the  time,  a  good  burn,  but  before  all  the  labor  of  cutting,  burning 
and  clearing  was  accomplished,  it  had  become  late  in  the  season, 
into  the  month  of  June,  and  the  weather  was  unusually  cold  for  the 
season.  Notwithstanding  the  prospect,  they  were  not  disheartened, 
the  corn  was  put  in,  and  having  no  pumpkin  seeds,  a  lot  of  water- 
melon seeds,  which  they  found  by  accident  in  their  baggage,  they 
planted  with  their  corn  instead.  Seed  potatoes  were  not  to  be  had, 
and  were  at  that  time  quite  a  curiosity  and  a  great  rarity.  They  also 
planted  a  part  of  the  clearing  with  peas.  I  say  planted,  for  the  seed 
was  literally  dug  in  with  the  hoe,  it  not  being  possible  to  use  the  plow 
or  harrow  among  the  stumps  and  logs. 

After  the  crop  was  put  in,  and  a  log  house  prepared,  Capt. 
Phinney  moved  his  family  into  Gorhamtown.  Here  he  usually  left 
them  during  the  week  days  with  his  son  Edmund  to  look  after  the 
family  interests  while  he  went  to  Presumpscot  and  Stroudwater  to 
get  employment  in  the  shipyards,  and  otherwise,  as  best  he  could. 
When  Saturday  afternoon  came  he  would  take  the  proceeds  of  his 
week's  labor  on  his  back,  walk  to  his  boat,  go  up  the  river  to  the 
landing  place,  then  through  the  woods  to  his  family  and  home. 
Many  times  during  that  first  season,  the  thought  came  over  him  that 
he  should  be  obliged  to  abandon  his  plantation,  that  no  crops  could 
be  raised,  that  it  was  a  cold,  barren  and  inhospitable  region,  but  in 
July  a  change  came  over  things,  the  sun  came  out  warm  and  vegeta- 
tion took  a  rapid  stride,  and  as  the  prospects  brightened,  the  faces 
of  the  hard  working  and  honest  men  shortened. 

The  result  of  their  labor  proved  in  autumn  equal  to  their  most 
sanguine  expectation  and  desire.  They  had  a  good  crop  of  corn, 
amply  sufficient  for  bread  for  the  family,  and  gathered  a  quantity, 
about  equal  to  ten  cartloads,  of  watermelons,  some  of  them  of  extra- 
ordinary size  ;  few  of  which  they  could  dispose  of  conveniently;  most 
of  them  they  fed  to  their  hogs,  and  with  a  little  corn,  they  found 
them  to  make  good  pork. 

When  the  time  came  to  harvest  the  peas,  Capt.  Phinney  told  his 
son  he  would  give  him  a  week's  time  in  which  to  harvest,  thresh  and 


76  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

crean  them  up,  which  was  agreed  to,  and  Edmund  was  to  have  the 
time  he  might  gain,  in  which  to  hunt,  for  his  amusement.  But  when 
Saturday  night  came,  and  the  father  returned,  the  son  having  worked 
hard  all  the  week,  the  peas  were  not  finished,  and  Edmund  had  to 
take  the  next  week  to  complete  his  job ;  and  when  all  was  done  it 
was  found  they  had  raised  ninety  bushels  of  handsome  peas,  which, 
with  a  few  vegetables  and  garden  stuff  raised  about  the  house,  made 
up  the  first  year's  crop  ever  raised  by  a  white  man  in  the  present 
town  of  Gorham. 

The  manner  of  harvesting  in  those  days  was  far  more  laborious 
than  at  this  time.  There  was  not  a  cart  in  town  with  which  to  gather 
the  crop ;  nor  a  threshing  (modern)  machine,  or  even  a  barn  floor,  in 
which  Edmund  could  thresh  his  peas.  The  corn  was  gathered  in 
baskets  and  carried  to  the  house  on  the  shoulders.  The  peas  were 
carried  together  on  poles,  when  a  spot  was  cleared  between  the 
stumps  and  logs  and  made  smooth  and  hard,  then  the  peas  were 
beaten  out  with  a  pole  in  the  most  primitive  manner.  And  they  were 
cleaned  by  having  the  dust  blown  from  them  by  the  winds  of  heaven. 

Capt.  Phinney  and  his  family  lived  here  alone  for  about  two  years 
and  a  half,  but  in  the  winter  of  1738-39  their  hearts  were  glad- 
dened, and  the  lonesomeness  of  their  wilderness  home  somewhat 
relieved  by  the  arrival  of  two  families,  who  moved  in  within  a  short 
time  of  each  other,  the  McLellans  and  the  Moshers. 

Of  late  years,  it  has  been  a  somewhat  disputed  point  as  to  whether 
Hugh  McLellan  or  Daniel  Mosher  was  the  second  settler  in  the 
town,  but  after  a  careful  investigation  of  the  subject,  the  weight  of 
the  evidence  that  we  have  been  able  to  collect,  seems  to  show  beyond 
a  reasonable  doubt  that  the  claim  that  the  McLellan  family  makes 
that  Hugh  McLellan  was  the  second  actual  settler  in  the  township  is 
correct.  The  late  Gen.  James  Irish  said  that  he  always  understood 
from  the  old  people  that  the  McLellans  came  in,  next  to  John 
Phinney. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  McLellan,  the  wife  of  Hugh,  often  conversed  with 
the  Rev.  Elijah  Kellogg,  who  married  her  granddaughter,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Joseph  McLellan  and  Mary  McLellan.  Mr.  Kellogg  wrote 
down  at  the  time,  one  statement  she  made,  which  the  author  saw 
some  years  since  ;  Mr.  Kellogg  showing  it  to  him,  and  telling  him 
the  fact  of  his  writing  it  down  at  the  time.  This  statement  was,  that 
when  she  moved  into  Gorham,  there  was  but  one  white  family  in 
town,  and  that  was  John  Phinney's.  They  moved  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  winter.     Her  husband  came  up  and  cleared  out  and  repaired 


THE    FIRST    SETTLEMENT    AND    FIRST    SURVEYS.  77 

a  logger's  or  hunter's  camp,  which  stood  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
road  from  where  the  brick  house  now  stands.  This  was  in  the  win- 
ter of  1738  and  '39. 

Hugh  McLellan's  deed  from  Shubael  Gorham  was  given  Aug.  10, 
1739,  and  says  "  McLellan  of  a  place  called  Gorhamtown,"  so  that 
they  must  have  been  here  before  that  date,  or  he  would  not  have 
said  so.  It  has  always  been  a  received  fact,  in  the  family,  that  Hugh 
bought  his  right  of  some  one  in  Falmouth  (Portland),  who  was  an 
agent  of  Gorham,  but  did  not  get  his  deed  for  some  time  after  he 
moved  on  to  his  land.  It  is  probable  that  the  trade  was  made  with 
John  Gorham,  or  Mr.  Jones,  both  of  whom  acted  as  agents  of  Shu- 
bael Gorham  in  getting  in  settlers,  and  that  the  deed  was  given  when 
Shubael  Gorham  came  down  from  Barnstable,  as  several  of  his  deeds 
bear  the  same  date. 

Some  sixty  years  since,  we  met  an  old  gentleman,  who  said  that 
his  father,  in  his  young  days,  lived  with  the  elder  Hugh  and  his  wife. 
He  said  that  he  had  often  heard  his  father  tell  the  story  of  their 
moving  into  the  township,  as  they  told  it  to  him.  That  they  moved 
on  with  an  old  white  horse  harnessed  to  a  drag,  as  they  called  it,  — 
two  long  poles,  the  forward  ends  confined  to  the  horse,  like  carriage 
shafts,  the  other  ends  dragging  some  twenty  feet  behind  ;  on  these 
pieces  they  lashed  cross-pieces,  on  which  they  secured  their  effects. 
William  ("  Uncle  Billy  "),  then  a  lad  of  seven  or  eight  years,  drove 
the  little  cow,  and  Hugh,  the  father,  carried  Abigail,  the  babe,  two 
or  three  months  old,  a  part  of  the  time,  and  drove  the  team,  while 
the  mother  carried  the  babe  a  part  of  the  time.  He  said  the  old 
lady  told  his  father  it  w^as  a  very  good  kind  of  a  carriage  where  the 
track  was  good  and  straight,  but  bad  over  stumps  and  short  turns. 
They  came  up  (from  Falmouth)  by  spotted  trees,  as  there  was  then 
no  road  or  track.  They  were  a  long  day  on  the  road,  and  it  was 
nearly  dark  when  they  arrived  hoinc.  It  was  winter  when  this  mov- 
ing took  place.  When  they  arrived  at  their  house,  they  found  that 
the  snow  had  beaten  in  the  roof  and  that  the  house  was  half  full  of 
snow,  and  they  had  to  spread  a  coverlet,  or  bedspread,  and  build  a 
fire  in  the  corner  for  the  children  to  stand  by,  till  the  room  was 
cleaned  out  and  the  roof  repaired,  which  latter  they  did  not  get  com- 
pleted till  the  next  day. 

They  were  fearful  of  losing  their  land  after  paying  for  it,  as  they 
did  not  get  a  deed  for  some  time  after  they  had  put  in  a  crop.  The 
old  lady  furthermore  told  him  that  there  was  but  one  white  family  in 
the  town,  that  of  Capt.  John  Phinney,  but  that  there  was  a  white 


78 


HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


hunter,  by  the  name  of  Ayer,  who  camped  opposite  their  house,  and 
was  there  occasionally.  (He  afterwards  purchased  a  town  right.) 
She  said  he  afterwards  got  scared  at  the  report  of  coming  Indians, 
and  ran  off.  Parson  Smith  mentions  Ayers  of  Gorhamtown  coming 
in  to  Falmouth,  and  reporting  an  Indian  scare,  in  the  summer  of  1740. 
The  first  white  child  born  in  Gorhamtown  was  Maiy  Gorham 
Phinney,  who  was  born  on  the  13th  of  August,  1736,  and  married,  in 


MARY    GORHAM    PHINNEY. 

THE    FIRST   WHITE    CHILD    nORN    IN    ClORHAM. 


1756,  James  Irish.  The  second  child  to  be  born  in  town  was  in  the 
Ayer  family — a  son.  He  was  still  living,  about  1830,  in  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  State. 

Daniel  Mosher,  the  third  settler,  moved  into  town  during  the  same 
winter,  1738-39,  probably  very  shortly  after  McLellan  came.  He 
received  his  first  deed  of  a  Proprietor's  right,  a  thirty  acre,  a  hundred 


THE    FIRST    SETTLEMENT    AND    FIKST    SURVEYS.  79 

acre,  and  a  seventy  acre  lot,  some  time  during  the  year  1739.  The 
first  recorded  deed  to  him,  in  which  he  is  described  as  Daniel  Aloyz- 
hear,  housewright,  was  from  Charles  Frost  of  Falmouth,  of  a  thirty 
acre  lot,  and  bears  the  date  of  Sept.  3,  1754;  but  from  the  fact  that 
Mosher  conveyed  the  same  lot  by  mortgage  to  Frost,  Feb.  19,  1746, 
it  appears  certain  that  there  must  have  been  a  deed  of  earlier  date  con- 
veying this  lot  to  Mosher.  The  lot  on  which  he  made  his  home  was 
the  thirty  acre  lot  No.  4.  This  lot  is  situated  on  the  southerly  side 
of  Fort  Hill,  in  the  southwest  corner,  formed  by  the  crossing  of  the 
Fort  Flill  road  and  Queen  street,  and  is  now  owned  and  occupied  by 
Archelaus  L.  Hamblen.  This  lot,  Nov.  9,  1761,  Mr.  Mosher  con- 
veyed to  his  son-in-law,  Moses  Akers,  and  soon  after  moved  to  the 
farm  since  occupied  by  his  great-grandson,  Mark  Mosher. 

As  has  been  elsewhere  stated,  in  April,  1733,  the  General  Court  of 
Massachusetts  appointed  a  committee  consisting  of  Fdward  Shove, 
Thomas  Tilestone,  John  Hobson  and  Samuel  Chandler,  to  survey 
and  lay  out  the  tracts  of  land  for  five  of  the  Narragansett  townships. 
This  committee  selected  as  their  surveyors,  Samuel  Small  and 
Benjamin  Stone,  who  were  accordingly  sworn  to  make  a  faithful 
discharge  of  their  duties,  as  the  following  document  will  show : 

York  ss  Biddeford  Nov.  Y*^  20''^  1733, 
We  Samuel  Small  &  M''  Benjamin  Stone  appeared  and  were 
sworn  to  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  office  of  Surveyors  and  to 
follow  such  directions  as  they  shall  from  Time  to  Time  receive  from 
the  General  Court  Committee  as  also  John  Smith,  John  Bagshaw, 
John  Smith,  Joshua  Hilton  &  Lieut  John  Stackpole  as  Chainman. 

Cor  John  Gray  Justs  Peace 

The  surveys  were  made  by  the  above,  and  on  Feb.  1 1,  1733-34  the 
committee  presented  to  the  General  Court  plats  of  townships  Nos.  i 
and  7,  with  the  following  description  of  the  same  : 

This  Plat  describes  two  Tracts  of  Land  laid  out  for  the  Narragan- 
set  Soldiers  between  Saco  River  &  Presumpscott  containing  the 
contents  of  Six  Miles  Square  in  each  Plat  with  the  allowance  of 
Seven  Hundred  acres  formerly  granted  to  Hill  &:  others  in  the  Town- 
ship next  Saco  River  &  thirteen  Hundred  Acres  for  Ponds,  and  in 
the  Township  joining  to  Presumpscott  River  there  is  allowance  for 
five  hundred  acres  granted  to  'i  yng  &  others  &  twelve  hundred  acres 
for  Ponds,  and  the  said  Plans  are  bounded  and  described  as  followeth 
beginning  at  Saco  River  at  the  head  of  Biddeford  &  runs  Northeast 
by  the  Needle  twelve  miles  by  the  head  of  Biddeford  &  Scarborough 
&  Falmouth  till  it  comes  to   Presumpscott  River  &  then  bounded  by 


80  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Presumpscott  River  &  runs  up  the  same  till  it  makes  Seven  miles  and 
one  quarter  of  a  Mile  on  Straight  course  North  t,2>°  West  and  then 
runs  9  Miles  &  50  Poles  South  W^  by  the  Needle  till  it  comes  to  Saco 
River  &  then  bounds  South  Westerly  by  Saco  River  till  it  comes  to 
the  Head  of  Biddeford  afor'^  the  dividing  line  between  the  two  Town- 
ships begins  on  the  Line  next  the  Head  of  the  Townships  Seven 
Miles  &  one  quarter  of  a  Mile  to  the  Northeast  of  Saco  River  &  s'^ 
line  runs  North  7,7,°  West  by  Needle  extending  Seven  Miles  &  one 
quarter  of  a  Mile  and  the  two  Townships  was  Surveyed  by  Samuel 
Small  &  Benjamin  Stone  who  were  Sworn  for  the  faithful  discharge 
of  their  Work  before  Justice  Gray     Dated  23"^  of  Nov  1733 

Edw^  Shove  ^ 

Thomas  Tileston         ,, 

T  ,      TT  1  I   Committee 

John  Hobson  [ 

Samuel  Chandler    j 

Township  No.  i,  now  Buxton,  was  ordered  to  be  set  apart  for 
Philemon  Dane  and  others,  and  No.  7,  now  Gorham,  was  confirmed 
to  Col.  Shubael  Gorham  and  others. 

In  the  Cumberland  Court  Records  are  the  following  depositions, 
which  were  taken,  /n  perpetuavi  7-ei  7ncmoriam,  at  the  desire  of  Capt. 
John  Phinney,  the  first  settler  of  the  new  town.  The  deponents 
personally  appeared  before  Edward  Milliken  and  Solomon  Lombard, 
"  Justices  of  the  Peace  Quorum  unus,"  on  the  20th  day  of  July,  1767, 
and  separately  made  oath  to  the  truth  of  their  statements. 

Thomas  Haskell's  Deposition. 
The  Deposition  of  Thomas  Haskell,  aged  seventy  eight  years, 
testifyeth  and  saith,  that  he  well  remembers  his  being  assisting  of 
Capt.  John  Phinney  in  laying  out  the  thirty  acre  Lots  in  Narraganset 
Township  Number  Seven,  and  that  I  the  said  Deponent  always 
understood  that  said  Phinney  was  employed  by  Collo.  Shubell  Gorham 
of  Barnstable,  and  that  I  the  Deponent  was  with  Daniel  Mosher  and 
others  several  times  assisting  said  Phinney  in  laying  out  said  Lots, 
and  I  never  understood  that  any  Body  else  was  employed  by  said 
Gorham  to  run  said  Lots,  and  also  I  have  been  with  Collo.  Gorham 
and  understood  by  him  that  said  Phinney  had  orders  from  him  for  to 
do  said  business.  Y""  Deponent  further  testifies  that  I  was  at  the 
Proprietors'  meeting  the  9th  day  of  Augt.  1739,  and  do  well  remember 
that  the  Lands  that  was  voted  to  Edmund  and  Stephen  Phinney  (a 
hundred  acres  each)  was  voted  to  the  said  Edmund  and  Stephen  for 
their  services  and  theirs  only. 

Thomas  Haskell. 

Benjamin  Haskell's  Deposition. 
The   Deposition   of   Benjamin   Haskell,  of  full   age,  testifieth   and 
saith  that  he  was  at  a  Proprietors'  meeting  of  Naraganset  Township 


THE    FIRST    SETTLEMENT    AND    FIRST    SURVEYS.  81 

Number  Seven,  ales  Gorham,  and  that  I  the  Deponent  well  remember 
that  at  Falmouth  when  the  Proprietors  proceeded  to  pitch  or  draw  for 
their  hundred  acre  Lots,  it  being  the  Second  Division,  that  Mr. 
Wentworth  Stuard  stood  and  put  his  fingers  on  two  Lots  on  the  Plan, 
and  told  the  Moderator,  Mr.  James  Milk,  that  them  two  Lots  was 
then  possest  by  the  Phinneys,  and  that  he  the  said  Stuard  said  that 
was  Mr.  Lombard's  Lot  that  laid  between  them,  and  desired  them  not 
to  pitch  on  them,  for  he  said  that  they  were  taken  up,  and  as  there 
was  none  of  the  Phinneys  there,  said  Stuard  and  my  self  told  the 
Proprietors  that  we  thought  it  a  great  Hardship,  we  knowing  that 
the  said  Phinneys  possest  said  Lots,  and  were  then  in  Possession  of 
them. 

Benja.  Haskell. 

Wentworth  Stuart's  Deposition. 
I  Wentworth  Stuart,  aged  35  years,  testify  and  declare  that  I  being 
at  Falmouth  at  the  Proprietors'  meeting  of  Naraganset  Proprietors 
No.  7,  ale  Gorhamtown  now  Gorham,  when  they  draw'd  their  100 
acre  Lots  or  Second  Divisions,  Capt.  James  Milk,  Moderator,  they 
chose  a  large  Committee  to  say  who  were  Intitled  to  have  Pitches 
agreeable  to  a  former  vote,  before  the  Rest  should  draw.  Said  Com- 
mittee reported,  I  think,  that  there  was  22,  and  while  those  22  were  a 
pitching  I  told  the  Moderator  that  No.  42  and  44  was  pitched,  and 
that  by  a  former  Committee  that  was  to  sign  Grants,  and  that  Stephen 
Phinney  did  then  live  on  No.  42,  but  notwithstanding  Mr.  Anthoney 
Brackett  pitched  the  same  by  virtue  of  the  last  Committee,  and  that 
the  Moderator  pitched  No.  44  for  the  Family  of  the  Potes,  and  I  told 
him  that  that  was  Capt.  John  Phinney's  Pitch,  and  further  saith  not. 

^^^entworth  Stuart. 

Daniel  Mosher's  Deposition. 
I  Daniel  Mosher,  of  the  age  of  fifty  five  years,  testify  and  say  that 
in  the  year  A.  Domini  1735,  in  the  month  of  May,  Mr.  John  Phinney 
received  written  orders  from  Collo.  Shubal  Gorham  to  run  out  and 
Plan  all  the  Home  Lots  in  Gorhamtown  alias  Naraganset  No.  7  and 
now  Gorham,  and  that  in  Pursuance  to  those  orders  the  said  Phinney 
employed  three  Surveyors  in  that  Business,  vizt.  Godfrey,  King  and 
Scales,  and  also  two  Chainmen,  vizt.  Winter  and  Roberts,  and  that  I 
the  said  Mosher  went  with  them  as  axman  to  mark  and  spot  the  Trees 
the  whole  time  they  were  upon  the  Business,  till  we  had  run  out  all 
the  Home  Lots,  which  was  compleated  about  y*^  Month  of  November 
following,  and  that  I  the  said  Mosher  was  Employ'd  by  the  said 
Phinney  in  running  out  said  Lots  and  was  paid  by  him  for  the  Same. 
I  do  further  testify  and  say  that  I  was  at  the  Proprietors'  meeting  the 
9th  of  Augt.  1739,  when  the  Proprietors  voted  a  hundred  acres  of 
Land  to  Each  of  the  said  John  Phinney's  two  Sons,  vizt.  Edmund  and 
Stephen  Phinney,  and  I  well  remember  that  the  said  Land  was 
granted  or  voted  to  the  said  Edmund  and  Stephen  for  their  services 
&  theirs  only. 

Daniel  Mosher. 


82 


HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


From  the  foregoing  depositions  it  appears  that  the  first  plans  of  the 
thirty  acre,  or  home  lots  as  they  were  then  called,  were  laid  ont  by 
Capt.  John  Phinney  in  the  summer  of  1735,  by  direction,  as  he  says, 
of  Col.  Shubael  Gorham.  Phinney  was  aided  by  Skillings,  Mosher, 
Weston,  Akers,  and  others,  as  chainmen,  axmen,  etc.  This  plan  was 
found  to  be  very  imperfect,  and  full  of  errors  as  to  measurements  ; 
one  of  which  errors  was,  in  laying  off  the  tier  of  lots  on  the  easterly 
side   of   Fort   Hill   road,  commencing  at   Queen    street   and   running 


il 

H 

tt 

if 

a 

i 

^4 

.C^' 

'W' 

X 

(.1 

«L 

if 

VLy 

34 

Si 

60 

?c 

33 

z 

St 

;/ 

^.^. 

^4 

Lhti 

n 

r^ 

?f 

too 

31 

SJ 

$ 

Ti- 

f^ 

yi 

1 

it 

^ 

3 

>3 

*^ 

%c 

^; 

«y 

• 
5?' 

93 

li- 

f/ 

^/^ 

lei 

s-i 

s^ 

51 

3« 

i 

S 

;* 

/M 

iq 

</«^ 

It? 

1'" 

sr 

«3 

1 

if 

%\ 

7 

76- 

1 

i^ 

,c% 

^ 

n 

42. 

4« 

3?- 

i7 

5 

"// 

1'i 

^/ 

3/ 

'I. 

,^ii, 

./ 

/3 

/'^ 

Jo 

ft, 

//c 

la 

//4 

43 

44 

4r 

4< 

zc 

li 

Coh-n. 

n- 

11 

l*i 

/«$^ 

/*/ 

/*/ 

//( 

in 

//r 

Lii 

/r 

<? 

4r 

4? 

<"« 

a 

fc 

■ 
i3 

2.* 

/f 

rt 

X 

14. 

1/ 

X 

PLAN  OF  THE  THIRTY  ACRE  LOTS. 

FKOM  THE  OKKilNAL  BY  JOHN  S^rALL,    1751. 

toward  the  Corner,  six  lots  were  laid  out  with  sixty  rods  front  and 
were  made  to  extend  to  where  the  road  turned  off  to  Portland,  thus 
giving  to  each  lot  about  three  and  one-third  rods  more  front  than  they 
should  have  as  the  whole  distance  is  about  three  hundred  and  eighty 
rods. 

When  Col.  Gorham  came  down,  he  ascertained  how  the  thing  was, 
and  being  dissatisfied  with  Phinney's  work,  rather  disowned  having 


THE    FIRST    SETTLEMENT    AND    FIRST    SURVEYS.  83 

anything  to  do  with  it,  and  at  once  took  measures  to  have  a  new  and 
correct  laying  out  of  the  lots.  Mr.  John  Small  was  chosen  for  the 
surveyor,  with  proper  aids,  and  all  were  put  under  oath  to  do  the 
work  correctly.  In  the  meantime  the  Portland  road  had  been  opened 
where  it  is  now  tra\'eled. 

Mr.  Small  makes  the  following  return  on  the  plan  he  made  of  his 
work  to  the  Proprietors  : 

"  Being  desired  by  the  Proprietors  of  (iorhamtown  to  measure  out 
the  fronts  of  the  lots  on  the  road,  Accordingly  I  began  at  No.  i , 
Capt.  John  Phinney's  lot  [now  Mr.  Moses  Fogg's]  by  the  Peach  yard 
corner,  and  measured  out  the  several  lots  60  rods  fronting  on  the 
road.  South  13°  East  and  found  a  piece  of  common  land  20  rods  wide 
at  Gorhams  Corner  as  the  same  is  Described  within  the  plan,  and 
then  begun  at  the  Peach  yard  corner,  and  ran  North  13°  West,  meas- 
uring each  lot  60  rods  front  by  the  road,  and  find  the  Mill  privilege 
falls  clear  into  the  lot  No.  64 :  Excepting  the  six  Streets  mentioned 
by  name  in  the  plan,  all  the  others  are  two  rods  wide."  The  streets 
named  on  the  plan  were  four  rods  in  width.     (See  Chap.  XV.) 

This  plan  of  the  thirty  acre  lots  was  accepted  by  the  Proprietors  at 
a  meeting  held  at  the  house  of  Capt.  Joshua  Bangs  in  Falmouth, 
April  16,  175 1,  and  it  was  voted  to  record  it  in  the  Proprietors'  book 
and  in  the  Secretary's  ofifice. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  that  there  were  thus  two  plans  of 
the  thirty  acre  lots,  Phinney's  and  Small's,  each  party  claiming  theirs 
to  be  the  genuine  one,  consequently  the  recording  of  these  depositions 
by  Phinney  to  show  that  his  work  was  done  by  authorization.  In  an 
application  for  a  Proprietors'  meeting,  dated  Aug.  11,  1753,  and 
signed  by  Enoch  Freeman,  Esq.,  Jacob  Hamblen,  Cornelius  Brimhall, 
Capt.  Joshua  Bangs,  and  Capt.  Jedediah  Preble,  we  find  the  following 
article,  —  "To  choose  a  committee  to  get  the  Grant  and  plan  of  the 
township  confirmed  by  the  General  Court,  and  Recorded  ajitw  in  the 
Secretary's  Office,  as  the  records  were  burnt  in  the  townhouse  in 
Boston,  a  few  years  ago."  This  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of 
Capt.  Bangs  in  Falmouth,  Aug.  28,  1753,  when  a  committee  of  the 
new  plan  party,  consisting  of  Jabez  Fox,  James  Otis,  David  Gorham, 
Moses  Pearson  and  Jedediah  Preble,  was  chosen  to  "  present  the 
plan  of  the  town  to  the  General  Court  for  their  confirmation."  The 
strife  was  ended  by  the  John  Small  plan  being  subsequently  con- 
firmed by  the  General  Court,  and  declared  to  be  the  true  and  original 
plan  of  the  town  of  Gorham,  "  Provided  it  does  not  interfere  with 
grants  previously  and  legally  made."     This  is  dated  Dec.  28,  1753. 


84  HISTORY    OF    GOKHAM. 

And  the  last  that  is  known  of  the  Phinney  plan,  it  was  in  the  hands 
of  the  Rev.  Solomon  Lombard's  executor,  much  worn  and  dilapidated. 
This  first  survey  and  plan  by  Phinney  was  made  before  any  settler 
had  moved  in,  and  was  the  plan  by  which  the  original  rights  were 
drawn  or  located  in  the  thirty  acres. 

Capt.  Phinney  with  his  aids  lived  in  Falmouth  at  the  time  they 
surveyed  the  township.  In  the  new  plan  no  alteration  in  the  number 
or  location  of  lots  was  made,  only  correction  of  distances.  In  locating 
the  original  rights,  the  numbers  of  the  thirty  acre  lots  were  put  into 
one  hat,  and  the  Proprietors'  names  into  another,  and  drawn  one 
against  the  other. 

A  Proprietor's  right  consisted  of  a  thirty  acre  lot,  a  hundred  acre 
lot  and  a  seventy  acre  lot,  making  two  hundred  acres  of  land  in  all. 

The  hundred  acre  lots  were  surveyed  and  laid  out  by  Small  at  the 
same  time  that  he  resurveyed  the  thirty  acre  lots.  A  plan  of  the 
town,  showing  the  thirty  and  hundred  acre  lots,  was  then  drawn  by 
him.     This  map,  which  is  still  in  existence,  bears  the  following : 

"  This  Plan  of  Naraganset  Township  No  7,  otherwise  called  Gorham 
Town  taken  at  the  request  of  Charles  Frost  Enoch  Freeman  and 
Moses  Peirson  Esq''s  a  Committee  of  the  Proprietors  of  said  Town- 
ship the  17"^  march  1753 

P''  John  Small  Survey  " 

The  drawing  by  the  Proprietors  for  these  hundred  acre  lots  took 
place  at  an  adjourned  meeting,  held  at  the  Town  House  in  Falmouth, 
on  the  28th  of  August,  1753.  At  this  meeting  a  committee  reported 
the  names  of  those  who  had  their  taxes  all  paid  up,  and  had  per- 
formed their  other  settlement  obligations.  These  were  then  allowed 
to  "  pitch,"  or  select,  for  every  thirty  acre  lot  owned,  any  hundred 
acre  lot  desired,  not  already  chosen.  After  they  had  made  their 
choice  (the  Moderator  being  empowered  to  pitch  for  any  one  entitled 
to  do  so,  but  absent),  the  remaining  lots  were  put  into  a  hat,  from 
which  they  were  drawn  and  read  by  the  Moderator  for  the  benefit  of 
the  remaining  Proprietors. 

The  twenty  acre  strip  at  Gorham  Corner,  already  spoken  of,  was 
pitched  on  by  Capt.  Bryant  Morton  as  part  of  his  second  division  ; 
he  also  had  a  hundred  acre  lot  by  draft,  in  addition  to  this  strip. 
Afterwards  it  was  ascertained  that  several  of  the  settlers  had  more 
land  than  they  were  entitled  to  —  some  a  lot  by  pitch  and  a  lot  by 
draft  —  and  a  committee,  consisting  of  Enoch  Freeman,  Stephen 
Longfellow  and  William  Cotton,  was  chosen  to  settle  all  such  cases. 
Their  report  is  dated   March  4,    1765,  wherein  they  say  that  they 


THE    FIKST    SKTTLEMENT    AND    FIRST    SURVEYS.  85 

"  have  agreed  with  Capt.  Brj-ant  Morton  for  twenty  acres  he  pitched 
at  Gorham  Corner  as  a  part  of  the  hundred  acres,  to  confirm  the 
same  to  him  and  his  heirs,  upon  his  giving  the  Proprietors  a  deed  of 
twenty  acres  off  the  southeasterly  side  of  his  third  division  of  seventy 
acres.  No.  i8,  and  do  so  report."     This  report  was  accepted. 

It  looks  veiy  much  as  if  it  were  no  uncommon  thing  for  a  few 
interested  persons  to  clandestinely  call  a  Proprietors'  meeting  by 
application  to  a  Justice,  or  the  Clerk,  hold  the  meeting,  vote  grants, 
and  pass  votes  for  the  advancement  of  things  and  for  the  interests  of 
the  settlers,  which  they  could  not  pass  in  a  regular  meeting  attended 
more  fully  by  the  Proprietors ;  then  appear  at  a  subsequent  meeting 
with  the  records  all  sworn  to,  produce  proof  that  notices  were  legally 
posted,  etc.,  have  all  recorded  in  the  book  —  all  right,  claim  good, 
land  surveyed  off.  To  illustrate  this  point :  in  the  Proprietors' 
Records  there  is  no  mention  made  of  any  meeting  being  held  between 
Nov.  13th,  1749  and  July  25th,  1750,  but  in  the  Records  of  Cumber- 
land County  we  find  this  : 

At  a  Proprietors'  meeting  legally  warned  of  the  Proprieters  of 
Gorhamtown  or  No.  7,  held  at  the  fort  in  s'^  Town,  January  3 1  :  1750, — 
Voted  that  Capt.  John  Phinney  be  Moderator  for  this  meeting.  Voted 
that  Joseph  Weston  be  Proprietors'  Clerk  for  this  meeting,  in  the 
absence  of  the  former  Clerk,  he  not  being  at  said  meeting.  Voted 
the  first  [Article]  in  the  Warrant,  which  was  to  choose  a  Proprietors' 
[Clerk],  be  dismissed.  Voted  that  the  Second  Article  in  the  War- 
rant, which  was  to  Choose  a  Treasurer,  be  dismissed.  Voted  to 
dismiss  the  former  Committee  who  was  chosen  to  sign  Grants. 
Voted  to  choose  a  Committee  to  sign  Grants.  Voted  the  Committee 
to  sign  Grants  shall  consist  of  three  men  &  no  more.  Voted  Christo- 
pher vStrout,  Esq.,  Capt.  John  Phinney,  and  Benjamin  Stevens,  be  a 
Committee  to  sign  Grants  to  those  men  who  have  fulfilled  according 
to  General  Court's  Injunctions. 

John  Phinney,  Moderator. 

Seventeen  years  after  that  time,  July  20,  1767,  Joseph  Weston,  in 
a  deposition  taken  at  the  request  of  Capt.  John  Phinney,  testified 
that  he  was  elected  clerk  pro  tempore  of  that  meeting,  and  supplied 
the  word  Clerk  in  the  report,  which  we  have  enclosed  in  brackets, 
which  was  wanting  in  the  original  copy.  The  word  Article  was  also 
omitted  in  the  original.  The  "  former  Clerk,"  alluded  to  in  the 
report,  was  Capt.  Moses  Pearson  of  Falmouth,  who  was  the  Proprie- 
tors' clerk.  He  was  elected  clerk  Aug.  30,  1744,  and  served  until 
September,  1776,  when  he  resigned  on  account  of  infirmity,  dying 
less  than  two  years  after. 


86  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

In  the  old  Proprietors'  Records  the  first  meeting  recorded  was  held 
in  1 741.  But  it  afterwards  appears  that  a  Proprietors'  meeting  was 
held  before  that  time.     The  record  is  as  follows  : 

"  At  a  Proprietors'  meeting  by  adjournment  held  for  Gorhamtown, 
alias  y^  seventh  township  granted  to  the  Narraganset  Soldiers,  August 
y'^  9th,  1739."  It  does  not  appear  who  was  the  Moderator,  but 
Daniel  Gorham  was  clerk  of  the  meeting  (and  this  is  the  only  time 
his  name  appears  as  Proprietors'  clerk).  At  this  meeting  one  hundred 
acres  each  was  voted  to  Edmund  and  Stephen  Phinney,  sons  of  Mr. 
John  Phinney.  These  two  hundred  acres  of  land  were  located  on 
the  westerly  side  of  the  thirty  acre  lots,  adjoining  Nos.  33  and  34, 
and  on  the  old  plans  of  the  town  are  marked  "  Plain,"  and  are  on 
the  road  from  Fort  Hill  to  West  Gorham.  Both  lots  had  Little 
River  passing  through  them.  The  location  and  sun-ey  were  made 
by  Capt.  John  Curtis  and  William  Pote,  a  committee  chosen  for  that 
purpose.  Their  return  and  plan  are  dated,  Gorhamtown,  Sept.  24, 
1739.  The  Captain,  being  a  sea-faring  man,  it  appears  used  a  marine 
compass,  as  the  courses  are  "  From  a  Beach  tree  two  hundred  rods, 
North  and  Be  West,  to  a  Hemlock  tree."  It  appears  that  the  record 
of  the  doings  at  this  meeting  was  not  brought  forward  to  be  recorded 
in  the  Proprietors'  Records  till  about  the  year  1750.  The  granting 
and  location  of  these  lots  and  the  claim  made  to  them  by  the  Phin- 
ney s,  was  thought  to  be,  by  some  of  the  old  Proprietors,  rather  a 
shaky  piece  of  business,  and  was  the  cause  of  some  trouble  when  the 
Proprietors  came  to  pitch  and  draw  for  their  hundred  acre  lots,  or 
second  division  ;  some  siding  with  the  Phinneys,  and  some  against 
them.  And  from  this  affair  arose  the  necessity  of  Mr.  John  Phinney's 
procuring  the  depositions  in  perpetuatti  mentioned  before,  and  of 
having  the  same  recorded.  One  hundred  acres  of  this  land  were 
sold  by  Capt.  John  Phinney  to  John  Freeman  and  his  .wife  Bethiah 
Freeman,  and  in  1760  these  latter  sold  to  Daniel  Marrett  of  Falmouth, 
shipwright,  the  hundred  acres  of  land  they  bought  of  Capt.  John 
Phinney,  "  being  one  half  of  the  lot  set  off  to  Edmund  and  Stephen 
Phinney,  his  sons,  by  the  Proprietors  in  1739." 

At  the  meeting  held  as  aforesaid,  it  was  voted  "  That  no  persons, 
that  are  not  actual  settlers  or  inhabitants  within  said  town  shall  have 
any  liberty  to  cut  any  Grass  Growing  or  that  shall  be  growing  on 
said  Meadows  or  the  common  land,  and  that  no  settler  or  inhabitant 
as  above  shall  presume  to  cut  any  of  y^  meadows  before  a  division  or 
proportion  of  y^  same  from  year  to  year,  be  first  made  by  a  majority 
of  y^  s^  Proprietors  and  inhabitants. 


THE    FIRST    SETTLEMENT    AND    FIRST    SURVEYS.  87 

"  Voted,  That  y*^  grantees,  inhabitants  and  settlers  are  allowed  to 
cut  timber  for  their  own  use  for  Building  in  s^  town,  and  no  more. 

"  Voted,  Y*  each  grantee  or  Proprietor  in  s'^  Township  shall  pay 
for  each  Right  he  possesses  twenty  shillings.  By  Y^  last  of  October 
next,  to  be  laid  out  in  mending  y^  highway  in  s^  township,  between 
Y^  Great  Bridge  and  Y*^  upper  lot  laid  out  on  King  street." 

This  road  extended  from  Little  River  bridge,  above  Fort  Hill,  to 
the  late  Albion  Johnson's,  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  rods,  and 
the  men  were  to  have  ten  shillings  per  day,  finding  themselves. 

As  already  stated,  the  record  of  proceedings  at  this  meeting  did 
not  appear  till  August  30,  1749,  when  the  following  vote  was  passed  : 

"  Voted,  That  the  papers  said  to  be  attested  by  Daniel  Gorham 
relating  to  200  acres  of  land  granted  to  Edmund  and  Stephen 
Phinney,  and  containing  other  matters,  be  referred  to  further  consid- 
eration." 

At  a  meeting  held  Aug.  29th,  1750,  of  which  Capt.  Phinney  was 
Moderator,  the  subject  was  again  brought  forward.  Moses  Pearson 
and  Joshua  Bangs,  a  committee  for  that  purpose,  reported  that  they 
had  examined  the  papers  and  thought  the  same  ought  to  be  recorded  ; 
and  it  was  so  voted,  and  was  then  recorded  by  Moses  Pearson,  Pro- 
prietors' clerk. 

The  seventy  acre  lots  were  surveyed  by  Joseph  Noyes,  under  the 
direction  of  a  committee  composed  of  Enoch  Freeman,  Moses  Pearson, 
Esq.,  and  Capt.  Ephraim  Jones,  and  his  plan,  which  is  still  in  exist- 
ence, bears  the  date  of  Jan.  14,  1765.  Although  the  actual  survey 
of  these  seventy  acre,  or  third  division  lots,  was  not  completed  until 
sometime  in  Januar)%  1765.  the  Proprietors,  at  a  meeting  held  Dec. 
31st,  1764, 

"  Voted  the  Committee  for  laying  out  after  Divisions,  No.  the  same 
and  make  a  Box  ;  prepare  and  make  ready  for  the  Proprietors  Draw- 
ing their  lots  at  the  adjournment  of  this  meeting. 

"  Voted  that  there  be  marked  on  the  plan  117  lots  for  the  third 
Division  and  no  more,  as  Maj"".  Gorham  has  given  his  bond  to  relin- 
quish to  the  Proprietors  four  hundred  acres  of  common  land  to  be 
divided  among  them  in  lieu  of  400  acres  voted  to  him  near  Sacca- 
rappa  some  time  past  to  the  amount  of  about  six  after  Divisions. 

"  Voted  the  drawing  the  lots  shall  be  as  follow^eth,  viz  :  those  that 
have  paid  their  tax  draw  directly,  and  those  that  have  not,  to  draw  as 
soon  as  they  pay.  To  be  drawn  in  presence  of  the  Clerk  and  Treas- 
urer of  s^  proprietary ;  the  lots  to  be  kept  in  a  box  under  Lock :  the 
Clerk  and  Treasurer  both  to  keep  account,  and  the  Clerk  to  record 
them  in  the  Proprietors'  book  — The  (Merk  to  keep  the  box  and  the 


HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


Treasurer  to  keep  y''  key  ;  the  Clerk  and  Treasurer  to  draw  in  some 
public  meeting.  Any  absent  Proprietor  to  draw  by  any  person  he 
shall  appoint." 

NARRAGANSETT  NO.  7,  OR  GORHAMTOWN; 


30  ACRE  LOT. 

100  ACRE  LOT. 

7 

0  ACRE  LOT 

No.        I. 

drew 

100. 

drew 

83- 

2. 

" 

77- 

" 

67. 

3- 

u 

44. 

u 

19. 

4- 

" 

109. 

tl 

49. 

5- 

" 

108. 

" 

106. 

6. 

(f 

37- 

" 

II. 

7- 

u 

103. 

" 

24. 

8. 

" 

12. 

li 

12. 

9- 

" 

40. 

" 

5°- 

10. 

u 

49. 

" 

63- 

II. 

" 

I. 

" 

2. 

12. 

" 

119. 

" 

52. 

13- 

" 

3- 

*' 

20. 

14. 

u 

21. 

" 

3- 

15- 

'' 

94. 

" 

95- 

16. 

" 

67. 

" 

42. 

17- 

u 

17- 

" 

29. 

18. 

u 

45- 

u 

114. 

19. 

u 

95- 

" 

57- 

20. 

u 

31- 

11 

-7   -» 

21. 

u 

32. 

11 

115- 

22. 

" 

102. 

11 

8. 

23- 

" 

83- 

11 

102. 

24. 

" 

lOI. 

11 

69. 

25- 

" 

76. 

11 

40. 

26. 

" 

53- 

" 

I. 

27. 

" 

108. 

11 

7- 

28. 

" 

120. 

1( 

41. 

29. 

u 

1 12. 

11 

78. 

3°- 

a 

39- 

11 

85- 

31- 

a 

93- 

" 

100. 

32- 

" 

26. 

11 

(>5- 

33- 

" 

42. 

11 

80. 

34- 

" 

36. 

" 

55- 

35- 

u 

29. 

'^ 

32- 

36. 

" 

61. 

81. 

37- 

" 

56. 

" 

6. 

38- 

" 

38. 

." 

72. 

39- 

" 

74- 

^^ 

39- 

40. 

" 

30- 

" 

45- 

41. 

u 

16. 

'' 

5- 

42. 

" 

50- 

" 

60. 

THE    FIRST    SETTLEMENT    AND    FIRST    SURVEYS. 


.S9 


3° 

ACRE  LOT.           lOO  ACRP: 

LOT.          70  ACRE 

43- 

drew      9 1 . 

drew      59. 

44- 

25. 

61. 

45- 

48. 

no. 

46. 

99. 

4- 

47- 

28. 

30. 

48. 

118. 

99. 

49. 

24. 

76. 

50. 

4- 

91. 

51. 

51- 

43- 

52 

117. 

25. 

53 

55- 

79. 

54 

"        2. 

"        10. 

55- 

7 

64. 

56. 

18. 

86. 

57- 

43- 

28. 

58. 

"       no. 

94. 

59- 

78 

71. 

60 

47- 

15- 

61. 

6. 

"      107. 

62. 

6s 

38. 

63 

107. 

93- 

64. 

41. 

58. 

65 

113. 

36. 

66 

54 

89. 

67 

"      III 

"  ,     13- 

68 

69 

62. 

69 

90 

82. 

70 

96 

96. 

71 

81 

113. 

72 

58 

14. 

73 

9 

44. 

74 

14 

18. 

75 

64 

" 

76 

88 

"                    90. 

77 

"      121 

31. 

78 

92 

51- 

79 

82 

"  '     73- 

80 

'•       2  ^ 

53- 

81 

^6 

48. 

82 

57 

70. 

83 

80 

"         lOI. 

84 

52 

" 

85 

19 

46. 

86 

71 

9. 

87 

72 

117. 

88 

60 

77- 

89 

114 

54 

90 

105 

74. 

90 


HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


3° 


ACRE    LOT. 

100    ACRE    LOT. 

70    ACRE    LOT 

91. 

drew 

116. 

drew 

103. 

92. 

" 

IS- 

" 

37- 

93- 

" 

66. 

III. 

94. 

u 

5- 

75- 

95- 

122. 

108. 

96. 

34- 

97- 

87. 

116. 

98. 

" 

106. 

88. 

99. 

" 

8. 

105. 

100. 

" 

115- 

34- 

lOI. 

27. 

22. 

102. 

" 

104. 

27. 

103. 

" 

79- 

17- 

104. 

" 

23- 

35- 

105. 

" 

59- 

104. 

106. 

u 

85- 

112. 

107. 

u 

68. 

108. 

u 

33- 

47- 

109. 

u 

63- 

1 10. 

u 

97- 

56. 

III. 

n 

73- 

84. 

112. 

t( 

89. 

92. 

113- 

a 

1 1. 

68. 

114. 

a 

20. 

16. 

115- 

" 

62. 

26. 

116. 

u 

70. 

87. 

117. 

i( 

84. 

log. 

118. 

u 

86. 

119. 

'• 

13- 

66. 

120. 

u 

75- 

21. 

121. 

u 

10. 

23- 

122. 

u 

35- 

97- 

The  foregoing  draft  of  lots  is  what  each  thirty  acre  lot  drew,  both 
of  hundred  acre  lots  and  of  seventy  acre  lots.  Of  the  latter,  the 
"  foregoing  is  a  true  draft,  of  each  lot  drawn  to  each  original  lot 
according  to  their  numbers,  being  one  hundred  and  sixteen  seventy 
acre  lots,  which  with  six  lots  given, by  David  Gorham,  Esq.  in  lieu  of 
400  acres  granted  him  near  Saccarappa  adjoining  Falmouth  ;  and  one 
lot  or  number  left  in  the  Box,  not  drawn,  supposed  to  be  for  an 
original  lot,  No.  123,  for  a  school  lot;  completes  the  number  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  three  Rights.  The  numbers  left  by  said  Gorham 
as  aforesaid  are  Nos.  75-84-96-107-109  &  iiS." 

The  boundary  lines  of  the  town  do  not  seem  to  have  been  located 
very  accurately  by  the  early  surveys,  or  at  least  they  were  not  so 
marked  as  to   be   easilv  found,  and   were   often    the   cause   of  much 


THE    FIRST    SETTLEMENT    AND    FIRST    SURVEYS.  91 

trouble  between  this  and  neighboring  towns.  The  General  Court,  in 
December,  1753,  upon  complaint  of  Joseph  Coffin  and  Cutting 
Moody,  who  were  a  committee  chosen  by  Narragansett  No.  i  to 
petition  the  Court  in  regard  to  a  dispute  that  had  arisen  between  the 
Proprietors  of  Narragansett  No.  i  and  Gorhamtown  concerning  the 
town  line,  "  Ordered  that  Richard  Hazen  Esq''  Run  the  Dividing 
Line  between  the  Said  Township  N°  i  and  the  Narraganset  N°  7 
with  Chainmen  On  Oath  at  the  Charge  of  the  Pef*  and  make  return 
of  his  doings  therein  into  the  Secretarys  Office  as  Soon  as  may  be." 

January  20,  1762,  the  Proprietors  of  Gorhamtown  "  Voted*  Moses 
Pearson  and  Enoch  Ereeman,  Esq^  and  Capt.  Morton  be  a  committee 
to  petition  the  General  Court  to  run  and  mark  the  boundary  lines 
between  Gorhamtown,  Pearsonstown,  Scarborough,  P'almouth  and 
Naragansett  No.  one;  agreeable  to  a  plan  of  Narragansett  No.  7 
lately  settled  by  the  General  Court." 

Ealmouth,  Gorhamtown  and  Pearsonstown  all  appear  to  have 
petitioned,  for,  in  the  following  Eebruary,  "  Upon  Petitions  from  the 
Towns  of  Ealmouth,  Gorham  Town  and  Pearson  Town,"  the  General 
Court  appointed  John  Bradbury,  Esq.,  James  Gowen,  Esq.  and  Rich- 
ard Cutts,  Esq.  a  committee  to  run  out  the  lines  of  the  towns  of 
Biddeford,  Scarborough  and  Ealmouth,  and  to  fix  the  bounds  at  the 
head  of  each ;  also  to  fix  the  bounds  of  the  townships  of  Narragan- 
sett Number  Seven,  Narragansett  Number  One  and  Pearsonstown, 
and  to  give  each  town  forty  days'  notice  before  commencing.  In 
July,  Moses  Pearson  and  Solomon  Lombard,  Esqs.  and  Mr.  Jacob 
Hamblen  were  chosen  by  the  Proprietors  as  a  committee  to  attend 
the  General  Court's  committee  in  settling  the  boundaiy  lines  with 
Ealmouth,  Scarborough,  Narragansett  No.  i  and  Pearsonstown. 
The  head  line  of  the  town  (between  Gorham  and  Pearsonstown)  was 
run  out  in  the  latter  part  of  September,  of  the  same  year,  by  John 
Brown,  Esq.,  who  was  accompanied  by  committees  representing  the 
two  towns  ;  Austin  Alden  being  one  of  the  Gorham  men. 

Li  December,  1764,  the  Proprietors  "Voted  the  Treasurer  procure 
an  attested  copy  of  the  General  Court's  Committee's  report  and  their 
surveyor's  plan  of  the  several  townships  made  in  the  year  1763,  and 
furnish  the  Committee  for  perambulating  the  lines  of  the  town  with  a 
copy  and  lodge  the  report  and  plan  with  the  Clerk."  They  also 
chose  Wentworth  Stuart,  Edmund  Phinney  and  Bryant  Morton  a 
committee  to  perambulate  the  several  boundary  lines  of  the  town  with 
the  selectmen  or  committees  of  the  adjoining  towns. 


92  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

The  plan  of  the  several  townships,  Narragansetts  Nos.  i  and  7, 
and  Pearsonstown,  with  the  lines  of  Biddeford,  Scarborough  and 
Falmouth,  which  was  made  by  John  Brown,  Esq.,  Surveyor,  in  1763 
by  order  of  the  committee  of  the  General  Court,  which  had  change  of 
running  out  the  lines  just  spoken  of,  having  been  lost,  the  General 
Court  on  June  2,  1767,  ordered  that  the  Secretary  write  to  Mr.  Brown 
directing  him  to  make  another  plan  of  the  same  tow^nships  and  lines, 
from  his  field-book  and  notes,  make  oath  that  it  was  a  true  plan,  and 
send  it  to  the  Secretary's  office  as  soon  as  he  could.  This  was  done 
and,  on  the  twenty-second  of  the  same  month,  the  General  Court 
"  Ordered  That  the  said  Plan  be  accepted  in  lieu  of  the  first  men- 
tioned Plan,  and  it  is  hereby  declared  that  it  shall  have  the  same  force 
and  effect  as  the  first  mentioned  Plan  ever  had  or  could  have  had,  to 
all  intents  and  purposes  whatsoever." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

FROM    1745   TO,  AND  INCLUDING,  THE  INCORPORATION    OF  THE  TOWN. 

Previous  to  the  breaking  out,  in  1745,  of  what  is  known  as  the  fifth 
Indian  war,  there  were  Hving  in  town  the  following  families  :  Capt. 
John  Phinney,  Hugh  McLellan,  Daniel  Mosher,  William  Pote,  Ebenezer 
Hall,  Benjamin  Skillings,  Eliphalet  Watson,  Benjamin  Stevens,  John 
Eayer  (or  Ayer),  Jacob  Hamblen,  Clement  Harvey  (or  Meserve),  Jacob 
Reed,  Edward  Cloutman,  Jeremiah  Hodgdon,  William  Bryant,  William 
McCallister,  James  Irish,  Caleb  Crowell,  and  possibly  Cornelius 
Bramhall,  although  we  think  not. 

At  this  time  the  line  of  settlements  ran  close  along  the  coast  line, 
and  Buxton,  Gorham  and  New  Marblehead  (Windham)  were  in  the 
frontier  range  of  towns,  and  certain  to  be  overrun  by  the  savages. 
On  account  of  this,  there  was  great  alarm  among  the  inhabitants  of 
Gorhamtown,  and  William  Pote,  Ebenezer  Hall,  Benjamin  Skillings, 
John  Eayer,  James  Irish  and  Caleb  Crowell,  with  their  families, 
removed  to  towns  less  liable  to  assault  from  the  savage  foe ;  most  of 
them  going  to  Falmouth,  while  a  few  returned  to  Massachusetts.  The 
families  of  Capt.  Phinney,  Hugh  McLellan,  Daniel  Mosher,  Eliphalet 
Watson,  Jacob  Hamblen,  Clement  Harvey,  Jeremiah  Hodgdon,  William 
McCallister,  Jacob  Reed  and  Edward  Cloutman  moved  into  the  fort, 
while  of  the  two  remaining  families,  that  of  William  Bryant  was 
completely  wiped  out  (with  the  exception  of  a  son),  as  elsewhere  relat- 
ed, and  it  is  not  known  with  certainty  whether  Benjamin  Stevens 
removed  his  to  the  fort,  or  left  town.  The  inhabitants  of  Gorham 
numbered  at  this  time  about  sixty  souls,  including  men,  women  and 
children,  besides  ten  soldiers  and  an  officer  furnished  by  Massa- 
chusetts to  aid  in  their  defence.  A  few  families  were  added  to  this 
number  from  time  to  time,  but  with  the  fall  of  Quebec  in  1759  and 
the  triumph  of  the  British  arms  over  the  French,  with  the  consequent 
withdrawal  of  the  Indians,  many  of  the  former  settlers  returned  and 
took  possession  of  their  abandoned  farms,  and  many  new  ones  moved 
into  town. 

Nova  Scotia  being  under  English  rule,  the  British  Government, 
which    had    deported    the    French-speaking    colonists    in    1755,    and 


di  HISTORY    OF    GOKHAM. 

granted  a  constitution  to  the  country  in  1758,  sent  troops  to  erect 
fortifications  at  Halifax  to  protect  the  country.  The  following  is  an 
account  of  the  adventures  of  some  Gorham  men  who  were  drafted  to 
work  on  these  defences  in  1761,  and  is  taken  from  the  diary  of  Mr. 
Austin  Alden,  who  was  a  Sergeant  in  Capt.  Simon  Jefferd's  company: 

On  Wednesday,  the  17th  of  June,  1761,  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  Austin  Alden,  Joseph  Whitney,  Nathan  Whitney  and  Nathan- 
iel Crediford  started  from  Gorham,  and  marched  to  Saco,  where  they 
joined  Lieut.  Lane  and  others  of  their  company.  During  the  first 
day  they  traveled  as  far  as  Kennebunk,  where  they  stopped  at 
"Jefferd's,"  near  the  Mousam  River.  In  Wells  they  took  dinner 
at  "Maxfield's."  It  would  seem  that  the  Maxfield  tavern  in  Wells  has 
an  old  standing.  They  arrived  at  York  the  second  night.  The  next 
day  at  Kittery  the  men  were  paid  by  Gol.  Sparrowhawk.  Here  Col. 
Moulton's  men,  and  the  company  to  which  Alden  belonged,  took 
passage  in  a  vessel  for  Boston.  While  on  board  Alden  had  two 
Johannes'  stolen  from  him,  but  recovered  one  the  next  morning. 
Sunday  morning,  about  eleven  o'clock,  they  arrived  at  Castle  William, 
and  by  one  in  the  afternoon  had  landed  all  the  men,  when  there  was 
served  out  to  each  a  blanket,  a  powder  horn,  a  ball  pouch,  a  canteen, 
and  a  haversack,  and  to  each  mess,  a  kettle.  After  which  the  men 
took  possession  of  their  quarters  in  the  barracks.  On  the  26th  they 
were  all  mustered  into  the  service  by  the  Muster  Master  General  of 
the  Castle,  and  the  next  day  were  embarked  on  board  the  transports 
bound  for  Halifax. 

Following  is  the  roll  of  Capt.  Simon  Jefferd's  company,  as  embarked 
on  board  the  schooner  Recovery,  at  Castle  William,  Boston  harbor, 
June  29,  1761  : 

(In  this  roll  I  have  marked  the  Gorham  men  with  a  G.) 


James  Whitaker 

Sergt.                      Austin 

Alden             Sergt.     G. 

Nathaniel  Crockett 

"          G.             Samuel 

1  Stevens             " 

Jonathan  Stone 

Corp.       "              John  G 

ray 

Com. 

Eleazer  Ferguson 

Robert  Flood                 " 

John  Alman,  Drummer. 

Privates. 

John  Weymouth. 

Jonathan  Gray,     G. 

Robert  Moore. 

Isaac  Bunker. 

Samuel  Tobey. 

Chas.  Mahoney. 

Samuel  Goodale. 

Thomas  Kimball. 

N.  Gray  Penney. 

Walter  Abbott. 

Abbey  McColley. 

William  Lewis. 

Jacob  Hooper. 

John  Smith. 

Silas  Abbott. 

Isaiah  Brooks. 

Thomas  Goodale. 

Jonathan  Shaw. 

Benjamin  Boothby, 

G. 

Jabez  Lane. 

Ebenezer  Way. 

Daniel  Town. 

David  Hutchins. 

Spencer  Trueworthy, 

Josiah  Garland. 

Nathan  Whitney,     C 

Walter  Cousins. 

Nathaniel  Crediford, 

G. 

Jonathan  Adams. 

Aaron  Bunker. 

I A  Portuguese  gold  piece,  worth  about  $9. 


FROM   1745  TO,  AND  INCLUDING,   INCORPORATION  OF  TOWN.       95 

Moses  Thomes,     G.  Isaac  Winter,     G.  Joseph  Whitney,     G. 

Hew  McRay.  Jonathan  Crockett,     Cj.  George  Strout,     G. 

Samuel  Grover.  Nicholas  Henderson.  Martin  Grant. 

Phineas  Ferguson.  Benjamin  Grover.  Jonathan  Holman. 

Jonathan  Nelson.  Peter  Lovis.  Nehemiah  Knowlton. 

John  Myrick.  Jonathan  Clark.  Layton  Williams. 

Lawrence  Tardue.  Henry  Gloard.  Francis  Hunton. 

Andrew  Cronoy.  Jonathan  Hallett.  Joseph  Brown,     G. 

Jonathan  Green.  George  Spencer.  Philip  Allman. 

Andrew  Farrow.  James  Niles.  Isaac  Mohoo. 
John  Collier,  captain's  servant. 

The  (jorhain  men  were  all  on  board  of  the  schooner  Recoveiy, 
Capt.  Thomas  Crandall  of  Plymouth,  Master.  After  being  wind- 
bound  until  the  30th  of  June,  the  expedition  sailed  for  their  destina- 
tion, Halifax.  On  July  2d  they  spoke  a  ship  from  Liverpool  to 
Boston,  commanded  by  Capt.  Daniel  McDonald.  On  the  4th,  some 
of  the  soldiers  discovered  a  rocky  shore  close  under  the  bows  of  the 
schooner  —  the  fog  lifted,  and  they  escaped  the  danger.  On  the  after- 
noon of  the  6th  they  spoke  a  sloop  from  Halifax.  On  the  same 
afternoon  they  arrived  in  Liverpool  harbor  (Nova  Scotia),  where  they 
took  in  seven  days  allowance  of  water.  July  iith,  before  daylight, 
they  again  set  sail,  and  arrived  at  Halifax  at  8  o'clock  in  the  evening. 
The  next  morning  they  landed  and  joined  the  forces  there  assembled. 
On  the  15th  the  men  were  set  at  work  on  the  fortifications.  The 
following  Stmday,  the  19th,  all  the  troops  were  assembled  and  mus- 
tered, and  then  reviewed  by  the  Town  Mayor,  after  which  the 
Articles  of  War  were  read  by  the  Adjutant,  and  the  conditions  of  the 
working  parties  defined.  These  condifions  were,  that  they  were  to 
have  no  pay  (probably  no  extra  pay) ;  each  man  to  be  allowed  two 
quarts  of  spruce  beer  per  day,  he  to  pay  for  it,  and  the  artificers  to 
have  a  small  allowance  of  extra  pay.  When  this  was  over,  Mr. 
Alden  attended  church,  but  heard  no  preaching. 

Mr.  Alden  speaks  on  the  following  day  of  a  Court  Martial  being 
held,  of  which  Capt.  Jefferd  was  president,  for  the  trial  of  one, 
Prichard ;  and  that  Boothby  became  frightened,  fearing  he  had 
enlisted  in  the  army  as  a  Regular.  On  the  23d,  in  company  with 
Crockett,  McColley,  Gray  and  Stone,  he  went  to  Dutch  Town  ;  he  also 
speaks  of  Moses  Whitney.  Up  to  the  3d  of  August  he  records  work 
and  camp  duties.  On  the  4th  he  met  Capt.  Joseph  McLellan, —  an 
old  acquaintance, — from  Casco  Bay,  and  tells  of  Stone,  Crockett  and 
himself  going  on  board  Capt.  McLellan's  vessel. 

There  were  the  usual  camp  duties  up  to  Sept.  4th.  About  this 
time  he  was  taken  sick  and  remained  so  until  Capt.  McLellan 
arrived  again,  when  he  brought  him  four  fowl,  a  pot  of  butter,  four 


96  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

letters  from  his  wife,  and  two  from  her  father.  Being  still  very  sick, 
he  took  physic  and  rhubarb  until  the  loth,  and  chronicles  killing 
his  chickens  from  time  to  time  as  he  required  nourishment  in  his 
illness,  and  also  records  as  a  luxuiy,  having  had  some  buttered 
turnips  for  dinner.  He  was  attended  during  this  sickness  by  Dr. 
Stimpson,  Dr.  Cook  and  Dr.  Mather.  He  speaks  of  frequent  arrivals 
from  Falmouth  of  captains  whom  he  knew,  and  of  boarding  and 
eating  with  them.  From  his  account,  he  greatly  enjoyed  these  meet- 
ings with  acquaintances  from  near  home,  and  often  they  brought  him 
letters  and  delicacies  from  his  friends. 

Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  men  being  divided  into 
artificers  and  country  laborers.  The  following  part  roll  shows  who 
of  Capt.  Jefferd's  company  were  entered  as  artificers. 

Names  of  some  of  the  soldiers  in  Capt.  Jefferd's  company  that 
went  from  Maine  to  build  the  fortifications  at  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia, 
by  order  of  the  English  Home  Government.     Taken  July   14,  1761. 

Nathaniel  Crockett  House  carpenter. 

Jonathan  Crockett  "              " 

Joseph  Whitney  "              " 

Thomas  Kimball  "              " 

Samuel  Newman  "              " 

Elisha  Newman  "              " 

Jonathan  Stone  "              " 

Samuel  Tobey  Joiner. 

Isaac  Winter  House  carpenter. 

Nathan  Whitney  " 

Jacob  Randall  Joiner. 

Jonathan  Baker  House  carpenter. 
Jonathan  Gray 

George  Strout  " 

Nathaniel  Crediford  "              " 

William  Cowen  '•              " 

David  Hutchins  Bricklayer. 

Joseph  Weymouth  Smith. 

Moses  Themes  Mason. 

Robert  Moore  Smith. 

The  following  were  classed  as  ship  carpenters,  wheelwrights,  boat 
builders,  millwrights,  and  other  kinds  of  artificers. 

Samuel  Waite.  Paul  March. 

Levi  Hutchins.  John  Burbank. 

Daniel  Lord.  Joshua  Lasdel. 

Downer  Hutchins.  Sam'l  Burbank. 

The  balance  of  the  company  were  called  Country  Laborers,  and  used 
the  spade,  pick  and  shovel.  Some  of  the  above  men  were  trans- 
ferred to  Jetferd's  company  from  other  commands. 


FROM   1745  TO,  AND   INCI.UDING,   I NXORPORATION  OF  TOWN.       97 

As  Mr.  Alden  was  an  Orderly  Sergeant,  he  did  not  work  with  the 
working  parties  ;  his  duties  being  to  see  the  parties  properly  organ- 
ized ;  turning  them  out  in  the  morning  and  bringing  them  in  at 
night.  Thus  he  passed  the  time,  between  his  duties  as  Orderly,  and 
sickness,  up  to  the  time  of  his  return  home.  He  several  times  makes 
mention  of  some  of  the  men  being  confined,  of  Court  Martials  and 
of  floggings,  when  from  twenty  to  one  hundred  lashes  were  ordered, 
and  says  that  none  of  the  men  thus  sentenced  were  pardoned.  There 
was  an  officer  who  was  equivalent  to  a  driver,  or  perhaps  superin- 
tendent, who  frequently  rode  about  among  the  working  parties,  and, 
if  they  did  not  move  as  expeditiously  as  he  thought  proper,  usually 
applied  the  whip,  or  a  long  stick  which  he  carried  for  the  purpose. 
This  kind  of  argument  was  not  pleasant  to  the  Colonists,  who  were 
there  at  small  pay,  and  not  from  their  own  choice  ;  —  such  treatment 
was  the  probable  cause  of  many  transgressions,  and  opposition  to 
officers,  which  led  to  many  of  the  Court  Martials,  floggings  and 
imprisonments. 

Many  of  the  men  were  often  sick,  so  that  the  usual  number  of 
men  that  were  mustered  mornings  for  duty  in  Jefferd's  company  was 
only  from  thirty-seven  to  forty-seven.  On  the  13th  of  November,^ 
Mr.  Alden  speaks  of  Jonathan  Adams  attempting  to  kill  himself,  but 
does  not  state  the  cause. 

Oct.  8th  all  the  Sergeants  and  Corporals  met  at  the  Captain's 
room  on  the  Citadel  Hill,  about  noon,  by  his  orders,  and  were  all 
treated  to  a  glass  of  wine.  It  would  appear  that  discipline  was 
somewhat  lax,  as  notice  is  taken  of  an  order,  which  three  of  the 
Orderlies  received,  to  keep  the  men  in  better  subjection.  Record  is 
often  made  of  confinements,  and  of  men  being  put  under  guard.  The 
men  lived  in  tents  until  Dec.  7th,  when  the  tents  were  turned  in,  and 
at  the  same  time  Mr.  Alden  received  permission  to  return  home.  He 
was  at  first  ordered  to  remain  through  the  winter,  much  to  his 
dissatisfaction,  but  by  dint  of  much  entreaty  he  finally  persuaded 
his  officer  to  countermand  the  order. 

Dec.  12,  1 761,  all  were  ordered  on  board  the  transports.  This 
order  was  obeyed  with  surprising  alacrity  by  all.  Mr.  Alden  was  on 
board  the  ship  St.  Andrew,  and  he  says  he  had  a  fine  frolic  in  the 
evening  in  the  great  cabin  of  the  ship.  They  sailed  on  the  1 4th  at 
eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  for  Boston.  After  a  stormy  and  tempes- 
tuous passage,  accompanied  with  intense  cold  they  anchored  in  Boston 
harbor  on  the  24th.  The  following  day  Mr.  x-Ylden  put  his  things  on 
board  a  Portland  schooner,  which  sailed  on  the  27th,  but  on   account 


98  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

of  the  weather,  put  in  at  Cape  Ann.  On  the  ist  of  January,  the 
schooner  put  into  Winter  Harbor  (at  the  mouth  of  the  Saco  River), 
and  as  he  did  not  want  to  be  all  winter  getting  home,  Mr.  Alden 
started  on  foot,  by  land.  Saturday  night  he  stopped  at  "  Foss's  "  in 
Scarboro',  and  on  Sunday  evening,  Jan.  3d,  arrived  at  home,  after 
an  absence  of  nearly  seven  months.  The  account  does  not  tell  how 
or  when  the  other  Gorham  soldiers  reached  home. 

With  the  increase  of  population  came  the  desire  of  a  number  of 
the  residents  of  Gorham  to  be  incorporated  into  a  town,  but  this  was 
opposed  by  many,  and  chiefly  by  the  non-resident  Proprietors,  who 
objected  principally  from  the  fear  of  a  rise  in  their  taxes  incident  to 
the  increased  expenses  of  a  town  government.  The  first  movement 
that  we  find  in  the  direction  of  incorporation  was  in  1760,  when  at  a 
meeting  of  the  Proprietors  held  at  the  house  of  Capt.  Joshua  Freeman 
in  Falmouth,  on  the  26th  of  I'ebruary  of  that  year,  it  was 

"  Voted  Moses  Pearson,  Esq.  be  chosen  agent  to  attend  the  Gen- 
eral Court,  make  answer  and  Show  Cause  why  the  prayer  of  the 
petition  of  Messrs  Jno.  Phinney,  Bryant  Morton  and  others  should 
not  be  granted. 

"  Voted  Capt.  Waite,  Deacon  Cotton  and  Capt.  Bangs,  be  a  com- 
mittee to  Draw  an  answer  and  Give  Reasons  why  the  prayer  of  the 
petition  of  Messrs  Phinney,  Morton  and  others  should  not  be 
Granted." 

Another  attempt  toward  incorporation  was  made  in  1762,  when  we 
find  this  article  in  a  notification  for  a  Proprietors'  meeting,  dated 
Jan.  4th  :  "  To  choose  an  agent,  if  the  Proprietors  think  fit,  to  oppose 
the  petition  of  a  Number  of  Inhabitants  of  said  Gorhamtown  who 
pray  that  the  lands  in  said  town  might  be  incorporated  into  a  town. 
District,  or  parish,  and  that  the  inhabitants  be  Vested  with  power 
and  privilege  as  in  all  other  Like  Cases."  At  the  meeting,  held  on 
the  20th  of  the  same  month,  it  was  voted  to  dismiss  this  article,  and 
there  is  no  record  of  any  more  active  opposition  being  made  to  the 
measure. 

As  to  the  exact  number  of  inhabitants  in  town  at  this  time  there  is 
no  record,  but  a  fairly  close  approximation  may  be  made  from  the 
County  rate  bill  for  1763.  By  this  County  rate  bill,  committed  to 
John  Harding  for  collection,  it  appears  that  the  tax  for  1763  was 
^9-4^-5'^-o^  The  assessment  was  made  by  Br)^ant  Morton,  Hugh 
McLellan  and  Amos  Whitney,  assessors.  The  bill  contains  one 
hundred  and  twenty-nine  names,  two  of  whom  were  non-residents, 
and  one  a  female,  which  would  leave  one  hundred  and  twent}'-six 


FROM   1745  TO,  AND   INCLUDINC,  IN'CORPOKATION  OF  TOWN.       99 

male  names,  residents  of  Goihani,  on  the  bill.  Polls  were  then  tax- 
able at  the  age  of  sixteen,  and  there  are  one  hundred  and  forty-four 
taxable  polls  on  the  bill.  Old  Capt.  John  Phinney  is  the  only  resident 
who  is  not  charged  with  a  poll  tax.  Two  persons,  only,  are  taxed  for 
their  "  faculty  ;"  Samuel  Crockett,  who  is  charged  five  and  one-half 
pence,  and  Joseph  Gates,  two  and  one-half  pence.  Thirt^'-seven 
inhabitants  paid  only  a  poll  tax,  which  was  eleven  pence  each.  The 
highest  resident  tax  was  seven  shillings  and  five  pence,  charged  to 
Hugh  McLellan.  Of  the  seventy-five  different  sirnames,  there  are 
twenty-nine  which  are  hot  now  (1875)  to  be  found  in  town. 

If  we  take  the  one  hundred  and  forty-four  taxable  polls  for  the  male 
population  over  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  allow  the  same  number  of 
females  of  the  same  age,  it  will  give  us  two  hundred  and  eighty-eight 
over  sixteen,  to  which  add  fifty  per  cent  for  those  under  that  age,  and 
we  have  the  population  of  Gorham  for  the  year  1763  to  be  four  hun- 
dred and  thirty-two  persons,  which  is  probably  not  far  from  the  fact. 
As  to  the  amount  of  stock  and  the  produce  of  the  farms  we  have  but 
small  data  on  which  to  calculate. 

The  tax  bill  we  have  for  this  year  is  for  but  a  small  amount,  and 
after  deducting  the  sum  assessed  on  the  polls,  there  was  but  four 
pounds,  eleven  shillings,  seven  and  one-half  pence  remaining,  to  be 
assessed  on  the  property.  Excepting  those  who  paid  only  a  poll  tax, 
all  who  owned  real  estate  are  assessed,  as  well  as  nearly  all  for 
personal  property.  As  this  bill  contains  the  earliest  list  of  names  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Gorham,  I  will  insert  it  here  : 


Alden,  Austin. 
Acors,  Moses. 
Bangs,  IJarnabas. 
Burnal,  John. 
Brown,  Joseph. 
Bridges,  Josiah. 
Cazlee,  John. 
Cotton,  John. 
Cotton,  William. 
McCallister,  William. 
Crocket,  Samuel. 
Cates,  Joseph. 
Cobb,  Elislia. 
Cresey,  John. 
1  )avis,  Prince. 
Davis,  Joshua. 
Crocket,  Peletiah. 
Edwards,  Richard. 
(Freeman,  Enoch.) 
Frost,  Benj". 
Frost,  David. 
Frost,  Elizabeth,  widow. 
Files,  William. 


F'reeman,  Nathan. 
Freeman,  Jonathan. 
F'reeman,  Jonathan,  Jr. 
Hy,  James. 
Emery,  William. 
Wro,  Isaiah. 
Gilkey,  James. 
Gammon,  Phillip. 
Gammon,  Joseph. 
Green,  John. 
(]oes,  Jonathan. 
Hi.\,  Lemuel. 
Harding,  John. 
Harding,  Seth. 
Harding,  Zepheniah. 
Hamblin,  Jacob. 
Hamblin,  Daniel. 
Haskel,  William. 
Hanscom,  George. 
Hodgdon,  Jeremiah. 
Hatch,  Joseph. 
Hackelton,  James. 
Hall,  Tohn. 


Irish,  John. 
Irish,  Joseph. 
Irish,  James. 
Irish,  Thomas. 
Irish,  William. 
Jones,  Henry. 
Jones,  Samuel. 
Jelason,  Samuel. 
Lombard,  Sol".,  Jr. 
Lombard,  Richard. 
Lakeman,  William. 
Libbee,  Joseph. 
Larry,  Dennis. 
Louis,  Abijah. 
McDaniel,  Charles. 
McDaniel,  John. 
McDaniel,  John,  Jr. 
Mosher,  Daniel. 
Mosher,  James, 
^lurch,  Sam'. 
Murch,  Walter. 
Murch,  John. 
Murch,  Ebenezer. 


100 


HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


McLellan,  Hugh. 
McLellan,  William. 
McLellan,  James. 
Morton,  Bryant. 
Morton,  Ebenezer. 
Morton,  Thomas. 
Morton,  Jabez. 
Phinney,  John,  Capt. 
Phinney,  Edmund. 
Phinney,  Stephen. 
Phinney,  John,  Jr. 
Phinney,  James. 
Pilkenton,  Joseph. 
Peabody,  Samuel. 
Pote,  Thomas. 
Rolf,  Daniel. 
Rolf,  Daniel,  Jr. 
Rolf,  Moses. 
Rounds,  Joseph. 
Rich,  Lemuel. 
Rich,  Lemuel,  Jr. 


Quinbee,  Jacob. 
Strout,  George. 
Stewart,  Wentworth. 
Skillins,  Benj". 
Stevens,  Benj". 
Stevens,  Nathan'. 
Sawyer,  John. 
Sawyer,  Jonathan. 
Sawyer,  David. 
Sinkler,  David. 
Sawyer,  Stephen. 
Thompson,  Phineas. 
Tombs,  Thomas. 
Tibbetts,  Joseph. 
Tinney,  George. 
Williams,  John. 
Williams,  Hart. 
Williams,  Daniel. 
Whitney,  Nathan. 
Whitney,  David. 
Whitney,  Abel. 


Whitney,  Nathaniel. 
Whitney,  Moses. 
Whitney,  Moses,  Jr. 
Whitney,  Amos. 
Whitney,  Aaron. 
Whitney,  Joel. 
Whitney,  Nathan,  Jr, 
Weston,  Thomas. 
Weston,  Joseph. 
Watson,  Eliphalet. 
Watson,  John. 
Webb,  David. 
Webb,  Seth. 
(Wait,  Benj.,  ]Maj.) 
Whitney,  Joseph. 
Whitmore,  Samuel. 
Nolan,  David. 
Chase,  Ezekiel  Rich. 
Warren,  Samuel. 


Finally,  Oct.  ;^o,  1764,  the  General  Court  passed  an  Act  incorpo- 
rating Gorham  as  a  town ;  making  it  one  of  three  towns  incorporated 
in  that  year  :  Topsham,  Gorham  and  Boothbay ;  Gorham  being  the 
twentieth  in  this  State  to  receive  this  honor.  This  Act,  which  was 
passed  at  Concord,  was  as  follows  :  — 

"  An  Act  for  erecting  the  Plantation  called  Gorham-Toivn,  into  a 
Town  by  the  Name  of  Goi'ham. 

"  Whereas  it  has  been  represented  to  this  Court,  that  the  erecting 
the  Plantation  called  Gorham-Town  in  the  County  of  Cumberland 
into  a  Town,  will  greatly  contribute  to  the  growth  thereof,  and  remedy 
many  Inconveniences  to  which  the  Inhabitants  and  Proprietors  may 
be  otherwise  subject : 

"  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Governor,  Council,  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, That  the  Plantation  commonly  called  and  known  by  the 
Name  of  Gorham-Town,  in  the  County  of  Cumberland;  bounded  as 
follows,  viz.  beginning  at  a  marked  Tree  on  the  westerly  Side  of 
Pesumpscot-River  in  a  Course  South  West  twenty  three  Degrees 
from  the  Hemlock  Tree,  on  the  other  Side  of  the  said  River,  which 
is  fifteen  Poles  below  Inkhorn  Brook ;  and  thence  running  South 
twenty  three  Degrees  West  on  the  Head  of  Falmouth  two  Miles  and 
two  Hundred  and  twenty  six  Poles  to  a  Spruce  Tree  marked,  standing 
about  two  Poles  westward  of  an  old  Mast  Path,  being  the  corner 
Bounds  of  Scarborough,  Falmouth,  and  said  Gorham-Town,  thence 
running  on  the  Head  of  Scarborough,  nine  Hundred  and  fifteen  Poles 
to  a  large  Hemlock  Tree  marked  N.  G.  thence  running  North 
thirty  three  Degrees  W^est  seven  Miles  and  Quarter  of  a  Mile  by 
Narragansett  Numb.  One  to  a  Firr-Tree  marked ;  and  from  thence 
running  North  East  seven  Miles  and  two  Hundred  Poles  to  said 
Pes U7np scot- River,  to  a  large  Hemlock-Tree  about  two  Rods  from 
the   said   River,  marked  G.  P.  and  bounded  North-easterly  by  said 


FKOM   1745  TO,  AND  INCLUDING,   I  NCORPORATK)N  OF  TOWN.    101 

River  ;  be  and  hereby  is  erected  into  a  Town  by  the  name  of  Gorhavi. 
And  that  the  Inhabitants  thereof  be,  and  hereby  are  invested  with 
all  the  Powers,  Privileges  and  Immunities,  which  the  Inhabitants  of 
the  Towns  within  this  Province  do  or  may  enjoy. 

"  Provided.  That  none  of  the  Inhabitants  or  Proprietors  of  said 
Town  be  held  by  virtue  of  this  Act  of  Incorporation  to  pay  any  Part 
of  the  ministerial  Charges  heretofore  arisen  in  said  Plantation,  which 
they  were  not  obliged  (by  their  own  contract)  to  pay  previous  to  such 
Incorporation. 

"  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  Stephen  Longfelloiv,  Esq  ;  be 
and  hereby  is  impowered  to  issue  his  Warrant  directed  to  some 
principal  Inhabitant  in  said  Town,  requiring  him  to  warn  the  Inhab- 
itants of  the  said  Town  qualified  to  vote  in  Town  Affairs,  to  meet  at 
such  Time  and  Place  as  shall  be  therein  set  forth,  to  chuse  all  such 
Officers  as  are  or  shall  be  required  by  Law  to  manage  the  Affairs  of 
the  said  Town." 

The  Hon.  Stephen  Longfellow  accordingly  issued  the  warrant  for 
the  first  town  meeting,  directing  it  to  meet  on  the  i8th  of  Februar}\ 
At  this  first  meeting,  which  was  held  Feb.  i8,  1765,  at  the  meeting 
house,  the  town  chose  Capt.  John  Phinney,  Moderator ;  Amos 
Whitney,  Town  Clerk ;  Benjamin  Skillings,  Amos  W'hitney  and 
Joseph  Weston,  Selectmen,  and  Edmund  Phinney,  Town  Treasurer. 

The  state  of  financial  affairs  in  Gorham  at  this  time  may  perhaps 
be  judged  somewhat  by  the  following  petitions,  sent  up  to  the  General 
Court  by  the  selectmen. 

(Massachusetts  Archives,  Vol.  i  iS,  pp.  91,  92.) 

"  To  his  Excellency  Francis  Barnard,  Esq'".,  Capt.  Gen'  &  Governor 
in  Chief  in  &  over  his  Majesties  Province  of  the  Massa'  Bay  in  New 
England,  The  Hon°"able  His  Majesties  Council 

"  The  Petition  of  the  Selectmen  of  Gorham  in  the  name  &  in 
behalf  of  the  Inhabitants  of  said  Gorham  Humbly  showeth  that  being 
in  expectation  of  being  incorporated  into  a  Town  last  May  Sessions 
of  the  Great  aiid  General  Court  of  this  Province  in  consequence  of 
which  we  in  our  annual  meeting  of  1764  thought  it  expedient  to  defer 
the  choice  of  assessors.  Collectors  &c  till  the  Act  of  Incorporation 
should  be  obtained  which  we  hoped  would  not  be  long,  &  therefore 
adjourned  our  March  Meeting  to  a  future  Day,  which  unhappy 
mistake  incapacitated  us  to  make  any  choice  at  all,  so  that  the  Last 
year's  Province  Tax  remains  uncollected  which  we  are  very  unable  to 
pay  inasmuch  as  we  have  been  so  great  sufferers  by  fires,  droughts  & 
severe  frost  last  year  that  numbers  of  families  in  the  place  are  in 
extreme  want  of  bread.  Moreover  we  are  on  the  point  of  settling  a 
good  minister,  which  will  we  trust  be  to  universal  acceptance  both  in 
this  Place  cV  all  around  us,  the  charge  whereof  will  be  a  very  heavy 
burden  on  our  Shoulders.      Your  Petitioners  therefore  humbly  pray 


102  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

that  the  Province  Tax  of  1764   may   be    abated  or   remitted  &   your 
Petitioners  as  in  duty  bound  shall  ever  pray. 
Gorham  May  20th  1765. 

Briant  Morton       \     Selectmen 
Benj""  Skillings      [-  of 

Amos  Whitney  )  Gorham. 
"In  the  House  of  Representatives  June  20,  1765,  Read  &  ordered 
that  the  Province  Tax  laid  on  Gorham  for  the  year  1764  be  sus- 
pended. And  that  the  same  be  added  to  that  Province  Tax  in  the 
year  1766,  and  the  Treasurer  is  directed  not  to  Issue  his  Execution 
against  said  Town  in  the  meantime. 
"  Sent  up  for  concurrence 

S.  White  Spk'-. 
"In  Council  June  20,  1765  Read  and  Concurred. 
A.  Oliver,  Secy 

Consented  to  Fra.  Bernard." 

(Massachusetts  Archives,  Vol.  118,  p.  360.) 

"To  his  Excellency  Francis  Barnard  Esq"",  Cap'  General  &  Gov- 
ernor in  Chief  in  &  over  his  Majesties  Province  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay  in  New  England,  The  HonO''able  His  Majesties  Council  and 
House  of  Representatives  in  General  Court  assembled. 

"  The  Petition  of  the  Selectmen  of  the  Town  of  Gorham  in  the 
name  of  said  Town  Humbly  sheweth  that  by  reason  of  the  many 
misfortunes  that  has  happened  in  said  Town  within  these  few  years 
and  the  settlement  of  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  among  us,  bring  on  us 
a  burthen  which  we  lind  extremely  hard  to  bare  &  the  exceeding 
scarcity  of  money  adds  weight  to  that  burthen  &  inasmuch  as  two 
thirds  of  the  Lands  in  Gorham  is  owned  by  non-resident  Proprietors 
who  are  equally  benefitted  in  the  rising  price  of  their  Land  with 
those  that  are  resident  proprietors  and  that  by  the  settlers  improve- 
ments &  their  multiplication  in  said  Gorham  as  to  numbers,  and  the 
settlement  of  the  Gospel  here,  we  are  humbly  of  the  opinion  that  the 
non-resident  Proprietors  are  held  in  justice  to  contribute  something 
toward  the  charges  of  the  Gospel  ministry  among  us  for  that  he  who 
feels  the  benefit  ought  to  feel  the  burthen  was  never  a  bad  maxim. 
We  therefore  humbly  pray  that  your  Excellency  &  Hono^'able  would 
take  the  affair  under  wise  Consideration  &:  order  as  much  upon  the 
Acre  upon  all  unimpro\'ed  lands  already  divided  into  Lots  in  said 
Town  not  otherwise  paying  Taxes  as  your  Excellency  &  Honorables 
shall  in  your  great  Wisdom  order  &  for  such  time  as  may  be  thought 
convenient,  which  sum  so  ordered  be  for  the  support  of  the  Gospel  in 
said  Place  &  your  Petitioners  as  in  duty  bound  shall  ever  pray. 

Joseph  Gates  \     Selectmen 

Edmund  Phinney  of 

Hugh  McLalin       )      Gorham. 

"  Petition  of  Selectmen  of  Gorham, 
June  I,  1768 

C'ommitted  to  Capt.  Brown  Col.  l^rescott  Cap.  Clay  " 


195  y^- 

Sheep 

506. 

4- 

Swine 

125. 

77- 

Acres  of  tillage 

395- 

281. 

Tons  of  hay 

853- 

204. 

Acres  of  Pasturage 

527- 

FROM   1745  TO,  AND  INCLUDING,   I XCORPORATIOX  OH  TOWN.     103 

That  we  may  be  able  to  show  something  of  the  progress  the  town 
has  made  in  wealth  and  improvement  during  the  last  century,  I  do 
not  know  any  better  way  than  to  give  the  statistics  of  the  town  for 
the  year  1772,  which  I  have  in  my  possession.  The  facts  are  taken 
from  the  book  of  valuation  of  estates,  as  made  out  by  James  Gilkey, 
William  McLellan  and  Austin  Alden,  the  assessors  for  that  year. 

Polls 

Slaves 

Horses 

Cows 

Oxen 

At  that  time  individuals  were  by  law  chargeable  with  a  poll  in  the 
rates  at  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  before  the  individual  arrived  at  the 
age  of  twenty-one  his  poll  was  charged  with  that  of  his  parent. 

There  are  two  hundred  and  ten  names  on  the  list  —  two  females, 
Margaret  Holbrook  and  widow  McDonald.  There  are  twenty  names 
to  which  no  polls  are  charged,  two  of  which,  Ebenezer  Mayo  and 
Joseph  Quinby,  have  "  mills  "  marked  against  them,  and  no  other 
property  or  valuation  —  probably  they  were  non-residents.  One 
hundred  and  sixty-eight  names  have  one  poll  each.  One  name  has 
one  and  a  half  polls,  which  probably  was  intended  for  a  very  smart  boy. 
Seventeen  names  have  two  polls  each,  and  four  have  three  each. 
There  are  fifty-seven  names  that  have  polls  and  no  property,  while 
seventeen  have  property,  but  no  polls,  charged  to  them. 

Solomon  Lombard,  Esq.,  \\'illiam  McLellan,  Lemuel  Rich  and 
Nathaniel  \\'hitney  owned  two  horses  each.  Sixty-nine  individuals 
owned  one  horse  each.  Joshua  Decker  is  the  only  person  who  owned 
a  horse,  and  no  other  property. 

William  McLellan  owned  two  slaves,  Hugh  McLellan,  one,  and 
Jacob  Hamblen,  one.  Forty-eight  persons  owned  one  cow  each,  fifty- 
three  owned  two  each,  thirteen  owned  three  each,  twelve  owned  four 
each,  three  owned  five  each,  three  owned  six  each,  one  owned  seven, 
and  it  appears  that  seventy-four  did  not  own  a  cow.  Eight  owned  a 
cow  apiece,  and  no  other  property. 

It  appears  that  sixty-four  individuals  owned  a  yoke  of  oxen  each, 
sixteen  owned  two  yoke  each  and  two  owned  three  yoke  each.  One 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  did  not  own  any  oxen,  w^hile  five  owned 
oxen  and  no  other  property,  and  two  owned  only  oxen  and  cows. 

Seventy-four  persons  kept  sheep  in  flocks  of  from  two  to  fifteen 
each.  There  were  but  nineteen  flocks  that  contained  ten  and  upwards  ; 
while  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  persons  did  not  keep  these  animals. 


104 


HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


Forty-five  people  kept  one  hog  each,  twenty-one  kept  two  each,  ten 
kept  three  each,  and  two,  Daniel  Hamblen  and  Amos  Whitney,  kept 
four  each.  One  hundred  and  thirty-three  of  the  good  citizens  kept 
no  pig. 

Four  individuals,  John  Cresey,  Hugh  McLellan,  Lemuel  Rich  and 
Amos  Whitney,  cut  twenty  tons  of  hay,  twenty-six  persons  cut  from 
ten  to  twenty  tons,  thirty-four  cut  from  five  to  ten  tons,  fifty-two  cut 
less  than  five  tons,  twenty-two  cut  from  one  to  two  tons  each,  and  it 
appears  that  about  ninety  persons  cut  no  hay  at  all. 

One  hundred  and  fourteen  citizens  had  land  under  tillage.  John 
Harding  had  twelve  acres  of  tillage  ;  the  next  highest  number  of  acres 
was  charged  to  Solomon  Lombard,  Esq.,  —  eight  —  while  Alexander 
McLellan  was  credited  with  seven.  Sixteen  farms  had  each  five  acres 
under  cultivation,  and  fourteen  six  acres  each,  while  eighty-one  per- 
sons tilled  from  one  to  four  acres  each. 

Out  of  the  two  hundred  and  ten  sirnames  on  the  list  there  are 
forty-eight  names  not  now  known  in  town,  or  at  least  there  are  none 
on  the  tax  book  of  this  year  bearing  the  same  names. 

As  to  the  population  of  Gorham  at  this  time,  if  we  take  the  same 
number  of  females  over  sixteen  years  of  age  as  we  have  males,  which 
by  the  number  of  polls  is  one  hundred  and  ninety-six,  we  shall  have 
three  hundred  and  ninety-two,  and  if  we  add,  for  those  under  sixteen, 
half  as  many  more,  we  shall  have  for  the  population  five  hundred  and 
eighty-eight,  or  probably  about  six  hundred  persons  in  1772. 

Additional  names  found  after  1763  on  the  tax  bills  up  to  1773. 


Adams,  Joshua. 
Adams,  William. 
Bacon,  Nathaniel. 
Bangs,  Barnabas. 
Bangs,  Heman. 
Black,  Josiah. 
Blake,  Ithiel. 
Boston,  Abraham. 
Brimhall,  Silvanus. 
Brown,  Benjamin. 
Brown,  Joseph,  Jr. 
Brown,  Samuel. 
Brown,  Silvanus. 
Cloutman,  Timothy. 
Cobb,  Andrew. 
Cobb,  Chipman. 
Cresey,  John,  Jr. 
Crocket,  Andrew. 
Crocket,  John. 
Crocket,  Joshua. 
Crocket,  vSamuel,  Jr. 
Davis,  Josiah. 
Davis,  Samuel. 


Decker,  Joshua. 
Dickey,  William. 
Doan,  Isaac. 
Dunn,  Nathaniel. 
Dyer,  John. 
Elder,  Samuel. 
Eldridge,  Daniel. 
Edwards,  Samuel. 
Freeman,  Jonathan. 
Freeman,  Jonathan,  Jr. 
Freeman,  Nathan. 
Freeman,  Nathaniel. 
Frost,  Nathaniel. 
Frost,  Peter. 
Frost,  Susanna. 
Gammon,  Phillip,  Jr. 
Gilkey,  Joseph. 
Gorham,  William. 
Gray,  Taylor. 
Greely,  John. 
Green,  Benjamin. 
Green,  John,  Jr. 
Green,  Solomon. 


Gustin,  Thomas. 
Hall,  Ebenezer. 
Hamblen,  George. 
Hamblen,  Gershom. 
Hamblen,  Timothy. 
Harding,  John,  Jr. 
Harding,  Joseph,  Jr. 
Haskell,  John. 
Hodgdon,  John. 
Holebrook,  Margaret. 
Flunt,  Ephraim. 
Hunt,  George. 
Huntress,  Christopher. 
Huston,  Simon. 
Jordan,  Joseph. 
Jordan,  Richard. 
Kimball,  Caleb. 
Knight,  Joseph. 
Knight,  Nathaniel. 
Lamb,  Richard. 
Libby,  Joab. 
Libby,  Josiah. 
Lombard,  Calvin. 


FROM  1745  TO,  AND  INCLUDING,  INCORPORATION  OF  TOWN.    105 


Lombard,  Jedediah. 
Lombard,  NathanieL 
Longfellow,  Stephen,  Esq. 
Matthews,  John. 
Mayo,  Ebenezer. 
McCollister,  James. 
McDaniel,  Joseph. 
Mc Daniel,  Robert. 
McDaniel,  widow. 
McLellan,  Alexander. 
McLellan,  Gary. 
McLellan,  Hugh. 
McLellan,  Joseph. 
Melvin,  John. 
Moody,  Joshua. 
Morton,  Elisha. 
Morton,  Jabez. 
Morton,  James. 
Munson,  William. 
Murch,  John,  Jr. 
Murch,  William. 
Murry,  Anthoney. 
Nason,  LTriah. 
Nute,  Obed. 
Paine,  Prentice. 
Paine,  Richard. 
Paine,  William. 


Perkins,  John.  Stackpole,  John. 

Perkins,  John,  Jr.  Strout,  Elisha. 

Philbrick,  Jonathan.  Stubbs,  James. 

Quinby,  Joseph  and  Joseph, Sturgis,  Jonathan. 
Jr.,  have  no  poll  taxes,  andSwett,  Stephen, 
are    put    down    as    owningThomes,  George, 
mills,  and    cutting    thirteenThomes,  Samuel. 


tons  of  hay,  (no  land). 
Rich,  Ezekiel. 
Rich,  James. 
Rich,  Zephaniah. 
Right,  Robert. 
Roberts,  Benjamin. 
Roberts,  Joseph. 
Roberts,  Joseph,  Jr. 
Robinson,  George. 
Ross,  James. 
Runnels,  Owen. 
Sawyer,  Joel. 
Sawyer,  Stephen. 
Sharp,  Jonathan. 
Silla,  W^illiam. 
Simpson,  Jonathan. 
vSkillings,  Isaac. 
Skillings,  John. 
Skillings,  Thomas. 
Smith,  Thomas. 


Thural,  Davis. 
Thural,  James. 
Waite,  John. 
Walker,  Nathaniel. 
Watson,  Colman  P. 
Watson,  Ebenezer. 
Weeks,  William. 
West,  Desper. 
\Veymouth,  James. 
White,  John. 
White,  Peter. 
Whitmore,  William. 
Whitney,  Ebenezer. 
Whitney,  Isaac,  Jr. 
Whitney,  John. 
Whitney,  Joseph. 
Whitney,  Phineas. 
WHiitney,  Zebulon. 
W^illard,  Peleg. 
Wood,  William. 


The  following  names  are  on  the  list  of  1763,  and  are  not  found  on 
that  of  1772  ;  probably  some  of  them  were  dead  and  some  had  left 
town  : 


Bridges,  Josiah. 
McCorson,  James. 
Erost,  Benjamin. 
Frost,  Elizabeth,  widow. 
Emery,  William. 
Wro  (Rowe),  Isaiah. 
Goes,  Jonathan. 
Hatch,  Joseph. 
Hackleton,  James. 
Hall,  John. 
Irish,  Joseph. 
Jones,  Samuel. 
Lewis,  Abijah. 
Mosher,  Daniel. 


McDaniel,  John. 
McDaniel,  John,  Jr. 
Morton,  Ebenezer. 
Morton,  Thomas. 
Morton,  Jabez. 
Rolf,  Daniel. 
Rolf,  Daniel,  Jr. 
Rolf,  Moses. 
Rounds,  Joseph. 
Quinby,  Jacob. 
Sawyer,  John. 
Sawyer,  David. 
Sinkler,  David. 


Thompson,  Phineas. 
Tibbetts,  Joseph. 
Tinney,  George. 
Williams,  Daniel. 
Whitney,  Nathaniel. 
Whitney,  Moses,  Jr. 
Whitney,  Joel. 
Whitney,  Nathan,  Jr. 
Weston,  Thomas. 
Weston,  Joseph. 
Webb,  David. 
Webb,  Seth 
Nolan,  David. 
Chase,  Ezekiel  R. 


/ 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    REVOLUTION. 

During  the  war  between  the  United  Colonies  and  the  mother  coun- 
try, the  War  of  Independence,  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Gorham 
were  not  wanting,  either  in  shedding  their  blood,  or  in  furnishing 
money  and  means  for  its  prosecution  ;  at  times  about  eveiy  third  man 
was  in  the  army.  At  one  time  a  whole  company  was  raised  to  serve 
in  the  disastrous  attempt  on  Bagaduce,  now  Castine.  This  company 
was  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Alexander  McLellan,  who  was  a 
son  of  Hugh  McLellan  the  second  settler  in  town,  and  lived  in  the 
house  which  formerly  stood  where  the  house  of  Hon.  Isaac  Dyer  now 
stands. 

A  regiment  in  the  Massachusetts  line  (the  31st)  in  the  Continental 
army  was  commanded  by  Col.  Edmund  Phinney,  son  of  Capt.  John 
Phinney,  the  first  settler  ;  and  in  this  regiment  were  many  from  Gor- 
ham, and  no  better  men  or  braver  soldiers  could  have  been  found 
anywhere.  Many  brave  and  noble  deeds,  doubtless,  were  performed 
by  some  of  them,  which  deserve  a  better  fate  than  that  of  oblivion, 
but  the  hand  of  time  has  erased  much  from  the  records  of  tradition 
which  might  well  have  been  spared  for  the  gratification  of  future 
generations. 

Gorham  not  only  furnished  her  quota  of  brave  men  for  the  army, 
and  paid  for  their  services,  but  also  with  a  mother's  care  provided 
subsistence  for  their  suffering  families  left  behind.  Those  were  days 
of  poverty,  suffering  and  want,  and  we  may  say  that  even  to  have  the 
bare  necessaries  of  life  was  a  luxury  to  many.  Col.  Phinney's 
brother,  John,  Jr.,  was  drafted  during  the  war,  but  it  was  finally 
decided,  as  he  was  a  well-to-do  man,  that  he  should  send  in  his  place 
his  sons,  Ebenezer  and  John,  and  that  he  himself  should  remain  at  home 
and  assist  in  taking  care  of  and  supporting  the  families  of  some  of 
the  poorer  Gorham  soldiers. 

Nor  was  Gorham,  before  the  war  broke  out,  behind  the  spirit  of  the 
times.  In  1768,  when  the  agent  of  the  Province  was  refused  admis- 
sion to  the  presence  of  the  king,  and  a  report  was  circulated  that 
troops  had  been  ordered  to  march  into  Boston,  Governor  Bernard  was 
begged  on  all  sides  to  convoke  a  general  assembly,  but  he  refused, 
saying  that  by  instructions  from  England  he  was  prevented  from  com- 


THE    REVOLUTION.  107 

plying  with  tlieir  demands.  Upon  this  reply,  the  selectmen  of  Boston 
called  upon  the  towns  in  the  Colony  to  hold  a  convention.  Gorham, 
in  September,  held  a  town  meeting,  and  Solomon  Lombard,  who  was 
then  the  Representative  of  the  town  at  the  General  Court,  was  chosen 
as  "  an  agent  to  go  to  Boston  as  soon  as  may  be,  to  join  a  committee 
of  agents  from  other  towns  in  the  Province,  to  consult  and  resolve 
upon  such  measures  as  may  most  conduce  to  the  safety  and  w-elfare 
of  the  inhabitants  of  this  Province  at  this  alarming  and  critical  con- 
juncture ;  "  and  for  this  purpose  Mr.  Lombard  was  allowed  eight  days 
for  traveling  to  and  from  Boston.  This  convention  met  on  the  2  2d 
of  September,  and  voted  that  the  violated  rights  should  be  defended, 
cost  what  it  might  in  lives  and  fortunes  ;  and  that  those  having  no 
arms  should  furnish  themselves. 

In  August,  1772,  the  king  ventured  on  an  act  which  did  much  to 
precipitate  the  crisis.  It  was  ordered  that  the  salaries  of  all  the 
Massachusetts  judges,  who  held  their  offices  during  the  king's  pleas- 
ure, should  henceforth  be  paid  by  the  Crown  and  not  by  the  Colony. 
At  a  Boston  town  meeting,  held  in  October,  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  ask  the  Governor  whether  the  judges'  salaries  w^ere  to  be  paid  as 
stated  in  the  royal  order.  Gov.  Hutchinson  was  also  asked  to  con- 
voke the  Assembly  that  the  people  might  give  their  views  on  this 
important  matter.  He  told  them,  however,  to  mind  their  own  business, 
and  would  give  them  no  information  about  the  salaries.  He  also 
declared  the  town  had  no  right  to  petition  for  a  meeting  of  the 
Assembly.  It  was  then  moved  by  Samuel  Adams,  in  town  meeting, 
that  a  committee  of  correspondence  be  appointed,  this  same  to  consist 
of  twenty-one  persons,  and  that  these  state  the  rights  of  the  Colonies 
and  especially  those  of  Massachusetts.  This  statement  was  to  be  sent 
•'  to  the  several  towns  and  to  the  world,  as  the  sense  of  this  town, 
with  the  infringements  and  violations  thereof,  that  have  been,  or  from 
time  to  time  may  be,  made." 

In  response  to  the  above-mentioned  circular  from  Boston  a  town 
meeting  w'as  held  in  Gorham  for  the  express  purpose  of  considering 
and  deliberating  upon  the  subject  matter  of  the  letter.  At  this 
meeting  held  Dec.  31,  1772,  it  was  voted  that  the  rights  were  fairly 
stated  by  the  town  of  Boston  in  their  pamphlet,  and  also  that  the 
infractions  w'ere  rightly  stated  in  the  same.  It  was  then  voted 
to  choose  a  committee  of  communication  to  draw  up  resolves,  and, 
upon  the  concurrence  of  the  town,  to  send  them  to  Boston.  A 
committee  of  grievances  was  likewise  chosen,  to  consist  of  the  same 
persons   as  the   former  committee,  and  those   composing  these  com- 


108  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

mittees  were  the  following:  Solomon  Lombard,  Esq.,  Capt.  John 
Phinney,  William  Gorham,  Esq.,  Capt.  Edmund  Phinney,  Elder 
Nathan  Whitney,  Caleb  Chase,  Capt.  Bryant  Morton,  Josiah  Davis 
and  Benjamin  Skillings.  It  was  then  voted  to  return  the  thanks  of 
Gorham  to  the  town  of  Boston  for  "  their  vigilance  of  our  privileges 
and  liberties  ;  "  and  the  meeting  was  adjourned  for  one  week.  At  the 
end  of  that  time,  on  Jan.  7,  1773,  the  committee  reported  the  fol- 
lowing Preamble  and  Resolves  :  — 

We  find  that  it  is  esteemed  an  argument  of  terror  to  a  set  of  the 
basest  of  men  who  are  attempting  to  enslave  us,  and  who  desire  to 
wallow  in  Luxury  upon  the  expense  of  our  earnings,  that  this  country 
was  purchased  by  the  Blood  of  our  renowned  forefathers,  who,  flying 
from  the  unrelenting  rage  of  civil  and  religious  tyranny  in  their  native 
land,  settled  themselves  in  this  howling  wilderness.  But  the  people 
of  this  town  of  Gorham  have  an  argument  still  nearer  at  hand ;  not 
only  may  we  say  that  we  enjoy  an  inheritance  purchased  by  the  blood 
of  our  forefathers,  but  this  town  was  settled  at  the  expense  of  our  own 
blood.  We  have  those  among  us  whose  blood,  streaming  from  their 
own  wounds,  watered  the  soil  from  which  we  earn  our  bread  !  Our 
ears  have  heard  the  infernal  yells  of  the  native  savage  murderers  !  Our 
eyes  have  seen  our  young  children  weltering  in  their  gore  in  our  own 
houses,  and  our  dearest  friends  carried  into  captivity  by  men  more 
savage  than  the  savage  beasts  themselves  !  We  many  of  us  have  been 
used  to  earn  our  daily  bread  with  our  weapons  in  our  hands.  There- 
fore we  cannot  be  supposed  to  be  fully  acquainted  with  the  mysteries 
of  Court  policy,  but  we  look  upon  ourselves  able  to  judge  so  far  con- 
cerning our  rights  as  men,  as  Christians,  and  as  subjects  of  British 
Government,  as  to  declare  that  we  apprehend  these  Rights,  as  settled 
by  the  town  of  Boston,  do  belong  to  us,  and  that  we  look  with  horror 
and  indignation  on  the  violation  of  them. 

We  only  add  that  our  old  Captain  is  still  living,  who  for  many  years 
has  been  our  chief  officer  to  rally  the  inhabitants  of  this  town  from 
the  plow  or  the  sickle  to  defend  their  wives,  their  children  and  all  that 
was  dear  from  the  savages.  Many  of  our  families  have  been  inured 
to  the  danger  and  fatigue  of  flying  to  garrison.  The  timber  of  our 
fort  is  yet  to  be  seen,  and  many  of  our  watchboxes  are  still  in  being. 
Some  of  our  women  have  been  vised  to  handle  the  cartridge,  and  load 
the  musket :  and  the  swords  which  we  whet  and  brightened  for  our 
enemies  are  not  yet  grown  rusty.     Therefore 

Resolved.  That  the  people  of  this  town  are  as  loyal  as  any  of  his 
majesty's  subjects  in  Great  Britain,  or  the  plantations,  and  hold  them- 


I 


THE    REVOLUTION.  109 

selves  in  readiness  to  assist  his  Majesty  with  their  lives  and  fortunes 
in  his  defence,  and  the  rights  and  privileges  of  his  subjects. 

Resolved.  We  apprehend  that  the  grievances  we  justly  complain 
of  are  owing  to  the  corruption  of  the  late  ministry  in  not  suffering  the 
repeated  petitions  and  remonstrances  from  this  Province  to  reach 
the  Royal  ear. 

Resolved.  That  through  the  channel  of  the  said  corruption  the  Par- 
liament of  Great  Britain  has  passed  several  acts,  in  the  execution  of 
which  the  American  people  are  burthened  with  unconstitutional  taxes. 

Resolved.  That  from  the  same  source  a  board  of  commissioners 
are  erected  in  this  Province,  with  such  commissions  as  strip  the  honest 
laborer  of  the  fruits  of  his  industry,  and  his  domestic  security,  which 
is  against  all  the  principles  of  the  common  law. 

Resolved.  That  it  is  clearly  the  opinion  of  this  town,  the  Parlia- 
ment of  Great  Britain  has  no  more  right  to  take  money  from  us 
without  our  consent  than  they  have  to  take  money  without  consent 
from  the  inhabitants  of  France  or  Spain. 

Resolved.  That  the  extent  of  power  granted  the  Court  of  Admiralty 
is  a  great  and  intolerable  grievance. 

Resolved.  That  to  render  the  Governor  and  Judges  of  the  Superior 
Court  of  this  Province  independent  of  the  grants  of  the  general  court 
is  an  innovation  and  an  infraction  on  the  constitution  and  charter 
rights,  as  it  destroys  that  check  which  should  ever  remain  in  the  hands 
of  the  people. 

Resolved.  That  it  is  clearly  the  opinion  of  this  town' that  the  rights 
of  the  colonists,  and  the  several  infringements  of  those  rights,  are 
fairly  and  justly  stated  by  the  inhabitants  of  Boston  in  their  printed 
pamphlets  sent  to  the  several  towns. 

Resolved.  That  the  thanks  of  the  town  of  Gorham  be  given  to 
the  town  of  Boston  for  their  vigilance  and  patriotic  zeal  shown  in  the 
defence  of  our  constitution  and  charter  rights. 

Resolved.  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  town  that  it  is  better  to 
risk  our  lives  and  fortunes  in  the  defence  of  our  rights,  civil  and  relig- 
ious, than  to  die  by  piecemeals  in  slavery. 

Resolved.     That  the  foregoing  resolves  and  proceedings  be  regis- 
tered in  the  town  clerk's  office,  as  a  standing  memorial  of  the  value 
that  the  inhabitants  of  this  town  put  upon  their  rights  and  privileges, 
(signed)       Solomon  Lombard. 
John  Phinney. 

Wil™  Gorham.  Committee  of 

Briant  Morton. 

Nathan  Whitney.  Correspondence. 

Benj"  Skillings. 
Edm"^  Phinney. 
Josiah  Davis. 
Caleb  Chase. 

These  resolves  were  all  voted  on,  one  at  a  time,  and  it  was  voted 
that  a  copy  of  them  be  sent  by  the  Committee  to  the  town  of  Boston. 


110  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Throughout  the  whole  Colony  the  same  feeling  was  manifested  as  at 
Gorham,  and  before  the  ist  of  January,  1773,  eighty  towns  had 
organized  their  committees  of  correspondence.  These  constituted  a 
kind  of  assembly  which  the  Governor  could  not  dissolve,  and  which 
was  not  contrary  to  law,  but  was  none  the  less  of  great  influence  in 
directing  the  affairs  of  the  Colony. 

The  efforts  of  the  parent  government  to  force  the  colonies  to  buy 
tea,  laden  with  the  odious  tax,  aroused  the  highest  indignation 
throughout  the  colonies,  and  in  Boston  resulted  in  many  town  and 
other  meetings  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  indignation,  and  for 
protesting  against  the  tax,  and  the  landing  of  the  tea.  At  one  of 
these  meetings,  the  sheriff  of  Suffolk  County  read  a  proclamation 
from  the  Governor  to  the  effect  that  the  people  should  disperse,  or 
continue  further  unlawful  proceedings  at  their  utmost  peril.  The 
result  was  a  storm  of  hisses,  and  the  meeting  went  on  as  before. 

When  it  became  evident  that  the  tea  would  inevitably  be  landed, 
the  enraged  citizens  committed  that  act,  which  has  been  known  ever 
since  as  the  "  Boston  Tea  Party."  Everywhere  in  the  colonies  this 
deed  created  the  utmost  rejoicing.  A  town  meeting  was  called  in 
Gorham  for  Jan.  17,  1774,  to  take  into  consideration  resolves  of  the 
correspondence  committee,  and  also  to  "  act  and  do  at  this  exigency 
of  political  affairs  as  the  town  shall  think  proper ;"  and  it  was 
requested,  in  the  constable's  notice  calling  the  meeting,  "  that  there 
may  be  a  full  meeting,  as  the  occasion  is  important."  The  meeting 
was  held,  and  the  following  resolves  were  passed  :  — 

Resolved.  That  our  small  possessions,  dearly  purchased  by  the 
hard  labor  and  industry  of  ourselves  and  dear  ancestors,  with  the  loss 
of  many  lives  by  a  barbarous  and  cruel  enemy,  are  by  the  laws  of 
God,  Nature,  and  the  British  Constitution,  our  own,  exclusive  of  any 
other  claim  under  Heaven. 

Resolved.  That  all  and  every  part,  or  parcel  of  the  profits  arising 
therefrom  are  also  our  own,  and  that  none  can  of  right  take  away  any 
part  or  share  thereof  without  our  free  consent. 

Resolved.  That  for  any  Legislative  body  of  men  under  the  British 
Constitution,  to  take,  or  grant  liberty  to  take,  without  consent  is  State 
robbery,  and  ought  to  be  opposed. 

Resolved.  That  the  British  Parliament  laying  a  tax  on  Americans 
for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  is  a  violation  of  the  laws  of 
religion  and  sound  policy  ;  inconsistent  with  the  principles  of  freedom, 
that  have  distinguished  the  British  Empire  from  its  earliest  ages. 

Resolved.  That  the  appropriating  this  revenue  in  support  of  a  set 
of  the  vilest  of  the  human  race  in  rioting  on  our  spoils  is  an  unprec- 
edented step  of  Administration,  and  appears  to  us  most  odious. 

Resolved.     That  the  Tea  Act,  in  favor  of  the  East  India  Company 


THE    RK.VOLUTrON.  Ill 

to  export  the  same  to  America,  is  a  deep  laid  scheme  to  betray  the 
unwary  and  careless  into  the  snare  laid  to  catch  and  enslave  them, 
and  requires  the  joynt  vigilance,  fortitude  and  courage,  of  the  thought- 
ful and  the  brave  to  oppose  in  every  constitutional  way. 

Resolved.  That  petitioning  the  Throne  carries  a  very  gloomy 
prospect,  so  long  as  his  Majesty  is  under  the  same  influence  that  he 
has  been  for  many  years  past. 

Resolved.  That  other  methods,  besides  petitioning,  are  now  become 
necessary  for  the  obtaining  and  securing  our  just  rights  and  privileges. 

Resolved.  That  the  measures  taken  by  the  town  of  Boston,  in  their 
several  meetings  to  consult,  debate  and  devise,  in  regard  to  the  tea 
carried  there,  merits  the  esteem  and  regard  of  all  who  esteem  their 
rights  worth  preserving,  and  will  transmit  their  memory  to  unborn 
ages  with  Honor. 

Resolved.  That  the  unfeigned  thanks  of  the  Town  of  Gorham  wait 
on  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  of  the  metropolis,  and  all  the 
good  people  for  their  zeal  for  liberty  in  their  late  tow^n  meetings,  and 
may  our  indignation  fall  on  all  who  are  enemies  to  our  happy 
Constitution. 

Resolved.  That  we  of  this  town  have  such  a  high  relish  for  Liberty, 
that  we  all,  with  one  heart,  stand  ready,  sword  in  hand,  with  the 
Italians  in  the  Roman  Republick,  to  defend  and  maintain  our  rights 
against  all  attempts  to  enslave  us,  and  joyn  our  brethren,  opposing 
force  to  force,  if  drove  to  the  last  extremity,  which  God  forbid. 

Captain  Phinney  then  moved,  and  it  was  "  Voted,  that  if  any  person 
of  Gorham  shall  hereafter  contemn,  despise  or  reproach  the  former, 
or  the  present  Resolves,  to  prevent  the  force  or  effect  of  the  same 
among  this  people,  he  shall  be  deemed,  held  and  adjudged  an  enemy 
to  his  country,  unworthy  of  the  company  and  regard  of  all  those  who 
are  the  professed  sons  of  freedom,  and  treated  as  infamous." 

As  a  preface  to  the  foregoing  Resolves,  the  following  was  accepted  :  — 
"When  we  contemplate  on  Days  of  old,  the  Years  of  Ancient  times, 
when  the  Candle  of  the  Lord  shone  around  our  Tabernacle,  and  the 
Benign  rays  from  the  Throne  beamed  through  the  whole  of  our 
American  Atmosphere,  which  placed  a  smile  on  every  face  and  joy  in 
every  Heart,  and  each  individual  sitting  under  his  own  Vine  and  Fig 
tree,  having  none  to  annoy  or  make  him  afraid,  enjoying  the  fruits  of 
his  honest  industry.  In  this  Golden  Age  mutual  Love  subsisted 
between  the  Mother  State  and  her  Colonies,  the  mother  extending  her 
Powerful  Arm  to  skreen  and  to  protect  her  Children  from  insult  and 
ruin  from  their  and  her  natural  enemies,  who  would  have  attacked 
them  on  their  watry  frontier ;  in  return,  the  Children  have  ever  been 
obedient  to  the  requisitions  of  their  Mother  in  raising  Men  and  money 
to  the  enlargement  of  the  British  Empire  to  an  amazing  extent, 
and  this  without  Complaint  or  even  a  single  murmur,  although  they 
thereby  endangered  their  own  Bankruptcy.  But  how  are  circum- 
stances changed  1     '  ()  Tempora,  ()  Mores  ' !     The  Mother  lost  to  her 


112  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

first  Love,  her  maternal  affection  degenerated  into  a  Cold  indifferency, 
if  not  a  fixed  hatred  of  her  children,  as  is  too  evident  by  the  repeti- 
tion of  one  revenue  Act  after  another,  and  appointing  Egyptian  task 
masters,  if  not  worse,  cruelly  to  extort  from  us  our  property,  without 
so  much  as  to  say,  by  your  leave,  that  they  may  wallow  in  Luxury  on 
our  spoils,  against  every  principle  of  Justice,  Human  or  Divine  ;  and 
the  Tools  of  Aministration  among  ourselves  have  used  every  measure 
in  their  power  to  Weaken  our  hands,  and  to  subject  us  easily  to  be 
dragooned  in  chains  and  Slavery,  not  by  dint  of  argument,  but  by 
the  mere  force  of  the  power  placed  in  their  Hands  by  the  Mother 
State  ;  our  stronghold  Castle  William,  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
enemies  of  our  Happy  Constitution,  purchased  by  our  money  at  vast 
expense,  designed  for  our  defence  ;  our  armory  out  of  our  Power  ; 
all  the  commissions  of  Honor  and  pro^t  are  bestowed  on  those  who 
are  falsely  called  the  friends  of  Government,  but  more  truly  may  be 
denominated  friends  to  Tyrany  and  oppression  and  enemies  to 
Constitutional  Government ;  the  Infamous  Richardson,  who,  by  Ver- 
dict of  a  Jury,  guilty  of  the  Murder  of  young  Snider,  escaped  the 
gallows  by  the  connivance  of  men  in  power  ;  Capt.  Preston,  at  the 
head  of  a  number  of  the  King's  Troops  caused  the  streets  of  Boston 
to  run  with  crimson  gore  of  the  innocent  Inhabitants,  Honored  and 
Bountifully  rewarded  by  the  men  in  Power  at  home  for  his  great 
suffering  and  gallant  behavior  in  that  deplorable  Massacre.  All 
these  things  bearing  heavy  upon  our  minds,  and  not  altogether  sunk 
below  all  human  feelings,  We,  una  voce,  came  to  these  resolves." 

It  was  then  voted  to  send  these  resolves  to  the  Committee  of  Cor- 
respondence in  Boston  ;  the  following  letter  to  accompany  them. 

"To  the  Respectable  Committee  of  Correspondence  of  the  Town 
of  Boston 

Gentlemen 

We  received  your  favor  of  Nov.  23''^'  &  Dec.  i^'.  Inclosed, 
last  Week,  for  which  we  present  you  Thanks.  We  would  express 
our  gratitude  that  this  Town,  although  an  Infant  settlement,  is  not 
neglected,  but,  after  a  representation  of  Public  Affairs,  our  advice 
among  others  is  requested.  We  cannot  by  any  form  of  Language 
fully  represent  our  concern  at  the  persevering  attempts  of  the  Admin- 
istration of  Great  Britain  to  rend  from  the  People  of  America  those 
invaluable  privileges  purchased  at  the  expense  of  their  dearest  blood ; 
and  it  is  a  matter  that  excites  our  Admiration  that  the  Honorable 
East  India  Company  should  suffer  themselves  so  far  to  be  taken  in 
by  the  Ministerial  Villany  as  to  attempt  the  carrying  into  execution 
their  execrable  plan  by  sending  Tea  and  setting  up  a  factory  in  this 
Country.  But  above  all  are  our  minds  affected  with  the  Considera- 
tion that  the  most  restless  secret  plotting  enemy  to  our  free  and 
happy  Constitution  still  holds  the  Highest  seat  in  the  Government 
in  this  place,  to  whom  may  be  fittly  applied  that  pathetic  complaint 
of  the  Inspired  Writer,  '  My  own  familiar  friend,  in  whom  I  trusted, 
which  did  eat  of  my  bread,  hath  lift  up  his  heel  against  me ;  for  it 


THK    REVOLUTION.  113 

was  not  an  enemy  that  reproached  me,  then  I  could  have  borne  it ; 
neither  was  it  he  that  hated  me  that  did  magnify  himself  against  me, 
then  would  I  have  hid  myself  from  him,  but  it  was  thou,  a  man,  my 
equal,  my  guide  and  my  acquaintance.  We  took  sweet  counsel- 
together,  and  walked  to  the  house  of  God  in  company.'  We  shall 
not  attempt  to  express  our  Indignation  at  the  Proclamation  sent  by 
the  High  Sheriff  to  a  respectable  Body  of  the  Inhabitants  of  Boston 
and  the  neighboring  Towns  assembled  in  the  most  peaceable  and 
regular  manner  to  consult  in  time  of  common  danger,  treating  them 
as  a  mob  of  rioters,  and  with  the  most  unparalleled  impudence 
requiring  and  commanding  them  to  disburse.  This  proclamation 
was  sent  by  an  American,  a  Townsman,  a  Neighbor  and  a  professed 
friend  :  under  such  unheard  of  provocation  to  remain  unmoved  were 
impious.  We  do  not  think  it  possible  to  treat  this  proclamation  with 
the  Contempt  it  deserves. 

"We  hope  and  trust  that  the  Inhabitants  of  this  Town  will  not  be 
induced  to  part  with  their  privileges  for  a  little  paltry  Herb  Drink, 
their  Birthright  for  a  Mess  of  Pottage.  To  give  our  advice  we  shall 
not  presume,  as  we  are  convinced  that  should  your  Wisdom  need 
assistance  (which  in  our  opinion  it  does  not)  the  best  advice  of 
Multitudes  much  more  acquainted  with  Public  Affairs  would  be  at 
your  service  ;  the  Inhabitants  of  this  Town,  as  we  apprehend,  being 
in  general  better  qualified  to  handle  their  old  swords  than  the 
Writer's  pen,  and  who  if  they  are  compelled  to  dispute  for  their 
privileges  must  have  resource  to  those  solid  and  weighty  arguments 
by  the  force  of  which  they  have  often  carried  their  point,  not  only 
with  Savage  Men,  but  also  with  savage  Bears  and  other  Beasts  of 
the  Wilderness,  and  which  we  conceive  would  be  the  most  proper 
and  suitable  to  make  Impression  on  a  Hutchinson,  a  Heliborough 
or  Bull. 

"  We  shall  only  testify  our  gratitude  &  entire  approbation  of  the 
conduct  of  all  the  good  people  of  the  Town  of  Boston,  both  separate 
and  in  connection  with  the  Neighboring  Towns,  and  declare  that 
while  they  continue  to  conduct  with  the  same  excellent  Wisdom,  we 
will  be  always  ready  to  stand  by  them  with  our  .Lives  and  fortunes 
against  a  most  abandoned  set  of  Villains,  Pensioners,  Commissioners, 
Factors,  Murderers  &c  &c,  that  ever  disgraced  the  name  of  Human- 
ity. We  are  particularly  charmed  with  the  Conduct  of  the  Indians, 
of  which  we  have  had  accounts  in  the  Publick  prints,  which  inclines 
us  almost  to  forget  the  Wounds  we  have  received  from  their  Tribes 
in  these  parts,  as  we  esteem  the  Deceit,  Murder  and  Cruelties  of 
these  native  savages  not  Worthy  to  be  mentioned  the  same  day  in 
comparison  of  the  hellish  conduct  of  the  present  Enemies  of  America. 

"  We  conclude  by  wishing  every  kind  of  Happiness  &  prosperity 
to  the  friends  of  our  Country,  White  or  Black." 

In  return  for  the  Boston  Tea  Party  an  indemnity,  equal  to  the  value 
of  the  tea,  was  levied  on  Boston,  and  until  this  should  be  paid  the 
port  was  to  be  closed.     In  place  of  Boston,  Marblehead  was  to  be 


114  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

the  port  of  entry,  and  Salem  the  seat  of  government.  This  Act  was 
to  take  effect  on  the  ist  of  June,  1774.  Several  other  very  obnox- 
ious Acts  were  passed  by  Parliament  at  about  the  same  time  as  this  ; 
one  of  which  was  for  the  purpose  of  taking  away  the  charter  rights 
of  Massachusetts,  and  abolishing  the  rights  of  the  citizens  to  free- 
dom of  speech  in  the  town  meetings.  When  the  time  came  for  the 
Boston  Port  Bill  to  go  into  effect  it  was  observed  as  a  day  of  fasting 
throughout  the  Colony.  Muffled  bells  were  tolled,  and  ships  in  the 
harbors  put  their  flags  at  half  mast.  In  Falmouth  on  the  14th, 
the  bell  was  muffled  and  rung  from  early  in  the  morning  till  nine 
o'clock  at  night;  and  on  the  29th,  Parson  Smith  says,  "We  had  a 
Fast  relative  to  the  sad  state  of  our  public  aft'airs." 

It  had  been  determined  to  call  a  Continental  Congress  to  meet  in 
Philadelphia,  Sept.  ist.  In  the  meantime  resistance  to  the  new  laws 
did  not  cease  in  Massachusettts.  In  spite  of  the  law  against  town 
meetings,  and  an  order  from  Gage  (who  was  now  governor  of  the 
Province)  forbidding  the  people  to  attend  them,  they  were  constantly 
held  and  largely  attended.  Gage  now  issued  an  order  convening  a 
Great  and  General  Court,  or  Assembly,  for  the  first  of  October,  but 
almost  immediately  he  countermanded  it.  The  representatives,  how- 
ever, notwithstanding  this,  met  at  Salem  on  the  fifth  of  October.  At 
a  town  meeting  held  in  Gorham,  Sept.  26th,  for  the  purpose  of 
choosing  a  "  representative  to  serve  as  such,  and  to  join  the  Provin- 
cial Congress,  if  such  a  method  should  be  come  into,"  Solomon 
Lombard,  Esq.,  was  chosen.  A  committee  of  five,  consisting  of 
Nathaniel  Whitney,  Prince  Davis,  Capt.  Edmund  Phinney,  Caleb 
Chase  and  William  Gorham,  Esq.,  was  chosen  to  draw  up  instruc- 
tions for  the  said  Representative.  These  instructions,  as  reported 
by  this  committee,  were  as  follows  :  — 

To  Solomon  Lombard,  Esq., 
Sir 

Whereas  You  are  chosen  by  the 
Town  of  Gorham  to  Represent  them  at  a  Great  and  General  Court 
or  Assembly,  to  be  begun  and  held  at  Salem  on  Wednesday  the  fifth 
Day  of  October  next ;  We  desire  You  to  Observe  the  following 
Instructions  ;  Viz. 

1.  That  You  be  punctual  at  the  time  of  the  said  Courts  setting,  and 
there  so  far  as  You  may  have  influence.  Maintain  and  Support  to 
your  utmost,  all  our  Charter  &  Constitutional  Rights,  and  not  give 
up  one  Iota  or  Tittle  of  them  to  any  Supposable  power  on  Earth. 

2.  That  You  use  Your  endeavor  to  Obtain  a  Vote  of  the  House  for 
the  re-establishment  of  Our  former  Charter  of  this  Province. 


THE    REVOLUTION.  115 

3.  After  the  Gen'  Court  is  Adjourned,  prorogued  or  dissolved,  We 
Instruct  You  to  Joyn  with  the  other  Members,  which  compose  the 
said  Court,  in  forming  themselves  into  a  Provincial  Congress,  to  be 
held  where  may  be  by  them  thought  best  in  Order  to  Consult,  Debate 
and  resolve  on  measures  proper  to  be  taken  &:  pursued  by  the  Peo- 
ple of  this  Province,  in  Order  to  secure  them  in  the  Enjoyment  of 
their  Charter  &  Constitutional  Rights  as  freemen   and  as  Christians. 

Lastly,  Trusting  in  Your  fidelity  &  Wisdom  We  doubt  not  but  You'll 
pursue  every  measure  that  You  may  think  for  the  General  Good  at 
this   Alarming  &  distressing  Period.     Wishing  You    success   in    all 
Your  lawful  undertakings.  We  are  Sir 
Your  Humble  Servants. 

By  Ord.  of  the  Town  ;       WILLIAM  GORHAM  Town  Clerk. 

The  Assembly  met,  and  having  waited  a  day  for  the  arrival  of  the 
Governor,  formed  themselves  into  a  Provincial  Congress,  which 
having  elected  John  Hancock  as  its  president,  adjourned  to  Concord. 
Oct.  27th,  a  committee  of  safety  was  chosen,  and  charged  with  the 
collection  of  military  stores.  The  Congress  also  recommended  that 
the  towns  should  not  pay  the  State  or  Province  taxes  to  the  Royalist 
Treasurer,  Harrison  Gray.  At  a  town  meeting  held  in  Gorham, 
Dec.  I  St,  it  was  voted  that  Capt.  Edmund  Phinney  be  a  treasurer  to 
collect  the  money  that  was,  or  might  be,  due  from  the  collectors  or 
constables  of  the  town,  and  send  it  to  Henry  Gardner  of  Stowe, 
agreeable  to  the  recommendation  of  the  Provincial  Congress  ;  and  at 
the  same  meeting  it  was  also  voted  to  raise  ten  pounds,  to  be 
expended  in  powder,  balls  and  flints,  for  an  addition  to  the  town 
stock. 

Evidently,  at  the  passing  of  the  Boston  Port  Bill,  Gorham,  in 
company  with  other  towns,  had  agreed  to  an  entire  non-importation 
agreement.  The  Continental  Congress,  meeting  on  Sept.  5th,  1774, 
urged  the  people  to  persevere  in  abstaining  from  English  manufac- 
tured or  prepared  goods,  and  formed  an  association  for  a  "  non- 
importation, non-consumption  and  non-exportation  "  agreement.  To 
the  committees  of  correspondence  was  intrusted  the  duty  of  inspec- 
tion of  the  entries  at  the  custom  houses.  Accordingly  Gorham  voted 
to  adopt  the  association  agreement  of  the  Continental  Congress,  in 
preference  to  the  "  non-importation  "  covenant  lately  signed  by  the 
inhabitants  of  the  town,  and  that  the  latter  be  dissolved  ;  and  a 
committee,  consisting  of  Capt.  Bryant  Morton,  and  Messrs.  Josiah 
Davis,  Wentworth  Stuart,  James  Gilkey  and  Caleb  Chase,  was  chosen 
to  take  care  that  the  plans  of  the  Continental  Congress  should  be 
exactly  complied  with.  At  the  same  meeting  (Dec.  31st),  Capt. 
Bryant  Morton  was  chosen  as  a  delegate  to  join  the  Provincial  Con- 


116  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

gress,  when  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  should  think  it 
expedient.  For  this  service  he  was  to  be  allowed  five  shillings  per 
day,  while  gone  to  the  said  Congress.  A  large  committee  was  like- 
wise chosen  to  see  that  a  quantity  of  wood,  to  be  sent  to  the  poor  of 
Boston,  should  be  at  Falmouth  by  the  last  week  in  January.  The 
last  article  in  the  warrant  for  this  meeting  was  one  to  see  what 
encouragement  the  town  would  vote  for  those  "  who  will  enlist  them- 
selves to  be  in  readiness  in  case  of  any  sudden  alarm."  This  the 
town  voted  to  postpone  for  the  present,  and  it  never  came  into  town 
meeting  again  ;  but  the  minute  men  were  well  organized  before  the 
Lexington  alarm. 

Harrison  Gray,  the  Royalist  Province  Treasurer,  demanded  that 
the  money  for  the  Province  tax  be  paid  forthwith.  In  order  to  pro- 
tect its  ofiicers  in  their  refusal  to  do  this,  at  a  town  meeting  held 
Jan.  7,  1775,  the  town  voted  to  indemnify  the  assessors  for  refusing 
to  make  return  to  Harrison  Gray  for  his  warrant  for  apportioning  a 
Province  tax,  and  also  that  they  would  indemnify  the  "  former  con- 
stables and  collectors  in  their  paying  the  Province  money  (yet  in 
their  hands)  to  Col.  Edmund  Phinney,  instead  of  Harrison  Gray, 
when  they  have  paid  the  same."  Later  it  was  voted  to  raise  a  sum 
of  money  equal  to  the  sum  ordered  to  be  raised  by  Harrison  Gray 
the  last  year;  viz.  ;^3i-2-io,  as  a  Province  tax,  and  that  this  remain 
in  the  hands  of  the  town  treasurer  until  the  town  should  order  it  to 
be  paid  to  Henry  Gardner,  or  any  other  person  appointed  to  receive 
the  same  for  the  proper  use  of  the  Province. 

There  is  no  record  giving  the  population  of  Gorham  at  the  begin- 
ning of  hostilities  in  1775,  but  by  the  assessment  of  the  town  tax  for 
this  year,  made  in  December,  it  appears  that  there  were  two  hundred 
and  fifty-five  names,  against  which  there  were  two  hundred  and  sixty- 
four  polls  charged,  and  there  were  twenty  males  with  no  poll  tax, 
and  two  females,  taxed  for  property. 

From  this  it  appears  that  in  1775  Gorham  had  about  two  hundred 
and  sixty-four  able  bodied  men  in  town  of  all  ages  over  sixteen  ;  add 
to  these  the  twenty  males  not  taxed  for  a  poll  tax,  and  we  have  a 
male  population  over  sixteen  years  of  two  hundred  and  eighty-four. 
Allowing  half  as  many  more  for  the  boys  under  that  age,  and  reckon- 
ing as  many  females  as  males,  we  shall  have  some  eight  hundred 
and  fifty-two  souls  for  the  population  of  the  town  at  or  about  the 
commencement  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution. 

Of  the  tax  payers  this  year  there  were  seventy-seven  who  paid 
only  a  poll  tax,  with  thirty-three  that  paid  a  very  small  tax  on  per- 


J 


THE    REVOLUTION.  117 

sonal  property,  with  no  real  estate  whatever  ;  taking  these  one 
hundred  and  ten,  who  paid  a  tax  of  about  eight  pence  each,  from  the 
two  hundred  and  seventy-seven,  leaves  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven 
who  had  to  pay  from  about  one  to  eight  shillings  each.  There  are 
fifteen  persons  on  this  list,  who  are  taxed  for  their  "faculty." 

The  alarm  of  the  battles  of  Lexington  and  Concord  reached 
Falmouth  before  daybreak  on  the  21st  of  April,  1775,  and  caused 
tremendous  excitement  there  and  in  all  the  region  round  about.  A 
Falmouth  company  of  soldiers  started  that  same  day  for  Boston, 
followed  by  others.  A  company  of  militia  had  been  for  some  time 
organized  and  armed  in  Gorham,  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Hart 
Williams,  and  another,  in  Gorham,  Windham  and  Standish,  com- 
manded by  Capt.  Wentworth  Stuart  of  Gorham.  These  promptly 
followed  the  Falmouth  company,  but  when  they  reached  Wells  they 
were  all  ordered  back  to  protect  the  coastwise  towns,  and  returned, 
reaching  Falmouth  April  24th. 

In   May  occurred  in   Portland  the  famous  "Thompson  War,"  of 

which,  as  it  largely  concerns  Gorham  soldiers,  it  may  be  well  to  give 

some  account.     Capt.  Mowatt,  of  the  sloop  of  war  "Canceau,"  gave 

considerable    apprehension    to    the    people    of    Falmouth,   and    the 

neighboring  coast  towns,  lest,  being  reinforced,  he  should  cause  them 

trouble,  and  on  May  7th,  Col.  Samuel  Thompson  with  a  company  of 

fifty  men,  arrived   at  Falmouth  from   Brunswick,  and  encamped  in  a 

grove  of  pines.     Each  man  wore  a  bit  of  spruce,  and  their  standard 

was  a  small  spruce  tree  stripped  of  all  but  its  top  branches.      In  this 

grove  they  remained  till  the  ninth,  when  Capt.   Mowatt,  his  surgeon 

and    parson    Wiswall    while    walking   on   the   hill,  unaware   of   their 

presence,  were  captured  by  them,  as  was  the  undoubted  intention  of 

the  soldiers  in  coming  to  Falmouth.      A  large  number  of  the  citizens 

of  the  town  wished  Thompson  to  release  his  prisoners,  but  this  he 

refused  to  do,  and  Col.   Phinney  sent  off  for  his  soldiers  to  protect 

him  in  this.      At  length,  however,  Thompson  yielded  to  the  desire  of 

a  majority  of  the  citizens  of  the  place,  and  released  the  prisoners  on 

parole,  they  to  return  the  following  morning.      They  did  not    keep 

their  word  ;  and  there  being  now  on  the  Neck,  not  only  Col.   Phin- 

ney's   regiment,  but   militia   from   the   neighboring  towns,  who  were 

greatly  enraged  at  the  release  of  Mowatt   and  his  failure  to  keep  his 

agreement,  threats  were  openly  made  that  they  would  destroy    his 

ship.     As  it  was,   they  vented  their  anger  on  the   Royalists.     The 

next  day.  May  nth,  among  other  deeds,  they  plundered  Capt.   Coul- 

son's  house,  and  used  it   as   a  barrack.      In   the   cellar  was  found   a 


118  HISTORY    OF    GOKHAIM. 

supply  of  liquor,  to  which  they  helped  themselves.  Calvin  Lombard 
of  Gorham,  son  of  Rev.  Solomon  Lombard,  went  to  the  edge  of  the 
water,  and  fired  a  couple  of  balls  into  the  side  of  Mowatt's  vessel. 
Going  to  Sheriff  Tyng's  residence  they  took  from  it  a  silver  cup 
and  tankard  and  his  gold-laced  hat.  Others  took  Coulson's  boat  and 
hauled  it  through  the  town  nearly  to  Back  Cove,  and  left  it  in  the 
fields.  Later  another  boat  was  treated  in  the  same  manner.  Deeply 
enraged,  Mowatt  demanded  that  Lombard  be  given  up,  and  that  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Neck  return  the  boats  and  "  dispel  the  mob  from 
the  country,"  or  he  would  fire  upon  the  town.  The  citizens,  however, 
succeeded  in  assuring  him  that  it  was  the  countiy  people  who  were  to 
blame,  and  that  they  were  unable  to  control  them.  By  the  15th  of 
the  month,  the  last  of  the  soldiers  had  left  town,  and  soon  after  this 
the  ship  sailing,  Falmouth  for  the  time  being  was  left  in  peace. 

The  articles  taken  from  Sheriff  Tyng's  were  carried  to  Gorham,  and 
secreted,  but  were  afterwards  restored,  being  delivered  to  Mrs.  Ross, 
Tyng's  mother-in-law.  Coulson's  loss  was  made  up  to  him  by  the 
General  Court. 

Efforts  were  now  made  to  organize  a  regiment.  Gen.  Jedediah 
Preble,  who  evidently  had  the  authority,  appointed  Edmund  Phinney  — 
who  had  been  commissioned  a  colonel  in  Januaiy  of  that  year — colo- 
nel of  the  regiment,  and  the  enlistment  of  the  companies  had  already 
been  begun  when  word  was  received  that  Samuel  March  of  Scar- 
borough had  also  received  the  requisite  authority  to  raise  a  regiment. 
As  Cumberland  County  could  not  afford  to  spare  two  regiments,  Col. 
Phinney  went  to  Cambridge  to  see  about  the  matter,  taking  with  him 
the  following  letter  from  Gen.  Preble. 

Falmouth,  May  15,  1775. 
■  Honored  Gentlemen  :  —  These  wait  on  you  by  Col.  Phinney  who 
brought  me  all  the  papers  necessary  for  enlisting  a  Regiment  in  the 
County  of  Cumberland.  I  advised  with  the  Committee  of  Corres- 
pondence who  was  of  the  opinion  it  would  be  difficult  for  our  County 
to  spare  a  Regiment  to  be  moved  out  of  the  Province  of  Maine,  as 
we  lay  much  exposed  to  the  Na\iy  by  sea,  and  the  Indians  and  French 
on  our  back  settlements,  if  they  should  be  employed  against  us  :  but 
we  would  be  glad  to  do  everything  in  our  power  for  the  defence  of 
our  just  rights  and  dearer  liberties.  Our  men  are  zealous  in  the 
Cause  of  our  Country,  and  ready  to  venture  everything  for  the  defence 
of  it.  Colonel  March  informs  me  your  Honors  have  appointed  him 
a  colonel,  and  gave  him  orders  to  raise  a  Regiment  in  this  County, 
and  to  appoint  all  his  officers  :  this  he  acquainted  me  with  after  I  had 


>  Goold's  History  of  the  31st  Mass.  Regt. 


THE    REVOLUTION.  119 

delivered  Colonel  Phinney  the  papers  back  again  which  he  brought 
me.  It  is  impossible  we  can  spare  two  Regiments  out  of  this  County, 
and  they  both  made  considerable  progress  :  am  much  afraid  there 
will  be  some  difficulty  in  settling  the  affair.  I  am  persuaded  the  men 
in  general  would  prefer  Colonel  Phinney,  and  so  should  I  for  that 
reason  as  I  look  on  Colonel  Phinney  to  be  equal  to  Colonel  March  in 
every  respect. 

Should  have  clone  myself  the  honor  to  have  waited  on  you  in 
person  but  am  in  a  poor  state  of  health  and  so  exercised  with  the 
gout  that  I  cannot  bear  my  shoes.  I  purpose  to  visit  the  Camp 
whenever  I  am  able  to  undergo  the  fatigue  of  so  long  a  journey.  I 
wish  courage  and  conduct  in  our  officers,  resolution  and  spirit  of 
obedience  in  our  soldiers,  and  a  speedy  end  of  our  troubles. 

I  am  your  Honors'  most  obedient  servant, 

Jedediah  Preble. 

As  a  result,  enlistments  in  both  regiments  were  stopped  for  a  time, 
when  finally,  Phinney  was  appointed  colonel,  and  March,  lieutenant- 
colonel. 

In  October  of  this  same  year,  1775,  Falmouth  was  burned  by  the 
English,  under  Capt.  Mowatt.  When  the  news  arrived  that  the  town 
was  threatened,  there  was  much  excitement  in  Gorham,  for  nearly  all 
the  citizens  had  relations,  connections  or  friends  in  town.  Many 
went,  with  such  teams  as  they  could  fit  out,  to  assist  their  friends  in 
need,  and  others  (if  we  judge  from  the  records  of  the  doings  of  the 
town  afterwards)  from  a  less  praiseworthy  motive  :  it  was  said  much 
property  brought  out  of  town  at  this  time  never  found  its  way  back 
to  its  rightful  owners. 

Joseph  McLellan,  whose  wife,  Mary,  was  the  daughter  of  Hugh 
McLellan,  sent  word  to  their  Gorham  friends,  and  immediately  a 
team  was  rigged  out,  and  put  under  the  charge  of  Prince,  a  slave  of 
William  McLellan,  with  orders  to  go  to  Joseph's  house  in  the  least 
possible  time,  and  William  started  on  ahead  to  have  all  packed  and 
ready  to  load  immediately.  In  due  time  the  arrival  of  Prince  was 
expected  but  he  did  not  come,  and  after  anxiously  waiting  some  time 
William  got  on  to  his  horse  in  order  to  find  him.  He  heard  of  his 
arrival  in  town,  and  finally  found  the  team  but  no  Prince.  After 
loadmg  up  and  starting  the  team  homeward  under  charge  of  anothef 
hand,  William  thought  he  would  hunt  up  Prince.  After  a  while  he 
came  to  a  place  where  some  benevolent  individual  who  had  a  hogs- 
head of  rum  which  he  could  not  move,  had  put  it  on  end  and  had 
stove  in  the  head  and  given  a  general  invitation  to  drink,  all  round. 
This  was  an  opportunity  not  to  be  neglected  by  the  darkies,  as  well 
as  by  many  of  the  whites,  and   Prince  was  one  of  the  number  and 


120  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

deep  in  for  it.  When  he  saw  his  master  coming,  he  made  toward 
him  as  well  as  his  legs  could  carry  him,  and  with  true  negro  philoso- 
phy, thinking  more  of  the  present  than  of  the  future,  or  of  the 
probable  reward  laid  up  for  him  for  the  neglect  of  duty  and  the  dis- 
obedience of  his  master's  orders,  sang  out  to  his  master,  "  Massa 
Willum,  O  !  for  God  sake  come  here.  Rum  'nuf,  Massa  Willum. 
Rum  'nuf,  Massa.  Sugar  and  'lasses  'nuf  to  put  in  him  too. 
O  !  Massa  Willum,  glorious  times  dese  be,  glorious  times  dese 
be." 

November  2,  1775,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Deane  of  Falmouth  removed  to 
his  farm  in  Gorham,  where  he  remained  until  March  16,  1782,  when  he 
returned  to  town.  This  farm  was  next  south  of  the  Ross  place,  on 
the  road  from  Gorham  village  to  Saccarappa,  lately  owned  and 
occupied  by  William  Bartlett.  This  spot  Mr.  Deane  named  "  South 
Green,"  and  the  low  hill  behind  the  house,  "  Pitchwood  Hill,"  which 
was  the  subject  of  a  poem  written  by  him  during  his  stay  here.  The 
old  house  was  torn  down  by  Mr.  Bartlett,  and  its  gambrel  roof  set  on 
the  ground  where  it  remained  until  within  a  few  years.  Among 
others  who  moved  out  to  Gorham  at  this  time,  were  Richard  Codman, 
who  lived  near  where  the  house  of  Freeman  Richardson  now  stands  ; 
John  Butler,  who  lived  just  east  of  the  Daniel  Mosher  house, 
and  a  Mr.  Cox,  who  lived  on  the  Conant  farm,  opposite  the  Tyng 
place. 

As  has  been  previously  stated,  the  militia  in  Gorham  and  the 
surrounding  towns  was  well  organized  at  the  breaking  out  of  hostilities, 
and  Col.  Phinney  enlisted  these  companies  into  the  regiment  which 
the  Provincial  Congress  ordered  to  be  raised  in  Cumberland  County. 
They  also  ordered  that  the  towns  should  supply  ammunition  for  the 
soldiers. 

■  "  Return  of  Cap'.  Hart  Williams  Company  in  y'=  31^'  Reg',  of 
Foot  Commanded  by  Colonel  Edmund  Phinney,  Sepf  29"^  i77S-" 

NAMES.  TOWNS.  WHEN  INLISTED. 

Cap'.  Hart  Williams                Gorham  April  24 

Lieu'.  Will'"  McLallen  "  "24 

2"^'  Lieu'.  Cary  McLallen  "  "24 

John  Perkins  Serj''  "  May   15 

John  Phinney     "  "  "17 

James  Perkins  "  "  "     i5 

David  Watts      "  "  "15 


I  From  the  original,  in  my  possession. 


THE    REVOLUTION. 

NAMES. 

TOWNS. 

WHEN    INLISTED 

Silas  Chadbourn  Corp" 

Gorham, 

May 

22 

Enoch  Frost                 " 

" 

" 

15 

William  Irish              " 

<f 

(( 

15 

Sam"  Gammon            " 

u 

" 

15 

Tho^.  Bangs  Drum 

" 

June 

19 

Jeremiah  Jones  fife 

(< 

May 

15 

Privates. 

Barny  Bangs 

(1 

May 

IS 

Joseph  Waymouth 

(I 

" 

15 

Bickford  Dyer 

(( 

u 

15 

Thomas  Guston 

" 

a 

15 

Jeremiah  Hodgdon 

u 

" 

IS 

Daniel  Maxell 

(1 

i( 

IS 

Tho^  Poat 

(1 

u 

15 

John  Parker 

(( 

" 

15 

Ezekiel  Hatch 

(( 

u 

IS 

Paul  Whitney 

(( 

u 

IS 

George  Robinson 

u 

" 

IS 

Joseph  McDonell 

n 

a 

IS 

Peletiah  McDonell 

a 

u 

IS 

George  Hunt 

a 

a 

IS 

George  Waterhouse 

u 

a 

IS 

Daniel  Whitney 

(1 

(t 

IS 

Thomas  Irish 

a 

(< 

IS 

John  Mellvin 

u 

u 

16 

James  Morton 

u 

u 

17 

Philip  Gammon 

a 

" 

17 

Ichabod  Hunt 

u 

u 

18 

Ebenezer  Michel 

(I 

<( 

18 

Abijah  Lueiss 

Buxton 

u 

22 

James  Irish 

Gorham 

il 

22 

Natha"  Lombard 

(( 

u 

22 

Butler  Lombard 

u 

" 

22 

Owen  Runells 

" 

u 

22 

Theodore  Rounds 

Buxton 

a 

22 

Elisha  Cobb 

Gorham 

u 

22 

James  Jourdan 

Falm°. 

a 

22 

Napthalim  Whitney 

Gorham 

" 

22 

Jonathan  Sturgis 

" 

u 

2  2 

Prince  Hamblen 

u 

June 

19 

John  Whitney 

u 

11 

22 

Amos  Whitney 

" 

(1 

23 

Joseph  McLallen 

(( 

(( 

24 

Joseph  Creesy 

u 

(( 

2S 

Selvenus  Brown 

u 

a 

2S 

Solomon  Green 

u 

li 

27 

Joshua  Hamlton 

Barwick 

July 

6 

121 


122 


HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


"  Return  of  Capt.  \\'entworth  Stuart's  Company  in  the  31st   Regt. 
of  Foot,  Commanded  by   Col.   Edmund    Phinney,   Sept.   29,    1775," 

(Massachusetts  Archives,  Vol.  56,  part  2,  p.  216.) 


NAMES.  TOWNS. 

Wentworth  Stuart,  Capt.,     Gorham, 
Jonathan  Sawyer,  ist  Lieut. 


Caleb  Rowe,  2d 

Josiah  Jenkins,      Sergt., 
John  Watson,  " 

John  York,  " 

Ebenezer  Morton,      " 
Nathaniel  Stevens,  Corp., 
Joel  Sawyer,  " 

Peter  Moulton,  " 

John  Crocket, 
Benja.  Green,        Drummer, 
Joseph  Stuart,      Fifer, 

Privates. 
Austin  Alden, 
John  Greeley, 
John  Foy, 
John  Irish, 
James  Irish, 
Richard  Preston, 
Amos  Brown, 
Job  Hall, 

William  Whitmore, 
Nathan  Hanscom, 
Joseph  Jennings, 
Sargent  Shaw, 
Reuben  Cookson, 
Abraham  York, 
Ephraim  Bachelor, 
Thomas  Shaw, 
Daniel  Bean, 
Israel  Smith, 
Joab  Libby, 
David  Whitney, 
George  Tesharey, 
Daniel  Toward, 
Joseph  Libby, 
Joel  Rich, 
Thomas  Skillings, 
John  Workman, 
Jonathan  Sanborn, 
Desper  West, 
Arthur  Pottenger, 


Pearsonstown, 
Gorham,  M 

Pearsonstown, 
Gorham, 


ENLISTED 

April  24 
24 

ay  15 


Pearsonstown, 
Gorham, 


Windham, 


Gorham, 

Rye, 

Pearsonstown, 


Norton, 
Gorham, 

Windham, 

Kittery, 

Gorham, 


Barnerdstown, 
Pearsonstown, 
Gorham, 
Falmouth, 


15 
16 

15 
IS 
15 
16 
24 
24 
15 

16. 
IS- 
17- 
17- 

IS- 
IS- 
IS- 
IS- 
IS- 
24. 
16. 
16. 
16. 
16. 
16. 
16. 
16. 
16. 

17- 

23- 

24. 
24. 

24- 
24. 
24. 
16. 
24. 
16. 


THE    REVOLUTION. 


123 


NAMES. 

TOWNS.             E^ 

'LISTED, 

Caleb  Graffum, 

Windham, 

"       24. 

John  Thurlo, 

Gorham, 

"       24. 

Ephraim  Russell, 

Penobscot, 

"      14- 

Nathaniel  Nason, 

Barwick, 

"      14- 

Charles  Grant, 

"      M, 

Elisha  Libby, 

" 

"      14- 

Elijah  Davis, 

Gorham, 

"     15- 

Barnabas  Rich, 

(( 

"     24. 

John  Skillings, 

■\T Txruri. _r  / 

"     24. 

C^ i       c 

discharged  Sept.  15. 


Moses  Whitney  of  Gorham  enlisted  in  Capt.  Samuel  Dunn's  com- 
pany, and  Josiah  Peabody  and  James  Westmore  of  Gorham,  in  Capt. 
John  Brackett's  company.  Dr.  Stephen  Swett  of  Gorham  was 
Surgeon  of  the  regiment. 

This  regiment  of  Col.  Phinney's,  which  was  known  as  the  31st 
Massachusetts,  arrived  in  July  at  Cambridge,  where  it  took  part  in 
the  siege  of  Boston.  Although  it  had  no  chance  to  participate  in 
any  important  battle,  the  men,  nevertheless,  saw  much  skirmishing 
and  indecisive  fighting.  The  regiment  was  discharged  from  the 
service  in  December,  1775,  and  Col.  Phinney,  having  received  a 
commission  as  colonel  of  a  new  regiment,  the  i8th  Continental, 
re-enlisted  many  of  his  old  command.  The  i8th  Continental  Regi- 
ment entered  the  service  Jan.  i,  1776,  and  was  stationed  at  Cambridge. 
After  the  evacuation  of  Boston  by  the  British,  on  the  seventeenth  of 
March,  it  was  ordered  to  march  from  Cambridge  to  Fort  Ticonderoga, 
to  re-enforce  the  Northern  Army,  which  at  that  time  was  under  the 
command  of  Gen.  Philip  Schuyler.  Having  served  out  this  cam- 
paign the  regiment  was  discharged,  at  Fort  George,  on  the  last  of 
December,  1776,  and  the  men  either  made  their  way  home,  as  best 
they  could,  or  re-enlisted  in  other  commands. 

The  Gorham  men  who  served  in  the  iSth,  (taken  from  Rolls  of 
Dec.  8,  1776,  Massachusetts  Archives,)  were 

Edmund  Phinney,  Colonel. 

First  Company. 

Wentworth  Stuart,  Capt.,         died  at  Brookline,  Apr.  17,  1776. 

Jonathan  Sawyer,  ist  Lieut.,  and  promoted  Capt.,  Apr.  18,  1776. 

Josiah  Jenkins,  2d  "  promoted  ist  Lieut.  Apr.  18.  Reen- 
gaged as  Capt.  in  Col.  Brewer's 
Regt.  Nov.  13,  1776. 

Joseph  Stuart,        Ensign,        Ensign,  Apr.  18. 

James  Webb,         Sergt., 

James  Irish,  " 


124 

John  Thurlo, 
Elijah  Davis, 
John  Davis, 
Amos  Brown, 


Sergt. 
Corp., 


HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Sick  in  Genl.  Hospital. 


Privates, 

Nathan  Bangs, 
Joseph  Blake, 
John  Foy, 
Asa  Hatch, 
Ezekiel  Hatch. 
Simon  Lombard, 
Josiah  Peabody. 
George  Robinson, 
Prince  Strout. 
James  Thurlo, 


reengaged  Nov.  13,  1776. 


reengaged  Nov.  20,  1776. 
discharged  Nov.  6,  1776. 
reengaged  Nov.  17,  1776. 


on  command  to  Fort  Edward, 
died  Aug.  28,  1776. 
sick  in  Genl.  Hospital. 

Capt.  Tobias  Fernald's  company,  the  Second,  contained 
David  Vickery. 

Capt.  John  Rice's  company,  the  Third,  contained 

Austin  Alden,  2d  Lieut.    Reengaged    Nov.    13,    1776,  with  Col. 

Brewer. 
James  Perkins,        Ensign. 

Fifth  Company. 

Capt.,         Sick  at  Albany. 


Hart  Williams, 
William  McLellan,  ist  Lieut. 

Gary  McLellan,       2d        "     promoted  ist  Lieut.  Aug.  3,  1776. 
Ensign,     died  April  18,  1776,  of  small-pox. 
Ensign,     promoted    Lieut.  Apr.   17.     Reengaged 
in   Col.   Brewer's   Regt.,  Nov.  13, 
1776. 
promoted  Ensign  Capt.  York's  Co.,  Aug. 

I,  1776. 
discharged  in  April. 
Sergt.     Aug.  i,  1776. 


John  Perkins, 
David  Watts, 


James  Perkins,         Sergt., 


James  Morton,  " 

Pelatiah  McDonald,     " 
Daniel  Hunt,  Corp. 

John  Melven,  " 


Solomon  Green, 


Corp.  Apr.  17,  1776.     Reengaged  Dec. 

I,  1776. 
Corp.  Aug.  3,  1776. 


John  Whitney,        Drummer,  reengaged  Nov.  15,  1776^^ 
Jeremiah  Jones,      Fifer,  "  "       "       " 


Privates. 

John  Burnell, 
Solomon  Brown, 
Bickford  Dyer, 


reengaged  Nov.  26,  1776. 
died  Oct.  25,  1776. 
on     command     at    Ticonderoga. 
Nov.  30,  1776. 


Reengaged 


THE    REVOLUTION. 


1-25 


Ebenezer  Files, 
Samuel  Files. 
Philip  Gammon, 
Thomas  Gustin. 
James  Gilkey, 
George  Hunt, 
Ichabod  Hunt. 
James  Lary, 
Prince  Hamblen, 
Nathaniel  Lombard, 
Abner  McDannell, 
Matthias  Murch, 
Daniel  Maxwell, 
Thomas  Poat. 
John  Parker, 
Joseph  McLellan. 
Paul  Whitney, 
Jesse  Whitney, 
Daniel  Whitney. 
Ebenezer  Whitney, 
John  Whitney, 
James  Whitney. 
Joseph  Green. 


on  command  at  Fort  Edward. 

on  guard  and  reengaged  Dec.  8,  1776. 

sick  in  barracks, 
died  Mar.  14,  1776. 

sick  in  Genl.  Hospital, 
sick  in  Barracks, 
discharged  Oct.  7,  1776. 
sick  in  Genl.  Hospital, 
reengaged  Nov.  30,  1776. 
died  Mar.  2,  1776. 

discharged  Oct.  8,  1776. 

discharged  Aug.  4,  1776. 
"  Sept.  30,  1776. 

discharged  Sept.  20,  1776. 
died  May  5,  1776. 


Capt.  Abraham  Tyler's  company,  the  Eighth,  contained 
Lazarus  Rand. 

When  the  i8th  Continental  Regiment  was  discharged  at  Ticon- 
derogain  December,  1776,  many  of  the  men  reenlisted  for  three  years 
in  the  12  th  Massachusetts  under  Col.  Samuel  Brewer.  This  regi- 
ment was  at  Ticonderoga  and  Lake  George,  at  King's  Ferry,  and 
at  Valley  Forge  in  winter  quarters.  It  participated  in  the  battles  of 
Hobartown  and  Monmouth,  was  present  at  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne, 
and  was  at  West  Point  through  1779. 

Josiah  Jenkins,  who  had  been  first  lieutenant  in  the  18th  Conti- 
nental, reengaged  as  captain  under  Col.  Brewer,  and  of  his  company, 
the  following  is  a  return  taken  by  Lieut.  David  Watts,  Jan.  23,  1778, 
at  Valley  Forge. 


Josiah  Jenkins, 

Capt., 

Gorham, 

On  furlough, 

David  Watts, 

I  St  Lieut., 

" 

Benjamin  Thompson 

2d        " 

Brunswick, 

Sick,  absent 

John  Hubble, 

Ensign, 

Sheffield. 

Samuel  Jenkins, 

Sergt., 

Gorham. 

Elijah  Davis, 

" 

" 

Ebenezer  Morton, 

n 

(( 

Darling  Hukok, 

l( 

Sheffield. 

126 


HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


John  Greeley, 
John  Mirick, 
Benjamin  Nason, 
Wilham  Smith, 
Joshua  Wescott, 
WiUiam  Coomer, 

Privates. 


Corp., 


Drummer, 


Gorham, 

Kennebunk. 

Arundel. 

Wellfleet. 

Scarborough, 


On  furlouffh. 


On  furlougfh. 


Fife  Major,  Duxbury. 


Gorham. 


Nathan  Bangs, 
John  Foye, 
James  Gilkey, 
John  Knight, 
Joseph  McLellan. 
Moses  Poland, 

furlough. 
John  Arm, 
Seth  Hinkley, 
John  Cool, 
Nathan  Emery, 
Frederick  Peekin, 
William  Milton, 
Thomas  Frank, 
Peter  Biter, 
David  Dunan, 
Noble  Gunn, 

Sick,  absent. 
Ebenezer  Palminter 

Sick,  absent. 
Ephraim  Goss, 

Sick,  absent. 
David  Wilson, 

Has  a  pass  from  Gen. 

Gates  to  2:0  to  Boston. 


On 


Georgetown 
Kennebunk. 


Braintree. 
Falmouth. 

u 

Sheffield. 


Bennington, 
Wellfleet. 


Amos  Brown,  Gorham. 

John  Green,  "  Sick, 

absent  of  his  wound, 
Ichabod  Hunt,  Gorham. 

Ebenezer  Morton,  Jr.,     " 
Ebenezer  Phinney,  "         Sick, 

absent  of  his  Vound. 
Benjamin!  Rolf,        Gorham. 
John  Austin,  Brunswick. 

Paul  Lovell.  Georgetown. 

Joseph  Sargent,         Gorham.   Sick, 

absent  of  his  wound. 
David  Emery,  Kennebunk. 

William  Kendall, 
Solomon  Spinner,  " 

Daniel  Toward,         Kittery. 


James  Wagg, 


Falmouth. 


Jonathan  Whitney,    Bucktown. 
Samuel  Gutchridge,  Sheffield. 
Zebulon  Mix,  "         Sick, 

absent. 
Simeon  Noble,  Harrington, 

Sick,  absent. 


John  Huggins, 


Sheffield. 


Non  Efectives. 

Abel  Whitney, 
Joshua  Davis, 
Wright  Allen, 
Zebulon  Olds, 

John  Green,  Jr., 
Isaac  Preston, 
David  Kelley, 
Richard  Mitchel, 


Gorham,  Discharged. 


Scarborough, 
Barrington, 

Sheffield. 
Barrington. 
Boston. 
Arundel. 


Transferred  to  Capt.  Watkins. 
'^   Capt.    Ball,    Col. 
Shepard's  regiment. 


On  a  pay  roll  of  this  company,  dated  Mar.  19,  1777,  appears  also  the 
name  of  Matthias  Murch  of  Gorham. 

Austin  Alden,  who  had  been  second  lieutenant  in  the    i8th   Conti- 
nental, re-engaged,  and  in  January,  1777,  was  appointed  first  lieutenant 


THE    REVOLUTION.  127 

of  Capt.  Nathan  Watkin's  company,  in  Col.  Brewer's  regiment ;  in 
which  regiment  he  served  for  a  little  over  a  year.  In  his  company 
were  Bickford  Dyer  and  James  Coolbroth,  both  of  Gorham. 

While  the  company  was  in  camp,  below  Albany,  N.  Y.,  at  Van 
Schaicks  Island,  under  date  of  Aug.  3,  1777,  Lieut.  Alden  writes  :  — 

"  I  can't  write  hardly  any  thing,  only  we  are  on  the  way  up  the  river  ; 
I  suppose  to  drive  Burgoyne  back  to  Canada.  An  army  from  Ben- 
nington is  to  join  us  across  the  Grants  at  the  river.  God  grant  that 
the  enemy  may  alter  face,  or  fall  before  us."  He  speaks  of  Lieut. 
David  Watts  as  being  in  the  army ;  the  two  Blakes,  (Corp.  Joseph 
Blake  and  John  Blake,  both  of  Scarborough),  as  being  sick  in  hospital 
at  Albany ;  Caleb  and  Jedediah  Lombard,  as  also  in  hospital,  and 
says,   "  All  our  people  are  generally  well." 

Capt.  Daniel  Merrill's  company,  Col.  Brewer's  regiment,  contained 
Matthias  Murch  and  Jeremiah  Jones  of  Gorham.  In  Capt.  Silas 
Burbank's  company,  belonging  to  this  same  regiment,  were  Pelatiah 
McDonald,  Orderly,  and  James  Laiy,  both  of  Gorham. 

After  the  evacuation  of  Boston  by  the  British  on  the  17th  of  March, 
1776,  many  of  the  American  regiments  were  sent  away,  some  being 
ordered  to  New  York,  and  others,  among  which  was  Col.  Phinney's 
1 8th  Continental,  sent  to  reenforce  the  Northern  Army  at  Lake 
George.  It  then  became  necessary  to  raise  short  service  troops  to 
garrison  the  forts  at  Boston,  to  protect  the  town  from  any  attacks 
that  might  be  made  by  the  British.  Among  these  short  service 
troops  was  Col.  Ebenezer  Francis's  regiment,  which  garrisoned  the 
forts  on  Dorchester  Heights  from  August  until  December,  1776. 
The  sixth  company  of  this  regiment  was  raised  in  Cumberland 
County,  and  commanded  by  Capt.  Richard  Mayberry  of  Windham. 

A  pay  roll  of  this  company  gives  the  followmg  names  : 

(Massachusetts  Archives,  Vol.  251,  p.  105.) 


Richard  Mayberry, 

Capt., 

Windham. 

Thomas  Berry, 

1st.  Lieut., 

Brunswick. 

Peter  Libbee, 

2d 

Scarborough. 

Nathaniel  Frost, 

Ensign, 

Gorham. 

Nathaniel  Hinkley, 

Sergt., 

Brunswick. 

John  Anderson, 

Windham. 

Dominicus  Libee, 

" 

Scarborcnigh, 

Samuel  Jinkins, 

" 

Gorham. 

Josiah  Chute, 

Corp., 

Windham. 

George  Williams, 

" 

Brunswick. 

Thomas  Libee, 

" 

Scarborough. 

Joseph  Rounds, 

" 

Gorham. 

Peter  Walker, 

Drummer, 

Brunswick. 

William  Harmon, 

Fifer, 

Scarborough. 

128 


HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


Privates. 
North  Yarmouth.    Daniel  Haney, 


Windham. 

Windham. 

Gorham. 

Harpsweli. 

Windham. 


Scarborough. 


John  Dunham, 

David  Mayberry, 

Joseph  Elder, 

Christopher  Dunn, 

Benjamin  Curtis, 

Jeremiah  Jordan, 

Stephen  Harris, 

Joseph  Thompson, 

Jeremiah  Mitchell, 

John  Plaisted,  " 

Nathaniel  Milliken,  " 

Samuel  Stuart,  " 

Samuel  Hutchinson,  Windham. 

Chase  Elkins,  " 

Robert  McFarling,       Gorham. 

John  Sanborn,  Pearsonstown. 

Jeremiah  Pratt,  North  Yarmouth. 

Bartholomew  Read,  Royalstown. 

Joseph  Humphreys,   No.  Yarmouth. 


New  Gloucester. 

Gorham. 

Windham. 

Brunswick. 

Scarborough. 

Gorham. 


Isaac  Hall, 
Joel  Stevens, 
George  Lasley, 
William  Stevens. 
Elisha  Commons, 
Stephen  Foster, 
Isaac  Allen, 
Joseph  Sovereign, 
John  Fly, 
James  Crocker, 


Brunswick. 
New  Gloucester. 
New  Boston. 


Dorchester. 

New  Gloucester. 
Scarborough. 


Ebenezer  Whitney, 

Thomas  Mayberry, 

Asa  Combs, 

Peltiah  Liby, 

Stephen  Irish, 

William  McLellan, 

John  Sweat,  Windham. 

Jeremiah  Libby,  Scarborough. 

Jeremiah  Sanboni,         Pearsonstown. 

William  Williams,         Brunswick. 

Elijah  Hamblen,  Gorham. 

Asa  Miller,  Brunswick. 

Nathaniel  Lombard,      Gorham. 

Eliphalet  Watson,  " 

Gibeon  Plummer,  Scarborough. 

Richard  Mayberry,  Jr.,  Windham. 

Timothy  Berry,  Scarborough. 

Abraham  Young, 

John  Pitman, 

Joseph  Irish, 

Jonathan  Cornish, 

Thomas  Whitton, 

Timothy  Dyer, 


Ephraim  Mann, 
Amos  Brown, 
John  Cotton, 
James  Sherman, 


New  Boston. 

North  Yarmouth. 

Gorham. 

Brunswick. 

Harpsweli. 

Gorham. 

Dorchester. 

Windham. 

Brunswick. 

Yarmouth. 


Yarmouth. 

At  the  expiration  of  this  regiment's  term  of  service,  it  was  dis- 
charged, and  Col.  Francis  immediately  raised  the  nth  Massachusetts, 
a  three  years  regiment,  and  enlisted  many  of  his  former  command. 
The  nth  Massachusetts  served  at  Fort  Ticonderoga,until  the  retreat 
to  Hobartown  on  the  6th  of  July,  1777.  It  took  part  on  the  follow- 
ing day  in  the  battle  of  Hobartown,  where  Col.  Francis  was  killed. 
Col.  Benjamin  Tupper  succeeded  Col.  Francis  in  the  command  of 
the  regiment.  In  company  with  other  regiments  the  nth  rendez- 
voused at  Van  Schaicks  Island,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mohawk  River, 
and  took  part  in  the  campaign  of  1777,  which  terminated,  Oct.  17th, 
at  Saratoga,  with  the  capture  of  Burgoyne  and  his  entire  army.  In 
November  the  regiment  joined  Washington's  army,  near  Philadelphia, 
and  passed  the  winter  in  camp  at  Valley  Forge.  The  regiment 
serving  in  the  Third  Mass.  Brigade,  Gen.  Patterson  commanding, 
participated,  June  28,  1778,  in  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  in  which 
fight  it  is  said  to  have  suffered  heavy  losses.  The  men  went  into 
camp  at  White  Plains,  July  25,  1778,  and  during  that  fall  and  winter, 
and  through  the  following  summer,  the  regiment  served  along  the 
North  River,  and  in  the  western  part  of  Connecticut. 

Lieut.  Silas  Chadbourn,  in  a  diary  kept  by  him  at  this  time,  speaks 
of  "  Post "  Wescott's  visits  to  the  Army,  and  of  sending  letters  home 


THE    REVOLUTION. 


129 


by  him.  Under  date  of  Nov.  4,  1778,  he  says,  "John  Blarr  and 
David  Farnsworth  were  executed  this  day  near  this  town,  for  coming 
out  of  New  York  as  spies  and  bringing  counterfeit  money."  Nov. 
19,  he  says,  "This  day  Corp.  Barton  and  Siivanus  Brimhall  and 
Robert  Millions  got  their  furloughs  for  90  days.  I  sent  120  dollars 
home  by  Robert  Millions."  Jan.  3,  1779,  "I  went  to  Tarrytown 
with  Col.  Littlefield  and  Capt.  Williams."  This  was  Hart  Williams, 
who  had  enlisted  as  first  lieutenant  in  Capt.  Abraham  Tyler's  com- 
pan}^.  Col.  Thomas  Poor's  regiment.  Jan.  21st,  "I  went  to  see  Capt. 
Williams  this  day."  April  22d,  "  Sergt.  Libby  and  Brimhall  got 
here  to  day."  June  8th,  "  Pleasant.  His  Excellency,  Gen.  Wash- 
ington, came  on  the  Point  [West  Point]  with  a  number  of  General 
officers."  loth,  "  I  was  appointed  Quarter  Master." 
A  roll  of  this  company  is  as  follows  : 


Richard  Maybeny, 

Capt., 

WMndham. 

Silas  Chadbourn, 

1st  Lieut., 

Gorham. 

Jonatlian  Libby, 

Ensign., 

Scarborough. 

Joab  Libby, 

Sergt., 

Gorham. 

Josiah  Chute, 

" 

Windham. 

Amos  Allen, 

" 

Nathaniel  Lombard, 

Corp., 

Gorham. 

Chandler  Rackley, 

" 

Ebenezer  Barton, 

" 

Windham. 

Josiah  Wallace, 

Drummer. 

Christopher  Dunn, 

Fifer, 

Gorham. 

Privates. 

Joab  Black, 

Gorham. 

Sylvanus  Bramhall, 

Gorham. 

Charles  Branscum. 

George  Berry, 

Buxton. 

Benjamin  Cressey. 

Ephraim  Dyer. 

William  Davis, 

Buxton. 

John  Green, 

Gorham. 

David  Gustin, 

Gorham. 

William  Hunt, 

" 

Nicholas  Hughes, 

Windham. 

Hezekiah  Jordan. 

Henry  Jackson. 

Jedediah  Lombard, 

Gorham. 

Robert  Jackson. 

James  Jordan, 

Windham. 

Butler  Lombard, 

Gorham. 

Caleb  Lombard, 

Gorham. 

Francis  Libby, 

Scarborough. 

William  Mayberry, 

Windham. 

Robert  Millions, 

Windham. 

George  Robinson, 

Gorham. 

John  Swett, 

" 

Walter  Simonton. 

Ephraim  Sawyer. 

Peter  Smith, 

Windham. 

Joseph  Stone, 

Gorham. 

Daniel  Small. 

Elisha  Small, 

Pearsonstown. 

Joseph  Thompson, 

Windham. 

William  Thompson. 

Jesse  Whitney, 

Gorham. 

Joseph  Webber. 

Jonathan  Webster. 

Jonathan  Bean. 

Thomas  Chute, 

Windham. 

Peter  Crocket, 

Gorham. 

Thomas  Gustin, 

Gorham. 

Jeremiah  Hodgdon, 

" 

Richard  Hollis. 

Samuel  Jordan. 

David  Mayberry, 

Windham. 

John  Orion. 

Joseph  Phinney, 

Gorham. 

Peter  Sanborn. 

Jonathan  Swett. 

Samuel  Small. 

Ebenezer  Sawyer. 

Benjamin  Trott, 

Windham. 

David  Truill. 

Daniel  Whitmore, 

Gorham. 

Robert  McFarling, 

Gorham. 

George  Leach. 

130  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

"West  Point,  Jan.  i,  1779.  Mustered  then  Capt.  Richard  May- 
berry's  company,  as  specified  in  the  above  roll." 

A  pay  roll,  probably  of  a  much  earlier  date,  of  this  company  "  till 

they  reach  Bennington,"  gives  these  additional  names  : 

Morris  Clark,  Gorham.  Elijah  Hamblen,  Gorham. 

Timothy  Dyer,  "  Joshua  McDonald. 

Josiah  Black,  "  Reuben  Libby. 

Jacob  Libby.  John  Haskell,  Gorham. 

We  also  find  "Rations  due  to  Lieut.  Josiah  Davis,  Capt.  May- 
berry's  company,"  and  among  the  other  names,  that  of  Lieut.  Davis, 
Gorham. 

Joshua  Fabyan,  Esq.,  of  Scarborough,  was  Representative  from  that 
town  to  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  in  1776,  and  was 
appointed  a  committee  to  raise  a  company  of  men  for  Capt.  Paul 
Ellis,  for  two  months  service  at  the  siege  of  Boston.  Capt.  Ellis,  on 
the  13th  of  February,  1776,  marched  from  Falmouth  with  this  com- 
pany. The  company  was  a  part  of  Col.  Jacob  French's  regiment, 
and  on  February  27th  was  stationed  at  Winter  Hill  to  participate  in 
the  siege.     The  officers  of  this  company  were 

Paul  Ellis,  Capt.,  Falmouth. 

John  A.  Milliken,  ist  Lieut.,  Scarborough. 

Ebenezer  Murch,  2d       "  Gorham. 

Joshua  Stevens,     Ensign,  Falmouth. 

On  April  i,  1776,  the  following  Gorham  men  reenlisted  under 
Capt.  Ellis,  to  serve  one  year : 

Ebenezer  Murch.  Joshua  Crockett.  William  Paine. 

Joseph  McDonald.  Richard  Thurrell.  Joseph  Morse. 

Josiah  Whitney.  Moses  Whitney.  Ephraim  Jones. 

Samuel  Brown.  Simeon  Brown.  John  Emery. 

Daniel  Emery.  Daniel  Whitmore.  John  Haskell. 

Amos  Rich.  Joseph  Rounds.  Henry  Jones. 

Benjamin  Allen  Jordan.  John  Elder.  John  Murch,  Jr. 

Jan.  I,  1777,  this  company  became  a  part  of  Col.  Timothy 
Bigelow's  15th  Massachusetts.  This  was  a  three  years  regiment. 
It  took  part  in  the  Saratoga  campaign  of  1777,  and  was  present  at 
Burgoyne's  surrender.  The  winter  of  1777-78  was  passed  in  camp 
at  Valley  Forge.  In  June,  1778,  the  regiment  participated  in  the 
battle  of  Monmouth,  where  Capt.  Ellis  was  killed. 

On  a  pay  roll  of  Capt.  John  Wentworth's  company.  Col.  Aaron 
Willard's  regiment,  dated  Boston,  Jan.  6,  1777,  appear  the  names  of 
John  Cornish  of  Gorham,  Josiah  Black  of  Gorham,  and  Jedediah 
Lombard  of  Gorham,  the  latter  of  whom  is  marked  of  Falmouth. 


THE    REVOLUTION.  181 

This  regiment  was  one  of  those  that  accompanied  Phinney's  to  Fort 
Ticonderoga,  in  1776. 

Capt.  Jabez  Lane  of  Buxton,  in  1777  and  1778,  commanded  a  com- 
pany in  Col.  Thomas  Nixon's  regiment,  which  contained  the  following 
Gorham  men  : 

John  Darling.  Joseph  Weymouth.        John  Stevens. 

Amos  Brown.  Thomas  Wheeler. 

This  regiment,  the  6th  Massachusetts,  served  at  Boston,  Cambridge, 
in  Connecticut,  on  Long  Island,  and  with  the  Northern  Department 
at  Ticonderoga  and  West  Point,  in  Gen.  Alexander  McDougall's 
corps. 

In  Capt.  Nicholas  Blaisdel's  company,  Col.  Wigglesworth's  13th 
Massachusetts,  w^ere  the  following  Gorham  men  : 

Jeremiah  Hodgdon.       Nathaniel  Hatch.  James  Morton. 

William  Munson. 

Capt.  Isaac  Martin's  company,  which  was  in  the  Rhode  Island 
service,  and  was  discharged  June  8,  1779  (?),  contained  the  following 
Gorham  men  : 

Asa  Thurrell.  Thomas  Lombard.         Joseph  Jones. 

Eliphalet  Watson. 

During  the  Revolution,  Gorham  had  two  companies  of  men, 
belonging  to  the  3d  Cumberland  County  regiment  of  Militia,  which 
was  under  the  command  of  Col.  Reuben  Fogg  of  Scarborough. 
■  These  companies,  the  3d  and  5th,  were  commanded  respectively 
by  Capt.  Samuel  Whitmore  and  Capt.  Alexander  McLellan. 

Capt.  Samuel  Whitmore's  company,  together  with  Capt.  Benjamin 
Larrabee's  Scarborough  company,  on  Christmas  day,  1777,  started  to 
march  to  Peekskill,  N.  Y.  They  were  allowed  a  penny  for  each  mile 
traveled;  receiving  for  three  hundred  and  ninety  two  miles  the  sum 
of  i:i-i2^-8d. 

Following  is  the  roll  of  Capt.  Whitmore's  company  : 


Samuel  Whitmore, 

Capt., 

Gorham. 

Dominicus  Mitchell, 

Lieut., 

Pearsonstown. 

Joshua  Crockett, 

Ensign, 

Gorham. 

Samuel  Crockett, 

Sergt., 

" 

Peter  Sanborn, 

Pearsonstown. 

James  Irish, 

" 

Gorham. 

John  White, 

" 

" 

John  Emery, 

Coi-p., 

" 

Daniel  Harmon, 

" 

Pearsonstown. 

Phineas  Whitney, 

" 

Gorham. 

Thomas  Bangs, 

" 

" 

J   See  page  70,  Chapter  IV. 


132 


HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


Simeon  Brown, 
Daniel  Bean, 
Samuel  Batcheldor, 
Joab  Black, 
Andrew  Cobb, 
John  Gates, 
Daniel  Cram, 
Joshua  Decker, 
Gershom  Davis, 
Daniel  Gammon, 
David  Gammon, 
Nathan  Hanscom, 
John  Harding, 
William  Harding, 
Ephraim  Hunt, 
Joseph  Jenkins, 
Solomon  Lombard,  Jr., 
Thomas  Morton, 


Privates. 
Gorham.  David  Morton, 

"  John  Pierce, 

Pearsonstown.        James  Ross, 
Gorham.  Elisha  Strout, 

"  John  Trundy, 

"  Isaac  Small, 

"  Amos  Thombs, 

"  Charles  Thombs, 

"  Ebenezer  Scott  Thombs, 

"  Thomas  Thompson, 

"  Daniel  Whitmore, 

"  Malachi  Waterman, 

"  Colman  Watson, 

"  Paul  Whitney, 

"  Jeremiah  Williams, 

"  Moses  Whitney, 

William  Wiswell, 
David  Whitney, 


Gorham. 


Pearsonstown. 
Gorham. 


Pearsonstown. 
Gorham. 


Men  were  drawn  from  these  militia  companies  as  wanted  for  the 
Continental  army.  Following  is  a  list  of  Gorham  men  who  enlisted 
into  the  Continental  establishment  for  three  years  out  of  parts  of 
the  3d  Cumberland  County  regiment  : 

(Massachusetts  Archives,  Vol.  27,  p.  34.) 


Austin  Alden. 
John  Burnell,  Jr. 
Amos  Brown. 
Nathan  Bangs. 
Josiah  Black. 
Sylvanus  Bramhall. 
Silas  Chadbourn. 
Joshua  Davis. 
Josiah  Davis. 
Elijah  Davis. 
Christopher  Dunn. 
Timothy  Dyer. 
Bickford  Dyer. 
Daniel  Eldridge. 
John  Foy. 
John  Greeley. 
James  Gilkey. 
John  Green. 
David  Gustin. 
Philip  Gammon. 
Moses  Gammon. 
Benjamin  Green. 


Ichabod  Hunt. 
Elijah  Hamblen. 
William  Hunt. 
John  Haskel,  Jr. 
David  Hatch. 
Ezekiel  Hatch. 
Josiah  Jenkins. 
Samuel  Jenkins. 
Jeremiah  Jones. 
John  Knight. 
Joab  Libby. 
Reuben  Libby. 
Caleb  Lombard. 


Peletiah  McDonald. 
Abner  McDonald. 
Matthias  Murch, 
John  Murch. 
Moses  Poland. 
Ebenezer  Phinney. 
Josiah  Peabody. 
Thomas  Pote. 
Nathaniel  Parker. 
Benjamin  Rolfe. 
Joseph  Stone. 
William  Smith. 
Tufts  Thomas. 


Jedediah  Lombard,  Jr.  David  Watts. 


Butler  Lombard. 
Nathaniel  Lombard. 
Ebenezer  Morton. 
Ebenezer  Morton,  Jr. 
Robert  McFarling. 
Joseph  McLellan. 
Thomas  Millett. 
John  Melvin. 

Among  other  Gorham  men  who  served  in  the  Revolution,  were 
Timothy  Bacon,  who  was  in  Lt.-Col.  Sprout's  regiment,  Patterson's 
brigade  ;  was  with  Gen,  Green  in  the  Carolinas,  and  at  the  surrender 
of  Cornwallis;  and  served  through  the  war.     John  Phinney  enlisted 


Abel  Whitney. 
Jesse  Whitney. 
William  Weeks. 
Joseph  Weston. 
William  Whitmore. 
Joseph  Weymouth. 
Naphthali  Whitney. 
Paul  Whitney. 


THE    REVOLUTION.  13o 

in  the  American  army  as  a  private  Mar.  5th,  1781,  at  Gorham,  under 
Capt.  Whitmore  for  three  years,  and  marched  to  White  Plains,  N.  Y., 
where  he  joined  Col.  Sprout's  regiment  in  the  fall  of  the  year.  He 
was  afterwards  transferred  to  Capt.  Learned's  company.  Col.  Shep- 
ard's  regiment.  He  was  again  transferred  to  Capt.  Pope's  company, 
and  was  discharged  in  December,  1783.  Samuel  Davis  served  in 
the  army  with  Phinney  and  Bacon.  Jonathan  Freeman  was  at  the 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution. 

It  was  not  only  the  white  men,  but  the  negro  slaves  who  partook 
of  the  spirit  of  liberty.  Mr.  William  McLellan  was  a  lieutenant  in 
the  army  at  Cambridge.  He  left  at  home  his  slave,  Prince,  who 
took  his  liberty  into  his  own  hands.  While  his  master  was  absent  at 
Cambridge,  Prince  went  to  Portland,  and  enlisted  on  board  a  Conti- 
nental vessel  commanded  by  Capt.  Manley,  and  served  over  a  year. 
He  performed  his  duty  like  a  hero,  and  when  the  time  of  his  enlist- 
ment was  out  returned  to  his  old  quarters,  and  remained  with  his 
master  till  the  slaves  were  liberated  by  law.  Even  then  he  did  not 
leave,  but  remained  in  the  family  till  the  death  of  Mr.  McLellan, 
when  he  had  a  piece  of  land  and  a  house  secured  to  him  by  the  will 
of  his  old  master,  where  he  lived  with  his  wife  Chloe  until  his  death, 
when  he  was  supposed  to  have  completed  over  a  hundred  years. 
The  last  years  of  his  life  were  made  more  comfortable  and  happy  by 
a  pension  from  Government  for  his  services  in  the  Revolution. 
Prince  claimed  every  member  of  the  McLellan  family  as  brother  or 
relation.  He  was  an  honest  old  negro,  and  the  bounty  of  Govern- 
ment was  never  bestowed  on  a  more  worthy  man.  Plato,  who  was 
the  slave  of  Lieut.  Cary  McLellan,  enlisted  in  1777  in  Capt.  Paul 
Ellis's  company,  Col.  Bigelow's  regiment. 

The  army  was  not  the  only  place  where  the  citizens  of  this  town 
served  for  the  defence  of  the  country.  Scarce  one  of  the  few 
national  vessels  fitted  out  at  that  time  but  had  a  citizen  of  Gorham 
on  board.  During  the  war  a  privateer  sloop  was  fitted  out  at  Boston 
to  cruise  against  the  enemy,  and  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  men 
she  came  into  Portland  to  complete  her  complement.  Meeting  with 
poor  success  the  Lieutenant  came  to  Gorham.  His  business  soon 
became  known,  and  there  was  quite  an  assembly  of  men  :  after  a 
consultation,  some  ten  of  them  proposed  going  if  Lieut.  Cary 
McLellan  would  go  with  them.  Accordingly,  McLellan  was  offered 
the  birth  of  lieutenant  of  marines,  which  he  accepted,  and  on  the 
next  morning  the  sloop  left  Portland  harbor.  The  cruise  was  not 
successful ;  they  took  one  or  two  small  prizes,  but  soon  fell  in  with 


134  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Capt.  Mowatt,  in  a  large  vessel  of  very  superior  force.  They  were 
captured,  and  carried  into  New  York,  and  confined  on  the,  ever-to-be- 
remembered  by  Americans,  prison  ship  Jersey.  Here  they,  in  com- 
mon with  the  other  American  prisoners,  were  insulted,  and  assailed 
by  hunger,  disease  and  sickness.  But  at  a  time  when  the  prospect 
was  dark  and  gloomy  they  found  a  friend,  which  was  to  them  as 
unexpected  as  it  was  welcome.  Col.  Tyng,  then  in  New  York,  hear- 
ing accidentally  of  the  capture  of  the  sloop,  and  that  she  was  from 
Portland,  went  on  board  to  ascertain  if  there  was  any  one  there  with 
whom  he  was  acquainted,  when  what  was  his  surprise  to  meet  some  of 
his  old  neighbors  from  Gorham.  Col.  Tyng  had  left  that  part  of  the 
country  on  account  of  his  loyal  principles,  but  returned  to  Gorham 
after  the  close  of  the  war.  Madam  Tyng  continued  on  his  estate  in 
Gorham  during  the  war,  and  as  the  property  was  in  her  name  it  was 
not  confiscated.  Col.  Tyng  lived  and  died  in  Gorham  much  respected 
and  beloved  by  a  large  circle  of  acquaintances,  and  it  is  with  pleasure 
that  I  can  here  make  known  his  kindness  and  attention  to  the  pris- 
oners in  that  loathsome  prison  ship.  He  not  only  furnished  them 
money,  but  sent  them  many  things  which  contributed  greatly  to  their 
health  and  comfort.  His  kindness  was  never  forgotten  by  these  men ; 
and  not  only  the  citizens  of  Gorham,  but  others  often  received  com- 
forts from  his  liberal  hand. 

When  this  capture  was  made  it  was  in  the  winter.  The  weather 
was  cold,  and  the  prisoners  were  deficient  in  comfortable  clothing, 
and  fires  had  to  be  kept  to  keep  the  men  from  freezing.  The  British 
captors  made  the  wooding  of  the  prison  ship  the  work  of  the  prison- 
ers. They  were  compelled  to  go  in  boats  a  long  distance  on  the 
Jersey  shore,  and  under  a  guard  of  soldiers  with  loaded  muskets  and 
fixed  bayonets,  cut  the  wood,  not  only  for  their  own  use,  but  also  for 
the  use  of  the  ofiicers  and  crew  of  the  ship.  The  treatment  of  slaves 
at  this  labor  would  have  been  good  compared  with  what  they  received, 
and  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  prisoners  worked  with  a  will ; 
the  wooding  was  a  hard  business,  and  they  made  it  a  slow  one.  A 
boat  would  be  gone  two  days,  with  a  strong  gang  of  men,  and  when 
she  returned  the  result  would  probably  be  as  much  wood  as  one  of 
the  same  men  would  have  procured  in  two  hours,  if  allowed  to  work 
on  his  own  accovmt. 

One  afternoon,  on  the  return  of  the  boat  with  its  load  of  wood, 
McLellan  was  looking  over  the  side  of  the  ship,  and  carelessly  made 
the  remark  in  the  hearing  of  a  stripling  of  an  officer,  that  he  did  not 
think  much  of  men  that  could  not  procure  more  wood  in  that  time ; 


THE    REVOLUTION.  135 

they  must  be  lazy.  The  officer  immediately  turned  to  him  and  said, 
"  Well,  you  rebel,  do  you  think  you  could  do  any  better  ? "  The 
reply  was  "  I  think  I  could  if  I  could  have  a  good  crew,  and  sharp 
axes."  The  officer  at  oncfe  told  him  sarcastically  that  he  should  have 
a  chance  to  try  his  hand  on  the  morrow,  and  that  he  might  take  the 
axes  and  grind  as  much  as  he  pleased.  This  was  precisely  what 
McLellan  desired.  The  axes  were  ground  with  a  will ;  and  when  the 
morning  came,  and  the  prisoners  were  mustered,  and  he  was  ordered 
to  select  his  men,  he  chose  Jedediah  Lombard,  Jonathan  Simpson 
and  William  McLellan,  Jr.,  son  of  Dea.  James  McLellan,  all  of  Gor- 
ham,  and  wished  to  take  two  other  men,  but  the  officer  told  him  he 
had  enough.  With  two  privates  and  an  orderly  for  their  guard,  the 
boat  started  on  its  voyage,  which  voyage  Lieut.  McLellan  had  deter- 
mined should  be  a  voyage  for  liberty  or  death  for  some  of  them. 
They  landed  at  the  usual  wooding  place,  at  some  miles  from  New 
York,  in  a  region  of  country  occupied  by  many  tory  families. 
Before  the  landing  no  one  of  the  crew  had  been  made  aware  of  Lieut. 
McLellan's  plan.  During  the  day,  however,  the  wooding  went  on  well, 
and  he  had  an  opportunity  of  making  known  his  plan  to  his  companions. 
It  was  usual  for  the  wooding  party  to  remain  on  the  ground  over 
night,  and  occupy  an  old  log  house  near  by ;  one  of  the  guard  stand- 
ing sentr)%  while  the  others  slept ;  and  they  took  sufficient  provisions 
with  them  to  last  the  two  days.  Toward  night  on  the  first  day,  Lieut. 
McLellan  told  the  orderly  that  he  felt  tired  and  should  like  a  glass 
of  something  good  to  drink.  The  orderly  replied  that  there  was  a 
store  about  a  mile  out,  and  if  money  could  be  raised,  they  could  have 
some.  McLellan  said  he  had  money  enough,  and  if  he  would  send 
a  guard  with  him,  he  would  go  and  purchase  some  ;  he  wanted  what 
he  was  accustomed  to  drink,  and  would  prefer  to  go  and  purchase 
his  own  liquor.  This  appeared  quite  reasonable,  and  the  orderly 
said  he  liked  good  liquor  too,  and  made  no  objection  to  the  reason- 
able proposition.  Accordingly  one  of  the  guard  was  ordered  to 
accompany  Lieut.  McLellan  to  the  store,  which  was  kept  by  a  tory. 
Here  he  bought  a  new  pail,  and  a  gallon  of  the  best  West  India  rum 
the  store  offered.  As  the  pail  was  so  full  of  rum,  he  thought  it  was 
not  prudent  to  add  any  water,  but  put  molasses  in  to  make  it  sweet 
and  palatable.  The  guard  tasted  and  as  well  as  himself  pronounced 
it  good.  For  this  treat  McLellan  paid  ten  silver  dollars,  but  counted 
the  money  of  no  value  as  it  was  to  him  the  price  of  liberty.  The 
now  cosy  friends  went  on  their  way  toward  the  camp,  and  he  at  once 
saw  that  the  soldier  would  stick  to  him  like  a  brother  while  the  rum 


136  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

lasted,  for  he  even  insisted  on  changing  burdens,  McLellan  to  take  the 
gun,  and  he  to  carry  the  rum ;  this  was  agreed  to  the  more  readily 
to  lull  all  suspicion.  When  they  arrived  at  the  camp,  their  compan- 
ions had  left  off  work,  as  it  was  about  dark.  A  fire  was  soon  blazing 
on  the  hearth  of  the  old  house.  As  the  windows  were  only  small 
holes  through  the  logs,  a  guard  at  the  door  was  thought  to  make  all 
perfectly  safe  for  the  prisoners.  Supper  was  prepared,  and  the  rum 
went  round.  McLellan  had  cautioned  his  men  to  drink  sparingly, 
if  at  all,  but  appearances  at  least  must  be  kept  up.  Young  William 
he  knew  he  could  depend  upon  ;  Simpson  was  a  man  addicted  to 
drinking,  but  he  promised  to  be  on  his  guard ;  Lombard  loved  his 
glass,  but  was  not  called  an  intemperate  man,  and  being  the  oldest  of 
the  party,  he,  by  arrangement,  was  to  give  in  first  and  go  to  sleep, 
or  at  least  appear  to. 

The  orderly  was  cautious  about  his  prisoners  and  their  safe 
keeping,  and  himself  dealt  out  the  liquor  to  the  guard  at  the  door ; 
as  for  the  one  off  duty  and  himself,  he  appeared  to  think  it  of  less 
consequence  if  a  few  glasses  more  or  less  were  drank  by  them.  The 
evening  passed  merrily  enough  with  drinking  and  talking.  A  looker- 
on  would  hardly  have  believed  that  in  that  company  there  were 
prisoners  and  their  guard.  Before  the  evening  had  far  advanced, 
Simpson,  Lombard  and  young  William,  were  to  all  appearances  under 
the  influence  of  the  liquor,  and  fast  asleep.  One  of  the  guard  was 
asleep,  and  there  could  be  no  mistake  in  him ;  he  was  drunk.  Lieut. 
McLellan,  the  orderly  and  the  man  on  duty  were  all  of  the  party 
that  had  not  retired.  The  two  officers  were  social  and  happy,  drank 
often  and  talked  much.  At  last  McLellan  thought  it  time  for  him- 
self to  be  under  the  influence  of  his  drink,  and  to  retire  \  soon  his 
head  fell  on  one  side,  he  dropped  on  the  floor  and  laid  himself  out 
as  respectably  as  he  could,  but  he  and  young  McLellan  only  closed 
one  eye.     The   orderly  sat   some   minutes   talking,   in  a  thick  and 

hardly  intelligible  voice,  about  the  d d  drunken  rebels  asleep  on 

the  floor,  and  if  they  escaped,  of  some  one  gracing  a  rope  at  the  yard 
arm,  which  must  have  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  guard,  who 
was  not  much  behind  his  officer  in  his  approach  to  glory.  With 
something  of  an  effort  the  orderly  got  on  his  feet,  replenished  the 
fire,  took  some  liquor  and  gave  it  to  the  guard,  took  another  tot  him- 
self, put  the  pail  in  the  farthest  part  of  the  room,  at  the  same  time 
telling  the  guard  on  no  account  to  touch  the  liquor,  and  with  an  oath 
tumbled  himself  on  to  the  floor,  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  anx- 
ious prisoners. 


THE    REVOLUTION.  137 

Lieut.  McLellan  supposed  that  the  four  prisoners  might  have 
overpowered  the  guard,  even  had  they  been  awake,  but  he  deemed 
it  more  prudent  to  attempt  the  escape  when  they  were  asleep,  for  as 
they  were  all  three  of  them  armed,  bloodshed  must  have  inevitably 
been  the  result,  even  in  their  drunken  state,  as  the  prisoners  had  no 
weapons  whatever,  their  axes  being  put  away  when  they  went  into 
the  house.  This  was  an  anxious  moment  for  the  two  McLellans  ; 
the  other  two  prisoners  had  not  only  feigned,  but  had  really  fallen, 
asleep.  The  orderly  had  been  on  the  floor  but  a  few  minutes  before 
his  sonorous  snoring  made  it  evident  that  he  slept  in  earnest.  Scarce 
had  his  nocturnal  music  commenced  before  the  guard  on  duty  made 
his  way  to  the  pail,  took  a  good  drink,  and  with  a  dipper-full  in  his 
hand  returned  to  his  post.  All  this  was  carefully  noticed  by  the 
watchers,  to  whom  the  time  seemed  longer,  probably,  than  it  really 
was.  The  guard,  after  some  time,  made  his  way  into  the  room,  took 
a  good,  and  to  himself,  satisfactory  look  at  the  prisoners,  and  mut- 
tering to  himself  that  the  d- -d  rebels  were  drunk  as  hogs  and  fast 

asleep,  made  his  way  back  again  to  his  post,  and  sat  himself  down  in 
the  door-way  with  his  gun  across  his  knee  and  his  back  against  the 
side  of  the  door;  thus  comfortably  fixed,  he  put  the  dipper-full  of 
rum  to  his  mouth,  and  at  one  draught  made  a  finish  of  it.  Its  effect 
was  not  slow ;  soon  it  was  evident  that  he  too  was  asleep  ;  thus  the 
three  guards  were  apparently  at  the  mercy  of  the  prisoners.  Still 
Lieut.  McLellan  deemed  it  prudent  to  act  cautiously.  They  were 
all  three,  smart,  athletic  men,  and  were  they  sober,  he  deemed  them 
every  way  a  match  in  a  fair  scuffle  for  his  force,  and  intoxicated,  they 
might  wake  and  use  their  arms.  His  plan  was  to  make  the  guard 
prisoners,  and  if  possible  deliver  them  up  to  the  American  army. 
They  were  within  the  enemy's  lines,  and  in  the  neighborhood  of 
tories,  and  should  a  gun  be  fired  or  noise  made  in  the  night,  he  could 
not  foresee  the  consequences. 

The  fire  was  still  burning,  and  gave  sufficient  light  for  the  intended 
operations.  All  kept  still  till  well  into  the  night,  when  Lieutenant  Mc- 
Lellan got  up  and  gave  William  a  gentle  touch  which  immediately 
brought  him  to  his  feet.  The  two  at  once  procured  the  axes,  and 
Lieut.  McLellan  going  to  the  guard  at  the  door,  gently  took  his  gun 
from  his  lap  where  it  lay,  and  giving  it  to  William,  told  him  to  shoot 
the  guard  at  the  door  at  the  least  movement  he  made  in  resistance. 
He  then  went  to  Lombard,  and  took  hold  of  him  ;  he  sprang  to  his 
feet  with  a  bellow  equal  to  any  bull,  evidently  dreaming  that  the 
English  had  taken  him  again,  and  were  about  to  murder  him.     His 


138  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

fright  was  intense.  The  McLellans  were  fearful  that  trouble  would 
come  of  this  noise,  but  Lombard  immediately  came  to  himself  so  far 
as  to  know  his  friends  and  keep  still,  but  was  evidently  under  the 
influence  of  some  dreadful  fear;  he  trembled  like  an  aspen.  Con- 
trary to  the  expectation  of  McLellan,  none  of  the  guard  was  awakened 
by  Lombard  ;  the  rum  had  done  its  work  to  a  charm. 

The  orderly  and  the  soldier  in  the  room  had  fallen  directly  across 
their  guns  in  such  a  manner  that  they  could  not  remove  them,  and 
as  the  orderly  was  much  the  most  athletic  and  powerful  man,  Lieut. 
McLellan  thought  it  best  to  secure  him  first.  Accordingly  an  axe 
was  put  into  Lombard's  hands,  with  orders  to  split  open  the  head  of 
the  drunken  soldier  if  he  moved  to  resist.  Lieut.  McLellan  had 
provided  himself,  while  on  board  the  ship,  with  a  ball  of  good  spun- 
yarn  prepared  expressly  for  this  expedition  ;  from  this  he  cut  a  piece 
of  sufficient  length,  and  laid  it  across  the  back  of  the  orderly,  then 
gently  raised  his  arms  and  laid  his  wrists  across  the  line.  The  cord 
was  then  taken  up,  a  knot  made  and  drawn  home  with  a  will  which 
immediately  waked  the  now  prisoner.  His  first  words  were  "For 
God's  sake  do  not  kill  me."  The  reply  was  "  One  word  from  you 
and  you  die;  be  quiet,  and  your  life  shall  be  spared."  He  was 
properly  secured,  without  waking  his  companions.  The  man  at  the 
door  was  next  secured  by  placing  his  hands  in  the  same  position. 
He  was  much  alarmed  when  he  was  aware  of  his  situation.  At  first 
he  was  under  the  impression  that  his  orderly  was  confining  him  for 
neglect  of  duty,  but  when  he  found  himself  in  the  hands  of  the  rebels, 
he  was  sure  his  throat  would  be  cut  and  his  scalp  taken  immediately ; 
but  he  was  soon  assured  of  his  safety  on  condition  of  his  giving  no 
trouble  to  his  captors.  The  third  prisoner  was  so  much  under  the 
influence  of  liquor  that  he  was  hardly  aware  of  his  situation  at  all. 
The  task  of  securing  the  three  was  but  the  work  of  a  few  minutes. 
When  all  was  right,  Simpson  was  waked  up,  and  the  arms  having 
changed  hands,  the  new  prisoners  were  marched  to  the  boat,  which 
had  been  partly  loaded  the  previous  afternoon.  But  what  was  their 
disappointment  to  find  it  aground,  the  tide  having  left  it  high  and 
dry.  The  intention  was  to  have  passed  the  shipping  in  the  harbor 
under  cover  of  the  darkness  of  the  night.  They  threw  out  the  wood, 
and  tried  their  united  strength,  but  found  it  impossible  to  move  the 
boat :  there  was  no  help  for  it,  but  the  tide,  fortunately,  was  on  the 
flood,  and  they  might  possibly  get  off  before  daylight.  If  not,  their 
chances  of  escape  would  be  much  diminished ;  they  might  run 
the  gauntlet  through  the  tory  country  and  the  British  lines,  with  the 


THE    REVOLUTION.  139 

almost  sure  chance  of  being  taken  ;  remain  where  they  were,  and  be 
taken;  ergo  into  the  harbor  with  more  than  the  same  chance,  for  the 
boat  would  be  recognized  and  known  at  once. 

With  this  fine  prospect  before  them,  they  returned  to  the  house, 
and  like  prudent  men  took  food,  and  fed  the  prisoners,  as  they  were 
not  sure  where  they  would  take  their  next  meal.  When  the  tide  had 
risen  sufficiently  to  float  the  boat,  the  prisoners  were  made  to  lie  flat 
in  the  bottom,  and  some  green  bushes  were  piled  over  them.  As  the 
boat  was  a  man-of-war's  boat,  and  on  that  account  would  be  recog- 
nized immediately  if  seen  in  the  light,  it  was  necessary  to  disguise  it 
in  some  way.  Soft  mud  was  taken,  and  the  boat  completely  smeared 
over  with  it.  The  bushes  were  allowed  to  hang  over  the  side,  and 
everything  was  done  to  make  it  appear  like  a  country  boat.  When 
all  was  ready,  the  boat  unmoored  and  the  sail  hoisted,  it  was  nearly 
daylight,  and  as  it  was  fast  growing  light  their  situation  was  critical 
in  the  extreme.  Simpson  had  thus  far  done  nothing,  but  as  he  was  a 
sea-faring  man  and  sailor,  he  was  now  ordered  to  perform  his  part, 
which  consisted  in  handling  the  sail. 

In  order  to  reach  the  American  lines  it  was  necessary  to  pass 
directly  by  one  of  the  enemy's  ships.  They  knew  that  no  boat  would 
be  allowed  to  pass  without  being  hailed,  but  to  attempt  to  pass 
farther  off  would  ensure  their  having  a  boat  sent  for  them,  and  make 
capture  certain.  Consequently  it  was  thought  best  to  put  a  bold 
face  on  the  thing  and  steer  directly  for  New  York,  which  path  lay 
directly  past  the  ship  which  lay  at  anchor  about  three  miles  from  the 
city.  The  wind  was  fresh  and  the  course  was  laid  to  leeward  of 
the  vessel.  They  expected  to  be  ordered  alongside,  and  Simpson  was 
ordered  to  take  care  of  the  sail,  and  to  loose  the  sheet  and  let  it  fly, 
thus  making  the  boat  unmanageable  ;  consequently,  as  the  wind  blew 
from  the  ship,  it  would  render  it  more  impossible  to  obey  the  order  from 
the  ship.  As  anticipated  they  were  hailed,  to  which  the  answer 
was  made,  "  A  country  boat  going  to  market  with  vegetables."  As 
it  was  somewhat  duskish  the  green  boughs  favored  and  proved  the 
answer.  When  the  orderly  found  his  proximity  to  the  ship  he  made 
an  attempt  to  call  for  help,  but  Lieutenant  McLellan  put  the  heel  of 
a  stout  boot  into  his  mouth,  which,  with  the  loss  of  a  tooth  by  the 
operation,  caused  him  to  groan  and  at  once  remain  quiet.  They 
were  then  ordi^red  to  come  alongside  as  vegetables  were  wanted  on 
board.  This  was  the  chance  for  the  display  of  their  seamanship; 
the  sail  blew  out  of  Simpson's  hands;  all  sprang  about  to  try  and 
catch  the  sheet,  while  the  boat  drifted  off,  and  Lieutenant  McLellan 


140  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

called  at  the  top  of  his  voice  that  he  could  not  get  to  the  ship  but 
wished  they  would  send  after  the  vegetables.  At  this  the  Lieutenant 
of  the  ship,  with  an  oath,  told  them  to  go  to  the  devil  with  their  cab- 
bages, and  look  out  they  did  not  get  drowned.  This  was  the  order 
desired.  At  a  proper  time  the  boat  was  again  under  way,  and  made 
off  in  another  direction,  which  if  seen  from  the  ship  was  doubtless 
attributed  to  thoix  good  seamanship. 

It  was  now  light.  They  had  passed  the  point  from  which  the  most 
danger  was  to  be  apprehended.  Confidence  and  boldness  would 
probably  now  carry  them  through.  Without  hesitation  they  kept 
directly  up  the  North  River  till  they  arrived  within  the  American  lines, 
and  were  hailed  from  the  shore  by  one  of  the  Continental  guards, 
when  they  landed  with  their  prisoners,  and  were  marched  to  White 
Plains,  the  headquarters  of  General  Washington,  where  they  gave  up 
their  prisoners  to  the  army,  and  sold  their  boat. 

Simpson  and  Lombard  remained  with  the  army,  and  the  two 
McLellans  came  home  on  foot  through  the  country.  They  were 
obliged,  most  of  the  way,  to  beg  their  victuals  and  to  sleep  in  barns, 
as  they  had  no  money.  They  were  absent  from  home  about  four 
months. 

Philip  Horr,  of  Gorham,  who  married  Elder  Joseph  Cates's  daughter 
Sarah,  enlisted  in  Capt.  Traffam's  company,  in  a  Rhode  Island  regi- 
ment commanded  by  Col.  Topham.  While  he  was  engaged  in  rowing 
a  boat,  containing  Col.  Topham  and  two  of  his  officers,  across  the  bay 
from  Rowland's  ferry  to  Bristol,  the  boat  was  captured  by  the  enemy, 
Horr  was  confined  on  one  of  the  prison  ships,  where  he  suffered 
untold  miseries  before  being  released.  From  the  effects  of  the  hard- 
ships endured  while  a  prisoner,  he  never  recovered.  When  the 
pension  acts  were  passed,  Mr.  Horr  was  one  of  the  recipients  of 
this  bounty  from  the  Government. 

On  the  2  0th  of  May,  1776,  the  town  of  Gorham  made  choice  of 
Caleb  Chase,  Esq.  as  a  Representative  to  the  Great  and  General 
Court  to  be  held  at  Watertown  on  the  29th  of  May  ;  and  at  the  same 
time,  the  inhabitants  being  generally  met,  agreed  then  and  there,  that 
they  would  abide  by,  and  with  their  lives  and  fortunes  support  the 
Honorable  Congress  in  the  measure,  if  they  think  fit  for  the  safety 
of  these  United  Colonies,  to  declare  them  independent  of  the  King- 
dom of  Great  Britain. 

No  town  in  the  Colonies  entered  more  fully  into  the  spirit  of  the 
thing,  nor  was  more  unanimous  in  approving,  heart  and  soul,  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  when  made,  than  was  Gorham.     In 


THE    REVOLUTION.  141 

accordance  with  the  order  of  the  Council  it  was  inscribed  upon  the 
town  books,  "there  to  remain  as  a  perpetual  Memorial  thereof." 

Nor  was  it  an  idle  boast  that  Gorham  made  when  it  declared  that 
it  would  support  Congress  with  its  lives  and  fortunes.  It  voted  to 
give  to  Capt.  Samuel  Whitmore  and  Lieut.  Cary  McLellan,  each,  six 
shillings  a  day  for  eight  days,  while  after  powder.  Benjamin  Skil- 
lings,  Prince  Davis  and  James  Gilkey  were  chosen  a  committee  to 
provide  the  families  of  the  non-commissioned  officers  and  private 
soldiers,  who  had  entered  the  service  in  the  Continental  army,  with 
the  necessaries  of  life ;  agreeable  to  a  resolve  of  the  General  Court, 
passed  Sept.  29,  1777.  On  the  January  following,  the  town  voted 
one  hundred  pounds,  lawful  money,  for  the  support  of  these  families  ; 
in  November,  1778,  four  hundred,  and  in  March,  1779,  one  thousand 
pounds  for  the  same  purpose.  The  town  was  not  slack,  either,  in 
voting  bounties  to  encourage  enlistment. 

Gorham  also  furnished  its  full  share  of  beef  and  clothing  for  the 
army.  In  taxing  themselves,  the  inhabitants  who  had  such  to  dis- 
pose of,  were  allowed  so  much  :  for  instance  in  procuring  clothing, 
they  were  allowed  20  shillings  for  a  shirt,  12/  for  a  pair  of  shoes, 
7/  for  a  pair  of  stockings,  and  42/  for  a  blanket;  the  quality  to  come 
up  to  the  requirement  of  the  General  Court. 

The  town  was  determined  that,  if  it  could  help  it,  there  should  be 
no  traitors  within  its  limits,  and  in  May,  1777,  it  made  choice  of  Capt. 
Bryant  Morton  to  procure  and  lay  before  the  Court,  described  in  an 
Act  passed  in  the  General  Court  in  1777,  the  evidence  that  may  be 
had  of  any  person's  inimical  disposition  towards  this,  or  any  of  the 
United  States  in  America.  They  then  voted,  "  That  Capt.  John 
Stephenson  be  entered  on  the  Selectmen's  list  as  a  person  inimical 
to  this,  and  to  the  United  States  in  America."  Voted,  "  That  Mr. 
Mcintosh,  now  living  in  the  house  formerly  Samuel  Jones',  is  ditto. 
Likewise,  Adam  Shallon,  ditto."  In  June,  however,  a  special  town 
meeting  was  called  to  reconsider  the  vote  in  regard  to  Capt.  John 
Stephenson. 

This  town,  like  others,  had  what  was  called  a  Committee  of  Cor- 
respondence, Inspection  and  Safety.  These,  of  which  the  first  was 
chosen  in  1772,  were  as  follows  : 

1772.  Solomon  Lombard,  Esq.,  John  Phinney,  William  (iorham, 
Esq.,  Bryant  Morion,  Nathan  Whitney,  Benjamin  Skillings,  Edmund 
Phinney,  Josiah  Davis  and  Caleb  Chase. 

1776.  Solomon  Lombard,  Esq.,  Caleb  Chase,  Nathan  Whitney, 
George  Hanscom  and  James    Gilkey.     William    Gorham,  Esq.  was 


142  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

afterward  added  in  place  of  Mr.  Lombard,  and  Peletiah  March  as  an 
extra  member  of  the  committee. 

1777.  Col.  Edmund  Phinney,  Samuel  Jenkins,  Samuel  Davis, 
Nathaniel  Whitney  and  Caleb  Chase. 

1778.  Col.  Edmund  Phinney,  Samuel  Jenkins  and  William  Mc- 
Lellan. 

1779.  Col.  Edmund  Phinney,  Austin  Alden  and  George  Hanscom. 

1780.  Austin  Alden,  Capt.  Hart  W^illiams  and  Dr.  Stephen  Svvett. 

1 78 1.  James  Gilkey,  Lieut.  William  McLellan  and  Lieut.  Cary 
McLellan. 

1782.  Capt.  Samuel  Whitmore,  Lieut.  David  Watts  and  Lieut. 
Silas  Chadbourn. 

1783.  James  Gilkey,  Lieut.  Enoch  Frost  and  Lieut.  Cary  McLellan. 
It  seems  as  if  on  account  of  the  unsettled  state  of  affairs,  but  few 

crops  and  but  little  grain  were  raised  in  1774  in  this  neighborhood. 
On  the  23d  of  April,  1775,  Capt.  William  Harper  arrived  in  Falmouth 
harbor,  with  a  cargo  of  four  thousand  bushels  of  corn,  and  the  fol- 
lowing day  the  town,  at  an  informal  meeting,  chose  a  committee, 
consisting  of  Hugh  McLellan,  Prince  Davis,  Joseph  Gammon,  Josiah 
Davis  and  Dr.  Stephen  Swett,  to  go  to  Falmouth  and  obtain  corn 
and  flour  for  the  use  of  the  town.  The  town  afterwards  voted  to 
pay  the  cost  of  the  same,  together  with  the  expense  of  transportation 
to  Gorham,  and  ordered  that  the  Selectmen  with  Cary  McLellan  and 
Caleb  Chase  should  be  a  committee  to  dispose  of  the  said  corn, 
and  receive  the  pay  for  the  same  for  the  security  of  the  town. 

The  paper  currency  issued  by  Congress  kept  constantly  depreci- 
ating in  value  ;  but  as  there  was  no  other  money  in  circulation,  people 
were  obliged,  though  with  great  reluctance,  to  receive  it  in  payment 
for  their  commodities.  When  David  Harding  came  to  Gorham  in 
1780,  he  is  said  to  have  paid  four  hundred  dollars  for  a  cow,  seventy 
dollars  for  seven  yards  of  calico  for  a  dress  for  his  daughter,  thirty 
dollars  for  leather  with  which  to  tap  his  boots,  and  five  dollars  a 
pound  for  coffee  ;  but  was  unable  to  purchase  any  land  for  continental 
money.  This,  while  it  was  hard  upon  all,  was  particularly  so  in 
respect  to  the  families  of  the  soldiers  who  were  with  the  army. 
Added  to  this  was  the  usual  desire,  always  inseparable  from  some 
mean  natures,  to  make  capital  out  of  the  necessities  of  those  more 
unfortunate  than  themselves. 

In  order  to  try  and  alleviate  this  to  some  extent,  in  1779  a  Con- 
vention was  held  at  Concord,  in  July  of  that  year,  and  Col.  Edmund 
Phinney  was  sent  as  a  delegate  to  this  meeting. 


THE    REVOLUTION.  143 

The  following  letter  was  sent  to  the  committee  of  Boston  in  answer 
to  a  printed  communication  in  regard  to  the  matter : 

'  "Gorham  July  5th  1779 

Gentlemen  We  received  your  printed  address  of  the  21^' 
of  June  last,  with  all  that  sincere  gratitude  and  joy  that  can  result 
from  hearts  that  have  a  feeling  sense  of  the  misery  and  ruin  of  our 
country  by  the  sudden  rise  of  everything  bought  and  sold  among  us, 
which  melancholy  prospect  has  giv^en  us  more  pain  and  distress  of 
mind  than  all  the  threats  and  power  of  Britain  by  their  formidable 
fleets  and  armies  in  their  martial  operations,  with  their  mean  and  low 
diabolical  plans  of  tomahawk  and  scalping  knives  with  their  other 
infernal  devices  to  destroy  an  innocent  people  (unprovoked). 

"  Gentlemen  our  eyes  and  our  hearts  have  been  ever  towards  you 
as  the  first  that  made  the  noble  stand  against  British  tyranny,  and 
that  you  stand  forth  again  in  this  Critical  Conjuncture  to  save  a 
sinking  Country  from  immediate  ruin,  gives  us  a  new  impression  of 
joy  and  pleasure.  Gorham  never  will  be  wanting  in  any  thing  that  it 
can  do  in  so  great  and  glorious  a  cause :  it  never  has  departed  from 
its  first  princ^iples  and  resolves  and  we  trust  never  will,  but  stands 
ready  to  put  forth  its  most  Zealous  Exertions  in  the  defence  of  the 
common  rights  of  humanity,  and  do  freely  acquiesce  in  the  County 
Committee's  choice  of  Col.  Phinney  to  joyn  the  Committees  at  Con- 
cord as  proposed  in  your  letter  to  us  and  we  heartily  concur  with  all 
the  resolves  passed  by  the  members  and  inhabitants  of  the  town  of 
Boston  as  far  as  our  situation  &  circumstances  will  admit  of  for  the 
public  good,  and  may  the  God  of  Wisdom  and  Truth  give  those 
Committees  met  in  Convention  all  that  knowledge  and  wisdom  they 
may  need  to  discern  the  Times  and  enable  them  to  know  what  this 
Israel  ought  to  do." 

The  Concord  convention  was  for  the  purpose  of  considering  and 
concluding  upon  such  measures  as  might  effectually  low^er  the  extrav- 
agant prices  of  every  article  of  life,  and  also  to  raise  the  value  of  the 
paper  currency,  "which,"  as  the  selectmen  of  Gorham  expressed  it, 
"  is  now  the  grand  object  in  view  by  all  the  true  Sons  of  Liberty 
throughout  this  continent,  and  without  which  being  done,  we  are  a 
ruined  people." 

In  August  the  town  voted  unanimously  that  the  doings  of  the  Con- 
cord convention  were  acceptable  and  satisfactory ;  and  a  committee, 
consisting  of  Solomon  Lombard,  Esq.,  Col.  Edmund  Phinney,  Samuel 
Jenkins  and  Austin  Alden,  was  chosen  to  regulate  the  prices  of  the 
several  articles  of  consumption,  labor,  etc.  —  agreeable  to  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  convention  at  Concord.  Another  convention  was 
held  at  Concord,  for  the  same  purpose,  on  Oct.  6,  1779.  This  con- 
vention fixed  prices  as  follows  : 

1   From  the  original  rough  draft  in  my  possession. 


144 


HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


Prices  at  the  sea  ports  free  of  charge. 


Indian  corn 
Wheat 
Rye  meal 
Wheat  flour 

£a, 
£9^ 
£5, 
£3°^ 

4^  per  bushel,    $14. 
$30. 
14S    "         "         $19. 
"    hundred. 

Rye  flour 
Oats 

£16, 

45^    "    bushel. 

Barley  and  Barley  malt 
Rye  malt 
Peas 
White  beans 

£4, 

£5^ 
£9^ 

£6, 

4^    "          " 
14S    " 

J2S      u 

Potatoes  and  other  vegetables 

U                    i( 

^4/. 

Beef,  veal,  mutton  and  Iamb, 

.S/  per  lb. 

Pork,  weight  seven  score  and  upwards,    7/     "    " 
Pork,  well  salted  and  seven  score,            6/     "    " 

Geese  and  fowls. 

6/     "    " 

Turkeys  and  tame  ducks, 
Butter, 

8/     "    " 

12/     "    " 

Tryed  tallow. 
Hog's  lard. 

10/     "    " 
10/     "    " 

Tallow  candles, 

16/     "    "  at  1 

■etail. 

Salt  beef,  240  lbs  to  the  barrel 

) 

^60  per  bbl. 

Salt  pork,  1 1  score  "     "       " 
Cider,  per  barrel  (without  the 

barrel) 

i^77    "      " 
,   £6. 

New  Milk  cheese, 

8/. 

Good  English  hay,     45/     per 
Rowen,                        36/     " 

hundred. 

u 

Salt  hay,                       22/6  " 

u 

in  Boston,  and  othe 

ui  proportion. 
Good  Eastern  hemlock  bark,  ^18  per  cord  in  Boston,  and  other  sea 

ports  in  proportion. 
Train  oil,  ^9°  per  bbl. 

Blubber,  ^30    "     " 

Refined  iron,  £;^^     "   cwt. 

Hollow  iron  ware,     ;^i5     "      " 

Good  merchantable  white  pine  boards,  £  35  per  M. 

Others  in  proportion. 


Merchantable  shingles 

(shipping), 

£     7< 

10/     "      " 

Cedar  and  pine  clapboards, 

£  36 

u         u 

White  oak  sap  barrels. 

54/. 

"       "    pipe  staves. 

£^20 

u          n 

"       "    hhd       " 

£  60 

U               (1 

"    bbl 

£30 

u         a 

Red        "    hhd       " 

£  40 

a          u 

"    bbl 

£  20 

a          u 

Molasses  shooks. 

£    3 

each. 

The  prices  of  lumber 

are 

at  the 

sea  ports,  v 

,'hen  delivered. 

Jamaica  fish     ;^25  per 

cwt. 

Scale         "       ;^2o    " 

u 

Mackerel          ;^3o    " 

bbl. 

THE    REVOLUTION.  145 

The  following  articles  are  to  be  of  the  same  price  through  the 
State. 

Green  hides  3/  per  lb. 

Sole  leather  18/    "     " 

Well  dressed  flax  12/    "     " 

Sheeps  wool  24/    "     " 

Other  wool  in  proportion. 
Bloomery  iron  at  the  forges        ;^2  5  per  cwt. 
Nail  rods  25%  advance  on  the  iron  from  which  they  are  made. 
10  d  nails  to  weigh  13  lbs.  to  the  thousand,  £()  per  thousand. 
Wool  cards  £2,  per  pair. 

Teaming,  15/     "    mile  for  every  neat  20  cwt. 

W.  I.  rum  ^6,    6/  per  Gallon. 

Molasses  £^,  14/    " 

N.  E.  rum  ;^5,  "         " 

Coffee  18/  "  lb. 

Brown  sugar  10/6  to  13/  per  lb. 

Loaf         "  36/  by  the  loaf. 

Chocolate  24/ 

Bohea  Tea  £6  per  lb. 

Cotton  wool  48/  "     " 

German  steel  2)^1  "     " 

Salt  (good  quality)  £()  per  single  bushel,  or  larger  quantity. 
Good  merchantable  French  and  Spanish  brandy     £'j,  12^  per  gallon. 
Copperas  10/         per  lb. 

Alum  6/  "     " 

Logwood  3/  "     " 

Red  wood  6/  "     " 

English,  French  and  Spanish  steel    23/  single  pound. 
Rice  £7,6  per  hundred ;  smaller  quantities  in  proportion. 

But  without  "  hard  money "  to  back  up  and  sustain  the  paper, 
these  conventions  could  only  retard  for  a  very  short  space  of  time 
this  widespread  evil,  which  was  only  effectually  checked  by  the  sub- 
stantial aid  of  men  and  specie  furnished  to  this  country  by  France  in 
1 78 1,  when  brighter  days  began  to  dawn  upon  the  struggling  country. 

In  1779  the  British  determined  to  establish  a  military  post  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Penobscot  River,  in  order  to  command  the  harbors  and 
inlets  frequented  by  the  American  cruisers  and  privateers.  These 
vessels  while  preying  upon  the  British  and  doing  them  considerable 
damage  could  easily  escape  from  a  superior  force  by  their  more  per- 
fect knowledge  of  the  coast,  with  the  harbors  and  hiding  places  which 
it  afforded.  A  fort  in  this  locality  would  prevent  this,  as  well  as 
afford  protection  to  their  own  ships,  and  lessen  the  chances  of  a  suc- 
cessful expedition  against  Nova  Scotia.  Bagaduce  (Biguyduce)  Neck, 
now  Castine,  was  the  point  selected,  and  a  force  of  about  nine  hun- 


146  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

dred  men,  commanded  by  Gen.  McLane,  sailed  from  Halifax,  and 
landed  there  on  the  12th  of  June,  where  they  immediately  began  to 
make  preparations  for  erecting  fortifications  upon  the  highest  part  of 
the  Neck. 

The  General  Court,  alarmed  at  this  invasion,  proceeded  to  prepare 
an  expedition  to  send  against  Gen.  McLane  before  he  should  have 
time  to  complete  his  defences.  A  fleet  of  nineteen  war  vessels  was 
fitted  out  and  placed  under  the  command  of  Commodore  Saltonstall 
of  New  Haven,  Conn.  These  vessels,  accompanied  by  twenty-four 
transports,  having  on  board  about  four  hundred  marines  and  soldiers, 
sailed  from  Massachusetts,  expecting  to  take  on  board  twelve  hun- 
dred men  of  the  militia  of  Cumberland  and  Lincoln  Counties.  But 
when  the  fleet  arrived  in  Penobscot  Bay  on  the  25th  of  June,  it 
brought  less  than  one  thousand  men.  The  land  forces  were  under 
the  command  of  Gen.  Solomon  Lovell  of  Weymouth.  The  second 
in  command  was  Gen.  Peleg  Wadsworth. 

On  the  28th,  four  hundred  marines  and  soldiers  were  landed  under 
a  sharp  fire,  and  after  a  brisk  and  very  brilliant  engagement  of  twenty 
minutes,  during  which  the)'  lost  one  fourth  of  their  number,  succeeded 
in  scaling  the  almost  perpendicular  cliff,  which  was  about  two  hundred 
feet  high,  and  drove  back  the  enemy ;  after  which  a  slight  breast- 
work was  thrown  up  within  seven  hundred  yards  of  the  fort.  Lovell 
and  Wadsworth  wished  to  demand  the  surrender  of  the  garrison,  but 
Saltonstall  was  opposed  to  this.  He  was  also  opposed  to  a  proposi- 
tion to  storm  the  fort.  It  is  said  that  if  the  demand  for  a  surrender 
had  been  made,  Gen.  McLane  was  prepared  to  capitulate ;  but  owing 
to  the  stubborn  willfulness  of  Commodore  Saltonstall,  and  the  lack 
of  agreement  between  him  and  Gen.  Lovell,  nothing  decisive  was 
accomplished,  until  on  the  14th  of  August,  a  British  squadron, 
under  command  of  Sir  George  Collier,  entered  the  harbor.  There 
was  a  very  brief  engagement,  which  resulted  in  the  rout  and  destruc- 
tion of  the  entire  American  fleet. 

Cumberland  County  furnished  for  this  expedition  a  regiment  of 
militia,  under  command  of  Col.  Jonathan  Mitchell  of  North  Yar- 
mouth. Enoch  Frost  of  Gorham  was  the  Sergeant  Major  of  the 
regiment ;  and  Gorham  provided  a  full  company  of  men  for  Col. 
Mitchell,  under  command  of  Capt.  Alexander  McLellan. 

Austin  Alden,  at  this  time  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Corre- 
spondence and  Safety  of  Gorham,  furnished  the  company  with  a  drum, 
as  the  following:  letter  will  show :  — 


THE    REVOLUTION. 


147 


"To  the  Selectmen  of  Gorham  :  — 

Gentlemen  :  —  I  am  obliged  to  carry  off  Austin  Alden's 
Drum,  or  go  without  one.  I  desire  you  would  pay  him  for  it,  as  I 
think  the  Selectmen  are  obliged  to  find  one  for  me  ;  I  think  the 
Drum  is  well  worth  Ten  pounds,  ten  shillings,  old  way,  as  things 
went  seven  years  ago. 

V  Hubi  Serv' 

Alex"'  McLellan,  Capt. 
Falmouth,  July  15''^  i779-" 

This  note,  which  is  in  my  possession,  has  the  following  endorse- 
ment on  the  back  : 

"Gorham,  May  i4''\  1781.  We  have  considered  of  the  within  & 
find  that  the  Town  were  obliged  to  find  a  Drum  for  Capt.  McLellan 
&  therefore  think  M"".  Alden  ought  to  be  paid  the  same  by  the  Town. 
£1-8-0. 

\V"\  Gorham  \ 

S.  Longfellow,  Jn"".     j 

The  roll  of  this  company  is  as  follows  : 

Alexander  McLellan,     Capt. 

1st  Lieut. 
2d  Lieut. 
Sergt. 


Committee." 


Ebenezer  Murch, 
Joseph  Knight, 
Thomas  Irish, 
George  S trout, 
Stephen  Whitney, 
John  Emeiy, 
Daniel  Whitney, 
Jeremiah  Hodsdon, 
Samuel  Files, 
Joseph  McDonald, 
Josiah  Lakeman, 

Edmund  Phinney,  Jr. 
Benjamin  Haskell. 
Moses  llanscom. 
John  Phinney. 
Nathaniel  Bacon. 
William  McLellan. 
Lazarus  Rand. 
James  Murch. 
Richard  Lombard. 
Prince  Llamblen. 
John  Parker. 
Josiah  Swett. 
Charles  McDonald. 
Joseph  Irish. 
William  Meserve. 
Uriel  Whitney. 
Joseph  Jones. 
John  Blanchard. 


Corp. 


Drummer. 


Privates. 
Samuel  Murch. 
vSeth  Harding. 
Gershom  Davis. 
James  Stubbs. 
John  Davis. 
Daniel  Whitmore. 
Abner  Jordain. 
Moses  Jordain. 
John  Ehvell. 
William  Irish. 
Samuel  Rounds. 
William  Files. 
Joshua  Davis. 
Joseph  Brackett. 
William  Wood. 
Abel  Whitney. 
Stephen  Powell. 
Asa  Thurlo. 

Signed.     Gorham, 


Peter  White. 
John  Meserve. 
William  Murch. 
Edward  Wilson. 
Zachariah  Weston. 
John  Akers. 
Benjamin  Stevens. 
Ebenezer  Whitney. 
Benjamin  Roberts. 
John  Harmon. 
James  Huntress. 
Samuel  Whitney. 
Isaac  Chase. 
John  Watson. 
Stephen  Sawyer. 
John  Smith. 
John  Gammon. 
Joseph  Gammon. 
Nov.  27,  1779. 


Ebenezer  Murch,  Lieut. 


Of  the  foregoing  roll,  William  Meserve  was  of  Scarborough,  and 
Samuel  Rounds  and  John  Smith,  both  of  Buxton. 


148  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

The  soldiers,  after  the  destruction  of  the  fleet,  made  their  way 
through  the  woods  to  the  Kennebec  River,  a  distance  of  about  thirty 
leagues,  suffering  great  hardships  and  privations.  Not  having  taken 
sufficient  food  with  them,  they  had  to  depend  on  such  game  as  they 
could  kill,  and  it -is  said  that  some  who  were  in  poor  health  and 
weak,  actually  perished  in  the  forest  on  their  way  home.  Capt. 
McLellan  died  soon  after  reaching  home,  of  a  fever,  contracted 
through  anxiety  and  by  the  hardships  of  the  journey. 

During  the  war.  Congress  occasionally  made  requisitions  upon  the 
various  towns  for  men  to  serve  in  its  armies  —  each  town  being 
obliged  to  furnish  a  certain  quota.  The  different  towns  were 
arranged  in  groups,  called  "  Classes,"  which  furnished  the  soldiers, 
and  charged  the  same  to  each  town's  quota.  On  the  13th  of  May 
1782,  Class  No.  5,  for  Gorham,  furnished  Nathaniel  Wing,  a  soldier 
for  three  years,  for  the  Continental  Army.  The  Class  that  furnished 
the  soldier  paid  Wing  a  bounty  of  twenty  dollars  in  silver,  and  six 
cows,  "the  cows  to  be  equal  to  cows  in  general."  This  agreement 
is  signed  by  Ebenezer  Murch,  William  McLellan  and  Prince  Davis. 

On  the  ist  of  November,  1782,  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts 
passed  a  resolve,  directing  the  treasurer,  in  response  to  a  petition 
of  Thomas  Porter  and  Stephen  Longfellow,  to  discharge  the  town  of 
Gorham  from  the  deficiency  of  one  man,  and  directing  Thomas  Porter 
of  Topsfield  to  procure  a  man  in  lieu  thereof. 

After  the  long  weary  struggle  was  over,  and  England  had  relin- 
quished her  grip  upon  the  Colonies,  news  of  peace  reaching  Gorham, 
the  town  had  a  grand  celebration,  burning  the  public  stock  of  pow- 
der in  their  joy. 

On  May  12,  1783,  the  town  passed  a  vote,  presenting  to  the  militia 
officers  in  Gorham,  the  powder  that  was  burned  here  during  the  day 
of  public  rejoicing. 

In  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  there  were  many  and  exciting  trials 
on  the  confiscation  of  the  property  of  those  persons  called  Refugees, 
or  Tories,  and  in  relation  to  their  civil  rights  as  citizens.  After  the 
close  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution  all  the  ability  and  power  of  the  bar 
were  put  in  requisition  on  both  sides,  and  their  attorneys  and  coun- 
sellors had  the  strong  prejudices  of  the  public  to  contend  with, 
as  well  as,  in  some  cases,  the  statute  law.  Great  power  and  ability 
was  displayed  in  their  defence.  In  many  cases  it  was  contended 
and  argued  with  success,  that  at  the  commencement  of  a  civil  war,  a 
man  had  the  right  to  elect  the  side  he  would  take,  and  that  his  elect- 
ing to  remain  by  the  then  constituted  authorities  was  his  natural 


THE    REVOLUTION. 


149 


right.  If  he  chose  to  leave  his  residence  for  the  time  being,  and  not 
be  found  in  arms  against  the  Revolutionary  party,  and  they  should 
finally  succeed,  his  said  election  should  be  no  bar  to  his  returning 
and  reoccupying  his  property,  and  claiming  his  rights. 

Judge  McKeen,  Chief  Justice  of  Pennsylvania,  was  a  strong  and 
inflexible  Republican,  but  firm  and  uncompromising  in  his  decisions, 
and  a  sound  lawyer.  His  decision  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Chapman,  a 
person  of  this  character,  evinced  the  correctness  of  his  judgment, 
and  the  contempt  he  felt  for  the  popular  clamor. 

In  May,  1782,  the  town  voted  "That  no  tories  shall  abide  in  Gor- 
ham,  and  that  any  person  belonging  to  the  town  of  Gorham,  who 
may  vote  for,  or  encourage,  the  return  of  any  tory  to  this  State,  shall 
be  looked  upon  as  an  enemy  to  these  U.  S.,  and  never  be  suffered  to 
hold  any  office  in  the  town  of  Gorham  forever  after."  It  will  be 
seen  that  the  former  vote  of  the  town  in  relation  to  tories  is  in  some 
degree  in  keeping  with  the  above.  The  town,  although  fully  in 
earnest  in  passing  this  vote,  never  fully  enforced  it. 

Although  poorly  paid,  while  in  the  service,  those  of  the  soldiers 
who  lived  until  after  the  Government  passed  the  Pension  Acts,  spent 
their  last  days  in  comparative  comfort  through  this  means  of  support. 

The  following  citizens  of  Gorham  are  among  those  that  received 
their  reward  from  a  grateful  country,  in  the  shape  of  pensions  : 

Officers. 
Capt.  Josiah  Jenkins. 
Capt.  Joshua  Swett. 
Adjt.  Isaiah  Thomas. 

Privates. 


Capt.  Oliver  Hunt. 
Lieut.  Ebenezer  Storer. 
Lieut.  Silas  Chadbourn 


Lieut.  William  McLellan. 
Lieut.  Timothy  Bacon. 


David  Morton. 
Stephen  Whitney. 
Zebulon  Whitney. 
George  Waterhouse. 
Daniel  Whitney. 
William  Files. 
John  Phinney. 
James  Morton. 
Joseph  Blake. 
Charles  T homes. 
Isaac  Wescott. 


Isaac  Whitney. 
Allison  Libby. 
Edward  Webb. 
Thomas  Irish. 
Edward  Libby. 
Prince  Hamblen. 
Samuel  Files. 
Thomas  Morton. 
Isaac  Irish. 


John  Darling. 
Jonathan  Stone. 
John  Watson. 
Matthias  Murch. 
Moses  Fogg. 
Philip  Horr. 
Ebenezer  Files. 
John  Blake. 
William  Burton. 


Prince  McLellan,  (negro).    Nathaniel  Blake. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

POLITICS. THE    WAR    OF     l8l2. THE    SEPARATION     OF     MAINE    AND 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

In  May,  1777,  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  directed  the 
different  towns  in  the  State  to  "  Instruct  their  next  representatives, 
in  conjunction  with  the  Council,  to  form  such  constitution  of  govern- 
ment as  they  should  judge  most  conducive  to  the  public  happiness." 
The  constitution  was  then  to  be  submitted  to  the  people  at  their 
various  town  meetings,  to  be  ratified  or  rejected  by  them.  Gorham 
in  July  chose  Capt.  Bryant  Morton  as  its  representative  to  the 
General  Court,  and  it  was  voted  "that  he  join  with  the  House  of 
Representatives,  in  conjunction  with  the  Council,  in  forming  a  new 
constitution,  agreeable  to  a  resolve  of  the  General  Court  for  that 
purpose." 

When  the  draft  of  this  constitution  was  reported  at  the  March 
town  meeting,  the  town  chose  Solomon  Lombard,  Esq.,  Col.  Edmund 
Phinney,  Caleb  Chase,  Nathan  Whitney,  Hugh  McLellan,  Bryant 
Morton,  Barnabas  Bangs,  Samuel  Jenkins,  George  Hanscom,  Andrew 
Crockett,  William  McLellan,  Prince  Davis,  Benjamin  Skillings, 
Nathaniel  Whitney  and  Samuel  Harding  as  a  committee  to  take  into 
consideration  the  form  of  government  proposed  by  the  General 
Court,  and  to  report  their  judgment  of  the  same.  This  committee, 
after  due  deliberation,  in  May  reported  against  this  constitution,  and 
this  report  was  unanimously  accepted  by  the  town. 

Another  attempt  was  made  to  form  a  State  constitution  in  1779, 
when  Solomon  Lombard,  Esq.  was  chosen  to  represent  the  town  of 
Gorham  at  the  State  convention,  held  at  Cambridge  on  the  first  day 
of  September,  when  three  hundred  and  twenty-two  delegates  were 
present.  These  organized  by  choosing  James  Bowdoin,  president, 
and  Samuel  Barrett,  secretary ;  and  a  committee  was  chosen  to 
prepare  and  report  a  draft.  This  draft  as  reported,  contained  a 
declaration  of  rights  (the  failure  to  have  which  was  one  of  the 
reasons  why  the  adoption  of  the  former  constitution  failed,)  drawn  up 
by  Hon.  John  Adams.  After  several  months  of  debate  and  revision 
a  form  was  printed  and  distributed  to  the  towns  for  adoption.  At  a 
town  meeting  held  in  Gorham  April  25,  1780,  it  was  "  voted  that  the 


roLiTics.  151 

Bill  of  Rights,  and  a  form  of  government  agreed  upon  by  the  State 
Convention  be  read  in  this  meeting,  which  was  accordingly  done." 
A  committee  was  then  chosen,  consisting  of  Solomon  Lombard,  Esq., 
Capt.  Bryant  Morton,  William  Gorham,  Esq.,  Dr.  Stephen  Swett, 
James  Gilkey,  Nathan  Whitney,  Gary  McLellan,  Austin  Alden  and 
William  Cotton,"  to  examine  the  several  articles  contained  in  the  new 
constitution,  or  form  of  government  proposed  by  the  convention 
chosen  for  that  purpose,"  and  report  to  the  town  at  the  next  meeting. 
This  committee  made  its  report  in  May  in  favor  of  the  constitution, 
which  report  was  accepted  by  the  town  by  a  vote  of  forty-seven  to 
six.  This  constitution  was  accepted  by  the  towns  throughout  the 
State,  and  went  into  effect  on  the  25th  of  October,  1780. 

The  Hon.  John  Hancock,  Esq.,  who  was  the  first  Governor  of 
Massachusetts  and  was  elected  on  Sept.  4th,  received  in  Gorham 
fift3--five  votes  as  against  two  for  James  Bowdoin,  Esq.  Eor  Lieut.- 
Governor,  Gorham  cast  forty  ballots  for  Hon.  James  Warren  of 
Plymouth,  and  two  for  Hon.  John  Hancock,  Esq.  It  seems  that  there 
was  no  choice  made  by  the  people  for  a  Lieut.-Governor,  so  the 
General  Court,  when  it  convened,  was  obliged  to  choose  one,  and  it 
elected  Thomas  Gushing. 

In  1787  a  convention  of  delegates  from  the  several  states  was  held 
at  Philadelphia  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  Federal  constitution. 
This  constitution  was  submitted  to  Massachusetts  by  the  Governor 
at  the  November  session  of  the  General  Court  for  its  adoption.  At 
a  town  meeting  held  in  Gorham  it  was  "  voted  to  send  but  one  dele- 
gate to  the  convention  who  are  to  meet  at  Boston  in  January  next;  " 
and  it  was  also  voted  that  Mr.  Stephen  Longfellow,  Jr.  should  be 
this  delegate.  This  convention  met  at  Boston,  and  on  Feb.  9,  1788, 
voted  by  a  vote  of  one  hundred  and  eighty-seven  to  one  hundred  and 
sixty-eight,  in  favor  of  the  adoption  by  Massachusetts  of  the  consti- 
tution agreed  upon  at  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Longfellow  being  one  of 
those  who  voted  against  it. 

The  whole  countr}^  now  became  divided  into  two  great  political 
parties  :  those  in  favor  of  the  constitution  were  called  Federalists, 
and  those  opposed.  Anti-federalists.  The  purpose  of  both  these  par- 
ties was  equally  pure  ;  both  were  equal  advocates  of  a  union  that 
could  not  be  dissolved  nor  destroyed :  but  the  former  advocated  a 
Confederate  Government,  possessing  all  the  powers  and  attributes  of 
a  National  Sovereignty  as  set  forth  in  the  Constitution,  while  the 
latter  based  their  objections  to  the  Constitution  on  the  ground  that  it 
gave  such  power  to  the  National  Government  as  to  swallow  up  the 
State  Sovereignties. 


152  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

The  nation,  under  the  first  administration  of  President  Washington, 
enjoyed  a  season  of  public  contentment.  The  Federal  party  was 
pleased  and  satisfied  with  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  country 
under  the  workings  of  the  Constitution,  and  those  who  had  at  first 
opposed  it  (the  Constitution)  claimed  that  it  was  due  to  them  that  ten 
most  important  amendments  had  been  effected,  especially  the  Ninth, 
which  added  to  the  dignity  of  the  individual  States. 

But  now  France  began  to  have  a  disturbing  influence  among  our 
people.  The  French  Revolution,  which  had  begun  in  1789,  had  now 
in  1794  reached  a  point  where  the  people  had  beheaded  their  king, 
Louis  XVI,  and  his  queen,  Marie  Antoinette,  and  established  a 
"  Free  Republic"  by  means  of  the  blood  and  massacre  of  thousands. 
At  the  same  time  France  was  at  war  with  Great  Britain,  and  the  sym- 
pathies of  America  were  divided ;  the  one  party  being  filled  with 
horror  at  the  cruelties,  and,  as  they  considered  it,  the  crime  of  the 
French  people ;  the  other,  full  of  gratitude  towards  a  country  which 
had  so  essentially  aided  us  in  our  struggle  for  liberty,  wished  them 
success  in  their  attempt  to  achieve  the  same  end.  Both  of  these 
parties  wished  to  take  sides,  the  one  with,  the  other  against  France, 
but  President  Washington  issued  a  proclamation  of  neutrality,  and 
through  John  Jay,  our  minister  to  Great  Britain,  in  November,  1794, 
negotiated  a  treaty  of  amity,  commerce  and  navigation  with  Great 
Britain,  which  was  ratified  by  the  American  Government.  The  Fed- 
eralists believed  in  this  treaty,  while  the  Republican,  Democratic,  or 
French  party,  as  the  Anti-federalists  were  variously  called,  condemned 
it  as  a  measure  that  the  French,  who  had  aided  us  in  our  time  of 
trouble,  might  justly  resent. 

The  town  of  Gorham  seems  to  have  been  strongly  Federal  in  spirit. 
Nearly  all  the  inhabitants  were  in  favor  of  Jay's  treaty.  At  the 
November  election,  in  1796,  to  vote  for  President,  the  three  electors 
chosen  from  this  district  were  all  of  this  party,  Stephen  Longfellow, 
Nathaniel  Wells  and  Thomas  Rice. 

In  1800  the  general  Government  changed  hands,  going  into  the 
power  of  the  Republicans,  Thomas  Jefferson  being  chosen  President. 
Under  the  new  administration  efforts  were  made  to  cut  down  expenses 
as  had  been  promised,  among  which  were  notably  the  Civil  List,  the 
Army  and  the  Navy.  While  the  Administration  was  extremely 
unpopular  with  the  people  of  Gorham,  as  well  as  the  entire  State  of 
Massachusetts,  still  the  people,  generally,  approved  of  its  course,  and 
the  country  became  very  prosperous.  Our  commerce,  owing  to  the 
re-establishment  of  peace  in  Europe,  was  in  a  very  flourishing  condi- 


POLITICS.  153 

tion  ;  our  flag  was  seen  on  every  sea  and  in  almost  ever\'  port  of  the 
world.  In  1806  the  General  Court  incorporated  in  Massachusetts 
the  Cincinnati  Society.  This  Society  was  founded  in  1783  by  officers 
of  the  Massachusetts  line  of  the  Continental  Army  to  take  care  of 
their  widows,  orphans  and  indigent  members.  Lieut.  Ebenezer  Storer 
of  this  town  was  a  member  of  this  society. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  breaking  out  anew  of  hostilities  between 
Great  Britain  and  France,  the  United  States  Government  took  and 
maintained  a  position  of  neutrality.  Both  of  these  nations,  however, 
charged  the  United  States  with  partiality  to  the  other,  and  abused 
our  shipping  and  insulted  our  flag  as  much  as  they  pleased.  In 
December,  1806,  Napoleon  issued  his  Milan  Decree^  which  was  to  the 
effect  that  every  vessel  which  should  at  any  time  either  submit  to  be 
searched  by  the  English,  pay  them  a  tax  or  duty,  or  be  found  on  a 
voyage  to  any  of  their  ports,  should  be  considered  as  denationalized, 
and  therefore  of  course  liable  to  capture  and  confiscation.  This  was 
followed  by  the  British  Orders  in  Council,  which  forbade  the  trade 
of  all  neutrals  who  were  not  friends  of  Great  Britain.  Between  these 
fulminations  there  was  small  peace  for  any  craft  flying  the  American 
flag.  But  the  thing  that  angered  our  people  more  than  all  else  was 
the  "  Right  of  Search  "  insisted  upon  by  Great  Britain  and  empha- 
sized at  this  time  by  the  King,  by  which  our  seamen  were  seized 
upon  our  own  ships  and  transferred  to  the  British  Navy,  under  pre- 
tence of  their  being  British  subjects. 

In  December,  1807,  Congress  laid  a  general  embargo  on  all  the 
American  shipping  in  the  harbors  and  ports  of  our  country,  as  this 
was  believed  to  be  the  best  way  "  to  preserve  our  neutrality,  the 
honor  of  our  flag  and  the  rights  of  our  sailors  inviolate."  This 
embargo  was  very  distasteful  to  the  Federal  party,  as  they  thought 
that  England  should  have  the  right  to  her  own  seamen.  It  was  also 
claimed  by  them  that  it  was  ruinous  to  our  national  character,  and 
especially  to  our  commerce  and  shipping. 

A  committee,  consisting  of  Hon.  Stephen  Longfellow,  Capt.  David 
Harding,  Jr.,  Capt.  Sylvanus  Davis,  Dr.  Dudley  Folsom  and  John 
Park  Little,  Esq.,  was  chosen,  at  a  town  meeting  held  in  Gorham 
Aug.  29,  1808,  to  prepare  a  petition  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States  praying  him  to  suspend  the  embargo.  Which  petition  as 
afterwards  presented  was  as  follows  : 

"  To  the  President  of  the  United  States  :  — 

The  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Gorham,  in  legal  town  meeting 
assembled,  beg  leave  respectfully  to  represent  that  they    are    fully 


154  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

aware  of  the  indispensable  necessity  of  supporting  at  all  times  the 
laws  enacted  by  the  government  of  their  choice  ;  under  this  impres- 
sion they  have  refrained  from  expressing  their  most  ardent  desire  to 
have  the  Embargo  removed.  Although  they  are  an  agricultural 
town,  yet  their  proximity  to  Portland,  the  most  considerable  com- 
mercial town  in  the  district,  has  for  many  years  past,  led  them 
considerably  into  trade  with  the  people  there.  Large  quantities  of 
Beef,  Butter,  Lumber,  &c.  have  been  annually  transported  from  this 
place  to  that,  by  means  of  which  the  inhabitants  of  this  town  have 
made  a  comfortable  living,  and  have  accumulated  property,  but  since 
the  embargo  has  taken  place  and  commerce  has  been  stopped,  they 
sensibly  feel  the  intimate  connection  there  is  between  agriculture  and 
commerce ;  indeed  they  find  it  will  be  almost  impossible  for  the 
former  to  exist  without  the  latter.  Debts  incurred  by  them  previous 
to  the  embargo,  which  would  have  been  discharged  with  ease  if  com- 
merce had  flourished  as  formerly,  they  now  find  cannot  be  paid  at 
all,  because  they  cannot  possibly  obtain  money  enough  to  discharge 
their  taxes,  which  are  continually  accumulating ;  the  surplus  of  their 
agricultural  productions,  and  their  lumber,  are  left  to  perish  for  want 
of  a  market ;  they  therefore  pray  that  the  Embargo  (which  they  think 
is  the  sole  cause  of  their  distress)  may  be  suspended,  and  that  your 
Excellency  would  do  everything  in  your  power  to  effect  so  desirable 
an  object." 

This  petition  was  approved,  and  the  town  voted  that  it  should  be 
forwarded  at  once  to  the  President. 

In  spite  of  this,  and  other  petitions  from  various  towns,  the  embargo 
was  continued  until  March  i,  1809,  when  it  was  modified  so  as  to 
permit  our  vessels  to  trade  wuth  any  nation,  excepting  Erance  and 
Great  Britain. 

On  the  30th  day  of  Januaiy,  1809,  Gorham  held  a  town  meeting 
"  Eor  the  purpose  of  considering  the  present  distressed  situation  of 
our  National  affairs."  At  this  meeting  a  committee,  consisting 
of  Hon.  Stephen  Longfellow,  Dr.  Dudley  Folsom,  Rev.  Reuben  Nason, 
John  Park  Little,  Esq.  and  Dea.  Thomas  Cross,  was  chosen  to  draw 
up  a  set  of  resolutions  to  be  presented  to  the  town  in  Eebruaiy. 
The  adjourned  meeting  was  held  Eebruary  2,  when  the  committee 
reported  these  resolutions  :  — 

Resolved.  That  we  deem  it  a  right  vested  in  us  by  the  Constitu- 
tion of  our  country,  peaceably  to  assemble  together,  and  freely  to 
express  our  sentiments  of  the  measures  of  government,  and  when 
grievances  are  felt  to  seek  proper  redress. 

Resolved.  That  we  consider  the  present  state  of  our  country  as 
calling  loudly  for  the  exercise  of  this  right. 

Resolved.  That  we  consider  the  measures  of  the  National  Govern- 
ment, in  relation  to  commerce,  and  particularly  in  the  several  Acts 


POLITICS.  155 

laying  and  enforcing  an  Embargo,  oppressive,  unconstitutional,  and 
threatening  the  most  dangerous  consequences. 

Resolved.  That  we  consider  the  prosperity  of  every  class  of  citi- 
zens, and  especially  in  the  northern  States,  as  essentially  dependent 
on  commerce,  and  those  acts  of  the  Government  are  arbitrary  and 
oppressive,  by  which  our  intercourse  with  foreign  nations  is  totally 
suspended,  and  our  domestic  intercourse  laid  under  such  restrictions, 
as  renders  it  in  all  cases  hazardous,  and  in  most  instances  impracti- 
cable to  pursue  it ;  while  we  fully  believe  neither  our  relations  with 
foreign  powers,  nor  national  honor,  nor  wise  policy,  have  demanded 
such  sacrifices. 

Resolved.  That  we  deem  it  unconstitutional  for  Congress,  to 
whom  is  delegated  only  a  power  to  regulate  commerce,  to  destroy  it, 
or  prohibit  it  by  law,  for  an  unlimited  term  of  time  ;  that  we  consider 
the  property  of  individuals  by  the  laws  aforesaid,  to  be  exposed  to 
unreasonable  search,  seizure  and  forfeiture,  excessive  bonds  required, 
and  undue  penalties  exacted,  contrary  to  express  provisions  in  the 
Constitution ;  and  that  exorbitant  power  over  the  lives  and  fortunes 
of  the  people,  vested  in  Revenue  and  Military  officers,  and  the  dicta- 
torial power  with  which  the  President  is  clothed,  are  not  consistent 
with  the  Constitution,  nor  the  principles  of  a  free  government. 

Resolved.  That  we  view  with  alarming  apprehensions  the  contem- 
plated establishment  of  a  large  army  in  time  of  peace,  to  be  placed 
at  the  uncontrolled  disposal  of  the  President,  while  in  history  we 
trace  the  downfall  of  the  liberties  of  Greece,  Rome,  and  almost  every 
other  free  State  to  similar  measures  ;  while  in  our  own  time  we  have 
seen  how  much  one  man,  with  a  soldiery  devoted  to  him,  has  done 
toward  enslaving  the  world ;  and  while  we  consider  the  dreadful  pur- 
poses, which  disguised  ambition,  even  in  those  who  have  made  the 
highest  pretensions  to  patriotism  has  conceived  and  effected,  we 
cannot  forbear  to  express  our  belief  that  this  measure  is  portentous 
and  hostile  to  the  Constitution  and  liberties  of  our  country. 

Resolved.  That  we  entertain  a  lively  sense  of  the  benefits  which 
the  faithful  administration  of  the  government  by  Washington  and 
Adams,  and  their  wise  policy,  were  instrumental  in  procuring  us ; 
and  that  we  consider  the  evils  we  now  endure  in  a  great  measure 
occasioned  by  a  dereliction  of  the  policy  adopted  and  pursued  by 
them. 

Resolved.  That  we  highly  approve  the  patriotic  and  spirited  exer- 
tions of  the  minority  in  Congress,  to  preserve  the  Constitution  and 
protect  the  interests  of  the  nation. 

Resolved.  That  we  view  with  approbation  the  conduct  of  those 
officers  in  the  Revenue  Department,  who  choosing  to  sacrifice  private 
emoluments  rather  than  be  instrumental  in  enforcing  oppi'cssive  laws, 
have  resigned  their  offices,  and  that  we  consider  their  conduct  worthy 
of  imitation. 

Resolved.  That,  as  we  despair  of  obtaining  redress  from  the 
National  Government,  a  respectful  petition  be  presented  to  the  Legis- 
lature   of    this   Commonwealth,    praying   that   they   will    adopt   such 


156  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

measures  as  they  in  their  wisdom  shall  think  best,  to  remove  present 
grievances,  and  prevent  those  evils  which  threaten  our  liberties  and 
fortunes. 

The  town  then  voted  unanimously  to  accept  these  resolves,  and  a 
committee  of  Correspondence  and  Safety  was  chosen.  As  recom- 
mended, a  petition  in  line  with  the  resolves  was  sent  to  the  State 
Legislature.  But  Massachusetts,  although  strongly  condemning  the 
embargo  and  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  country,  was  herself  powerless 
to  do  aught  but  protest,  resolve  and  petition. 

In  iSii  there  was  a  military  company  formed  at  Gorham  village 
among  the  boys  and  young  men  of  about  eighteen  years  of  age,  which 
had  a  uniform  and  light  muskets,  together  with  a  drum  and  fife. 
Charles  Dyer  was  captain.  The  forming  of  this  company  by  the 
boys,  and  the  appearance  of  a  comet  about  this  time,  was  taken  as  a 
sure  sign  of  coming  war  by  some  of  the  more  superstitious  of  our 
people.  However  this  may  be,  owing  to  the  totally  different  views 
held  by  our  Government  and  that  of  Great  Britain  —  England  main- 
taining that  a  man  born  under  the  British  fiag  was  always  a  British 
subject  and  that  no  act  could  absolve  him  from  that  allegiance  — 
diplomacy  seemed  to  be  useless,  and  war  the  only  resource. 

April  4,  1812,  Congress  laid  a  general  embargo  for  ninety  days  on 
all  vessels  in  our  harbors,  and  on  the  i8th  of  June,  Congress 
"declared  war  to  exist  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States." 
Upon  this  a  great  outcry  arose  from  the  Federal  party,  condemning  the 
Government  as  weak,  inefficient  and  corrupt,  and  declaring  that 
the  country  was  plunged  into  disgrace  and  ruin.  This  party,  which, 
having  the  Governor  and  the  Legislature  with  it,  was  in  power  in 
Massachusetts,  held  a  shameful  and  disgraceful  attitude  toward  the 
General  Government  throughout  the  war.  Both  parties,  however, 
rejoiced  heartily  over  our  successes  at  sea. 

On  June  26,  18 12,  Congress  passed  an  Act  authorizing  the  issue 
of  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal.  Shortly  after,  several  privateers 
were  fitted  out  from  Portland  and  sailed  under  these  letters  issued  by 
Isaac  Ilsley,  Collector  of  the  Port.  One  of  these  vessels  was  the 
"  Dart,"  commanded  by  Capt.  John  Curtis,  father  of  Capt.  John 
Curtis  late  of  Gorham.  It  is  said  that  the  Dart  was  built,  armed  and 
fitted  out  for  sea  in  five  weeks  from  the  time  that  war  was  declared. 
A  few  days  after  sailing  she  captured  and  sent  into  Portland  the 
British  brig  "  Dianna  "  with  her  cargo  of  two  hundred  and  twelve 
puncheons  of  rum.  This  rum  became  the  famous  "  Old  Dart  Rum," 
and  traditions  of  its  wonderful  flavor  and  quality  are  current  even  to 


WAR  OF  1812.  157 

this  clay.  On  a  succeeding  cruise  Capt.  Curtis,  after  taking  a  prize, 
sailed  in  company  with  it  for  a  few  hours  after  the  capture  ;  a  blow 
came  on,  they  parted,  the  prize  arrived  safe  in  Portland,  but  the 
privateer  probably  went  down,  as  she  was  never  heard  of  afterwards. 
A  cargo  of  cofifee  was  brought  into  Portland,  Nov.  5,  18 13,  by  the 
privateer  "  Dash,"  Capt.  Kelloran  commanding.  As  the  people  of 
Portland  were  fearing  an  attack  from  the  British,  Seward  and  Samuel 
Porter,  the  owners  of  the  coffee,  sent  it  to  Gorham  for  safe  keeping, 
where  it  was  divided  into  three  lots  and  placed  under  the  care  of 
Nathaniel  Gould,  Nahum  Chadbourn  and  Capt.  David  Harding. 
A  few  weeks  after,  it  was  returned  to  Portland,  and  on  Jan.  22,  18 14, 
it  was  consumed  in  a  fire,  which  burned  the  warehouse  on  Union 
Wharf  in  which  it  was  stored.  As  coffee  was  then  worth  a  dollar  a 
pound  the  loss  was  a  heavy  one.  The  second  captain  of  the  Dash 
was  Capt.  William  Cammett,  who  married  in  18 16  Mary  Ryan, 
daughter  of  John  B.  Ryan  of  Gorham.  A  prize  was  brought  in  by 
the  "  Teazer,"  a  part  of  the  cargo  of  which  consisted  of  crockery- 
ware  which  was  sold  at  auction.  At  this  time  good  crockery  had 
become  scarce  in  the  country,  and  coarse  brown  earthern  cups  and 
saucers  were  in  use.  Four  crates  of  the  cream  colored  ware  from 
this  prize  were  bought  by  Alexander  McLellan,  Esq.,  and  taken  to 
Gorham,  where  it  sold  at  fancy  prices  —  a  cup  and  saucer  for  a 
shilling,  plates  at  fifty  cents  each,  etc. 

The  following  anecdote  will  illustrate  the  uncertainties  of  privateer- 
ing. A  cargo  of  pork,  seized  from  an  English  vessel,  was  brought 
into  Portland  by  an  American  privateer.  Thomas  Patrick  of  Gorham 
with  a  team  of  three  yoke  of  oxen  hauled  twenty-six  barrels  of  this 
pork  from  Portland  to  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  where  it  was  put  on  board 
another  privateer  as  part  of  her  supplies  and  sent  to  sea  in  her.  Mr. 
Patrick,  loading  his  team  with  a  cannon,  proceeded  immediately  on 
his  way  from  Portsmouth  to  Boston,  where  he  delivered  the  cannon  to 
the  authorities  and  returned  home.  Before  he  reached  Gorham  the 
Portsmouth  privateer  had  been  captured  and  the  prize  pork  had  again 
become  British  property. 

Gorham,  true  to  her  principles,  furnished  but  very  few  soldiers  for 
active  service  in  this  war. 

In  the  Fall  of  1814,  considerable  alarm  was  manifested  lest  Port- 
land should  be  attacked  by  a  fleet  of  British  ships  which  were 
cruising  about  off  the  coast.  Many  Portland  men  removed  their 
families  to  Gorham  for  safety ;  among  whom  were  Capt.  William 
Cross,   Capt.  Thomas  McLellan,   Capt.   David   Stackpole,  Capt.  Wil- 


158  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

liam  Kelloran,  John  Dix,  Zachariah  Nowell,  Dana  Quincy,  and  many 
others. 

Gen.  James  Irish,  who  commanded  the  second  Brigade,  twelfth 
Division,  of  the  State  militia,  was  called  into  Portland  by  the  Brig- 
ade Major,  at  the  request  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  of  that  town. 
The  Major  General  refusing  to  issue  any  order  to  march  troops  into 
the  town,  Gen.  Irish  immediately  assumed  the  responsibility,  issued  the 
necessary  orders,  and  in  thirty-six  hours  had  his  full  brigade  of 
twenty-five  hundred  men  barracked  in  Portland,  much  to  the  relief 
of  the  citizens,  who  gathered  in  crowds  to  cheer  the  soldiers.  Gen. 
Irish  was  afterwards  arrested,  and  tried  by  Court  Martial  on  the 
charge  of  insubordination  in  calling  out  his  troops  without  due 
authority,  but  was  honorably  acquitted. 

The  soldiers  of  Gorham,  who  comprised  a  part  of  Col.  Burbank's 
regiment  in  Gen.  Irish's  command,  consisted  of  companies  of  Infantry 
commanded  by  Capt.  Toppan  Robie,  Capt.  Jacob  P.  Bettis,  Capt. 
Barnabas  Higgins  and  Capt.  Robert  McLellan.  Capt.  Robie's 
company  was  known  by  the  nickname  of  the  "black"  company,  to 
distinguish  them  from  Capt.  McLellan's  company  of  Light  Infantry, 
whose  uniform  was  very  gay  and  bright.  When  the  troops  were 
ordered  out,  Capt,  McLellan  was  on  a  visit  to  Topsham,  and  was 
unable  to  join  the  regiment  until  it  had  been  two  days  at  Portland  ; 
so  his  company  left  Gorham  under  command  of  Lieut.  Jacob  S.  Smith. 

The  Field  and  Staff  of  Col.  Burbank's  regiment  contained  the  fol- 
lowing Gorham  men  : 

John  Tyng  Smith,  Major. 

Nahum  Chadbourn,  Quarter  Master. 

Joseph  Hasty,  Pay  Master. 

Dudley  Folsom,  Surgeon. 

Samuel  McLellan,  Sergeant  Major. 

David  Cobb,  Quarter  Master  Sergeant. 

Thomas  Paine,  Jr.,  Fife  Major. 

Peter  Sanborn,  Drum  Major. 

Roll  of  the  four  Gorham  companies  belonging  to  this  Regiment. 

Robert  McLellan,  Capt. 
Jacob  S.  Smith,  Lieut.  Greenleaf  C.  Watson,  Ensign. 

Sergeants.  Musicians. 

Nathaniel  Phinney. 

Samuel  Edwards.  Samuel  Bartlett. 

Frederic  Codman.  Samuel  Woodward. 

Calvin  Edwards. 

Privates. 

Clark,  John  R.  Flood,  Luther.  Freeman,  Nathan. 

Elder,  Simon.  Frost,  Mason.  Gammon,  James. 

Fickett,  Joseph.  Freeman,  David.  Hamblen,  Joseph,  3d. 


WAR    OF    1812. 


159 


Hanscom,  Lewis. 
Harding,  David. 
Harmon,  Benjamin. 
Higgins,  Enocli  F. 
Hunt,  Joseph. 
Jordan,  Allen. 
Lakeman,  Solomon. 
McLellan,  David. 
McLellan,  John. 


Levi  Hall,  Lieut. 
Sergeants. 
James  Emery. 
Clark  Swett. 
Ezekiel  Ward. 
James  Wescott. 


Bolton,  Thomas. 
Buker,  Livy. 
Brackett,  Daniel. 
Clay,  William. 
Cole,  Joseph. 
Crockett,  John,  Jr. 
Elder,  Reuben,  Jr. 
Elder,  Samuel,  Jr. 
Emery,  Elijah. 
Files,  Nathaniel. 
Files,  Robert,  Jr. 
Flood,  Joseph. 
Fogg,  David. 
Getchell,  Samuel  H. 
Harding,  James. 
Harding,  William. 
Hicks,  Ephraim. 
Irish,  Jacob. 
Johnson,  George. 


McLellan,  Thomas. 
McQuillan,  William. 
Merrill,  Nahum. 
Paine,  Thomas. 
Paine,  William,  Jr. 
Patrick,  Charles,  Jr. 
Patrick,  Stephen. 
Sawyer,  Isaac. 
Skillings,  Benjamin. 

Jacob  P.  Bettis,  Capt. 


Corporals. 
William  Bolton. 
Benjamin  Irish. 
Uriah  Nason,  Jr. 
Josiah  Waterhouse. 

Privates. 

Kemp,  David. 
Kemp,  Jonathan. 
Libby,  James. 
Libby,  Jethro,  Jr. 
Libby,  John,  Jr. 
Libby,  Sewall. 
Libby,  Walter. 
McDonald,  James. 
McDonald,  Joseph. 
Mitchell,  Matthew. 
Mitchell,  Zachariah. 
Millions,  Ebenezer. 
Morton,  David,  Jr. 
Morton,  John. 
Murch,  Mathias,  Jr. 
Nason,  Ephraim. 
Nason,  James. 
Nason,  Joseph. 
Nason,  Richard. 


Staples,  Samuel,  Jr. 
Stevens,  John. 
Stone,  Archelaus. 
Tole,  Stephen. 
Waterhouse,  William  II. 
Webster,  Nathaniel. 
Williams,  Peter. 


Oliver  Johnson,  Ensign. 
Musicians. 


Robert  Walker. 
John  Walker,  Jr. 


Nason,  Samuel,  Jr. 
Noble,  Webber. 
Pennington,  Daniel. 
Plummer,  Christopher. 
Plummer,  Isaac,  Jr. 
Roberts,  Joseph,  Jr. 
Sanboni,  Joseph. 
Smith,  Samuel. 
Swett,  David. 
Thomes,  William. 
Tyler,  Daniel. 
Tyler,  James. 
Warren,  James,  3d. 
Webb,  Seth. 
Williams,  Daniel. 
Williams,  Joseph. 
Winship,  Daniel. 
Young,  Enos. 


Toppan  Robie,  Capt. 


Nathaniel  Hatch,  Lieut. 


Sergeants. 
James  Babb. 
Philip  Larrabee. 
Thomas  Robie. 
Caleb  Seaver. 


Alden,  Gardner. 
Blanchard,  William. 
Bragdon,  Ephraim. 
Brown,  Levi. 
Brown,  Samuel. 
Burnell,  David. 
Cash,  Jacob. 
Coolbroth,  Isaac.' 
Crockett,  Nathaniel 


Coiporals. 
Seward  Merrill. 
Moses  Rice. 
Perez  Burr. 
Ale.xander  Phinney. 

Privates. 
Darling,  George  L. 
Davis,  Luther. 
Edwards,  William. 
Eldredge,  Ebenezer. 
Farnham,  John. 
Fogg,  Daniel. 
Fogg,  George. 
Freeman,  Jo.shua. 
Frost,  Daniel  H. 


William  Frost,  Ensign. 
Musicians. 

Josiah  Jenkins. 
George  Knight. 


Gammon,  Edmund. 
Gibb,  Uriah. 
Hanscom,  John. 
Hanson,  Nathan. 
Harding,  John,  3d. 
Harding,  Joseph. 
Harding,  Robert. 
Harding,  Seth,  Jr. 
Hunt,  l3aniel. 


1  Dennis  Coolbroth  was  Isaac'.s  substitute. 


160 


HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


Huston,  Robert. 
Irish,  Elisha. 
Johnson,  William. 
Libby,  Darius. 
Libby,  Elliot. 
Libby,  Lemuel. 
Lincoln,  Cotton. 
Lombard,  Joseph,  Jr. 
Lord,  Nahum. 
March,  Moses. 


McDugal,  Thomas. 
McLellan,  James,  Jr. 
McLellan,  William,  Jr.' 
McQuillan,  John. 
Mosher,  Samuel  F. 
Paine,  Samuel. 
Penfield,  Nathan  C. 
Rice,  John. 
Rice,  Joseph. 
Rice,  Lemuel. 

Barnabas  Higgins,  Capt. 

Corporals. 
William  Weeks. 
Samuel  Blake. 
Timothy  Bacon,  Jr. 
Major  Morton. 

Privates. 
Hamblin,  Charles. 
Hamblin,  Enoch. 
Hamblin,  Isaac. 
Hamblin,  Nathaniel. 
Hunt,  James. 
Knight,  Colman  W. 
Lewis,  Samuel  H.  B. 
Libby,  Benjamin. 
Libby,  Daniel,  Jr. 
Libby,  Solomon. 
Lincoln,  John. 
Mann,  Edmund. 
McCorsen,  Lemuel. 
Moody,  John. 
Morton,  Nathaniel. 
Paine,  Richard. 
Phinney,  Colman. 
Phinney,  Nathaniel,  Jr. 


Rice,  Nathaniel. 
Roberts,  Joshua. 
Roberts,  Samuel. 
Scribner,  Samuel  G. 
Staples,  Ai. 
Strout,  George,  Jr. 
Towle,  Abner. 
Warren,  David. 
Worcester,  Thomas. 
Waterhouse,  David. 


Cyrus  Hamblin,  Ensign. 
Musicians. 

Rufus  Rand. 
Andrew  Plaisted. 


Ephraim  Blake,  Lieut. 
Sergeants. 
Saul  C.  Higgins. 
John  B.  Rand. 
Andrew  Crockett. 
James  Thombs. 

Adams,  Joseph. 
Babb, John. 
Bacon,  James. 
Bryant,  Abel. 
Cimbol,  Daniel. 
Clements,  Ebenezer. 
Clements,  John. 
Cotton,  Joseph. 
Cressey,  Joseph,  Jr. 
Files,  Ebenezer  S.  T. 
Files,  Ebenezer,  Jr. 
Frost,  Benjamin. 
Frost,  Dominicus. 
Gibbs,  Heman. 
Gilkey,  Reuben. 
Gilkey,  Samuel. 
Green,  Stuart. 
Hall,  Isaac. 
Hall,  John. 

Following  is  the  roll  of  men  who  served  in  Lieutenant  Leighton's 
Troop  of  Cavalry  belonging  to  Gen.  Irish's  Brigade  : 

Lieut.  Nathaniel  Leighton,  Commandant. 

William  Thomes,  Cornet.  (Gorham.) 
Sergeants.  Corporals. 

James  Smith.  (Gorham.)  John  Phinney.       (Gorham.) 

Andrew  Leighton.  Levi  Wilson. 

Privates. 

Freeman,  Daniel.         (Standish.) 
Fry,  James. 


Plaisted,  Joseph. 
Rand,  Henry  J. 
Rolfe,  Benjamin. 
Smith,  Caleb. 
Smith,  George  T. 
Snow,  William,  Jr. 
Stimpson,  Amos. 
Stimson,  John. 
Stone,  Jonathan,  Jr. 
Sturgis,  Ebenezer  G. 
Sturgis,  Joseph. 
Thombs,  Eli. 
Thombs,  George,  Jr. 
Treat,  Richard. 
Wescott,  Reuben,  Jr 
Whitney,  Edmund. 
Whitney,  Eli. 
Whitney,  Luther. 
Wood,  William,  Jr. 


(Gorham.) 


Abbott,  Nathaniel. 

Baker,  Solomon. 

Blake,  Daniel.2 

Brackett,  Zachariah. 

Chase,  David. 3  (Gorham 

Cochran,  Timothy. 

Crockett,  Samuel        (Gorham 

Deering,  Joshua  L. 

Fields,  John. 


Leighton,  George. 
Libby,  Joseph. 
Pettingill,  Benjamin. 
Stevens,  Harry. 
Webb.  William. 
Wilson,  Cyrus. 
Winslow,  Adam. 


(Gorham.) 
(Gorham.) 


1  John  Curtis  was  Wm.  McLellan's  substitute. 

2  Daniel  Blake  served  as  substitute  for  David  Sturgis  of  Gorham. 

3  David  Chase      "        "  "  "     Thos.  Jolinsou "        " 


SEPARATION    OF    MAINE    AND    MASSACHUSETTS.  Kil 

Other  Gorham  men  who  served  at  this  same  time,  in  the  Cavalry  of 

Dyer  and  Leighton,  were  : 

Samuel  Blake,  William  II.  Smith,  William  Warren,  Benjamin  F.  Johnson,  David 
Sturgis,  Adams  Whitney,  Benjamin  Mosher,  Samuel  Miller  and  John  Jay  Libby. 

The  alarm  luckily  proved  to  be  a  false  one,  for  the  enemy,  although 
keeping  close  to  the  coast  for  awhile  and  gathering  supplies  from  some 
of  the  islands,  did  not  land,  and  the  Gorham  soldiers,  having  marched 
to  Portland  on  Sept.  yth,  returned  on  the  21st,  thus  enabling  most 
of  them  to  make  out  the  fourteen  days  service,  which  was  necessary 
afterwards  for  the  obtaining  of  land  warrants. 

The  United  States  sloop  of  war  Adams  in  September,  18 14,  was 
set  on  fire  and  destroyed  at  Hampden  by  her  master,  Capt.  Morris,  to 
prevent  her  falling  into  the  hands  of  a  powerful  British  fleet  which 
was  ascending  the  Penobscot  River  in  search  of  her.  A  number  of 
men  living  in  the  vicinity  of  Portland,  among  whom  was  Thomas 
Patrick  of  Gorham,  were  hired  by  Samuel  Storer,  Navy  Agent  at 
Portland,  to  haul  to  Portland  the  seventy  tons  of  pig  iron  which  had 
formed  the  vessel's  ballast.  Mr.  Patrick  records  that  he  with  his  team 
of  six  oxen  made  the  trip  to  and  from  Hampden  in  eighteen  days, 
bringing  seventy-three  hundred  and  eighteen  pounds  of  the  iron. 

At  the  time  Portland  was  threatened  by  the  British  fleet,  a  barrel 
of  tar  had  been  hoisted  to  the  top  of  a  pole  placed  on  the  summit  of 
Fort  Hill,  so  that  in  case  the  enemy  had  made  a  sudden  descent 
upon  Portland,  it  could  be  lighted  and  by  its  flames  arouse  the 
surrounding  country.  When  the  news  of  the  treaty  of  peace,  signed 
at  Ghent,  Dec.  24,  18 14,  and  ratified  by  Congress  on  Feb.  17  of  the 
following  year,  reached  Gorham  it  was  decided  to  celebrate.  Capt. 
William  Cross  procured  a  swivel,  which  was  placed  on  the  hill  near 
the  meeting  house,  and  did  its  duty  nobly.  The  tar  beacon  on  Fort 
Hill  was  also  burned,  but  being  lighted  too  early  in  the  evening,  it 
lost  much  of  its  effect. 

On  New  Year's  day,  1785,  appeared  in  Falmouth  the  first  number 
of  the  first  newspaper  published  in  what  is  now  the  State  of  Maine. 
This  paper,  which  was  called  the  "  Falmouth  Gazette  and  Weekly 
Advertiser,"  and  was  printed  by  Thomas  B.  Waite  and  Benjamin 
Titcomb,  was  founded  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  the  erection  of  the 
Province  of  Maine  into  a  State,  separate  and  distinct  from  Massa- 
chusetts. 

At  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  the  District  of  Maine 
comprised  what  were  known  as  the  "  three  eastern  Counties "  of 
Massachusetts,  —  York,  Cumberland  and  Lincoln.     These  Counties, 


162  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

being  separated  from  the  remainder  of  the  State  by  New  Hampshire, 
it  was  felt  by  some  of  the  inhabitants  that  a  separate  government 
might  possess  many  and  great  advantages.  Just  emerging  from  the 
long,  hard  struggle  with  the  Mother-country,  the  State  debt  was 
large,  and  of  necessity  taxes  must  be  very  hea\y  for  quite  a  number 
of  years  to  come  ;  to  the  poor  man  this  of  course  meant  a  good  deal, 
particularly  as  thousands  were  already  overwhelmed  with  debt.  The 
seat  of  government  was  at  a  distance,  and  the  expense  of  the  journey 
such  that,  partly  on  account  of  this,  in  the  year  1772  Gorham  voted 
not  to  send  a  Representative  to  the  General  Court  on  account  of 
poverty.  For  many  years  the  towns  were  accustomed  to  pay  the 
expenses  of  their  Representatives.  Another  thing  of  which  they 
complained  was,  that  in  order  to  get  papers  necessary  for  evidence 
they  were  compelled  to  go  to  Boston,  where  the  records  of  the 
Supreme  Court  were  kept ;  that  it  was  a  great  expense  to  the  poor, 
on  whom  it  generally  fell,  to  return  executions  so  far ;  that  no 
Supreme  Court  was  held  in  Lincoln  County,  and  only  one  a  year  in 
York  and  Cumberland.  Many  of  the  honorable,  wealthy  and  influ- 
ential men  also  advocated  the  measure  as  being  for  the  benefit  and 
especial  interest  of  the  entire  community. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  opponents  of  the  measure,  among  whom 
were  also  to  be  found  many  men  holding  ofifice,  claimed  that  the 
people  of  Maine  were  ungrateful,  that  they  had  always  received 
the  best  of  care  and  many  and  great  favors  from  the  State  Government, 
and  that  the  power  and  force  necessary  to  protect  the  District  would 
be  greatly  weakened,  if  not  altogether  destroyed,  by  a  separation  at 
this  time. 

On  Sept.  17,  1785,  the  Falmouth  Gazette  printed  the  following 
which,  although  lacking  date  or  signature,  was  accompanied  by  a 
written  request  for  its  publication  signed,  as  Mr.  Willis  says,  by  the 
most  respectable  men  on  the  Neck  :  — 

"  Agreeably  to  a  request  signed  by  a  large  number  of  respectable 
gentlemen,  and  presented  to  the  printers  of  this  Gazette,  the  inhab- 
itants in  the  counties  of  York,  Cumberland  and  Lincoln  are  hereby 
notified,  that  as  many  of  them  as  can  conveniently  attend,  are 
requested  to  meet  at  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Smith's  and  Deane's  meeting- 
house in  Falmouth,  on  Wednesday  the  5th  day  of  October  ensuing, 
to  join  in  a  Conference,  vipon  the  proposal  of  having  these  counties 
erected  into  a  Separate  govennnejit  \  and,  if  thought  best,  to  form  a 
plan  for  collecting  the  sentiments  of  the  people  upon  the  subject,  and 
pursue  some  peaceable  and  proper  method  for  carrying  the  same  into 
effect." 


SEPARATION    OF    MAINE    AND    MASSACHUSETTS.  1()3 

Thirty-three  delegates,  from  twenty  of  the  principal  towns,  met  in 
Falmouth  on  the  appointed  date.  Gorham  sent  as  its  representatives 
William  Gorham,  Esq.,  Stephen  Longfellow-,  Jr.,  Esq.  and  Col. 
Edmund  Phinney.  On  the  organization  of  the  delegates  into  a 
Convention,  \Mlliam  Gorham  was  chosen  president,  and  Stephen 
Longfellow,  Jr.,  secretary.  After  discussing  the  object  of  a  separation, 
a  committee  of  seven  members,  with  Gen.  Peleg  Wadsworth  as  its 
chairman  and  Messrs.  Gorham  and  Longfellow  as  two  of  its  members, 
was  appointed  to  draw  up  a  circular  to  be  sent  to  each  of  the  towns 
and  plantations  in  the  District,  requesting  them  to  choose  delegates 
to  another  Convention  to  be  holden  at  the  same  place  on  the  first 
Wednesday  in  January  of  the  coming  year  to  consider  whether  it  was 
expedient  that  the  eastern  Counties  should  be  formed  into  a  separate 
State,  and  if  so,  the  best  method  by  which  in  a  regular  and  orderly 
way  to  carry  the  measure  into  effect. 

At  the  opening  of  the  General  Court  on  the  20th  of  October,  both 
the  Governor  and  House  expressed  themselves  strongly  against 
"dismembering  the  Commonwealth." 

Many  of  the  towns  addressed  in  this  circular  refused  to  send  any 
delegates,  as  requested  ;  but  the  town  of  Gorham,  at  a  town  meeting 
held  December  5,  1785, 

"Voted,  That  it  is  the  Opinion  of  this  Town,  that  it  would  be  for 
the  interest  of  the  Counties  of  York,  Cumberland  and  Lincoln  to  be 
incorporated  into  a  Separate  State,"  and  they  chose  Edmund  Phinney, 
Esq"",  Mr.  Stephen  Longfellow,  Jun'',  and  the  Hon"^'"^  Wm.  Gorham, 
Esq""  their  representatives  to  the  Convention. 

The  Convention  met  Jan.  4,  1786,  and,  after  having  chosen  the 
same  officers  to  preside  over  it  as  served  the  former  Convention, 
proceeded  to  choose  a  committee  to  draw  up  a  statement  of  the 
grievances  experienced  by  the  three  eastern  counties,  and  also  to 
estimate  the  expense  of  a  separate  government.  This  committee  on 
the  next  day  reported, as  follows  : 

I.  The  interests  of  these  three  counties  are  different  from  those 
of  Massachusetts,  and  therefore,  they  can  never  be  fully  understood 
by  her,  nor  will  they  for  the  same  reason  ever  be  duly  attended  to 
and  promoted,  during  the  present  connection.  In  fact  their  advance- 
ment and  importance  are  checked  and  debased,  to  a  degree  prejudi- 
cial even  to  the  United  States  at  large. 

2  cS:  3.  The  seat  of  government  is  at  a  distance,  the  General 
Court  large,  and  its  business  multifarious  and  perplexing  ;  so  that 
the  petitioners  and  suitors  in  their  journeys,  as  well  as  in  delays,  have 


164  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

to  suffer  many  and  great  inconveniencies,  expenses  and  discourage- 
ments. 

4.  Public  Justice  cannot,  according  to  the  Constitution,  be  '  admin- 
istered promptly  and  without  delay'  by  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court, 
throughout  this  extensive  Commonwealth.  Most  assuredly  so  long 
as  the  Clerk's  office,  and  the  records  of  all  that  is  done  by  that  Court, 
within  these  Counties,  are  kept  in  Boston,  legal  process  and  lawsuits 
must  be  attended  with  additional  costs,  perplexities  and  delays  of 
justice. 

5.  The  present  regulations  of  trade  operate  unequally  and 
unjustly  towards  .these  Counties;  for  they  tend  to  depress  the  price 
of  lumber  and  discourage  and  injure  those  employed  in  getting  it,  — 
thus  contributing  proportionably  to  the  special  emolument  of  traders 
and  men  in  other  parts  of  the  State. 

6.  A  great  portion  of  the  inhabitants  in  these  Counties  are 
deprived  of  a  representation  in  the  popular  branch  of  the  Legislature, 
where  all  money-bills  originate ;  —  a  grievance,  from  which  there 
appears  at  present  no  prospect  of  relief. 

7.  The  present  system  of  taxation  upon  polls  and  estates  is 
unequal  and  unjust ;  because  the  eastern  inhabitants  and  their  stocks 
cannot  be  employed  to  the  same  advantage,  nor  their  lands  improved 
with  the  same  profit,  as  in  other,  or  older  parts  of  the  Commonwealth. 

8.  The  excise  and  impost  acts  operate  a  grievance  upon  the 
inhabitants  of  these  Counties  ;  — the  eastern  people  being  dispro- 
portionate consumers  of  foreign  articles.  Sheep  cannot  be  kept  by 
them  without  great  difficulty  and  expense,  owing  to  hazards  from 
wolves  and  other  beasts  of  prey,  and  the  great  severity  and  length  of 
the  winters ;  and  in  general,  they  have  no  products  from  their 
orchards,  and  few  conveniences  of  life,  as  the  fruits  of  husbandry 
among  them. 

9.  The  act  imposing  a  duty  on  deeds,  &c.  operates  unjustly  upon 
us,  by  reason  of  the  more  frequent  conveyances  of  real  estate,  and 
their  smaller  value  in  new,  than  in  older  settled  countries. 

As  it  was  somewhat  uncertain  just  what  form  a  separate  govern- 
ment might  take,  the  Committee  concluded  to  present  no  estimate 
upon  its  cost. 

The  Convention  then  voted  to  hold  another  convention,  at  the 
same  place  on  the  first  Wednesday  in  September. 

At  the  annual  town  meeting,  held  in  Gorham  on  the  20th  of  March, 
1786,  it  was 


SEPARATION    OF    MAINE    AND    MASSACHUSETTS.  1G5 

"  Voted,  To  choose  Delegates  for  the  Proposed  Convention,  to  be 
held  at  Falmouth  in  Sep^  Next,      no  Voted  for  it,  &  but  2  against  it. 

"  Voted,  That  the  Hon'^''^  Wm.  Gorham,  Esq"'.,  Edmund  Phinney, 
Esq"".  &  Mr.  Stephen  Longfellow,  Jun"".  be  a  Committee  to  meet  in 
Convention  at  Falm°.  on  the  first  Wednesday  of  Sep',  next  to  Con- 
sider of  the  Grievances  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Counties  of  York, 
Cumberland  &  Lincoln  Labour  under.  And  with  the  other  delegates 
who  may  then  meet,  to  Adopt  &  pursue  some  orderly  &  peaceable 
measure  to  obtain  relief." 

This  third  Convention  assembled  in  Falmouth  Sept.  6,  and  organ- 
ized with  the  choice  of  the  same  officers  as  had  served  its  two  prede- 
cessors. The  Convention  then  resolved  that  the  list  of  grievances 
presented  by  the  former  Convention,  excepting  that  in  the  fifth 
article,  were  as  represented,  and  that  the  only  remedy  lay  in  their 
making  their  own  laws.  A  committee  was  then  chosen  to  draw  up  a 
petition  to  the  General  Court  praying  that  they  be  set  off  into  an 
independent  State.  The  committee  was  also  to  prepare  an  address 
to  be  sent  to  the  various  towns  and  plantations  throughout  Maine, 
and  the  people  requested  to  act  upon  the  subject  and  make  return  of 
their  votes  to  the  Convention,  when  it  should  reassemble.  The  Con- 
vention met,  after  its  adjournment,  on  Jan.  31,  1787,  when  it  was 
found  that  of  the  votes  returned,  six  hundred  and  forty-five  were  in 
favor  of  a  separation  and  three  hundred  and  fifty-nine  were  against 
it.  The  petition  was  not  sent  to  the  Legislature  until  the  following 
year. 

The  mass  of  the  inhabitants  of  Maine  were  not  really  in  favor  of  a 
disunion  of  the  two  parts  of  Massachusetts;  and  the  Convention, 
after  adjourning  from  time  to  time,  and  finding  that  the  Portland 
members  and  the  officers  were  the  only  attendants  of  its  meetings, 
and  that  its  petition  was  a  failure,  expired  in  September,  1788,  by 
having  no  meeting  at  its  last  adjournment. 

Another  attempt  looking  toward  the  same  end  was  made  in  1791 
by  the  Senators  and  Representatives  of  the  District,  who  attempted 
to  revive  the  petition  mentioned  above  ;  but  as  this  was  thought  by 
many  not  to  represent  the  minds  of  the  people,  the  idea  was  aban- 
doned, and  a  request  sent  to  the  various  towns ;  —  that  in  order  to 
know  the  true  sentiment  of  the  voters,  a  vote  be  taken  on  the 
propriety  of  petitioning  the  General  Court,  at  its  next  session,  for  its 
consent  to  a  separation  and  the  formation  of  a  new  State. 

Jan.,  1792,  the  Maine  Senators  and  Representatives  prayed  the  Leg- 
islature that   an  order  might  be  passed  for    a  general   vote  of  the 


166  ^  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

people  upon  the  subject,  so  that  the  true  state  of  pubhc  opinion  con- 
cerning the  matter  might  be  made  clear.  After  some  days  debate,  the 
order  was  granted  and  the  first  Monday  in  May,  1792,  set  apart  for 
the  test.  In  accordance  with  this  order,  at  a  town  meeting  held  on 
that  date,  Gorham  voted,  seventy-five  to  sixteen,  in  favor  of  "  The 
Counties  of  York,  Cumberland,  Lincoln,  Hancock  and  Washington 
being  formed  into  a  Separate  Government."  The  result  of  the  total 
vote  in  the  District,  being  a  plurality  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  votes 
against  the  measure,  was  a  great  surprise  to  its  advocates  ;  but  in  the 
October  of  the  year  following  it  was  decided  to  hold  another  Con- 
vention in  December,  as  it  was  thought  to  be  a  good  time  to  revive 
the  subject,  on  account  of  the  revision  at  this  time  of  the  Constitution. 
On  Dec.  16,  Gorham  "Voted,  That  Mr.  Stephen  Longfellow,  Hon"^^*^ 
Josiah  Thacher,  Esq''  &  Mr.  Cary  McLellan  be  delegates  for  the 
town  of  Gorham  to  meet  with,  &  Join  the  Convention  in  Portland 
the  last  Tuesday  in  Dec''  Insl  to  Consider  the  expediency  of  the  5 
Eastern  Counties  being  Erected  into  an  Independent  Government." 
This  Convention  did  nothing,  but  recommended  that  another  Con- 
vention be  held  in  the  following  June  to  consider  whether  it  would 
not  be  better  to  form  the  new  State  from  York,  Cumberland  and 
Lincoln  Counties,  and  exclude  Hancock  and  Washington,  which  were 
strongly  opposed  to  separation  from  the  Mother- State. 

Gorham  sent  Hon.  William  Gorham,  Esq.,  Edmund  Phinney,  Esq. 
and  George  Lewis,  Esq.  as  its  delegates  to  this  Convention,  which 
organized  by  choosing  William  Gorham,  president ;  it  then  adjourned 
to  the  second  Tuesday  of  October,  1794  ;  when  having  met,  thirteen 
resolutions  were  passed,  stating  that  the  District  was  able  to  support  a 
separate  government,  setting  forth  the  reasons  why  the  present 
union  was  inconvenient,  and  that  a  "  total  separation  "  was  alone 
consistent  with  its  prosperity. 

At  the  adjournment  of  this  meeting,  held  in  January,  1795,  an 
address  was  prepared,  signed  by  William  Gorham  as  president, 
requesting  the  people  to  vote  again  upon  this  subject,  and  at  a  town 
meeting  held  in  Gorham  on  the  6th  of  May  there  were  cast  forty-six 
ballots  in  favor  of  revising  the  constitution,  and  twenty-nine  against 
it ;  fifty-one  ballots  for  the  separation  of  York,  Cumberland  and 
Lincoln  Counties,  and  seven  against  such  action. 

Notwithstanding  the  rebuffs  and  discouragements  experienced,  in 
January,  1797,  petitions  were  sent  up  to  the  General  Court  praying 
that  the  votes  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  District  might  be  given  on  the 
subject.     This  request  was  granted,  and  a  vote  appointed  to  be  taken 


SEPARATION    OF    MAINE    AND    MASSACHUSETTS.  167 

in  May  on  the  question  whether  application  should  be  made  to 
the  General  Court  for  its  consent  to  a  separation  and  the  making  of  the 
District  into  a  State.  On  this  question,  Gorham  voted  twenty-six  in 
favor,  and  thirty  against  it.  This  effort  being  found  to  be  a  failure, 
the  subject  was  allowed  to  rest,  with  only  a  slight  attempt  at  revival 
in  1806-7,  until  1815,  when  at  the  close  of  the  war  it  became  again 
one  of  the  questions  of  the  day.  Feb.  10,  1816,  the  General  Court 
directed  that  on  the  20th  of  May  the  votes  of  all  the  towns  and 
plantations  in  the  District  should  be  taken  on  the  question,  "  Shall 
the  Legislature  be  requested  to  give  its  consent  to  the  separation  of 
the  District  of  Maine  from  Massachusetts,  and  the  erection  of  said 
District  into  a  separate  State .-" "  Upon  the  result  of  this  vote, 
the  Maine  Senators,  and  most  of  the  Representatives,  petitioned  the 
Legislature  for  its  consent  to  form  a  new  State  out  of  the  District. 
On  June  20th,  a  law  was  passed  authorizing  a  vote  to  be  taken  on 
"  Is  it  expedient  that  the  District  of  Maine  be  separated  from 
Massachusetts,  and  become  an  Independent  State  ?  "  Each  town  at 
the  same  time  was  to  choose  as  many  delegates  as  it  might  have 
Representatives  in  the  Legislature.  The  voting  was  to  take  place  on 
the  first  Monday  in  September,  and  on  the  last  Monday  of  the  same 
month  these  delegates  were  to  meet  in  convention  at  Brunswick,  and 
if  it  was  found  that  a  majority  of  five  to  four  of  the  votes  were  in 
favor  of  a  separation,  the  Convention  was  to  form  a  State  Coiistitu- 
tion.  Gorham  voted  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  for  separation, 
and  one  hundred  and  eighty  against  it,  and  chose  as  delegates  to  the 
Convention,  Hon.  Lothrop  Lewis,  David  Harding,  Jr.  and  Samuel 
Stephenson.  The  Convention  met,  when  it  was  found  that  the  five- 
ninths  of  the  vote,  necessary  for  the  success  of  the  measure,  had  not 
been  received.  About  two-thirds  of  the  Convention  being  ardent 
supporters  of  an  independent  State,  it  was  endeavored  to  escape 
defeat  by  accepting  the  ingenious  report  of  a  committee,  which  said, 
"  That  the  whole  aggregate  majority  of  yeas  over  the  nays,  in  the 
towns  and  plantations  'm.  favor,  was  six  thousand  and  thirty-one  ;  — 
the  whole  aggregate  majority  of  nays  over  the  yeas,  in  the  towns  and 
plantations  opposed,  was  four  thousand  eight  hundred  and  twenty- 
five ;  then  2.?,  Jive  is  io  four  so  is  six  thousand  and  thirty-one  to  four 
thousand,  eight  hundred  and  twenty-five.  The  General  Court, 
however,  would  not  hear  of  this  construction,  and  dissolved  the 
Convention. 

A  final  effort  to  accomplish  this  long  desired  object  was  made  in 
1 8 19,  when  the  Legislature,  being   presented   with   petitions  from 


168  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

about  seventy  towns,  passed  a  law  on  the  19th  of  June  consenting  to 
a  separation,  provided  a  majority  of  fifteen  hundred  votes  were  cast 
in  its  favor.  This  vote  was  to  be  taken  on  the  fourth  Monday  in 
July,  and  the  returns  made  to  the  Governor  and  Council,  when  if  the 
necessary  majority  was  found,  each  corporate  town  was  to  choose 
delegates,  who  were  to  meet  in  Portland,  form  a  Constitution,  and 
make  application  to  Congress  to  be  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a 
State. 

Gorham  this  time  voted  in  favor  of  separation,  one  hundred  and 
eighty-three,  and  against  it,  ninety-five.  Of  the  total  vote,  a  majority 
of  nearly  ten  thousand  was  in  favor  of  forming  a  new  State,  and  it 
was  so  declared  by  the  Governor.  Gorham  then  chose  as  its  delegates 
to  the  Portland  Convention  Lothrop  Lewis,  Esq.,  Gen.  James  Irish 
and  Joseph  Adams,  Esq.  The  Convention  met  at  Portland  on  Oct. 
II,  and  framed  a  Constitution,  which  was  signed  on  the  29th  of  the 
month,  and  the  first  Monday  in  December  appointed  for  submitting 
it  to  the  people  for  their  adoption  or  rejection.  A  large  majority  of 
the  people  by  their  votes  in  December,  ratified  the  Constitution  ; 
Gorham  voting  ninety-four  to  one  in  its  favor. 

The  new  State  was  admitted  to  the  Union  by  Congress,  March  4, 
1820,  and  as,  by  the  Act  of  June  19,  1819,  March  15  was  to  terminate 
the  union  of  the  District  and  the  Mother-State,  Maine  on  the  i6th  of 
March,  1820,  became  an  independent  State. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

MEETING    HOUSES    AND    MINISTERS    OF    THE    STANDING    ORDER. 

Our  old  ancestors  thought  well  of  building  meeting  houses,  and 
settling  ministers.  With  them  it  was  as  much  a  part  of  their  duty 
as  it  was  to  build  their  own  residences.  By  law  it  was  made  a  part  of 
the  contract  with  all  proprietors  of  townships  for  settfement,  that  as 
soon  as  they  were  able,  or  a  sufficient  number  of  settlers  came  in, 
they  should  build  a  meeting  house,  and  settle  a  "  learned,  Orthodox 
minister."  If  this  contract  was  not  perfected  in  a  reasonable  time, 
they  forfeited  their  title  to  the  land. 

Our  ancestors  were  not  backward,  but  held  squarely  to  their 
obligations ;  and  we  find,  that  at  the  first  proprietors'  meeting 
of  which  we  have  any  record,  held  in  Gorhamtown,  at  the  house  of 
Mr.  John  Phinney,  Nov.  24,  1741,  at  which  time  there  were  probably 
about  eight  families  in  town,  the  meeting,  after  choosing  a  clerk,  was 
adjourned  to  meet  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Moses  Pearson,  in  Falmouth, 
Nov.  26,  1741  ;  where  the  second  vote  passed  was,  "That  a 
Meeting  House  be  built  for  the  public  worship  of  God  in  said  town 
(Gorham)  ;  forty  feet  one  way,  and  thirty  the  other ;  twenty  foot  shed 
with  suitable  roof,"  and  "  That  fifty  shillings  on  a  right  be  raised  by 
each  Proprietor  in  order  to  erect  a  Meeting  House,  and  clear  a 
suitable  tract  of  land  to  set  the  same  on."  And  a  committee  was 
chosen  to  determine  where  the  house  should  stand,  and  to  build  the 
same.  This  meeting  was  then  adjourned  to  meet  the  next  Monday : 
this  came  in  December,  1741,  when  it  was  voted  "That  twenty  rods 
square  be  cleared  on  the  westerly  side  of  the  way  called  King  Street, 
in  order  for  to  build  a  Meeting  House  for  the  public  worship  of  God ; 
partly  on  the  Minister's  and  Ministerial  lots,  adjoining  to  the  above 
said  way,  to  lie  common  forever  for  the  use  of  y^  Inhabitants."  A 
committee  was  chosen,  consisting  of  John  Phinney,  William  Pote, 
Hugh  McLellan  and  Ebenezer  Hall,  to  cut  and  clear  the  "twenty 
rods  square,"  in  order  to  "  set  the  Meeting  House ;  "  (eighty  feet 
square  of  which  was  to  be  cut  within  six  inches  of  the  ground)  within 
fourteen  days,  for  which  they  were  to  have  eight  pounds.  Feb.  16, 
1742/3,  it  was  "voted  to  pay  John  Gorham  and  Daniel  Mosher 
;^2 5-0-0,  old  tenor,  for    clearing   and   burning  the    stuff   from  the 


170  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Meeting  House  lot,  twenty  rods  square  ;  they  having  till  y^  last  of 
May  to  do  y'^  same  in."  This  would  bring  the  preparations  for  the 
building  up  to  the  last  of  May,  1743,  and  probably  the  house  was 
built  that  summer  (1743).  It  was  certainly  built  before  February, 
1744,  for  at  that  time  a  notice  was  published  for  "all  Proprietors 
to  pay  up  their  taxes  for  building  the  meeting  house."  It  is  said  to 
have  been  constructed  of  logs,  which  is  probably  true,  for  nothing 
better  could  have  been  had  at  that  time.  Boards  were  not  here,  nor 
were  there  roads  over  which  to  haul  them,  or  mills  to  saw  them.  The 
location  above  described  would  place  this  first  meeting  house  on  the 
top  of  Fort  Hill,  near  where  the  old  town  house  formerly  stood,  but 
that  is  probably  not  the  exact  spot  where  it  was  built,  for  reliable 
tradition  fixes  the  site  on  the  westerly  side  of  the  hill,  a  little  south  of 
the  burying  ground,  near  where  the  locust  trees  now  stand.  The  first 
log  house  of  Capt.  John  Phinney  was  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road, 
a  little  farther  south.  In  the  Indian  war  of  1745  this  meeting  house 
was  burned  by  the  savages,  at  the  same  time  that  the  first  mill  was 
destroyed,  and  none  was  built  to  replace  it  on  Fort  Hill.  For  several 
years  the  inhabitants  held  their  meetings  in  the  fort. 

On  July  25,  1750,  at  a  Proprietors'  meeting  held  at  the  fort  in 
Gorhamtown,  it  was  "  Voted  that  eighteen  pence  on  each  share  be 
raised,  and  paid  into  the  hands  of  the  Treasurer,  for  repairing  the 
south-east  flanker  of  the  fort,  for  public  worship,"  and  Capt.  John 
Phinney  was  appointed  to  have  the  repairs  made,  so  far  as  the  money 
would  go.  This  was  two  months  previous  to  the  giving  the  Rev. 
Solomon  Lombard  his  call  to  preach.  In  August,  1751,  I  find 
another  vote  to  make  further  repairs  on  the  south-east  bastion  to  fit 
it  for  public  worship.  In  1756,  April  2d,  we  find  £i\  voted  to  make 
repairs  on  fort  and  meeting  house  (bastion). 

The  Proprietors,  by  their  contract  with  the  settlers,  were  bound  to 
furnish  a  meeting  house ;  the  people  had  been  a  long  time  without 
one.  Though  they  were  all  proprietors,  some  of  the  out-of-town 
proprietors  were  much  the  largest  land-holders,  and  would  have  to 
pay  largely.  A  movement  was  started  amongst  the  settlers  to  have 
a  meeting  house,  and  in  a  more  convenient  location  than  the  fort.  A 
meeting  was  called  to  take  the  subject  into  consideration. 

In  1760,  Feb.  26th,  we  find  the  last  vote  we  have  in  relation  to  the 
old  Fort  Meeting  house.  And  it  is  as  follows :  "  Voted,  that  Capt. 
John  Waite,  Moses  Pearson,  Esq.,  and  Mr.  John  Cotton  be  a  Committee 
to  repair  to  the  Fort  in  Gorhamtown  :  View  the  Flanker  that  is  used  for 
Public  Worship  :    Consider  of  building  a  Meeting  House  :    Where  to 


MEETING    HOUSES.  171 

set  said  house,  and  how  big  to  build  the  same."  Also,  "  Voted, 
There  be  raised  and  assessed  on  the  several  rights  in  said  township 
toward  building  a  Meeting  House,  Sixty-si.x  pounds,  thirteen  shillings, 
and  four  pence  (^66-13-4)".  Up  to  this  time  the  old  Orthodox 
Congregationalist  Society  had  worshipped  on  Fort  Hill,  though  the 
population  had  spread  south  much  faster  than  north.  Quite  a 
village  had  grown  up  at  Gorham  Corner,  and  down  the  Portland 
road.  Many  did  not  like  the  going  to  Fort  Hill  to  meeting. 
Moreover,  a  large  number,  including  some  of  the  most  influential 
men  of  the  town,  were  much  dissatisfied  with  Mr.  Lombard,  and 
would  not  attend  his  meetings.  Consequently,  a  society  was  formed 
at  the  village,  of  the  disaffected  and  others.  They  built  a  meeting 
house,  and  settled  a  Mr.  Ebenezer  Townsend  to  preach  to  them,  and 
called  themselves  Orthodox;  —  tried  to  get  the  Ministerial  lands  for 
their  minister,  but  the  Court  decided  that  they  had  not  settled  "a 
learned^  Orthodox  minister,''  and  they  lost  their  case.  This  house 
was  a  small  two-story  meeting  house,  nearly,  if  not  quite,  square,  with 
a  four-sided  roof,  which  sloped  up,  from  each  side,  to  the  centre.  It 
was  built  with  gallery  pews,  and  stood  facing  High  St.  (now  so  called), 
on  the  north-westerly  corner  of  what  was  then  Bryant  Morton's  lot, 
and  is  now  called  the  old  Parish  lot.  The  lot  extended  northerly  to 
what  is  now  the  southerly  side  of  Church  St.,  and  included  the  lot 
now  owned  by  Simon  E.  McLellan. 

About  this  time  Mr.  Lombard  virtually  ceased  to  preach.  Religious 
matters  being  in  rather  an  unsettled  state,  he  filled  his  pulpit  mostly 
by  exchange.  Transient  preachers  would  be  occasionally  employed 
to  preach  on  the  Hill,  till  the  death  of  Mr.  Townsend,  which  occurred 
in  1762.  In  the  mean  time,  the  old  Society  had  been  moving,  and 
procuring  materials  for  building  their  new  house.  The  death  of  Mr. 
Townsend,  and  the  willingness  of  Mr.  Lombard  to  take  his  dismissal, 
seemed  to  open  a  chance  for  a  reconciliation.  Accordingly,  a  nego- 
tiation was  entered  into  for  the  purchase  of  the  new  meeting  house  at 
the  Corner,  by  the  Proprietors,  for  the  use  of  the  town  (old  Society). 
The  result  of  the  negotiation  will  be  seen  in  the  following  report. 

REPORT    OF    COMMITTEE    ON    MEETING    HOUSE. 

"  The  Committee  appointed  to  confer  with  the  owners  of  the 
Meeting  House  at  Gorham  to  see  on  what  terms  they  can  purchase 
the  same.  Report  as  follows,  that  they  have  conferred  with  the  owners 
of  said  Meeting  House  who  are  willing  to  sell  the  same  to  the  Pro- 
prietors, with  a  quarter  of  an  acre  of  land,  whereon  it  stands  and 
conveniently  adjoining,  for  ;^i8o,  lawful  money,  and  oblige  themselves 


172  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

to  glaze  it  forthwith.  Which  the  Committee  think  best  to  be  done, 
provided  the  inhabitants  discharge  the  Proprietors  from  any  further 
expense  concerning  a  Meeting  House  for  pubHc  Worship." 

Signed  by  Enoch  Freeman,  Alexander  Ross,  Stephen  Longfellow, 
William  Cotton  and  Josiah  Noyes. 

Dated,  Gorham,  Feb.  i8,  1765. 

"  We  the  subscribers,  a  Committee  of  the  owners  of  the  Meeting 
House  above  mentioned,  agree  to  all  the  above,  and  promise  to  exe- 
cute a  deed  for  said  house  and  land,  to  said  Proprietors,  on  demand." 

Signed  by  Bryant  Morton,  Edmund  Phinney,  Nathaniel  Whitney, 
John  Sawyer  and  Samuel  Crockett. 

Dated,  Feb.  18,  1765. 

And  the  timber  for  the  new  house  was  returned  to  Jacob  Hamblen, 
Solomon  Lombard  and  John  Harding,  who  had  procured  it,  together 
with  ^6-13-4,  to  be  proportionally  divided  between  them,  with  which 
they  professed  themselves  satisfied. 

The  deed  from  Biyant  Morton,  Edmund  Phinney,  John  Sawyer, 
Nathaniel  Whitney  and  Samuel  Crockett  to  Moses  Pearson,  for  and 
in  behalf  of  the  Proprietors,  of  the  meeting  house  and  land  for  the 
use  of  the  town  (First  Parish)  was  duly  executed,  March  4th,  A.  D. 
1765;  and  the  Societies  were  again  united  —  and  the  old  Orthodox 
Congregational  Society  took  up  its  headquarters  at  Gorham  Corner ; 
dedicating  their  church,  June  5,  1765. 

It  appears  that  previous  to  October,  1769,  the  meeting  house  had 
no  pews  ;  and  a  vote  was  passed  in  town  meeting  to  choose  a  commit- 
tee of  seven  men  ;  Samuel  Crockett,  Joseph  Gates,  Benjamin  Skillings, 
Amos  Whitney,  William  McLellan,  Jacob  Hamblen  and  Joseph  Brown, 
"  to  rank,  and  finish,  and  appraise  the  (pews  in  the)  Meeting-house, 
and  that  the  pews  shall  finish  the  Meeting-house.  And  that  the  Pro- 
prietors pay  into  the  committee  one  half  of  what  their  Pew  privileges 
amovmt  to  in  1770,  and  the  other  half  in  177 1,  or  else  perfect  their 
Pews  177 1,  Nov.  22. 

"  Voted,  that  the  proprietors  of  pews  have  six  months  longer  to 
pay  to  committee. 

"  Voted,  to  have  two  pews  more  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  Women's 
seats,  and  two  more  at  the  western  end  of  the  men's  seats  below,  and 
two  pews  above. 

"Voted,  Solomon  Lombard,  Esq.,  William  Gorham,  Esq.  and  James 
Gilkey  have  each  of  them  one  of  the  pews  above-mentioned,  and  that 
Samuel  Murch  and  Jonathan  Sawyer  have  one  between  them,  on  the 
floor,  and  that  Joseph  Brown,  Jr  and  Thomas  Irish  have  each  of  them 
one  of  the  pews  to  be  built  above  stairs." 

November  7  of  the  same  year  a  town  meeting  was  held  for  the  purpose 
of  drawing  the  pews.     This  house  was  occupied  by  the  First  Parish 


MEETING   HOUSES. 


173 


for  about  thirty  years.  It  becoming  rather  small  for  the  congregation, 
it  was  voted  in  1792,  to  enlarge  the  house  thirty  feet  to  the  south. 
Nothing  appears  to  have  been  done  under  this  vote.  At  a  meeting 
held  at  the  old  meeting  house,  Dec.  5,  1795,  it  was  "  Voted,  To  build 
a  new  Meeting  House,"  and  "  Voted,  To  build  it  of  wood  and  to 
accept  the  proposition  of  Mr.  Thomas  McLellan  for  a  lot  on  the 
south  westerly  corner  of  his  lot,  running  from  the  corner  northerly  on 


FIRST    PARISH    MEETING    HOUSE,     1 798. 

the  Road,  seven  and  one  half  rods,  and  easterly  six  and  one  half 
rods;  Reserving  a  two  rod  road  across  the  southerly  side  thereof" 
(running  into  what  is  now  Church  Street).  For  which  said  McLellan 
received  a  part  of  the  old  Parish  lot,  from  the  southerly  end  thereof, 
being  four  rods  on  the  road,  and  five  rods  back.  (Now  Simon  E. 
McLellan's  lot.) 


174  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Operations  were  immediately  commenced,  under  this  vote,  to  build 
a  new  house,  and  the  frame  was  raised  in  June,  1797.  While  raising 
the  timbers  for  the  belfr}%  some  of  the  rigging  gave  way  causing  a 
most  melancholy  accident,  whereby  Dr.  Nathaniel  Bowman,  a  young 
and  promising  physician  much  respected  in  town,  and  James  Tryon, 
a  young  man  employed  on  the  work,  lost  their  lives.  The 
building  was  completed  in  1798.  This  house  was  finished  with 
square  pews,  and  falling  seats,  and  had  a  gallery  on  three  sides.  The 
entrance  was  on  the  south  side,  directly  from  the  Green,  also  on  the 
east,  and  through  the  belfry  on  the  west.  The  pulpit  was  on  the  north 
side,  more  than  ten  feet  above  the  congregation,  with  a  large  old- 
fashioned  sounding-board  over  the  minister's  head. 

The  first  stoves  were  placed  in  the  house  in  1822,  when  the  parish 
voted,  on  the  2 2d  of  April,  to  raise  ten  dollars  to  help  pay  for  the 
stoves,  and  also  five  dollars  to  pay  for  fuel. 

On  April  8,  1823,  the  Society  voted  to  choose  six  persons  to  keep 
the  boys  m  order  in  the  gallery. 

An  alteration  was  made  in  the  house  in  1828.  The  square  pews 
and  gallery  were  taken  out ;  the  lower  floor  was  raised,  and  long 
pews  built ;  the  pulpit  lowered,  and  a  porch  built  on  the  south  side 
for  an  entrance  and  music-gallery.  December  15,  of  this  year,  the 
Parish  voted  that  they  "  do  give  their  consent  that  the  proprietors  of 
the  organ  may  place  the  same  in  the  meeting  house  of  said  Parish," 
and  "  that  the  rent  arising  from  the  Parish  land,  after  paying  for  the 
bell,  and  to  the  amount  of  not  exceeding  $100,  be  appropriated  to 
the  purchase  of  shares  in  the  organ,  providing  every  exertion  is  made 
to  enlarge  the  present  list  of  subscribers  to  said  organ."  This  organ 
was  made  by  Calvin  Edwards,  and  was  his  first.  In  July,  1867,  a  new 
organ  was  purchased  of  E.  &  G.  G.  Hook  of  Boston,  at  a  cost  of 
$2,622.88. 

In  1848  another  alteration  was  made.  The  floor  was  lowered  to 
its  old  place,  the  pulpit  changed  to  the  eastern  end,  the  windows 
reduced  in  number  and  greatly  enlarged ;  new  slips  were  put  in,  and 
afterwards,  —  about  1854  —  the  present  galleries  were  added.  The 
spire  was  erected  in  18^.8.  The  clock  was  added  in  1868,  the  gift  of 
Hon.  Toppan  Robie. 

In  1885  the  former  pews  were  removed,  and  new  ones  of  cherry 
substituted.  The  interior  of  the  house  was  finished  in  cherry  to 
match,  and  a  new  set  of  pulpit  furniture  was  introduced.  New  win- 
dows of  stained  glass  were  also  substituted  for  the  plain  ones,  thus 
allowing  of  the  removal  of  the  blinds  from  the  outside  of  the  edifice. 


MEETING    HOUSES.  175 

When  the  new  meeting  house  was  finished  in  1798,  the  town  voted 
to  give  the  old  meeting  house  to  School  District  No.  i ,  on  condition 
that  they  would  build  a  house  sufficiently  large  (28  x  34  feet)  to 
accommodate  the  town,  in  which  to  hold  their  town  meetings,  with 
the  right  of  building  said  house  on  the  south  corner  of  their  lot,  there 
to  remain  so  long  as  the  one  to  be  built,  or  one  or  more  houses  to  be 
built,  on  the  same  spot,  shall  last  :  with  the  right  of  the  town  and 
parish  to  meet  at  said  schoolhouse,  and  there  to  transact  all  the 
business  of  the  town  and  parish,  whenever  they  may  think  proper. 
This  schoolhouse  was  built  and  occupied  many  years.  Becoming 
too  small  for  the  town  meetings,  it  was  decided  in  18 15  to  build  a 
town  house.  After  much  opposition  by  many  who  thought  the  build- 
ing should  be  located  more  nearly  in  the  centre  of  the  town,  it  was 
finally  voted  to  place  the  new  town  house  on  Fort  Hill.  The  house 
was  situated  on  the  northeast  corner  of  James  Phinney's  lot,  No. 
57  ;  was  fifty  feet  long  by  thirty-two  wide  and  had  ten  foot  posts.  The 
first  meeting  held  in  it  by  the  town  was  the  regular  March  meeting 
for  1817.  As  is  elsewhere  related,  the  town,  about  1850,  exchanged 
this  building  with  Capt.  Robie  for  the  old  Free  Meeting  house  at  the 
village,  which  is  still  used  by  the  town. 

The  old  schoolhouse,  after  the  building  of  the  town  house,  was 
sold  to  Mr.  George  Hight,  and  by  him  used  for  a  blacksmith's  shop, 
and  was  finally  taken  down  and  built  into  a  small  shop,  which  now 
stands  on  State  St.,  owned  by  Col.  Robie,  and  until  lately  occupied 
by  Cyrus  Abbott  as  a  storehouse. 

Somewhere  about  the  year  1819,  on  the  dissolution  of  the  Shaker 
Society  in  Gorham,  Rev.  Asa  Rand,  acting  for  the  Congregational  Soci- 
et}%  and  Capt.  Robert  McLellan,  purchased  one  of  the  Shaker  buildings 
and  hauled  it  to  Gorham  Village.  Mr.  Rand  placed  his  half  of  this 
building  on  South  St.,  just  south  of  the  burying  ground,  where  the 
old  brick  schoolhouse  lately  stood,  and  converted  it  into  a  Conference 
House  for  the  use  of  his  church.  In  1826  the  brick  vestry,  situated 
east  of  the  meeting  house,  was  built,  Dea.  Thomas  S.  Robie  giving 
five  hundred  dollars  toward  the  building,  and  Thomas  McLellan 
presenting  the  stone  basement  and  the  land  on  which  it  is  located. 
After  the  erection  of  this  building,  the  old  Conference  House  was 
moved  on  to  the  new  road  to  Saccarappa,  and  altered  into  the  dwell- 
ing house  where  George  Jewett  lately  lived. 

A  new  chapel  and  conference  hall,  which  was  erected  at  a  cost  of 
about  thirteen  thousand  dollars,  was  built  on  the  "  Parish  lot,"  on  the 
opposite  corner  from  the  church,  and  dedicated  on  the  nineteenth  of 
January  i8g8. 


176  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

It  is  probable  that  the  settlers  held  some  kind  of  religious  services 
in  the  town  before  a  minister  was  hired,  as  we  know  that  Mr.  Smith  of 
Falmouth  (Portland)  preached  here  Aug.  31,  1742.  and  "had,"  as 
he  says,  "great  assistance."  This  was  about  a  j-ear  previous  to  the 
building  of  the  meeting  house.  At  any  rate  it  was  before  Mr.  Crocker 
came.  Mr.  Crocker  preached  in  Portland  before  he  came  to  Gorham. 
There  were  at  this  time  about  twenty  families  in  town,  and  a  consid- 
erable number  of  the  heads  of  these  families  were  members  of 
churches  in  the  towns  from  whence  they  came.  As  early  as  Nov.  26, 
1 741,  the  Proprietors  voted  that  ten  shillings  on  a  right  of  each 
Proprietor  be  raised  in  order  to  help  the  inhabitants  support  a  minister 
for  the  time  voted,  and  that  John  Gorham  be  chosen  Treasurer,  and 
that  Col.  Gorham  and  William  Cotton  be  chosen  collectors  for  the 
sums  voted  by  the  Proprietors  on  each  right. 

As  a  meeting  house  was  to  be  built,  and  the  settlers  were  much  in 
want  of  a  minister  to  preach  the  gospel  to  them,  the  Proprietors  held 
a  meeting,  and  voted  to  hire  a  minister  for  six  months,  or  at  the  rate 
of  three  pounds  and  ten  shillings  (old  tenor)  per  sabbath,  till  the  sum  of 
sixty  pounds  was  expended.  A  committee  was  chosen  to  procure  a 
supply,  and  Mr.  John  Phinney  was  empowered  to  get  the  man  ;  when 
the  following  correspondence  took  place  between  the  committee,  and 
Rev.  Benjarriin  Crocker  :  — 

For  the  Rev''  Benj  Crocker,  att  Ipsitch,  per  Capt.  Phinney. 

Gorham  Town,  so  called,  February  16''^  1742/3. 
Mr.  Crocker,  Sir, 

We,  the  Subscribers,  Being  this  Day  att  a  proprietors' 
meeting  Chosen  to  Gett  a  Minister  to  Preatch  to  the  Inhabitants  for 
five  or  six  months  to  Come,  and  We  are  Informed  by  Mr.  J"°  Phin- 
ney that  you  signified  to  him  you  would  come  and  preatch  If  we 
Desired  It;  And  these  are  to  desire  you  to  come  and  preatch  here 
the  time  above  mentioned,  or  Less  time,  as  may  sute  your  conven- 
iency,  and  We  shall  Readily  pay  your  Reasonable  Demands,  and 
must  Refer  you  to  Mr.  John  Phinney  for  particulars.  By  Whome  this 
comes.  With  Expectation  of  your  Complyance,  We  Remain  your 
humble  servants 

Moses  Pearson. 

William  Pote. 

William  Gotten. 

Benjamin  Skillins. 

J""  Gorham. 

In  March,  1743,  the  Proprietors  voted  that  Moses  Pearson,  \\'illiam 
Pote,  William  Cotton,  Benjamin  Skillings  and  John  Gorham  should 
have  full  power  given  them  to  raise  the  money  already  voted  for 
preaching,  etc.,  by  sueing,  and  selling  the  lands  of  the  delinquent 


MINISTERS.  177 

Proprietors.  The  same  committee  was  also  empowered  to  lay  out 
two  hundred  acres  of  land,  for  the  ministerial  and  minister's  lots, 
wherever  they  might  think  most  suitable. 

In  September  of  the  same  year,  twenty  shillings,  (old  tenor),  on 
each  right,  was  voted  to  be  raised  as  soon  as  might  be,  to  pay  a 
minister  for  preaching  for  the  following  year.  It  was  also  voted  to 
sell  enough  of  the  timber  standing  on  the  common  and  undivided 
lands  of  the  town  to  pay  Mr.  Crocker  for  his  preaching. 

The  following  notice  is  certified  to  have  been  posted  at  several 
places ;  and  by  John  Gorham,  to  have  been  posted  in  Gorham  town 
at  "y^  Mil  Doar." 

1743/4,  February  3. 

These  are  to  notify  the  Proprietors  of  Gorham  tov/n,  alias  Narra- 
gansett  township,  No.  7,  laying  in  y'=  County  of  York,  that  there  is  a 
tax  of  seven  pounds,  four  shillings,  old  tenor,  laid  on  each  of  their 
lots,  at  their  legal  meeting :  For  the  building  of  a  meeting-house, 
paying  their  minister  and  for  bringing  forward  the  settlement  of  said 
township.  Five  pounds,  ten  shillings  of  which  tax  hath  heretofore 
been  notified  and  published  in  y^  Public  Gazette,  agreeable  to  the 
laws  of  this  Province.  These  are  to  desire  the  delinquent  Proprietors  of 
y*=  above  township  to  pay  y^  whole  of  y®  above  mentioned  taxes,  with- 
out further  delay,  unto  John  Gorham,  Proprietors'  Treasurer,  or  their 
rights  must  be  exposed  to  sale  agreeable  to  y^  laws  of  this  Province. 
Falmouth,  February  3,  1743/4.  William  Pote,      ) 

Moses  Pearson,  ;-  Committee. 

John  Gorham.      ) 

Mr.  Crocker  renders  an  account  of  those  from  whom  he  received 
money,  and  a  receipt  in  full  as  follows  :  — 

An  account  of  what  I  received  for  preaching  at  Gorham  Town. 

£    s    d 

Of  Mr.  Gotten,  ii-io-oo 

Of  Mr.  Pote,  2-00-00 

Of  Mr.  Cobb,  for  Finey  (Phinney),  i-oo-oo 

Of  Mr.  Pearson,  5-00-00 

Of  Mr.  J""  Eayer,  10-00 

Of  Mr.  Benj"  Skillins,  3-10-00 

Of  Mr.  Benj"  Stevens,  3-10-00 

Of  Mr.  McAUin  (McLellan),  3-10-00 

Of  Mr.  Jeremiah  Hodgdon,  10-00 

Of  Cpt  Gorham,  lo-oo 

Of  Mr.  Pote,  for  boarding,  9-00-00 

Of  Mr.  Gotten,  200s,  10-00-00 

Of  Mr.  Gotten,  5-10-00 

i;5  6-00-00 
Of  Mr.  Pearson,  4-00-00 

;^6o-oo— 00 


178  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Falmouth,  Sept.  12"^  i743- 
Rec'd  of  the  Within  Comt  for  Gorham  town  sixty  pounds  old  tenor 
Which  is  in  full  for  preatching  at  Gorhamtown  I  say  Rec'd  per  Me 

Benj".  Crocker. 

This  closed  Mr.  Crocker's  labors  in  Gorham.  He  was  the  son  of 
Josiah  Crocker  of  Barnstable  and  his  wife  Militiah,  daughter  of  Gov. 
Thomas  Hinckley.  He  was  born  Sept.  26,  1692,  and  was  graduated 
at  Harvard  College  in  17 13.  He  taught  the  Ipswich  Grammar  School 
for  many  years,  both  before  and  after  preaching  in  Gorham.  In  the 
years  1726,  1734  and  1736  he  represented  the  town  of  Ipswich  in 
the  General  Court.  After  the  death  of  Edward  Pell  in  1752,  he 
supplied  the  pulpit  at  Ipswich  for  about  two  years,  and  on  the  25th 
of  April,  1754,  received  a  call  to  preach  there.  He  was  appointed  a 
Feoffor  in  1749,  which  office  he  held  until  his  removal  from  Ipswich 
in  1764.  His  wife  was  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Rev.  William  Williams 
of  Weston,  Mass.  Mr.  Crocker  died  in  1766,  leaving  two  children, 
Mary  Gunnison  and  John.  His  wife  Elizabeth,  who  survived  him, 
afterwards  married  a  Cogswell. 

After  Mr.  Crocker  left  it  does  not  appear  that  they  had  any  preach- 
ing at  Gorhamtown  for  some  time,  but  at  a  meeting  of  the  Proprietors, 
held  at  the  fort,  Oct.  30,  1749,  it  was  "Voted,  that  there  Be  assessed 
on  Each  Right  within  said  township,  ten  shillings  to  be  payd  to  some 
Gentleman  that  shall  Be  Imployed  to  preach  to  the  people  in  s'^  town 
and  that  Cpt.  Jedediah  Preble,  Cpt.  Moses  Pearson  and  Enoch 
Freeman,  Esq""  Be  a  com*'^'^  to  agree  with  some  suitable  Gentleman, 
on  the  Best  terms  they  can  for  s^  money  to  preach  as  afores'^  ". 

About  this  time  Mr.  Solomon  Lombard  came  to  Gorham,  and 
preached.  He  was  born  in  Truro,  Mass.,  and  was  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  1723.  Before  coming  to  Gorham,  he  married,  in 
Truro,  Sarah  Purrington.  Previous  to  his  ordination  in  Gorham  he 
had  preached  about  six  months  in  this  place. 

At  a  meeting,  held  at  the  fort  Sept.  26,  1750,  it  was  "Voted  to 
Give  Mr.  Solomon  Lombard  a  call  to  settle  here  in  this  Town  in  the 
Work  of  the  Gospel  ministry  ",  and  it  was  also  voted  to  give  him  fifty 
three  pounds,  six  shillings  and  eight  pence,  lawful  money,  annually, 
during  his  ministry  in  this  place.  Capt.  John  Phinney,  Mr.  Jacob 
Hamblen  and  Mr.  Joseph  Weston  were  chosen  a  committee  to  treat 
and  agree  with  Mr.  Lombard  respecting  his  settling  in  Gorham  ;  and 
lot  57 — with  the  exception  of  an  acre  and  a  quarter,  adjoining  the 
fort — ,  with  after  divisions,  was  confirmed  to  the  first  Congregational 


MINISTERS.  179 

minister  in  the  town,  his  heirs  and  assigns  forever.  This  lot  adjoins 
the  lot  upon  which  the  fort  was  built.  It  drew  in  after  divisions,  the 
hundred  acre  lot  43  and  the  seventy  acre  lot  28. 

This  committee,  after  having  performed  the  duties  for  which  they 
were  chosen,  received  the  following  reply  from  Mr.  Lombard: 

Whereas  this  Day  Cpt  John  phiney  Mr  Joseph  Weston  and  Mr 
Jacob  Hamblin,  a  Com''='=  of  the  proprietors  of  the  lands  in  Gorham- 
town,  to  treat  With  me  the  subscriber  In  Order  to  My  settlement  in 
s"*  town  in  the  Gospel  ministry  and  in  Order  thereto  presented  me 
the  Votes  of  s'*  proprietors  Both  as  to  My  salary  viz  :  fifty  three 
pound  six  and  Eight  pence  Lawful  money  p""  annum,  During  my 
Continuance  in  s''  Town,  in  the  ministry  afors^  and  the  Improvement 
of  the  second  Lott  With  the  after  Divisions  During  the  term  afors'^ 
and  for  my  settlement  Do  Give  to  me  my  Heirs  and  assigns  forever 
the  fifty  seventh  lott  With  the  after  Divisions  On  the  Common  or 
undivided  Land  thereto  Belonging  In  answer  I  Beg  leave  to  Return 
my  harty  thanks  unto  the  Gentlemen  the  proprietors  for  that  Great 
Regard  they  have  herein  expresed  to  me  and  Wish  I  may  Ever  merit 
there  esteem.  I  Chearfully  accept  of  their  Call  and  offer  I  Beg 
their  prayers  to  all  mighty  God  for  me  that  I  may  obtain  Grace  to  Be 
faithfull  and  that  While  I  preach  y^  Gospel  to  others  I  my  self  Be  not 
cast  away 
Gorhamtown  September  2  7''M75o 

your  humble  servant  Solomon  Lombard 

And  on  the  same  day  that  this  reply  is  dated  (Sept.  27,  1750)  the 
Proprietors  voted  to  accept  the  answer  of  Mr.  Lombard;  and  "that 
the  afore  said  committee  wait  on  him  and  acquaint  him  that  the  Pro- 
prietors accept  his  answer  and  return  him  thanks  therefor  ". 

Lot  No.  2,  excepting  an  acre  and  a  quarter  adjoining  the  fort,  was 
set  off,  and  confirmed,  for  an  orthodox  Congregational  minister, 
together  with  its  after  divisions,  of  which  the  hundred  acre  lot  was 
directed  to  be  laid  out,  as  soon  as  possible,  by  Capt.  John  Phinney, 
Mr.  Jacob  Hamblen  and  Mr.  Daniel  Mosher.  This  land,  the  parson- 
age, as  it  was  called,  Mr.  Lombard  was  to  have  the  use  of  during  his 
ministry. 

The  following  pastors,  with  their  churches,  were  invited  to  the 
ordination  of  Mr.  Lombard: — Mr.  Smith,  Mr.  Allin,  Mr.  Loring, 
Mr.  Thompson,  Mr.  Morril  and  Mr.  Hovey.' 

Capt.  John  Phinney,  Mr.  Jacob  Hamblen,  Capt.  Joshua  Freeman, 
Capt.  Moses  Pearson  and   Maj.  Enoch  Freeman  were  appointed  a 


I  The  Rev.  1  hos.  Smith  was  of  Falmouth;  Rev.  Benj.  Allen,  of  Puqiooduck  ; 
Rev.  Nicholas  Loring,  of  No.  \'armouth  ;  Rev.  Wm.  Thompson,  of  .Scarborough  ; 
Rev.  Moses  Morrell,  of  Biddeford,  and  Rev.  John  Hovey,  of  Arundel. 


180  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

committee  to  make  provision  for  the  ordination.  This  took  place 
Dec.  26,  1750;  Rev.  Thomas  Smith  preaching  the  sermon.  Forty 
five  shilUngs,  or  one  dollar,  was  assessed  on  each  Proprietor's  right, 
to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  occasion. 

Following  are  copies  of  the  bills  for  the  ordination  dinner,  etc.  : 

1750 
December     The  proprietors  of  Gorhamtown  Dr 

to  I  Baril  flower 

to  29^^  suger 

to  4  Glasses,  40^ ;  3  Bushel  aples,  48^ ; 

to  I  tea  pot,  30*:  Bushel  aples,  16-0'^; 

to  2  Barils  Cyder  ^9  ;  4  Galonds  rum,  104^ 

to  2  Galonds  Brande 

to  35'*^  flower,  52-6"^';  2  Bushel  cramberys 

to  a  Botle  vineger 

to  Expence  at  sackerapy 

;^54-ii-o 

Errors  Excepted  per  Moses  pearson 

1750 

December  18  :    The  proprietors  of  Gorhamtown  Dr  to  Enoch  Freeman 

to  2  loves  suger  W^  14''^,  at  20^^  i-  4-2 

to  i^'^  tea,  iqS;  2  Cheeses  W  7,6^^,  at  6"^  i-  9-6 

to  i^'^  Ginger,  2-6<^ ;  2  pots  Buter  W  263^^^  at  lo'^  i-  4-3,  ^ 

to  54^ ''^  pork  at  j^,  1-11-9^;  6  Galonds  molases  at  2-8^1, 

16-0^  2-  7-9 

to  I  fowl  8'^;  Beaf  hide  and  tallo  W  4131^1  at  oo'^,  is  £4- 

8-10'^  4-12-6 

to  6^^  Candles  at  i^  6-0 

to  I  qt  vinegar  8 

to  3  Geese  W^  ly}^^^  Sit  ^}4  5-2 

to  I  pot  Butter  W  1 7  ^^  at  i  o'^  •  1 4-7 

to  3  days  Wm  Mekculeason  help  provide  for  ordination  12-0 


£ 

s 

d 

14- 

■  7- 

-6 

8- 

14- 

-0 

4- 

8- 

-0 

2- 

6- 

-0 

14- 

4 

-0 

5- 

0- 

-0 

4- 

■12- 

-6 

5- 

-0 

14- 

-0 

^12-16-8 

Errors  Excepted  pr  Enoch  Freeman 
alowed  with  the  Deduction  from  Wm  Meckcolison   15-0^^  and  5^  for 
the  fowel ;   Examined  and  alowed  with  the  above  Deduction  of  20^ 
old  tenner 

the  ac'  of  Charge  for  the  ordination 


2-0-0  Myself  8  days  to  Citing  up  y^  stores  10-  0-0 

to  hors  work  4  days  4-  0-0 

-1 0-0  to  Hugh  Mclallin  2  days  2—10-0 

5-0^'     to  Jn"  Irish  i  day  Bringin  the  Cow  i-  5-0 


MINISTERS.  181 

Killing  the  Cow  lo-o 

to  hors  Keeping  19  days  and  nights  at  10^  y*-'  night  9-10-0 

to  7  horses  the  day  time  at  5^  1-15-0 

to  womans  Cooking  10  days  5-  0-0 

2  men  i  day  tending  y*^  ordination  2-10-0 


37-  0-0 
the  things  that  I  provided  X  Errors  6-19-6 


43-19-6 

one  ounce  of  nutmeg  12-0 

to  4  ounces  of  peyper  6-0 

44-17-6 
to  8  fowls  36^;  7  fowls  31^-6'^';  pound  Chocklat  18-0^'  4-  5-6 
to  Yz  Bushl  onions  12-0'';    10  qts  milk  15-0'^'  i-  7-0 

salt  4-0*^;  turnups  5-0^^  9-0 

petators  half  Bushel  5-0 


51-  4-0 
Deduct  6-19-6  ;  Entered  in  the  acount  twice  6-19-6 


Deduct  6-16-6  as  in  the  margen  6-16-6 


Deduct  fowls  of  tuttel  Maj""  Freeman  p'^  for  1-11-6 


i:35-i6-6 
this  acount  alowed  with  3-5-0  Deduction  as  in  the  margen  as  also 

for  sundry  stores  in  Hamblins  hands 3-11-6 

the  within  acount  aproved  of  with  the  above  Deductions 

The  above  bills,  after  being  examined  and  approved  by  a  commit- 
tee, were  on  the  13th  of  August,  1751,  voted  to  be  paid  by  the 
Proprietors. 

For  some  time  after  the  ordination  of  Mr.  Lombard  things  seemed 
to  go  on  well,  but  at  length,  in  1757,  a  schism  arose.  In  this  year  he 
had  difficulty  with  his  church  and  people,  on  account  of  a  sermon 
he  preached  which  gave  umbrage  to  a  part  of  them,  and  in  March 
1757  twenty-one  of  the  inhabitants  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Pro- 
prietors in  opposition  to  Mr.  Lombard.  In  this  they  say ;  "  Our 
Rev.  Pastor's  conduct  in  the  discipline  of  his  Church  hath  had  such 
an  evil  tendency,  it  hath  weaned  our  affections  from  him,  and  in  a 
great  measure  spoilt  his  usefulness  towards  us  ;  further,  his  common 
conduct  seemeth  to  us  to  be  very  extraordinary  in  setting  neighbors 


182  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

against  neighbors,  which  keep  us  in  a  fire  of  contention.  And  like- 
wise he  has  taken  upon  him  so  much  business  which  does  not  concern 
the  ministr}^,  which  gives  us  grounds  to  think  him  more  for  the  fleece 
than  he  is  for  the  flock  ".  In  consequence  of  this  letter  an  article 
was  inserted  in  a  warrant  for  a  Proprietors'  meeting,  March,  1757,  to 
"  inquire  into  the  differences  betwixt  the  Rev.  Solomon  Lombard  and 
the  inhabitants  of  the  town  ",  but  no  action  was  taken  on  it. 

Dec.  14th  of  the  same  year  a  council  was  called  at  Gorham,  and 
Parson  Smith  says,'  "Dec.  16.  The  Council  finished  and  brought 
the  aggrieved  brethren  to  agree".  Jan.  19,  1758,  another  council 
was  held,  six  churches  being  represented.  On  Jan.  25th,  while  the 
council  was  debating,  "  a  motion  came  into  the  Council  that  the  par- 
ties had  agreed  '\  *****  *  "And  so  the  matter  was  finished  by 
nine  o'clock  this  (Jan.  26)  evening."  ^ 

The  disagreement  was  settled  by  the  formation  of  a  new  Society, 
which  should  be  exonerated  from  any  obligation  to  contribute  to  the 
support  of  Mr.  Lombard  ;  as  may  be  seen  by  the  following  which  is 
a  copy  of  the  proceedings  of  the  council : 

We,  the  pastors  and  messengers  of  five  churches  ;  viz.,  the  first  in 
York,  the  first  and  third  in  Falmouth,  the  church  in  Biddeford,  the 
second  in  Wells,  and  the  messengers  from  the  second  church  in 
Scarborough,  convened  in  an  ecclesiastical  council  at  Gorhamtown, 
Jany  19*,  1758,  by  the  desire  of  the  Pastor  and  Church  to  give 
advice  in  the  unhappy  contention  that  has  so  long  subsisted  between 

them, after  serious  and  humble  prayer  to  God  for  direction,  and 

after  hearing  and  fully  disputing  all  that  was  thought  proper  to  be  laid 
before  us.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Lombard  and  the  church  voluntarily  exhibited 
the  conditions  for  a  separation  ;  viz..  That  Mr.  Lombard  shall  give  up 
one  half  of  all  the  parsonage  upon  the  settlement  of  another  minister, 
and  that  he  will  give  security  to  all  the  disaffected  brethren  and 
disaffected  inhabitants  against  ever  paying  any  taxes  for  his  support, 
and  that  the  disaffected  brethren  shall  be  incorporated  into  a  distinct 
church  by  this  council  by  the  name  of  The  First  Church.  On  the 
other  hand  the  disaffected  brethren  do  freely  and  fully  consent  that 
all  the  well  affected  brethren  be  by  this  council  incorporated  into  a 
distinct  church ;  and  they  will  secure  them  and  the  well  affected 
inhabitants  from  ever  paying  any  taxes  to  any  other  minister  during 
Mr.  Lombard's  ministry,  and  that  there  shall  be  a  distinct  list  of  all 
the  well  affected  and  disaffected  to  ascertain  what  minister  they 
support,  and  that  all  injuries,  provocations,  and  offences  be  forgotten, 
forgiven,  and  forever  at  an  end,  and  the  peaceful  spirit  of  the  Gospel 
be  promoted  to  our  uttermost. 


1  Smith's  Journal,  page  173. 

2  Idem,  page  174. 


MINISTERS.  183 

Put  to  vote,  —  whether  this  council  approve  of  this  agreement, 
passed  unanimous  ;  —  to  which  the  pastor  and  each  party  unanimously 
consented  in  the  presence  of  this  council.  Now  sincerely  and  ear- 
nestly wishing  you  all  the  blessings  of  peace,  truth,  and  holiness,  and 
exhorting  you  to  use  your  endeavors  to  promote  the  peaceful  kingdom 
of  Christ  among  you,  to  whose  guidance  and  blessing  we  commend 
you  all. 

Gorhanitown,  Jan>'  25''',  1758. 

Thomas  Smith,  Moderator. 

Daniel  Little,  Scribe. 

The  well  affected  and  disaffected  brethren,  as  mentioned  above, 
were  incorporated  into  two  churches  by  a  committee  of  four  ministers 
and  four  messengers  of  said  council,  and  obligations  by  mutual  bonds 
given  to  free  each  party  from  paying  towards  the  support  of  any  other 
minister  in  this  town  but  the  minister  to  whom  they  are  well  affected 
as  expressed  in  the  above  agreement. 

Certified  per  Daniel  Little,  Scribe. 
Gorhanitown,  Jan>',  25,  1758. 

In  spite  of  the  above  certificate  it  seems  rather  doubtful  if  such 
action  did  take  place,  for  we  find  that  on  the  sixth  of  May  1760,  the 
Proprietors  voted  to  assess  and  raise,  on  each  right  in  the  township, 
twenty  shillings  in  full,  to  pay  the  Rev.  Solomon  Lombard's  salary  to 
the  above  date  ;  and  reserving  to  themselves  for  the  future,  if  they 
saw  fit  to  take  any  advantage  of  it,  the  right  to  make  use  of  the 
agreement,  made  at  the  council  mentioned  above,  for  a  separation  of 
the  Church  and  people  in  Gorham  town. 

Capt.  John  Phinney  and  Capt.  Bryant  Morton  appear  to  have  been 
the  head  of  the  opposition  to  Mr.  Lombard.  It  appears  also  that  the 
dissatisfaction  did  not  arise  from  difference  in  doctrine,  but  from 
the  performance  of  his  clerical  duties,  as  they  understood  them.  As 
has  been  said  before,  the  council  that  sat  on  the  case  in  January, 
1758,  of  which  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smith  of  Falmouth  was  moderator,  did 
not  come  to  a  conclusion,  as  the  parties  settled  their  differences 
among  themselves,  and  the  affairs  of  the  church  and  society  went  on, 
not,  however,  very  harmoniously,  as  we  have  reason  to  believe.  Mr. 
Lombard  had  a  family  growing  up  ;  and  felt  desirous  of  making  pro- 
vision for  them  in  a  worldly  point  of  view.  He  became  quite  a  land 
speculator,  and  from  an  examination  of  records  and  documents,  he 
must  have  devoted  much  of  his  time  to  looking  after  corner-lots, 
timber  lands,  and  mills.  Phinney,  Morton  and  others  of  his  oppo- 
nents were  large  land  owners,  and  did  quite  a  business  in  lumbering 
and  land  trading.  It  is  possible  that  there  was  often  some  interfering. 
They  did  not  like  to  be  obliged  to  pay  a   man   for  ministerial  duties. 


184  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

and  then  have  him  over-reach  and  out-do  them  in  trade.  Although 
there  was  a  settlement  between  the  two  factions,  it  does  not  appear 
that  there  was  a  reconciliation. 

Things  went  on  till  1759,  when  in  April  the  Rev.  Ebenezer  Town- 
send  was  brought  here  by  Phinney  and  Morton.  The  old  colonial 
law  of  the  times  said  that  the  ministers,  settled  by  the  Proprietors  of 
the  towns  granted  by  the  General  Court,  in  order  to  be  entitled  to  the 
settlements  made  for  the  ministry,  must  be  "  learned  orthodox  min- 
isters." Mr.  Townsend  was  not  an  educated  man  ;  had  never  studied 
theology ;  or  been  ordained,  or  licensed  to  preach,  by  a  council ;  and 
moreover,  Mr.  Lombard  had  not  been  dismissed  from  his  charge, 
and  the  disaffected  had  no  permanent  organization,  or  /<?^'-rt!/ existence  ; 
therefore,  the  clergymen  of  the  neighboring  towns  refused  to  ordain 
Townsend.  Consequently,  Capt.  Phinney  and  Capt.  Morton  took 
the  thing  into  their  own  hands,  and  as  Parson  Smith  says  in  his 
quaint  way,  ''April  4,  1759,  Mr.  Townsend  was  ordained  in  Gorham. 
Capt.  Phinney  prayed  before  the  Charge  and  Capt.  Morton  gave  it, 
and  Townsend  did  all  the  rest."  Thus  Mr.  Townsend  was  settled 
over  the  disaffected  portion  of  Mr.  Lombard's  society.  It  is  probable 
that  this  was  the  first  lay  ordination  that  ever  took  place  in  New 
England.  It  was  something  new,  and  very  strange  for  a  minister  of 
the  Gospel  to  be  inducted  into  ofifice  in  olden  times,  without  the  aid 
of  clergymen. 

We  have  no  record  of  the  settlement  of  salary  voted  Mr.  Townsend 
by  his  parishoners.  There  was  an  attempt  made  to  compel  Mr. 
Lombard,  by  a  suit-at-law,  to  give  up  the  parsonage  to  Mr.  Townsend, 
(carried  on  by  Phinney  and  Morton,  and  which  was  tried  at  York). 
The  Court  decided  in  favor  of  Lombard,  who  remained  in  possession, 
and  Townsend  had  to  be  provided  for  otherwise. 

We  know  but  little  of  Mr.  Townsend  before  he  came  to  Gorham. 
He  came  here  from  Newmarket,  N.  H.,  where  he  was  in  1756.  The 
Histoiy  of  the  Free  Will  Baptists  puts  him  down  as  a  "New  Light 
Congregational  Clergyman."  This  could  not  be  so,  for  he  had  never 
been  ordained  or  licensed,  and  the  New  Lights  did  not  make  their 
appearance  for  many  years  after  this  time;  but  he  might  have  been 
an  exhorter  on  his  own  account.  Report  says  that  he  was  a  pious, 
good  man.  He  purchased  a  house,  and  one  hundred  square  rods  (ten 
rods  on  the  street,  and  running  back  ten)  of  land  on  King  street,  of 
Nathaniel  Whitney.  The  lot  was  opposite  the  house  of  Nathaniel 
Frost,  which  would  place  his  house  on  the  thirty  acre  lot,  8,  just  north 
of  the  house  where  Isaac  W.  Dyer  now  lives,  and  opposite  the  house 
lately  owned  by  Daniel  Billings. 


MINISTERS.  185 

We  know  of  Mr,  Townsend's  having  but  one  child,  Isaac,  who  was 
born  in  Newmarket  before  the  family  came  to  Gorham.  After  the 
death  of  his  father  he  went  with  his  mother  to  Newmarket.  In  the 
time  of  the  Revolution  he  enlisted  as  a  soldier  ;  was  taken  prisoner  and 
carried  to  Halifax,  He  was  baptized  into  the  Free  Will  Baptist 
Church  by  Rev.  Mr.  Randall,  and  finally  settled  in  Wolfboro,  N.  H., 
where  he  was  a  preacher  for  many  years  ;  and  died  when  about  ninety 
years  of  age.  He  often  said  in  his  old  age  that  he  remembered  living 
in  Gorham  ;  that  Thomas  McLellan  was  his  playmate,  and  lived  not 
far  from  his  father's  ;  (Thomas  was  the  son  of  Hugh,  and  lived  in  the 
brick  house  above  the  village,  not  far  from  where  we  place  Mr.  Town- 
send's house,)  that  his  father  went  with  the  Gorham  men  to  the  Great 
Meadows  to  cut  hay,  where  he  caught  a  severe  cold,  which  brought 
on  a  lung  complaint,  which  latter  terminated  in  his  death.  x\lso  he 
remembered  that  he  was  buried  in  the  orchard  at  the  Corner,  below 
the  meeting  house,  under  the  apple  trees.  This  spot  is  where  the 
Methodist  church  now  stands,  where  a  number  of  our  old  settlers 
were  buried.  In  another  chapter  will  be  found  mention  of  the  Gor- 
ham people  going  to  the  Great  Meadows,  now  Fryeburg,  to  cut  hay 
for  their  stock,  abopt  the  year  1762.  Mr.  Townsendwas  a  shoemaker 
by  trade,  and  in  addition  to  his  clerical  duties,  he  had  to  work  out  by 
the  day  among  his  parishioners  to  eke  out  his  slender  means  in  order 
to  support  his  family.     He  died  Sept.  22,  1762. 

In  regard  to  the  lawsuit  brought  against  Mr.  Lombard  by  Phinney 
and  Morton,  we  find  the  following  in  a  memoir  of  the  then  Attorney 
General  of  Massachusetts,  Hon.  Jeremiah  Gridley  :  — 

"About  the  year  1760,  a  Mr.  Lombard,  the  settled  minister  of  the 
Gospel  in  Gorham,  upon  some  uneasiness  which  arose  between  him 
and  the  people  of  his  charge,  had  a  difficulty  they  could  not  settle  ; 
they  mutually  agreed  to  dissolve  the  connection,  and  the  parsonage 
being  valuable,  and  under  culture,  he  was  to  have  its  improvement 
until  they  should  settle  another  minister,  and  Lombard,  who  was  a 
gentleman  of  education,  gave  a  bond  in  the  penal  sum  of  two  or 
three  thousand  pounds  to  Morton  and  Phinney,  two  of  the  Elders,  or 
Deacons,  that  upon  their  settling  another  minister  he  would  deliver  up 
the  parsonage.  In  the  space  of  a  year  or  two,  an  illiterate  man 
(Townsend)  received  a  call  to  settle  with  them  and  become  their  min- 
ister. None  of  the  neighboring  ministers  or  churches  would  assist  in 
his  ordination,  and  thereupon  the  church  proceeded  to  ordain  him  in 
the  Congregational  way,  by  the  imposition  of  the  hands  of  Morton 
and  Phinney.  Afterwards  a  suit  was  brought  upon  the  bond  of  Lom- 
bard at  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  ;  the  case  was  argued  largely  by 
counsel,  and  Mr.  Lombard  added  something  to  what  his  counsel  had 
said,  to  show  that  the  man  inducted  to  office  was  not  the  minister  meant 


186  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

and  intended  by  the  bond.  The  verdict  was  against  Mr.  Lombard  ; 
he  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court,  then  held  at  York,  and  emploj'ed 
Mr.  Gridley  for  his  counsel ;  Mr.  Gridley  introduced  a  plea,  reciting 
the  grant  of  the  township,  with  the  reservation  of  a  parsonage  for  the 
use  of  a  pious,  learned  and  orthodox  minister,  and  averred  that  the 
town  had  not  settled  such  a  minister.  The  counsel  for  plaintiffs 
replied,  that  they  had  settled  another  pious,  orthhdox  minister,  omit- 
ting the  word  learned.  The  answer  was  adjudged  insufficient,  and 
judgment  was  rendered  in  favor  of  Lombard." 

Thus  the  matter  dragged  on  for  some  time.  Mr.  Lombard  on  Jan. 
20,  1762,  on  receipt  of  his  salary  in  full  to  May  6,  1762,  discharged 
"  the  Proprietors  from  all  further  demands  on  them,  or  their  heirs, 
from  him,  or  his  heirs,  for  salarys  forever."  His  final  separation  from 
the  church  took  place  Aug.  15,  1764,  when  a  council  met,  united  the 
two  churches  (Mr.  Townsend  having  died),  and  dismissed  Mr.  Lom- 
bard. Dea.  Alden  in  his  Diaiy  says:  "  1764,  Augt.  15,  The  Union 
of  the  two  Churches  this  day.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Elvens  preached  from 
Luke  2d,  10  to  15  verses.  Y^  Council  consisted  of  y*^  following 
Churches;  Rev.  Mr.  Elvens,  Mr.  Morrel  and  Rev.  Mr.  Coffin." 

Previous  to  his  coming  to  Gorham,  Mr.  Lombard  had  preached  at 
Provincetown,  and  perhaps  at  some  other  places.  After  his  dismissal 
from  the  church  in  Gorham  he  left  not  only  the  Congregational  min- 
istry but  the  denomination  as  well ;  becoming  an  Episcopalian.  Mr. 
Lombard  seems  to  have  had  a  sufficiency  of  the  ministerial  life,  for 
from  that  time  on  we  find  him  engaged  in  public  life  and  in  private 
business.  Whatever  may  be  said  of  his  popularity  as  a  preacher, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  favor  and  esteem  in  which  he  was 
held  by  all  as  a  man  of  public  business.  He  was  commissioned  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  was  employed  by  the  Proprietors  of  Gor- 
hamtown,  to  a  large  extent,  in  looking  after  their  lands  and  affairs. 
He  was  the  town's  first  Representative  to  the  General  Court  of 
Massachusetts  ;  being  elected  in  1765,  the  next  year  after  his  leaving 
the  ministry,  and  was  four  times  reelected;  viz.  in  1767,  1768,  1769 
and  in  1780.  In  1774  and  1779  he  was  the  delegate  to  the  Provin- 
cial Congress ;  the  second  time,  helping  to  form  the  State  Constitu- 
tion of  Massachusetts.  Mr.  Lombard  was  chairman  of  the  Commit- 
tee of  Safety  and  Vigilance  in  1772  and  '76,  and  was  active  in  the 
cause  of  the  colonies  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  He  was  also 
Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  from  1776  to  the  date  of  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1781. 

The  next  preaching  in  Gorham  was  by  Rev.  Peletiah  Tingley,  who 
was  born  in  Attleboro,  Mass.,  about  the  year  1735.     He  was  gradu- 


MINISTERS.  187 

ated  at  Yale  College  in  1761,  and  studied  theolog}'  two  years.  He 
entered  the  ministry  of  the  "  old  standing  order,  sadly  backslidden  in 
heart,"  and  after  preaching  a  year  or  more,  in  Gorham  as  a  candidate, 
declined  in  1766  an  invitation  of  the  town  to  settle  here.  While 
reading  his  sermon,  one  warm  summer  day  at  Newmarket,  N.  H.,  his 
notes  were  blown  from  the  desk.  From  this  he  inferred  that  grace 
in  the  heart  was  more  reliable  than  a  manuscript  on  the  desk.  He 
became  convinced  of  his  spiritual  destitution,  and  by  prayer  and 
supplication,  sought  and  found  a  deeper  work  of  grace.  He  was 
living  in  Sanford,  Me.,  when  a  Baptist  church  was  organized  there  in 
1772,  and  became  one  of  its  first  members. 

After  a  lapse  of  some  three  years  the  town  and  parish,  by  a  nearly 
unanimous  vote,  agreed  to  settle  Rev.  Josiah  Thacher  as  their  minis- 
ter on  the  following  terms  :  he  was  to  have  iJ^ioo  lawful  money  as  a 
settlement,  and  ;^8o  per  year  as  long  as  he  remained  settled  over  the 
parish. 

Rev.  Josiah  Thacher  was  a  native  of  Lebanon,  in  the  State  of 
Connecticut,  and  a  graduate  of  Princeton  College,  New  Jersey.  He 
was  a  descendant  of  Anthony  Thacher,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of 
New  England.  The  records  of  the  town  of  Bedford,  Mass.,  show 
that  that  town  gave  him  a  call  to  settle  there  at,  or  near,  the  time  of 
his  acceptance  of  the  Gorham  call.  The  Bedford  records  say,  "  we 
sent  the  call,  but  on  account  of  the  badness  of  the  roads  and  great 
distance,  Mr.  Thacher  did  not  receive  our  letter  till  after  he  had 
accepted  the  call  from  Gorham.""  Mr.  Thacher  preached  in  Gorham 
on  trial  the  first  time,  on  Sunday,  Oct.  19,  1766,  in  the  forenoon, 
from  the  text,  Mark,  loth  chap.,  21st  verse;  in  the  afternoon,  from 
Rev.  3d  chap.,  28th  verse.  He  was  settled  in  Gorham  as  pastor 
about  a  year  later,  on  Oct.  28,  1767  ;  and  for  several  years  his  minis- 
trations were  entirely  acceptable  to  his  people. 

About  the  year  1773,  and  for  a  few  years  following,  much  disturbance 
got  into  the  religious  matters  of  the  town  and  parish,  in  consequence 
of  the  springing  up  of  the  New  Lights  and  Come  Outers,  as  they 
styled  themselves,  and  their  refusing  to  pay  ministerial  taxes  for  the 
preaching  of  'Mr.  Thacher.  Many  efforts  were  made  to  get  rid  of 
Mr.  Thacher  and  many  charges  were  brought  against  him  to  that 
end.  Town  meetings  were  held  and  committees  chosen  to  oust  him 
but  in  no  way  could  they  force  him.  He  knew  he  had  his  rights, 
and  that  the  law  would  sustain  him,  but  when  a  committee  of  discreet 
men  were  chosen,  who  called  on  him  in  a  proper  manner,  they  found 
him  ready  and  willing  to  meet  them  and  a  compromise  was  made 


188  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

satisfactory  to  all.  Mr.  Thacher  was  dismissed  from  the  ministry  on 
April  28,  178 1. 

In  regard  to  one  charge  brought  against  Mr.  Thacher  in  respect  to 
his  sermons,  as  being  "  barren,  lifeless,  and  unprofitable,"  we  find  the 
following  in  a  letter  written  by  one  of  his  people  to  her  sister  in 
Barnstable,  "  Tell  cousin  James  Smith's  wife  I  never  forgot  what  she 
said  to  me,  that  I  must  write  concerning  religion,  but  I  was  loath  to 
write  that  I  did  not  well  like  my  minister,  though  when  I  came  home 
the  first  time  I  heai-d  him,  I  thought  I  could  not  be  content  to  sit 
under  him,  and  it  came  to  my  mind,  '  Despise  not  small  things,'  which 
made  me  to  think  I  did  not  well  to  be  uneasy.  He  has  been  dismissed 
two  years." 

Like  his  predecessor,  Mr.  Thacher  on  his  retirement  from  the 
ministry,  entered  public  life.  He  represented  the  town  in  the  General 
Court  eleven  years  between  1783  and  1798.  He  was  State  Senator 
one  year,  and  Judge  of  the  court  of  Common  Pleas  for  fifteen  years, 
from  1784  to  1799,  the  year  of  his  death. 

Although  Mr.  Thacher  was  not  acceptable  to  his  people  as  a  min- 
ister, he  was  much  respected  by  his  townsmen  as  a  man  and  citizen. 
In  his  change  from  the  Reverend  to  the  Honorable,  he  lost  none  of 
his  dignity.  He  was  said,  by  those  who  remembered  him,  to  have 
been  affable,  courteous  and  dignified,  fond  of  amusements,  and  ready 
at  a  joke,  and  that  when  he  came  out  with  his  old  cloak  on,  with  the 
red  side  out,  the  man  or  boy  that  got  the  best  of  him  was  smart. 
About  that  old  cloak ;  it  was  blue,  with  a  lining  of  bright  red.  It  is 
said  that  when  on  business,  the  blue  side  was  always  out,  then  it  was 
the  Ho7i.  Mr.  Thacher,  dignified,  always  courteous,  and  polite  to  all, 
but  when  the  red  came  out,  a  good  story  or  a  joke  at  some  one's 
expense  was  sure  to  follow. 

Mr  Thacher  was  fond  of  agricultural  and  horticultural  pursuits. 
He  owned  the  thirty  acre  lot  14,  opposite  the  Congregational  church 
(west),  and  cultivated  about  fifteen  acres  in  field  and  orchard.  His 
orchard  and  garden  were  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  any  in  the  County. 
The  best  apples  then  known,  a  great  variety  of  pears,  some  ten  dif- 
ferent kinds,  cherries,  plums  of  several  kinds,  with  grapes  were  to 
be  found  in  his  grounds.  In  those  days  fruit  was  rather  scarce  and 
a  great  temptation  to  the  boys,  old  and  young.  Mr.  Thacher  was 
remarkably  liberal,  but  this  did  not  exactly  satisfy — stolen  fruits 
were  sweetest.  Some  curious  anecdotes  were  told  of  night  adventures 
in  stealing  from,  and  protecting  the  orchard  ;  as  being  fired  on  with 
fine  salt,  instead  of  shot ;  and  of  keeping  watch  in  a  hogshead  through 


MINISTERS.  189 

the  bunghole,  and  the  boys  coming  up  bohind,  and  rolHng  the  cask, 
Reverend  and  all,  down  through  the  orchard,  and  the  trick  taken  so 
kindly  as  to  result  in  a  general  invitation  to  the  boys  to  come  on  and 
help  themselves  to  all  they  wanted.  It  was  characteristic  of  the  man 
to  acknowledge  a  good  joke,  and  give  in  when  fairly  beaten.  He 
was  an  honest  man,  a  good  husband,  kind  father  and  neighbor. 
He  died  in  Gorham,  Dec.  25,  1799. 

In  the  warrant  for  a  town  meeting,  to  be  held  on  the  14th  day  of 
June,  1 78 1,  we  find  this  article,  "To  see  if  the  town  will  concur  with 
the  church  in  sending  an  invitation  to  Mr.  Joseph  Litchfield  to  preach 
for  them  two  months,  to  begin  as  soon  as  he  can  get  here,  and  to  see 
what  method  they  will  take  to  acquaint  him  therewith,  pay  and  pro- 
vide for  him.  And  also  to  see  what  method  they  will  take  to  supply 
the  pulpit  for  the  future."  In  accordance  with  the  above  it  was 
"  Voted  to  choose  Mr.  Austin  Alden  as  a  committee  to  provide  a 
minister  to  supply  the  pulpit  in  this  town  for  two  months  by  writing 
to  him,  and  to  agree  with  some  person  to  board  him  at  the  town's 
expense."  And  it  was  also  vot^d  to  raise  fourteen  pounds  with 
which  to  'pay  the  said  minister. 

Aug.  13,  1 78 1,  Austin  Alden  was  chosen  to  go  and  request  Mr. 
Caleb  Jewett  of  Newbury  Port  to  come  and  preach  in  Gorham  for 
three  months,  and  if  Mr,  Jevvett's  engagements  were  such  that  he 
could  not  come,  then  Mr.  Alden  was  directed  to  get  the  best  advice 
he  could,  and  apply  to  some  other  minister.  A  short  time  afterwards, 
an  invitation  was  extended  to  Mr.  Joseph  Litchfield  to  come  and 
preach  in  Gorham  for  three  Sundays.  On  Oct.  15th,  by  a  unani- 
mous vote,  it  was  decided  "  further  to  improve "  either  Mr.  Caleb 
Jewett,  or  Mr,  Joseph  Litchfield,  as  a  candidate;  and  also  that  Austin 
Alden  wait  on  Mr.  Caleb  Jewett,  and  invite  him  to  come  and  preach 
for  six  months.  Col.  Edmund  Phinney's  was  selected  as  a  boarding 
place  for  Mr.  Jewett,  and  thirty-five  pounds,  lawful  money,  was  raised 
for  the  support  of  the  Gospel.  A  few  days  later  Mr.  Alden  was  further 
instructed  in  regard  to  procuring  a  minister  ("  if  Mr.  Jewett  cannot 
be  obtained  "),  as  follows  :  he  was  to  proceed  to  the  westward,  and 
take  the  best  advice  he  could  get,  and  procure  a  minister  to  preach 
in  the  meeting  house  for  ten  months. 

On  Jan.  28,  1782,  the  town  "Voted  unanimously  (except  one)  to 
concur  with  the  church  in  requesting  Mr.  Caleb  Jewett  to  settle 
in  the  work  of  the  Gospel  ministry  in  this  town  ",  One  hundred  and 
thirty-three  pounds,  six  shillings  and  eight  pence  was  voted  as  a 
settlement    for    him,   and    a    committee,    composed    of    Capt,    John 


190  HISTORY    OF    GOKHAM. 

Stephenson,  Mr.  Prince  Davis,  Capt.  Samuel  Whitmore  and  Capt. 
Samuel  Harding,  was  chosen  to  join  the  committee  of  the  church,  in 
waiting  on  Mr.  Jewett  and  receiving  his  answer. 

As  there  was  an  apparent  prospect  of  having  a  regular  settled 
minister  again,  the  town  now  settled  up  its  ministerial  bills,  incurred 
since  the  dismissal  of  Mr.  Thatcher,  as  follows: 

£.   s.  d. 

To  Edmund  Phinney,    Esq.  for  boarding  ministers  17-11-8 

"    Mr.  Josiah  Thatcher         '•    entertaining  ministers  1-16-0 

"    Dea.  Jas.  McLellan  "     keeping  minister's  horses  9-0 

"    Dea.  Eliphalet  Watson       "    his  mare  to  Newbury  after 

a  minister  i-  4-0 

"    George  Hanscom  "    boarding  a  minister  5-0 

"    Amos  Whitney  "    cash     lent    for    expenses 

after  a  minister  i-   i-o 

"    Moses  Noyes  "    his  mare  to  Newbury  after 

a  minister  i-  4-0 

"    William  Wood  "    cash    lent    for     expenses 

after  a  minister  16-0 

"    Heman  Bangs  "    ca«h     lent    for    expenses 

after  a  minister,   and  to 

pay  a  minister  9-4 

"    Austin  Alden  "    procuring    ministers    and 

expenses  2-  9-2 

Mr.  Jewett  must  have  had  a  presentiment  of  his  future  lot  in 
Gorham,  for  he  refused  to  accept  this  call  to  settle  here. 

A  committee  was  chosen  in  November,  1782,  to  procure  a  congre- 
gational minister  to  preach  in  the  meeting  house  in  Gorham,  on 
probation  with  a  view  to  settlement.  The  inhabitants  of  the  town 
appear  to  have  been  very  much  determined  to  have  Mr.  Jewett,  for 
March  25,  1783,  he  was  again  invited  to  preach  in  Gorham  for  six 
months,  and  in  the  following  August  he  received  a  second  call  to 
settle  in  the  work  of  the  Gospel  ministry  in  Gorham.  In  addition 
to  the  sum  for  settlement  (^133-6-8),  it  was  voted  to  give  him  a 
yearly  salary  of  ninety  pounds,  lawful  money,  and  twenty-five  cords 
of  wood  per  year,  for  his  own  use,  hauled  to  his  own  door,  as  long  as 
he  remained  settled  in  Gorham.  Also,  that  as  soon  as  Mr.  Jewett 
should  be  settled,  the  hundred  acre  lot  and  the  thirty  acre  lot 
belonging  to  the  parsonage  should  be  fenced.  Mr.  Jewett  this  time 
accepted  the  call,  and  at  the  next  town  meeting,  held  in  October,  it 
was  voted  to  provide  for  Mr.  Jewett's  ordination  council  at  its  own 
expense  ;  and  that  Col.  Edmund  Phinney  attend  to  the  afifair.  Mr. 
Jewett  was  accordingly  ordained  in  Gorham  over  the  church,  Nov. 


MINISTERS.  11*1 

5,  1783.  Parson  Deane  of  Falmouth  says,  '•  1783,  Nov.  5.  I 
attended  Gorham  ordination  5  eleven  ministers  on  the  C'ouncil.  Mr. 
Fairfield,  first  prayer;  Mr.  Lancaster  preached  from  these  words  — 
'  If  thou  put  the  brethren  in  remembrance  of  these  things,  thou 
shalt  be  a  good  minister  of  Jesus  Christ';  Mr.  Browne,  the  charge; 
Mr.  Oilman,  the  right  hand  of  fellowship  ;  Mr.  Coflin,  the  last  prayer."' 
In  the   same  letter,  from  which  we    have  already  quoted  in  this 

article,   Mrs.  says,   "We  had  a  minister  ordained  this  month, 

one  C.  Jewett,  a  fine  man.      I    hope    he  will   prove    a    blessing  and 
that  decayed  religion  will  revive  under  his  ministry. 

"  It  has  been  the  practice  of  the  place  for  parents  to  own  the  cove- 
nant and  have  their  children  baptized.  There  are  counted  to  be 
near  a  third  of  the  people  to  be  Separate  Baptists  and  some  of  that 
party  are  become  what  is  called  Shaking  Quakers.  I  think  they  are 
a  most  monstrous  deluded  set  of  people.  The  performances  at  their 
meetings  consist  in  dancing,  hideous  bowlings  like  wolves,  standing 
on  their  heads,  pretending  to  speak  in  unknown  languages  and  the 
like  ridiculous  behavior.  I  take  them  to  be  the  people  that  Christ 
warns  us- of  when  he  saith,  'Take  heed  that  you  be  not  deceived. 
Then  if  any  man  shall  say  unto  you,  lo  here  is  Christ  or  there,  believe 
it  not;  for  there  shall  arise  false  Christs  and  false  prophets  and  show 
great  signs  and  wonders,  if  it  were  possible  to  deceive  the  very  elect. 
Beloved  I  have  told  you  before,  if  they  say  behold  he  is  in  the 
desert,  go  not  forth,  or  in  the  secret  chamber  believe  it  not.' " 

We  can  hardly  wonder  at  Mr.  Jewett's  declining  his  call  at  first, 
and  the  only  strange  thing  about  it  is  that  he  ever  should  have 
accepted  such  a  bed  of  roses  as  the  parish  must  have  offered  at 
that  time. 

Caleb  Jewett  was  born  in  Newburyport,  Mass.,  Sept.  15,  1753; 
and  was  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in  1776.  After  coming  to 
Gorham  to  live,  he  purchased  his  house  and  sixty  acres  of  land  of  Mr. 
Samuel  Crockett,  shipwright,  Aug.  16,  1784,  for  the  sum  of  three 
hundred  and  eighty  pounds.  This  is  the  house  on  Main  St.,  long 
known  as  the  ''  Henr}'  Broad  house,"  and  lately  occupied  by  Mr. 
Graffam.  Nov.  27,  1794,  Mr.  Jewett  purchased  of  Thomas  Bangs 
the  thirty  acre  lot,  1 1  o,  the  corner  lot,  bounded  southerly  by  the 
county  road,  westerly  by  the  two  rod  road  running  northerly  past 
the  David  Elder  farm,  and  easterly  by  the  Coburn  lot.  The  town, 
apparently,  was  not  much  better  in  the  way  of  promptly  settling  its 

'  Mr.  Fairfield  was  of  Saco,  Mr.  Lancaster,  of  Scarboro,  Mr.  (Oilman,  of  No. 
Yarmouth,  Mr.  Coffin,  of  Buxton,  and  Mr.  Browne,  of  Stroudwater. 


192  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

bills  for  ministerial  services  at  that  time,  than  are  some  parishes 
at  the  present  day,  for  Mr.  Jewett  was  kept  so  short,  that  for  lack 
of  the  money  due  him,  he  could  not  settle  his  bills  with  Mr.  Crockett, 
and  was  obliged  to  pay  him  interest,  which  latter  the  town  afterwards 
allowed  and  paid. 

After  many  troubles  with  his  church  and  parish,  Mr.  Jewett's  parish- 
ioners grew  weary  of  him,  and  he  of  them.  He  at  last  consented 
to  resign  his  office,  provided  the  town  would  pay  him  a  specified  sum 
of  money  and  exempt  his  property  from  taxation  for  a  certain  num- 
ber of  years.  This  the  town  finally  agreed  to  do,  and  on  his  receiv- 
ing a  copy  of  the  vote,  Mr.  Jewett  replied  in  writing  as  follows  : 

"  I  accept  your  conditions  and  resign  my  ministerial  office,  and 
consider  it  my  jubilee.  Multum  Gaudio  !  Gaudio  Afiiltnm  !  Sol 
subscribe  myself  as  one  worn  out  in  the  service  of  God,  and  yours. 

Caleb  Jewett." 

He  was  dismissed  on  the  8th  of  Sept.,  1800,  and  died  in  Gorham, 
on  the  1 6th  of  April,  1802. 

After  an  interval  of  about  three  years  Gorham  again  settled  a  min- 
ister, the  Rev.  Jeremiah  Noyes.  At  his  ordination,  which  occurred 
on  Nov.  16,  1803,  the  services  were  as  follows: 

Introductory  Prayer,  Rev.  W.  Greg,  Cape  Elizabeth. 

Sermon,  Rev.  T.  Miltimore,  Scranton,  N.  H. 

Consecrating  Prayer,  Rev.  Thomas  Lancaster,  Scarborough. 

Charge,  Rev.  Paul  Coffin,  Buxton. 

Fellowship  of  Churches,  Rev.  Elijah  Kellogg,  Portland. 

Concluding  Prayer,  Rev.  Caleb  Bradley,  P'almouth. 

Mr.  Noyes  was  born  in  Newburyport,  and  was  graduated  at  Dart- 
mouth College  in  the  class  of  1799.  While  living  in  Gorham  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Lucy  Johnson  of  Salem,  to  whom  he  was  published  August 
30,  1806. 

Warned  by  past  experiences,  Gorham  people  were  bound  to  take 
no  chances  as  to  troubles  with  their  ministers  for  the  future.  Here- 
after, if  a  minister  was  unpopular  with  the  people,  he  must  take  his 
dismission,  and  leave  at  once.  In  accordance  with  this  feeling,  the 
chief  condition  of  Mr.  Noyes's  settlement  was,  that  whenever  two- 
thirds  of  the  legal  voters  of  the  parish  should  request  it,  at  a  legal 
meeting  held  for  that  purpose,  he  should  offer  his  resignation ;  six 
months  notice  to  be  given.  There  was  no  need,  however,  for  this  pre- 
caution in  the  case  of  Mr.  Noyes,  for  after  four  short  years  he  died, 
Jan.  15,  1807,  being  but  twenty-eight  years  of  age;  much  mourned 
and  universally  regretted. 


REV.    ASA   KAND. 


MINISTERS.  193 

Rev.  Asa  Rand  was  the  successor  of  the  lamented  Mr.  Noyes.  He 
was  offered  as  a  salary  six  hundred  and  eighty  dollars  per  year,  for  four 
years,  and  six  hundred,  annually,  thereafter,  which  offer  he  accepted, 
and  was  ordained  here  Jan.  i8,  1809.  He  was  a  native  of  Rindge, 
N.  H.,  and  was  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  College,  class  of  1806. 
He  was  a  very  grave,  solemn,  austere  man,  spending  a  large 
part  of  his  time  over  his  books  and  studies.  The  town  is  deeply 
indebted  to  him  for  much  of  its  high  religious  and  moral  character. 
He  highly  disapproved  of  the  "half-way"  covenant,  which  had  been 
adopted  "  in  order  to  meet  the  request  and  afford  some  church 
privileges  to  the  timid,  but  apparently,  sincere."  This  was  chiefly  to 
secure  the  benefit  of  the  rite  of  baptism  for  their  children,  while  they 
themselves  were  not,  strictly  speaking,  church  members.  Mr.  Rand 
said  he  wished  his  people  to  be  either  in,  or  out  of  the  church.  In 
consequence  of  this,  the  half-way  covenant  was  abolished,  nearly  all 
who  had  subscribed  to  it  coming  into  full  communion  with  the 
church.  Under  his  care  the  church  was  greatly  revived  and  strength- 
ened, nearly  a  hundred  souls  being  added  to  it.  During  the  pastorate 
of  Mr.  Rand,  and  at  least  as  early  as  18 15,  the  children  were  all 
gathered  at  the  house  of  the  pastor  every  Saturday  afternoon,  and 
thoroughly  catechised  by  him.  The  very  little  ones  were  gathered 
about  Mrs.  Rand  and  received  their  instruction  from  her.  This  was, 
doubtless,  the  seed  from  which  sprung  the  now  flourishing  Sunday 
School.  Mr.  Rand's  health  becoming  poor,  and  his  voice  failing, 
he  felt  obliged  to  resign  his  charge,  and  was  dismissed  June  12,  1822. 

He  removed  to  Portland,  and  feeling,  that  although  unable  to 
preach,  he  must  do  something  for  the  cause  so  dear  to  his  heart,  that 
of  religion,  he  founded  in  September  of  that  same  year  what  was  the 
pioneer  religious  newspaper  in  the  State,  and  one  of  the  first  in 
the  country,  the  Christian  Mirror.  He  afterwards  edited  the  Boston 
Recorder— since  merged  in  the  Congregationalist ;  and  still  later  the 
Lowell  Observer.  He  spent  a  large  part  of  his  life  in  the  State 
of  New  York,  but  returned  to  his  native  New  England,  and  died  at 
Ashburnham,  Mass.,  on  the  24th  of  Aug.,  187 1,  being  88  years  of  age. 

The  same  council  that  dismissed  Mr.  Rand  installed  Rev.  Thad- 
deus  Pomeroy  over  the  church,  once  more  in  need  of  the  services  of 
a  pastor.  Mr.  Pomeroy  was  born  in  Southampton,  Mass.,  in  1782, 
and  was  a  graduate  of  Williams  College,  afterwards  studying  at 
Andover  Theological  Seminary.  Previous  to  his  coming  to  Gorham, 
he  was  settled  at  Randolph,  Mass.,  where  he  preached  for  some  years. 
He  was  an  able  preacher,  and  a  popular  man,  and  soon  recovered 


194  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

what  the  church  had  lost  from  the  rupture  caused  by  the  Handel  and 
Haydn  singing  societies  in  1820,  which  had  resulted  in  the  building 
of  the  Free  Meeting  House  in  182 1-2.  Although  a  chronic  invalid, 
and  often  laid  low  by  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs,  he  was  always  on 
hand  to  preach  his  two  sermons  on  Sunday  and  conduct  his  Sunday 
evening  services,  as  though  he  had  not,  perhaps,  been  prostrate  on 
his  bed  the  previous  day. 

At  this  time  the  church  was  furnished  with  square  pews,  having 
the  seats  hinged.  During  the  long  prayer  everybody  stood  and  the 
seats  were  raised  to  give  more  room.  When,  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  prayer,  the  congregation  seated  itself  the  dropping  of  the  seats 
was  rather  audible  than  Otherwise.  Indeed  the  writer,  when  a  small 
boy,  thought  it  a  part  of  the  worship  to  see  who  could  slam  down  his 
seat  the  hardest,  and  thus  make  the  most  noise,  and  would  even  in 
his  zeal  lift  and  slam  it  again.  Mr.  Pomeroy,  being  a  quick,  nervous 
man,  made  war  upon  these  obnoxious  seats,  and  urged  the  people 
to  do  away  with  the  square  pews,  saying  that  he  thought  the  slam- 
ming of  the  pew  seats  a  device  of  Satan  to  disturb  public  worship. 
He  accomplished  his  design,  and  the  pews  were  changed  to  long 
stationary  seats  in  1828.  Mr.  Pomeroy  could  not  relish  the  idea  of 
laboring  hard  to  prepare  a  discourse,  and  while  delivering  it,  see  it 
affecting  his  congregation  only  in  the  shape  of  a  narcotic.  One  warm 
Sunday  afternoon,  observing  that  some  of  his  people  were  calmly 
refreshing  themselves  with  sweet  slumber,  and  that  the  whole  con- 
gregation had  rather  a  drowsy  appearance,  while  he  was  expending 
all  his  energies  to  interest  and  instruct  them,  he  could  stand  it  no 
longer,  and  stopping  in  the  midst  of  his  sermon  requested  the  choir 
to  sing  the  doxology.  The  strains  of  "  Praise  God  from  whom  all 
blessings  flow"  drove  repose  from  the  eyes  of  his  audience  and  quiet 
from  their  brains,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  when  he  resumed  his  ser- 
mon, and  for  the  remainder  of  the  services  as  well,  slumber  was 
absent  from  that  meeting  house. 

In  1 83 1  Mr.  Pomeroy  spent  the  winter  in  the  South  for  the  bene- 
fit of  his  health.  After  his  return,  when  it  was  proposed  to  start  a 
Seminary  in  Gorham  for  the  education  of  women,  he  was  deeply- 
interested  in  the  project,  devoting  much  time  and  strength  to  urging 
and  soliciting  funds  for  the  same.  Perhaps  the  Seminary  owed  its 
existence  more  to  Mr.  Pomeroy  than  to  any  other  person.  Thinking 
that  some  of  his  parishioners  were  disaffected  on  account  of  his 
course  in  regard  to  this,  he  resigned  his  oilfice  as  pastor,  greatly  to 
the  regret  of  his   people,   and  was   dismissed,   Dec.    11,    1839.     ^^ 


RKV.   THADDEUS    POMEROY. 


MINISTERS.  195 

removed  with  his  family  to  the  western  part  of  the  State  of  New  York. 
This  journey  was  made  in  a  large  covered  wagon,  being  before  the 
days  of  railroads.  In  1855  Mr.  J^omeroy  made  a  visit  to  Gorham, 
and  was  most  cordially  received  and  welcomed.  The  church  passed 
resolutioiis  expressing  its  love  and  respect  for  him,  to  which  Mr. 
Pomeroy  responded  in  an  appropriate  letter.  He  died  at  DeWitt,  N. 
Y.,  April  14,  1858,  aged  76.  He  was  deeply  interested  in  the  work 
of  Maine  Missions,  and  was  one  of  the  originators  of  the  Maine  State 
Conference.  The  Onondaga  Presbytery,  of  which  he  was  a  member 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  passed  resolutions,  calling  him  "A  man 
sagacious  in  judgment,  candid  in  spirit,  open  in  manner,  a  sincere 
lover  of  the  church  of  God  and  a  faithful  promoter  of  its  interest." 

June  3,  1840,  a  call  was  given  to  Rev.  John  Davenport  of  New 
York,  who  had  preached  for  five  Sabbaths  in  Gorham.  This  call  was 
accepted,  and  Mr.  Davenport  was  installed,  July  16,  1840.  The 
Installing  Council  voted  the  papers  presented  before  them  satisfac- 
tory, "  except  the  Parish  taking  the  lead  in  giving  the  invitation 
aforesaid."  Mr.  Davenport,  in  the  following  December,  reports  the 
church  as  having  one  hundred  and  seventy-three  members.  In  June, 
1842,  Mr.  Davenport,  in  a  long  letter,  expressed  his  views  in  regard 
to  the  non-validity  of  Congregational  ordination,  and  maintained 
that  ordination  by  a  Bishop  was  an  essential  matter.  He  therefore 
resigned  his  charge  in  Gorham.  This  resignation  was  accepted,  and 
the  church,  at  a  meeting  on  the  2gth  of  June,  1842,  "  voted,  to  spend 
a  day  in  fasting,  humiliation  and  prayer  that  the  Lord  will  speedily 
send  a  pastor."  Mr.  Davenport  was  soon  after  ordained  by  a  Bishop, 
and  preached  for  a  time  in  Newbuiyport.  He  did  not  long  continue 
in  the  ministry,  but  returned  to  the  business  in  which  he  had  formerly 
been  engaged,  that  of  a  merchant. 

Oct.  5,  1842,  Rev.  Aaron  C.  Adams  was  settled  here;  the  church 
this  time  inviting  the  parish  to  concur.  Mr.  Adams  was  a  brother 
to  Rev.  Dr.  George  Adams,  for  many  years  pastor  at  Brunswick,  and 
was  himself  a  graduate  of  Bowdoin  College.  In  September,  1845,  Mr. 
.A.dams  resigned  on  account  of  the  state  of  his  health,  though  deeply 
regretting  the  necessity  of  so  doing,  saying  that  there  never  was  a 
time  when  he  felt  more  disposed  to  labor  permanently  here  than  then. 
He  was  dismissed  by  Council  on  the  4th  of  the  following  Novem- 
ber.     He  is  still  (1901)  living  in  Wetherslield,  Conn. 

After  the  dismission  of  Mr.  Adams  an  attempt  was  made  to  secure 
as  pastor.  Rev.  Asa  Rand,  the  beloved  and  respected  former  pastor, 
but     this    failed.     They   heard    many   candidates,   but    remained    for 


196  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM, 

nearly  two  years  without  having  found  a  man  to  their  minds  to  become 
their  leader. 

In  March,  1846,  Rev.  John  R.  Adams  came  to  preach  for  a  Sabbath 
or  two,  and  at  once  met  with  great  acceptance.  He  received  a  unan- 
imous call  to  the  pastorate,  which  he  accepted,  and  was  installed  June 

4,  1846.  Mr,  Adams  was  born  in  Plainfield,  Conn.,  March  20,  1802. 
He  was  the  son  of  John  Adams,  for  many  years  the  Principal  of 
Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  and  his  wife,  Elizabeth  (Ripley)  Adams. 
He  was  graduated  from  Yale  College  in  1821.  After  four  years  at 
Andover  Theological  Seminary,  he  was  licensed  as  a  preacher ;  and 
for  a  time  labored  as  an  evangelist  in  the  State  of  New  York.     Oct. 

5,  1 83 1,  he  was  ordained  and  installed  over  the  Presbyterian  church 
at  Londonderry,  N.  H.  In  1838  he  resigned  this  charge,  and  preached 
for  three  years  at  Great  Falls,  N.  H. ;  then  for  five  years  at  Brighton, 
Mass.,  coming  from  this  latter  place  to  Gorham. 

For  nearly  twelve  years  the  Gorham  church  prospered  under  his 
ministry,  and  its  numbers  were  greatly  increased.  The  congregation 
grew  in  size  until  it  was  necessaiy  to  reseat  the  church,  putting  in 
slips  in  place  of  the  old  time  pews.  Mr.  Adams  was  still  the  hon- 
ored and  beloved  pastor  of  the  First  Congregational  Church,  when 
slight  differences  arose  in  some  quarters,  and  he  deemed  it  wise  to 
resign  the  pastorate,  to  the  great  regret  of  the  large  majority  of  his 
people.  In  a  very  especial  manner  was  he  beloved  by  the  young  peo- 
ple, and  one  hundred  and  eleven  of  them  signed  a  petition  which  was 
handed  to  the  Council  who  met  to  consider  his  resignation,  praying 
that  one  whom  they  loved  as  a  father  might  be  retained.  The  Council, 
after  dissolving  the  connection  between  pastor  and  people,  made  the 
following  statement :  — 

"  It  is  clear  from  what  has  appeared  on  this  occasion,  and  from 
our  own  personal  knowledge,  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Adams,  during  the 
twelve  years  of  his  pastorate,  has  been  a  most  earnest  and  devoted 
minister ;  that  his  heart  has  been  set  in  an  unusual  degree  on  the 
spiritual  advancement  and  the  salvation  of  his  people  ;  and  that  his 
labors  for  their  good  have  been  untiring.  Nor  have  his  efforts  been 
without  success.  Various  important  objects  relating  to  the  external 
prosperity  of  the  parish  have  been  accomplished,  which  could  hardly 
have  been  secured  under  a  less  energetic  minister.  Through  the 
effectual  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  a  large  number  of  persons 
have  been,  it  is  believed,  brought  to  repentance  and  the  acceptance 
of  the  offers  of  salvation  through  Christ,  and  have  united  with  the 
church;  making  its  number  some  fifty  per  cent,  larger  than  it  was  at 


MINISTERS.  197 

the  time  of  his  settlement.  We  would  cordially  commend  Rev. 
John  R.  Adams  to  the  churches,  and  to  all  whom  it  may  concern,  as 
an  upright,  sincere  Christian  man,  a  sound,  discriminating,  earnest 
and  able  preacher,  and  a  faithful  pastor." 

Dr.  Adams  continued  to  reside  at  his  home  in  Gorham,  (the  Dr. 
Folsom  place,  on  South  St.,  now  owned  by  Mrs.  Tolford),  supplying 
the  pulpit  in  various  towns,  till  the  breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion, 
when  he  volunteered,  and  was  appointed  Chaplain  of  the  Fifth  Reg- 
iment of  Maine  Volunteers,  with  which  he  served  till  it  was  mustered 
out,  June  24,  1864,  when  he  was  chosen  Chaplain  of  the  121st  New 
York  Volunteers,  and  was  mustered  in,  Sept.  15,  1864.  He  served 
through  the  war,  was  mustered  out,  June  25,  1865,  and  returned  to 
Gorham.  He  soon  accepted  a  commission  from  the  Maine  Mission- 
ary Society,  and  preached  that  winter  in  various  destitute  churches 
in  Maine.  In  April,  1866,  he  went  to  Hadley,  Mass.,  where  he  was 
taken  suddenly  ill,  and  died  on  the  25  th  of  that  month.  He 
was  buried  in  Andover,  Mass.,  and  many  of  his  friends  from  Gorham 
attended  the  funeral,  and  bore  him  themselves  to  his  grave. 

Mr.  Adams  married,  Feb.  19,  1833,  Mary  A.  McGregor  of  London- 
derry, N.  H.  Their  children  were  John  McGregor,  a  well-known 
and  influential  citizen  of  Chicago  ;  Elizabeth  McG.,  who  married  July 
27,  1864,  Rev.  Edward  S.  Dwight,  and  died  in  Hadley,  Mass.,  July  4, 
1879  5  ^i''<^l  Albert  Egerton,  a  late  resident  of  Davenport,  Iowa,  who 
was  captain  of  a  Rhode  Island  Battery  during  the  Civil  War,  and 
died  at  Chicago  Jan.  4,  1896. 

After  an  interval  of  about  a  year  and  a  half,  the  church  and  parish 
united  in  giving  Rev.  Stephen  C.  Strong,  a  native  of  Northampton, 
Mass.,  a  call,  which  was  accepted,  and  Mr.  Strong  was  installed  as 
pastor  of  the  First  Congregational  Church  and  Parish,  Jan.  30,  i860. 
Mr.  Strong  was  a  man  of  most  excellent  Christian  spirit,  and  greatly 
beloved.  In  April,  1866,  after  a  severe  sickness,  Mr.  Strong  resigned 
his  charge.  Affectionate  resolves  from  the  church  and  parish  were 
passed,  requesting  him  to  withdraw  his  resignation,  and  offering  him 
six  months  vacation,  with  salary  continued,  and  supply  of  pulpit 
during  that  time.  A  communication  was  read  from  the  "  silent 
members,"  signed  by  Mary  Anne  Adams  (Mrs.  J.  R.  Adams)  and 
eighty-eight  others.  Mr.  Strong  withdrew  his  resignation,  but  in 
July,  1867,  continued  ill  health  compelled  him  to  renew  it.  This 
was  accepted  with  great  regret.  At  this  time  the  church  numbered 
two  hundred  and  twenty-one. 

After  giving  two  or  more  unsuccessful  calls,  the  church  and  parish 


198  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

extended  a  call  to  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  C.  Parker.  Dr.  Parker  had  been 
for  many  years  a  successful  pastor  in  Waterbury,  Vt.,  and  had  come 
to  Gorham  as  Principal  of  the  Maine  Female  Seminary  a  year  or 
more  before  this  call.  Having  accepted  the  invitation  to  settle  here, 
the  same  Council  installed  him  that  dismissed  Mr.  Strong.  Dr. 
Parker  was  an  excellent  and  faithful  pastor,  and  a  genial  man,  but 
the  people,  not  having  been  fully  unanimous  in  their  call  to  him, 
failed  to  sustain  him  in  his  work ;  and  his  pastorate  here  could  not 
have  been  a  very  enjoyable  one  to  him.  Dec.  22,  187 1,  he  resigned 
in  a  brief  note.  This  was  accepted,  and  the  parish  unanimously 
passed  appreciative  resolves  in  relation  to  him  and  to  his  labors. 
He  soon  after  left  Gorham,  and  preached  in  Parsippany,  N.  J.,  where 
he  died  not  many  years  after  leaving  here. 

Rev.  Leonard  Z.  Ferris,  a  native  of  Western  New  York,  was  the 
next  minister  to  accept  a  call  to  Gorham,  where  he  was  installed  June 
13,  1872.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  College,  and  came  here 
from  Lawrence,  Mass.  He  married  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Pond,  and  second. 
Miss  Hannah  Paine  of  Gorham.  Mr.  Ferris  resigned  his  pastorate 
here  Jan.  2,  1877,  going  from  Gorham  to  Rockland,  Mass.  He  is 
now  pastor  at  East  Providence,  R.  L 

Mr.  Ferris  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Heniy  S.  Huntington,  who  came 
to  Gorham  from  Galesburg,  111.,  where  he  had  been  pastor  of  the  First 
Church  from  1872  to  1876.  He  was  born  in  New  York  City,  July 
15,  1836;  graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1857,  and  at  Andover  Theol. 
Seminary  in  1862.  He  married  Mary  Herbert.  Two  of  their  chil- 
dren, Theresa  L.  and  Ellsworth,  are  engaged  in  the  missionary  work 
of  the  American  Board  at  Harpoot,  Turkey.  Mr.  Huntington  was 
installed  over  the  Congregational  Church  in  Gorham,  June  11,  1877, 
and  resigned  Sept.  i,  1887.  He  is  and  has  been  for  several  years 
pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church  in  Milton,  Mass. 

Rev.  George  W.  Reynolds  was  called  to  this  church  from  Osage, 
Iowa,  and  was  installed  here  Dec.  14,  1887.  Mr.  Reynolds  was  born 
in  Sidney,  Me.,  and  is  a  graduate  of  Amherst  College  and  Union 
Theol.  Seminary.  He  married  Kate  A.  Cragin  of  Colchester,  Conn. 
Mr.  Reynolds  was  dismissed  Jan.  24,  1901,  having  accepted  a  call  to 
the  Congregational  Church  in  South  Manchester,  Conn.  He  has 
been  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  James  C.  Gregory,  called  from  Bingham, 
Me.,  and  installed  over  this  church  and  parish  Feb.  7,  1901. 

For  a  few  years  after  the  organization  of  the  church  in  Gorham, 
there  was  a  leaning  toward  the  Presbyterian  form  of  church  govern- 
ment, and   Hugh  McLellan,   Edmund  Phinney,  Andrew  Crockit  and 


REV.   JOHN    R.   AJiAMS,    i).   D. 


MINISTERS.  199 

Joseph  Gates  were  chosen  Ruling  Elders.  The  following  persons 
have  served  the  church  as  deacons :  Stephen  Phinney,  Eliphalet 
Watson,  James  McLellan,  Austin  Alden,  George  Lewis,  Thomas 
Cross,  Samuel  Paine,  James  McLellan,  2d.,  Thomas  S.  Robie,  Nahum 
Ghadbourn,  Enoch  Gross,  Marshall  Irish,  Edward  P.  Weston, 
Nathaniel  Brown,  Horatio  PI.  Merrill,  Edward  Robie,  Thomas 
Jameson,  Joseph  Ridlon,  Rufus  A.  Fogg,  Samuel  Garruthers,  John  S. 
Leavitt,  Albert  Sampson,  Gharles  G.  Alden,  Dr.  A.  W.  Lincoln,  and 
E.  H,  Foster  Smith. 


CHAPTER  X. 

OTHER    RELIGIOUS    SOCIETIES. 

COME -OUTERS,  OR    NEW    LIGHTS — FREE-BAPTISTS — CALVINIST    BAPTISTS — METH- 
ODISTS— SHAKERS — QUAKERS. 

Somewhere  about  the  year  1773,  a  disaffection  arose  in  town,  in  rela- 
tion to  the  preaching  of  the  Rev.  Josiah  Thacher.  People  were  poor, 
and  the  times  hard  ;  a  feeling  began  to  arise  with  some  that  they  did 
not  wish  to  be  compelled  to  pay  for  preaching.  Their  great  plea  was 
that  Christ  preached  without  pay,  therefore  there  should  be  no  paid 
clergy — no  standing  order — all  who  had  the  gift  could  preach  ;  God 
would  give  them  utterance  and  make  them  as  good  preachers  as  the 
"learned  clergy;  "  Christ  needed  no  learned  clergy;  he  ordered  his 
disciples,  poor,  illiterate  men,  to  go  forth  and  preach  his  gospel. 
This  was  proof  to  them  that  ignorance  was  one  of  the  needful  qualifi- 
cations for  the  ministry.  It  was  not  long  before  the  disaffected  found 
leaders,  who  took  charge.  Meetings  were  appointed,  and  held  often, 
and  conducted  with  much  enthusiasm.  They  did  not  believe  that 
the  "  old  standing  order  "  Christians,  as  they  called  them,  could  go 
along  to  heaven  by  law,  and  written  rules  ;  education  could  not  make 
a  man-of-God ;  God  would  educate  his  preachers  just  as  he  wished 
them  to  be ;  so  all  took  it  upon  themselves  to  preach  and  expound 
the  word  of  God  according  to  their  own  notions. 

The  Revolution,  that  great  struggle  for  our  liberties,  commenced 
about  this  time.  Many  of  the  young  men  went  into  the  army,  carry- 
ing rather  unsettled  notions  of  religion,  and  returned  with  still  looser 
ideas  of  religious  liberty,  and  liberal  religion.  These,  almost  to  a 
man,  joined  the  crowd  carried  away  by  the  excitement  of  something 
new.  Meetings  were  held  day  and  night,  mostly  the  latter,  probably 
for  the  reason  that  they  were  sometimes  disturbed  by  the  unbelievers. 
None  were  admitted  except  by  introduction  of  the  initiated.  The 
excitement  kept  on  increasing ;  many  would  attend  from  curiosit}',  and 
the  novelty  of  the  thing,  so  different  from  what  they  had  been  used 
to  in  the  staid  old  congregation.  Exhortations  of  the  most  exciting 
nature,  singing,  dancing  and  whirling,  became  a  part  of  the  services. 
All  who   did  not  join  were   vehemently  denounced  by  name,  called 


I 


OTHER    RELIGIOUS    SOCIETIES.  201 

anti-Christs,  devils  and  children  of  the  devil.  Some  thought  the  ven- 
geance of  God  would  visit  them  if  they  even  held  communication 
with  any  of  this  wicked  race.  The  learned  clergy,  or  the  old  Stand- 
ing Order,  were  called  men  of  sin,  hirelings  of  the  devil ;  and  all 
who  followed,  or  believed  in  them  were  no  better.  Men  and  women 
would  commence  their  exhortations,  and  run  on  in  the  highest  strain 
of  neither  sense  nor  music,  till  they  wrought  themselves  up  to  com- 
plete frenzy,  even  to  frothing  at  the  mouth,  dancing,  stamping,  and 
whirling  around.  These  last  were  generally  females,  who  would  con- 
tinue till  they  fell  prostrate  on  the  tioorin  a  state  of  complete  exhaus- 
tion. This  was  called  going  into  a  trance,  or  spiritual  state,  and  as 
they  said,  holding  communion  with  God.  The  coming  out  of  these 
trances  was  watched  with  some  anxiety  or  curiosity,  for  then  gener- 
ally some  poor  sinner  had  to  take  it.  When  the  trance  was  ended, 
they,  the  subjects,  usually  came  to  their  feet  with  a  spring  or  bound, 
like  india-rubber,  darting  at  once  before  some  individual  sinner,  to 
whom  they  had  a  special  message,  assailing  them  with  a  torrent  of 
invectives,  such  as  calling  them  devils,  children  of  the  devil,  sinful, 
lustful,  artful  devils,  men  of  sin,  anti-Christs ;  not  forgetting  to 
remind  the  poor  culprit  of  each  and  every  known  fault,  or  deviation 
from  the  path  of  right,  which  he  had  been  known  to  take  from  his 
infancy  up  ;  often  revealing  curious  and  funny  family,  and  even  pri- 
vate affairs,  that  had  much  better  have  been  kept  to  themselves,  but 
their  doctrine  was — Free  your  mind,  brother,  free  your  mind,  sister,  — 
Hew  to  the  line,  let  the  chips  fall  where  they  may.  These  scenes 
often  brought  the  blush  to  some,  but  always  the  fun  to  the  young  and 
foolish  ;  consequently  were  much  enjoyed,  and  brought  crowds  to  the 
meetings. 

This  Come-Out,  or  New  Light  affair,  as  it  was  called,  made  quite  a 
disturbance,  at  the  time,  in  the  old  Society.  Some  of  the  enthusiasts 
went  so  far  as  to  fasten  up  the  meeting  house  one  Sunday,  forbid- 
ding Mr.  Thacher's  entering  to  preach,  saying  that  he  was  no  minister 
of  the  town,  parish  or  church,  but  an  emissary  of  the  devil,  and  an 
anti-Christ;  having  some  of  their  number  inside  to  keep  the  house, 
armed  with  axes  and  clubs.  Soon  the  congregation  began  to  assem- 
ble outside,  and  learning  how  matters  were,  men  enough  were  found 
to  force  the  doors  and  turn  out  the  intruders,  and  it  is  said  that  even 
the  women  gave  them  a  kick  as  they  passed  out.  A  suit-at-law  grew 
out  of  this  barring  the  house ;  the  New  Lights  entered  a  complaint 
for  assault  and  battery,  but  were  beaten,  as  they  themselves  were  the 
trespassers,  the  ministerial  party  doing  no  more  than  was  necessary 
to  get  possession  of  their  own  house. 


202  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Meetings  of  the  old  Society  were  often  disturbed  by  these  people. 
Sometimes  one  would  spring  to  his  feet  as  if  stung  by  a  big  wasp, 
thrust  his  fingers  into  his  ears,  and  run  for  the  door  as  fast  as  possible 
with  more  or  less  of  the  fraternity  at  his  heels,  giving  indication  that 
something  dreadful  had  been  said  by  the  minister.  Sometimes  one 
would  stand  up  and  denounce  the  preacher,  and  tell  him  that  he  was 
preaching  the  doctrine  of  the  devil  instead  of  Christ.  These  things 
went  on  for  awhile  till  they  became  unbearable  by  the  more  thought- 
ful of  the  congregation.  When  a  man  got  up,  and  loudly  denounced 
Mr.  Thacher,  and  plainly  told  him  that  he  lied,  the  time  had  come. 
He  was  at  once  laid  hold  of,  and  in  a  few  minutes  found  himself  sitting 
in  the  stocks  in  front  of  the  church,  where  he  had  full  liberty  to  use 
his  powers  of  speech  as  he  thought  best,  and  he  did  so  to  the  best  of 
his  ability,  denouncing  and  cursing  Mr.  Thacher,  the  old  Standing 
Order,  and  the  paid  clergy,  praying  for  curses  to  rain  down  in  heaps 
on  the  whole  set.  He  was  kept  till  the  meeting  closed,  when  he  was 
set  loose,  and  went  home  a  wiser  if  not  a  better  man.  He  never  dis- 
turbed the  meeting  again. 

Mr.  Thacher  was  strenuous  in  receiving  his  salary  according  to 
his  settlement,  and  the  disaffection  continued  to  spread  through  sym- 
pathy of  friend  for  friend,  till  it  became  wide.  Those  refusing  to  pay 
their  parish  tax  were  often  sued  at  law  for  the  collection,  and  their 
property  seized.  Men  who  could  pay  would  not,  but  allowed  their 
property  to  be  taken  and  sold,  in  order  to  spread  the  idea  of  perse- 
cution. Some  would  offer  their  coat ;  the  collector  would  take  it  and 
have  it  sold,  then  the  owner  would  raise  a  great  hue  and  cry  about 
having  his  coat  sold  to  pay  the  Orthodox  minister.  Thus  the  thing 
went  on  till  the  usefulness  of  Mr.  Thacher  as  a  minister  was  entirely 
gone  ;  but  under  the  old  custom,  he  was  settled  for  life,  and  thinking 
himself  insulted  and  injured,  would  not  resign.  Several  town-meet- 
ings were  called,  committees  were  chosen  to  close  the  house,  to  order 
him  not  to  preach  as  minister  of  the  town  or  church,  and  to  get  rid 
of  him  in  some  way,  even  if  by  force,  but  this  effected  nothing,  nor 
could  they  do  anything  with  him.  He  disregarded  all  their  notices, 
and  continued  to  preach  till  some  of  the  more  prudent  of  the  town's 
people  took  up  the  matter.  When  a  suitable  committee  was  chosen, 
who  met  Mr.  Thacher  in  a  kind  and  conciliatory  manner,  he  met 
them  with  a  like  spirit.  No  difficulty  was  found,  a  compromise  was 
made,  and  Mr.  Thacher  was  dismissed  from  his  ministry  here,  and 
his  settlement  over  the  church  and  parish  ended.  The  difficulties 
and  excitements  lasted  several  years. 


OTHER    RELIGIOUS    SOCIETIES.  203 

These  New  Lights  had  strange  notions  of  the  contamination  of  sin. 
They,  in  their  opinion,  had  become  holy  and  pure,  and  they  did  not 
allow  themselves  to  come  in  contact  with,  or  even  to  speak  to  "people 
of  the  world,"  as  they  called  the  outsiders,  for  by  so  doing  they  com- 
mitted a  sin.  It  was  often  the  case  that  fathers,  mothers,  brothers 
and  sisters,  and  near  neighbors  would  pass  each  other  without  speak- 
ing, or  recognition,  and  would  even  look  away  from  each  other.  They 
also  held  to  the  doctrine  of  non-resistance.  This  state  of  things  was 
about  destroyed  by  an  epidemic  of  some  kind,  which  broke  out  in 
town.  A  great  many  who  were  taken  down  sick  and  needed  help 
were  compelled  to  have  the  objectionable  ones  about  them,  and  the 
foolishness  of  the  thing  became  so  apparent,  that  it  cured  itself. 

Their  non-resistance  doctrine  caused  many  of  them  to  be  abused 
and  maltreated  by  the  boys  and  thoughtless  persons  about  town,  giv- 
ing much  uneasiness  to  the  more  prudent  part  of  the  commvuiity,  but 
there  did  not  seem  to  be  any  way  to  prevent  it,  for  although  some 
applied  to  the  magistrates  for  protection  from  the  stones  and  eggs, 
which  their  peculiar  notions  and  queer  actions  would  bring  upon  them 
from  the  boys,  yet  many  of  the  deluded  would  rather  court  such  treat- 
ment, calling  it  persecution  for  religion's  sake.  This  went  on  for  quite 
a  while,  till  a  young  man  was  badly  hurt,  when  Esq.  Gorham  issued  a 
warrant,  and  had  a  number  of  young  men  arrested,  and  compelled 
the  non-resistants  to  testify.  The  delinquents  were  punished,  and  the 
charm  was  broken.  A  few  complaints  were  subsequently  made,  and 
the  delusion  ended. 

Mr.  Thacher  was  rather  a  quaint  and  whimsical  preacher  ;  always 
to  the  point.  He  often  gave  his  congregation  severe  reprimands, 
for  going  to  hear  these  people  at  their  meetings.  At  one  time  when 
the  whirlings  and  dancings  were  in  full  blast,  and  everybody  running 
to  see  and  hear,  he  came  out  with  a  sermon  from  the  text  "  What 
went  ye  out  into  the  wilderness  to  see  ;  a  reed  shaken  with  the  wind .'' " 
It  was  said  to  have  been  "  a  powerful  sermon,  slaying  the  Come- 
Outers  right  and  left."      So  records  one  of  his  old  Deacons. 

During  these  times  of  turmoil,  and  high  pressure  of  religious  excite- 
ment, a  young  lawyer  from  Massachusetts  came  and  settled  at  Gorham 
Village.  He  wore  the  ruffled  shirt,  which  was  the  fashion  of  the  day. 
He  had  a  desire  to  see  and  hear  the  New  Lights,  and  with  a  friend 
went  to  their  meeting,  wearing  the  ruffled  shirt-bosom,  and  modestly 
taking  a  seat  near  the  door.  The  unfortunate  ruffle  was  soon  discov- 
ered by  one  of  the  brethren.  When  all  had  become  quiet  the  brother 
rose  to  his  feet  —  he  was  a   large,  powerful  man  —  came  marching 


204  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

across  the  room  to  directly  in  front  of  the  esquire  ;  extending  his 
long  arm  and  pointing  to  the  rufifle,  he  exclaimed  in  a  loud,  stentorian, 
and  sing-song  tone,  "  There  is  a  rufifle,  I  hate  rufifles,  I  know  I  hate 
ruffles,  and  God  knows  I  hate  ruffles  ;  "  then  folding  his  arms,  he 
marched  back  to  his  seat.  This  brought  the  young  lawyer  into  notice 
rather  unexpectedly.  Ribbons,  ruffles,  jewelry  and  ornaments  of  all 
kinds  were  in  their  estimation  especial  articles  of  temptation  used  by 
the  devil  to  work  evil,  and  ruin  the  soul  of  the  wearer  :  and  the 
opportunity  was  never  neglected  of  ranting  and  railing  at  the  unfor- 
tunate sinner  who  was  found  ofifending.  Such  was  often  the  effect 
of  this  on  the  females  that  many  would  rise  up,  strip  off  ruffs,  ribbons, 
and  jewelry,  trample  them  under  foot,  or  go  to  the  door,  and  cast 
them  to  the  devil,  their  owner,  and  in  a  loud  voice  tell  Satan  to  take 
his  temptations  to  himself,  as  he  could  not  come  it  over  them  with 
such  sinful  baubles.  Men  have  been  known  to  take  ofif  their  silver 
shoe-buckles,  and  throw  them  away  as  wicked  temptations  used  by 
the  devil  to  create  vanity  and  sin. 

This  high-pressure  state  of  affairs  could  not  last  forever.  About 
1780,  or  1781,  a  Free  Will  Baptist  preacher  made  his  appearance; 
also  at  about  the  same  time,  a  man  and  woman  of  the  Shaker  per- 
suasion came  along,  who  stopped,  and  held  meetings  at  West  Gorham. 
Some  little  differences  of  opinion  having  sprung  up  amongst  the 
faithful,  the  way  was  somewhat  prepared  for  the  new-comers.  Some 
followed  the  Baptist,  and  some  became  Shakers. 

About  the  year  1781,  agreeable  to  the  vote  of  the  town,  a  regular 
poll-off  was  made,  from  the  old  Congregational  society,  of  some  sixty 
persons  claiming  to  be  Baptists,  and  these  joining  with  the  balance 
of  the  Come-Outers  a  respectable  Free  Will  Baptist  society  was 
formed,  including  some  of  our  best  citizens,  which  for  many  years 
worshipped  in  the  church  on  Fort  Hill.  It  was  many  years  before 
these  Come-Outers  could  get  rid  of  their  old  prejudices,  and  allow 
that  peace  and  heaven,  as  a  part  of  the  final  inheritance,  belonged  to 
the  old  Congregationalist  and  Standing  Order. 

Sometime  in  the  year  1780,  toward  the  close  of  the  New  Light 
excitement  in  Gorham,  some  of  the  more  sober-minded  and  reasonable 
among  the  Come-Outers  hearing  of  the  Free  church  in  New  Durham 
sent  Dea.  William  Cotton,  to  request  admission  to  their  fellowship. 
Benjamin  Randall  and  Robert  Boody  were  sent  back  to  them,  "  to 
inquire  into  their  principles  and  order.  "  Stewart  says,  "  A  few  New 
Light  Christians  were  there  found,  serving  God  [under  great  trials.  " 
Randall  preached  to  them  a  few  times,  and  by  his  labors,  John  Cotton 


OTHER    RELIGIOUS    SOCIETIES.  205 

and  William  Thomes  were  converted,  and  began  to  hold  meetings. 
There  was  great  opposition  to  them  among  the  old  "  standing  order  :  " 
at  a  town-meeting,  held  March  25,  1780,  there  was  an  article  in  the 
warrant,  "  To  see  if  the  Town  will  admit  the  Baptists  to  preach  in 
the  Meeting-house,  until  the  Congregationalists  shall  get  a  minister." 
Dea.  Austin  Alden,  who  was  town  clerk,  in  making  his  minutes  of  the 
vote  on  the  question  on  the  back  of  the  warrant,  says  "  Voted  Not  to 
admit  the  Baptists  into  the  Meeting-house,"  and  adds,  "  Praise  be 
to  God,  the  Devil  is  defeated  this  time." 

The  next  year,  1781,  Randall  again  visited  Gorhani,  and  after 
laboring  here  for  a  few  days,  a  Church  was  organized  at  Fort  Hill. 

In  1786,  at  the  December  Quarterly  Meeting,  Samuel  Thombs  was 
ordained  as  Ruling  Elder,  and  Andrew  Cobb,  and  George  Hamblin 
were  ordained  as  Deacons.  James  McCorson,  at  a  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing held  in  Gorham  Dec.  4,  1788,  was  set  apart  to  the  work  of  the 
ministry.  Daniel  Hibbard  preached  from  the  text,  "Take  heed  unto 
thyself,  and  unto  the  doctrine,  etc."  Samuel  Weeks  gave  the  charge, 
and  Benjamin  Randall,  the  hand  of  fellowship. 

.  Gorham  has  furnished  the  Free  Baptist  denomination  with  quite  a 
number  of  ministers,  among  whom,  perhaps,  James  McCorson,  who 
was  born  in  the  fort  during  the  Indian  war  of  1745,  and  Clement 
Phinney  were  the  most  prominent.  Clement  Phinney  was  the  great- 
grandson  of  Capt.  John  Phinney,  and  was  born  in  1780. 

The  Society  evidently  believed  in  the  doctrine  of  Peace  on  earth, 
for  at  a  monthly  meeting,  held  on  March  28,  1799,  there  was  a  dis- 
cussion as  to  whether  they  were  all  agreed  to  come  out  from  War, 
and  not  to  go  into  the  field  to  "  training."  They  found  that  all  pres- 
ent were  agreed,  let  them  suffer  what  they  might.  And  on  April  17, 
1799,  we  find  the  following,  "Voted,  that  we  take  under  consideration 
the  vote  that  was  passed  in  yearly  meeting  at  Parsonsfield  in  February 
for  to  send  a  petition  to  General  Court  to  be  set  off  from  '  trainings.  ' 
Accordingly  agreed  to  and  concurred  with  to  send  to  General  Court." 

They  were,  apparently,  the  first  secret  society  in  town,  for  we  find 
the  following  on  record  under  date  of  April  17,  1799,  "Voted,  that  all 
our  members  keep  our  labors  to  ourselves,  that  are  done  amongst  us 
and  if  any  tells  any  matters  out,  shall  be  counted  transgressors.  " 

As  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  were  compelled  by  law  to  pay  a  tax 
to  support  a  learned,  orthodox  minister,  those  who  were  not  of  that 
way  of  thinking  did  not  enjoy  having  to  pay  that  tax,  and  at  the  same 
time  support  a  minister  of  their  own  choice.  The  Baptists  repeatedly 
petitioned  the  town  to  abate  the  obnoxious  tax.     Finally,  at  a  town- 


206  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

meeting,  held  on  the  14th  day  of  June,  1781,  it  was  voted,  "That  all 
the  inhabitants  of  Gorham,  who  are  of  a  different  denomination  to 
the  Congregational,  are  to  be  excluded  paying  any  future  charges 
to  the  Congregational  minister,  or  charges  towards  supplying  the 
Desk  in  Gorham  Meeting  house,  only  upon  bringing  a  certificate  from 
the  heads  of  either  of  the  opposite  societies,  in  Gorham,  called 
Baptists,  in  two  months  from  this  date."  And  we  find  on  record 
this,  "The  following  is  a  list  of  those  persons  in  Gorham,  who  call 
themselves  Baptists,  according  to  their  own  return  given  in  to  ye 
Selectmen,  agreeable  to  a  vote  passed  the  14th  of  June  1781." 

"  To  the  Selectmen  of  Gorham  —  Gent"  —  These  may  certify,  that 
the  persons  whose  names  are  in  the  following  List,  are  in  our  opin- 
ion, cleared  from  paying  to  the  support  of  ye  Congregational  Ministry 
in  this  Town,  both  by  Law,  and  agreeable  to  a  vote  of  ye  Town 
passed  sometime  in  June  last,  they  attending  our  meeting,  and 
desiring  their  names  to  be  entered  in  the  Certificate  to  yourselves. 

Daniel  Hebard,  Pastor. 

Capt.  Briant  Morton. 

Andrew  Crockit,  )  Elders  of  the  Easterly 

Elisha  Strout,       (  Baptist  Church  in  Gorham. 

Andrew  Cobb.  Jonathan  Freeman. 

Nicholas  Cobb.  Cary  McLellan. 

Jedediah  Cobb.  Caleb  Lombard. 

Andrew  Cobb,  Jr.  Daniel  Cobb. 

Nathaniel  Edwards.  Capt.  Hart  Williams. 

Ephraim  Hmit.  Daniel  Gamman. 

Pelatiah  Crockit.  James  Gilkey. 

Moses  Hanscom.  William  Lakeman. 

James  Bangs.  Jonathan  Crockit. 

John  Foy.  Jabez  Morton. 

"Gorham,  July  4,  1781.  At  a  Church  meeting  at  the  House  of 
Nathan  Freeman,  part  of  ye  Society  that  meet  with  us  to  Worship 
God  according  to  their  Conscience,  met  with  us  and  gave  in  their 
names  as  a  Society  belonging  to  the  first  Baptist  Church  in  Gorham, 
or  that  differ  in  Religious  matters  from  the  Congregationals  in  Gorham. 

the  Names  of  the  Church.  Names  of  ye  Society. 

Nathan  Freeman.  Ezekiel  Rich. 

James  McCorson.  Nathaniel  Stevens. 

William  Cotton.  Joseph  Whitney. 

George  Hamblin.  Jeremiah  Hodsdon. 

Nathaniel  Freeman.  Isaac  Elder. 

Ebenezer  Morton.  John  Carsley. 

Samuel  Thomes.  Decker  Phinney. 

Samuel  Brown.  Stephen  Swett. 

Joshua  Harding.  Joseph  Stone. 

Ebenezer  Hamblen.  Joel  Sawyer. 

Barnabas  Rich.  Calvin  Lombard. 

Lemuel  Rich.  Barnabas  Bangs. 

Josiah  Whitney.  Thomas  Bangs. 

Samuel  Harding,  Jr.  Lemuel  Hicks. 


OTHER    RELIGIOUS    SOCIETIES.  207 

Gershom  Hamblen.  John  Sella. 

Samuel  Crockit,  Jr.  Joseph  Brackit. 

Nathaniel  Muckford.  Benjamin  Stevens. 

Aaron  Whitney.  Joel  Rich. 

William  Monson.  Barnabas  Bangs,  Jr. 

William  File. 

Samuel  Elder. 

William  Marks. 

Ely  Webb. 

We  do  entreat  that  you  the  Selectmen  of  Gorham  will  set  u.s  free 
from  paying  minister's  rates,  or  any  supply  that  way  to  the  Desk  in 
Gorham  meeting  house,  agreeable  to  a  vote  passed  in  Town  meeting, 
held  at  Gorham  meeting  house,  June  14,  1781." 

Bearing  upon  the  foregoing  we  find  this  in  the  records  of  the 
Church,  "Monthly  meeting  at  the  meeting  house,  April  11,  1798,  on 
Wednesday  the  meeting  opened  as  usual,  Some  Brethren  from  Buxton 
were  desirous  to  have  an  order  on  their  town  treasury,  that  they  may 
receive  the  money  they  paid  for  ministers'  rates.  The  request  was 
agreed  to.  Samuel  Leavitte  wanted  a  certificate.  Likewise  granted." 
This  certificate  was  of  his  being  a  member  of  the  Free  Will  Baptist 
Church,  and  a  regular  attendant  at  their  meetings,  to  clear  him  from 
paying  the  Parish  taxes,  for  the  support  of  the  Orthodox  minister,  as 
required  by  the  law  at  that  time,  as  has  been  already  said. 

Matters,  however,  did  not  seem  to  go  on  very  smoothly  in  spite  of 
the  foregoing  settlement,  for  in  the  warrant  for  a  meeting  in  1787, 
this  article  was  inserted ;  To  see  what  method  the  town  will  take 
with  sundry  persons  that  think  themselves  greatly  aggrieved  in  pay- 
ing Ministerial  Taxes,  whether  they  will  excuse  the  whole  or  a  part 
of  them,  or  whether  they  will  make  any  agreement  with  them  about 
the  poor  of  the  Town  that  belong  to  their  Societies,  or  to  do  what- 
ever the  Town  see  fit  respecting  the  matter."  At  the  meeting,  it  was 
"  Voted,  To  choose  a  committee  of  five  persons,  to  take  the  complaint 
of  those  persons  mentioned  in  the  third  article,  into  consideration, 
and  report  to  the  town,  at  the  adjournment  of  this  meeting,  which  of, 
or  how  many  of  those  persons,  shall  be  excused  from  paying  Minis- 
terial Taxes."  "Voted,  That  Edmund  Phinney,  Esq.,  Austin  Alden, 
Dea.  George  Lewis,  James  Phinney  and  Capt.  Nathaniel  Frost  be 
the  committee  for  the  above  purpose." 

Later,  it  was  voted  to  accept  the  report  of  the  committee,  which 
was,  "We  the  subscribers,  beg  leave  to  report  to  the  Town  as 
follows,  vizt ;  We  have  met  a  Committee  from  those  called  the  Ana- 
baptist Society  in  Gorham,  and  heard  all  they  had  to  offer,  patiently 
and  candidly,  and  are  of  opinion  that  if  any  person  in  Gorham,  of 


208  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

that  Society,  or  of  any  different  denomination  from  the  Congrega- 
tionals,  who  is  a  Public  Protestant  teacher  of  Piety,  Religion  and 
Morality,  agreeable  to  the  Constitution,  should  produce  a  Certificate 
or  List  to  the  Town,  of  any  number  of  persons  (inhabitants  of  said 
Gorham)  who  are  in  his  opinion,  conscientiously  of  his  Society,  and 
do  constantly  attend  upon  his  instructions,  that  in  this  case,  we 
would  recommend  to  the  Town  to  exempt  all  those  persons  from 
paying  to  any  Congregational  minister  in  said  Gorham." 

Thereafter  only  those  escaped  the  payment  of  the  tax  who  were  of 
a  decided  religious  opinion,  and  attended  regularly  upon  the  Baptist 
meetings,  in  short,  were  such  as  the  Baptist  minister  or  teacher  could 
conscientiously  vouch  for. 

At  a  town  meeting  held  in  November,  1788,  the  sixth  and  seventh 
articles  in  the  warrant  were  "  To  see  if  the  town  will  vote  to  exempt  any 
person  or  number  of  persons  in  Gorham  (being  of  the  Baptist  denom- 
ination) from  paying  taxes  to  a  Congregational  minister  in  said  Gor- 
ham." And  "  To  see  if  the  town  will  vote  that  Mr.  James  McCollister 
shall  be  discharged  from  paying  any  State,  County  or  Town  Taxes  in 
Gorham,  on  account  of  his  being  a  Baptist  Minister."  Both  of  these 
articles  were  dismissed  by  the  town.  In  the  warrant  for  a  town 
meeting,  about  a  year  later,  is  this  article,  "  To  see  if  the  Town  will 
vote,  that  the  Baptist  Society  be  set  off,  by  themselves,  in  order 
that  they  may  be  incorporated  into  a  parish  separate  from  the 
Congregationals  —  Agreeable  to  an  Application."  This  article  was 
dismissed  by  the  meeting. 

Feb.  12,  1790,  the  Baptists  of  Gorham,  presented  to  the  Legisla- 
ture a  petition  for  an  act  of  incorporation,  in  which  they  say  that 
they  have  maintained  a  society  in  Gorham  for  the  seven  years  past. 

"  Be  it  enacted,  etc.  That  George  Thomes,  Enoch  Waite,  Ebenezer 
Hamblen,  Nathaniel  Stevens,  Daniel  Mann,  Samuel  Crockett,  Jr., 
Charles  Thomes,  Lemuel  Hicks,  Barnabas  Bangs,  Jr.,  Thomas  Bangs, 
William  Burton,  Gershom  Hamblen,  Isaac  Elder,  Nathaniel  Freeman, 
Samuel  Thomes,  Andrew  Cobb,  Barnabas  Bangs,  William  Files, 
Elisha  Strout,  George  Hamblen,  Jonathan  Freeman,  James  McCorson, 
Amos  Rich,  James  Ross,  Ebenezer  Bangs,  Lemuel  McCorson,  John 
Ward,  Ebenezer  Cotton,  Joel  Sawyer,  David  Elvil  Morton,  Ebenezer 
Morton,  James  Morton,  Nathan  Hanscom,  Christopher  Plummer, 
Isaac  Irish,  Isaac  Plummer,  John  Haskell,  Jr.,  Reuben  Libbee, 
Edward  Webb,  Joseph  Hodgdon,  John  Lombard,  John  Carsley,  John 
Carsley,  Jr.,  Thomas  Bolton,  Jeremiah  Clement,  William  Bolton, 
Daniel  Gammon,  William  Lakeman,  Ephraim  Crockett,  Peletiah 
Crockett,  Thomas  Paine,  Benjamin  Gates,  James  Mcintosh,  Reuben 
Elder,  Benjamin  Chamberlain,  Ebenezer  Cobb,  Samuel  Elder,  Samuel 


OTHER    RELIGIOUS    SOCIETIES.  209 

Warren,  Micah  Whitney,  James  Gilkey,  Hart  Williams  and  Jonathan 
Crockett,  together  witli  their  families,  and  estates,  be  incorporated  by 
the  name  of 

"The  Baptist  Religious  Society  of  Gorham." 

March  7,  A.  D.   1791. 

Lemuel  Rich,  Lemuel  Rich,  Jr.,  Boaz  Rich,  Amos  Thomes,  Seth 
L.  Hamblen,  Jacob  York,  Moses  Richardson,  James  Rich,  Israel 
Rich  and  William  Harmon,  all  of  Standish,  were  set  off  from 
Standish  and  annexed  to  the  Antipedobaptist  Society  in  Gorham,  by 
Act  of  June  10,  1796. 

A  meeting  house  was  built  on  Fort  Hill  before  the  year  1798,  for 
we  find  that  on  June  4,  1798,  the  town  voted  that  all  the  town  meet- 
ings should  be  held  in  the  Baptist  meeting  house  until  the  school- 
house,  to  be  erected  at  the  Corner,  should  be  made  convenient 
to  meet  in. 

There  seems  always  to  have  been  considerable  trouble  with  church 
music  in  Gorham  as  well  as  in  other  places,  as  these  votes  by  the 
Fort  Hill  Society  will  show,  as  well  as  the  way  out  of  it.  "June  10, 
1801,  Opened  meeting  by  prayer,  then  entered  into  labor  concerning 
spiritual  gifts,  and  how  improvements  ought  to  be  made  (both  in 
speaking  and  in  singing).  Concluded  to  speak  and  sing  as  we  are 
moved  by  the  spirit  of  Truth."  "July  14,  1802,  Concerning  singing, 
concluded,  for  those  who  are  singers  (when  a  hymn  is  read)  to  sing, 
and  as  many  as  can  for  to  join,  and  so  carry  on  the  worship  of  God." 
We  judge  that  all  the  congregation  were  not  equally  endowed  with 
the  gift  of  song. 

In  the  year  1839,  the  meeting  house  was  enlarged  and  finished  in 
good  style  with  forty-four  pews,  and  dedicated  Jan.  i,  1840.  Regu- 
lar meetings  were  held  for  a  few  years  after  this,  up  to  about  1846, 
when,  the  members  having  either  died  or  become  scattered,  the 
Church  was  dropped  from  the  .Conference.  There  was  no  preaching 
after  that  time,  and  the  house  falling  into  a  state  of  decay,  permission 
was  granted  by  the  Legislature  to  Frederic  Gilkey  to  sell  it,  which 
was  accordingly  done;  it  being  sold  at  public  auction  on  Feb.  21, 
1877,  for  fifty  dollars,  to  Capt.  Gerry  Rounds,  and  by  him  taken 
down,  carried  to  the  Village  and  used  in  building  his  house  on 
Preble  St. 

A  Free  Baptist  Church  was  organized  at  Mallison's  Falls  in 
1827,  and  a  meeting  house  erected  on  the  Windham  side  of  the  river. 
This  Church  was  formed  as  the  result  of  revival  work  done  in  this 
locality-  by  Elder  Clement  Phinney.     In  1839,  after  a  period  of  lack 


210  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

of  interest,  there  was  a  strong  revival  of  religion  here,  vmder  the  work 
and  preaching  of  Elder  James  Buzzell,  M.  D.,  and  having  received 
large  additions  to  their  numbers,  it  was  decided  to  build  a  new 
church.  This  building  was  erected,  in  1841,  in  Little  Falls  village,  on 
the  Gorham  side  of  the  Presumpscot.  Until  this  time  the  church 
had  had  no  settled  pastor,  but  was  supplied,  as  was  the  custom  of  the 
denomination,  by  itinerant  preachers,  amongst  others  :  Elders  Joseph 
White,  Joseph  Phinney,  Andrew  Rollins,  Samuel  Hathorn,  Sargent 
Shaw,  Charles  Bean,  David  Swett  and  Jeremiah  Bullock.  Dr.  Buzzell 
was  the  first  settled  pastor,  and  remained  here  until  about  1844. 
He  has  been  followed  by  Revs,  Amos  Redlon,  B.  S.  Manson,  O.  P. 
Smith,  Mr.  Fairfield,  David  Newell,  William  F.  Eaton,  William  J. 
Twort,  Elder  Maddox,  J.  R.  Franklin,  E.  C.  Harmon  (now  at  So. 
Gorham,  1899),  Leroy  S.  Bean,  A.  F.  Cox,  E.  C.  Cook,  W.  A.  Tucker, 
George  Gray,  William  Fultz,  and  others. 

During  the  pastorate  here  of  Mr.  Redlon,  there  arose  some  trouble 
in  the  denomination  in  regard  to  an  educated  ministry,  instrumental 
music,  and  choir  singing.  This  difference  of  opinion  resulted,  under 
the  leadership  of  Dr.  Buzzell,  in  the  formation  of  what  was  known 
as  the  "Association  Baptist  Church,"  afterwards  incorporated  as 
the  "General  Baptist  Church  and  Society."  Some  thirty  members 
of  the  old  church  here  were  dismissed  to  join  the  new. 

In  January,  1864,  the  society  at  Little  Falls  was  so  unfortunate 
as  to  suffer  the  loss  of  its  church  edifice  by  fire.  Two  years  later,  in 
1866,  the  present  meeting  house  was  built,  which  occupies  the  spot  on 
which  the  former  one  was  located. 

The  Baptist  meeting  house  at  White  Rock  was  built  in  1839,  and 
dedicated  in  June,  1840.  It  has  since  been  twice  remodelled.  This 
society  in  1854  took  the  name  of  General  Baptist.  Among  other 
preachers,  they  have  had  Mr.  Twort,  Elder  Maddox,  Milton  Pratt, 
and  Mr.  Fultz. 

There  is  also  a  Society  at  South  Gorham,  the  outgrowth  of  a 
Sunday  School  started  many  years  since  in  that  region. 

Williamson  says,  (Hist,  of  Maine,  Vol.  i,  p.  569),  the  Baptists  first 
made  their  appearance  in  Maine,  A.  D.  1681,  when  several  persons 
in  Kittery  embraced  their  doctrine.  William  Screven,  who  was  an 
Englishman,  was  one  of  the  first  and  most  prominent.  He  became  a 
leader.  He  was  fined  ten  pounds  for  the  first  offence,  and  ordered 
to  cease  teaching  and  preaching.  He  refused  compliance.  Finally 
a  church  of  eight  members  was  embodied,  Sept.  25,  1682.  The  next 
year  Mr.  Screven,  with  the  members  of  the  church  with  their  families, 


OTHER    RELIGIOUS    SOCIETIES.  211 

removed  to  Cooper  River,  So.  Carolina.  This  is  said  to  have  been 
the  only  instance  of  religious  persecution  within  the  State.  The  old 
Colonial  laws  of  Massachusetts  were  rather  severe  on  the  Baptists 
and  Quakers.  Fines,  whippings  and  imprisonments  were  used,  but 
these  laws  were  never  enforced  with  anything  like  stringency  in  the 
District  of  Maine. 

A  Baptist  church  was  organized  at  North  Berwick  June  28,  1768, 
and  one  at  Sanford,  York  County,  in  1  772,  which  was  Congregational 
in  1788.  Dr.  Deane  of  Falmouth,  says,  (Diary,  p.  322,}  "Rev.  H. 
Smith  and  Burnham  here.  Burnham  urged  me  to  invite  Smith  to 
preach,  which  I  refused  to  do."  This  was  in  June,  1767.  In  a  note 
is  added,  "  Rev.  Hezekiah  Smith  was  a  respectable  Baptist  preacher, 
settled  in  Haverhill,  Mass.  He  made  the  earliest  movement  in 
behalf  of  the  Baptists  in  this  State.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  personal 
appearance,  a  full  and  sonorous  voice,  and  captivating  address." 

It  is  said  that  the  Rev.  Hezekiah  Smith  preached,  and  gathered  a 
church  in  Gorham,  which  was  organized  June  20,  1768.  Of  this  I  can 
find  no  local  record.  Dea.  Alden,  who  kept  a  daily  record  of  things 
passing  in  town,  makes  no  reference  to  this  whatever.  And  as  the 
Deacon  was  rigid  in  his  religious  notions,  and  sensitive  for  the  honor 
of  the  old  church,  it  is  wonderful  how  such  a  wicked  thing  could  have 
escaped  his  notice. 

•Mr.  Backus,  who  was  agent  for  the  Baptist  Churches  in  Massa- 
chusetts, drew  up  an  appeal  to  the  honorable  Congress  of  the 
Massachusetts  province,  convened  at  Cambridge,  Nov.  22,  1774, 
designed  to  show  by  the  instances  of  oppression  adduced,  that  others 
than  the  "enemies  of  America"  had  good  and  sufficient  reasons  to 
memorialize  the  Continental  Congress.  In  this  petition  he  says, 
"A  Baptist  church  was  regularly  formed  at  Gorham,  Me.,  in  1768, 
and  Mr.  Joseph  Moody  of  Scarborough,  a  member  of  it,  yearly  had 
the  same  certified  to  the  Assessors  of  his  town,  yet  still  he  has  been 
taxed  and  strained  upon ;  and  when  he  petitioned  our  Legislature  last 
winter  for  help,  we  are  credibly  informed  that  his  petition  was  thrown 
out,  because  Mr.  March,  the  representative  from  Scarborough,  had 
said  There  was  no  Baptist  church  in  Gorham  J'' 

I  have  heard,  many  years  gone  by,  that  there  was  a  person  by  the 
name  of  Hezekiah  Smith  who  preached  in  Gorham,  and  that  he  was 
called  a  Baptist ;  but  as  to  his  gathering  a  church,  I  think  that  that 
was  not  the  case.  From  1765  to  1768  was  a  time  of  some  disaffection 
in  the  old  church.     Rev.  Mr.  Lombard  had  gone  into  secular  busi- 

iFrom  Dr.  Hovev's  life  of  Backus. 


212  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

ness,  and  paid  but  little  attention  to  his  ministerial  work.  He 
preached  but  little,  and  many  said  his  preaching  was  not  worth 
half  he  got,  and  contended  stoutly  against  paying  him  his  minis- 
terial tax.  Many  thought  themselves  persecuted  for  being  compelled 
to  pay  what,  as  by  law  and  their  own  agreement,  they  were 
obliged  to  do.  But  this  war  was  not  so  much  against  the  doctrine 
as  against  the  minister,  for  when  Mr.  Thacher  was  settled,  who, 
for  a  time,  was  remarkably  popular;  all  quieted  down,  and  the 
old  church  went  on  harmoniously,  and  we  can  find  of  the  old  settlers, 
none  who  appear  to  have  seceded.  If  Mr.  Smith  preached,  it  was 
probably  at  some  time  during  this  turmoil,  and  probably  he  had 
hearers,  but  if  he  got  up  a  church  it  certainly  was  small,  or  some 
account  or  tradition  of  it  would  have  come  down  to  us,  as  has  been 
the  case  with  the  Free  Will  and  Quaker  Societies.  It  is  certain  that 
it  never  had  a  pastor,  or  belonged  to  any  association.  There  is  no 
church  of  the  denomination  now  in  town. 

In  June,  1803,  those  professing  to  be  of  the  Methodist  persuasion 
in  Gorham,  joined  in  a  petition  to  the  General  Court,  to  be  incorpor- 
ated into  a  separate  Society ;  and  at  a  town  meeting  held  at  the 
schoolhouse  at  Gorham  Corner,  Jan.  12,  1804,  it  was  "Voted,  that 
this  town  has  no  objection  to  the  petition  exhibited  to  the  General 
Court  by  a  number  of  the  Methodists,  praying  to  be  incorporated  into 
a  distinct  Society.  The  petitioners  were :  Hugh  Moore,  Jonathan 
Moore,  James  Waterhouse,  James  Cochran,  Josiah  Paine,  Thomas 
Irish,  James  Davis,  Daniel  Hill,  Ebenezer  Lombard,  Isaac  York,  Amos 
Thomes,  Samuel  Files,  Moses  Fogg,  Josiah  Berry,  James  Lewis, 
Richard  Lombard,  Nathaniel  Brackett,  Elkanah  Harding,  Abraham 
Webb,  John  Whitmore,  Lot  Nason,  Uriah  Nason,  Simeon  Libby, 
Samuel  Dennett,  Philip  Ayer,  Richard  Lamb,  Thomas  Thomes, 
Daniel  Kimball,  Sylvanus  Bangs,  Daniel  Lowell,  Richard  Willis, 
Joseph  Bryant,  Thomas  Ayer,  Stephen  Hopkinson,  John  Whitney, 
John  McGill,  Joshua  Moody,  Asa  Whitney  and  Colman  Phinney. 
These,  by  an  Act  of  the  General  Court,  were  incorporated  with  their 
families  into  a  religious  society  by  the  name  of 

"The  Methodist  Society  in  Gorham,  Buxton  and  Standish." 

March  i,  A.  D.  1804. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  Society,  preaching  meetings  were  held  at 
the  dwelling-houses  of  its  members.  Amongst  these,  where  we  learn 
that  meetings  were  held,  were  the  houses  of  Elkanah  Harding, 
Simeon  Libby,  Thomas  Irish,  Samuel  Files,  and  probably  there  were 


OTHER    RELIGIOUS    SOCIETIES.  213 

others.  The  first  Quarterly  Meeting  of  which  we  have  tradition,  was 
held  at  the  house  of  Elkanah  Harding,  Feb.  22,  1807,  on  the  same 
day  that  Mrs.  Nathaniel  Knight  of  Windham  and  her  child  were 
drowned  at  Little  Falls.  The  husband,  wife  and  child  were  on  their 
way  to  the  meeting.  On  Little  Falls  bridge  their  horse  became 
frightened,  and  backed  ofif  the  bridge,  drowning  the  mother  and 
child.  We  have  tradition  also  of  these  meetings  being  held  at  the 
houses  of  Mr.  Irish,  Mr.  Files  arid  Mr.  Libby,  but  we  have  no  means 
of  fixing  dates.  The  first  class-meeting  held  in  Gorham  was  at  the 
house  of  Ebenezer  Lombard,  which  stood  near  where  J.  N.  Libby  lately 
lived.  The  first  class-leader  in  Gorham,  or  in  the  County  of  Cum- 
berland, was  Ebenezer  Lombard,  who  was  appointed  class-leader  by 
Rev.  Timothy  Merritt,  about  1797.  It  was  the  custom  with  all  the 
brethren  to  have  open  houses  for  meetings,  or  religious  purposes,  and 
it  is  said  that  provisions  and  fodder  were  free  to  all  comers  from  a 
distance. 

The  Methodists  had  no  meeting  house  of  their  own  previous  to 
18 1 2.  They  often  used  the  houses  of  other  denominations,  by 
consent.  But  it  is  a  notorious  fact  that  denominations  in  those  days 
were  not  over  hospitable  to  each  other,  more  particularly  the  Old  to 
the  New.  The  Baptists  were  no  more  tolerant  than  the  Congrega- 
tionalists.  They  admitted,  and  even  invited  some  of  the  early 
Methodist  ministers  to  preach  in  their  house,  thinking  as  they  were 
anti-Congregationalists,  and  opposed  to  the  old  standing  order,  all 
would  be  right,  but  finding  that  their  preaching  was  likely  to  make  a 
schism  in  their  own  church,  they  were  forbidden  the  use  of  the 
Baptist  house.  This  was  the  case  with  Rev.  Samuel  Thomes,  and 
with  Rev.  Mr.  Lee  who  was  one  of  the  first  Methodist  ministers  that 
came  to  Gorham.  Nevertheless,  the  Methodists  did  occupy  the 
Baptist  house  for  their  Yearly  and  Quarterly  meetings.  But  these 
were  oftener,  in  early  times,  held  at  dwelling-houses  and  schoolhouses, 
where,  if  there  was  not  room  enough  inside,  there  was  plenty  outside. 

We  are  able  to  give  the  names  of  but  few  of  the  very  early  min- 
isters, the  custom  of  the  society  being  to  change  often,  and  but  little 
record  was  kept.  But  we  have  Rev.  Jesse  Lee,  who  is  said  to  have 
done  much  toward  a  more  perfect  organization  of  the  Church,  Rev.  Asa 
Heath,  Rev.  Mr.  Buck,  Rev.  James  Lewis,  Rev.  Ebenezer  Lombard, 
Rev.  Richard  Lombard,  Rev,  Timothy  Merritt,  Rev.  Mr.  Hubbard, 
and  Rev.  Joshua  Taylor.  Few  of  these  were  citizens  of  the  town. 
Mr.  Heath  must  have  been  a  preacher  here  as  early  as  the  first 
organization,  for  he  stated  at  the  funeral  of  the  Rev.  James  Lewis  in 


214  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

1855,  "  I  took  the  side  of  the  Lord  and  commenced  preaching  in  the 
early  days  of  Methodism  in  this  town,  and  forty-five  years  ago  I 
baptized  Brother  Lewis  into  the  Methodist  Church,  soon  after  which 
time  he  commenced  to  preach  the  Gospel." 

It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  there  was  no  organized  Methodist 
Church,  or  Society,  at  Gorham  Village  before  182 1,  although  there 
was  occasional  preaching  by  ministers  of  that  denomination  in  the 
old  town  schoolhouse,  which  stood  back  of  where  the  house  of  Simon 
E.  McLellan  now  stands. 

Rev.  Asa  Heath,  though  not  a  Gorham  man,  was  closely  connected 
with  the  early  Methodists  in  town.  He  was  born  in  Hillsdale, 
N.  Y.,  July  30,  1776.  Becoming  pious  in  early  life,  he  joined 
the  Methodist  Church,  and  being  fluent  of  speech,  was  advised  to  go 
into  the  ministry.  He  was  admitted  to  preach  on  trial,  September, 
1798,  at  the  annual  conference  in  Granville,  Mass.,  and  was  recom- 
mended to  the  then  District  of  Maine.  He  landed  in  Portland,  about 
the  year  1800,  coming  as  an  itinerant  preacher,  and  commenced  work 
in  his  field  of  labor,  this  being  the  entire  State  of  Maine,  as  at  this 
time  there  was  scarce  a  minister  of  the  Methodist  denomination  in 
the  whole  territory',  or  at  most  but  few  of  them.  Mr.  Heath's  first 
ground  was  from  Portland,  up  through  Gorham,  Buxton  and  Standish. 
Having  been  recommended  to  Capt.  Hugh  Moore  of  Standish,  he 
made  his  house  his  home,  and  on  March  21,  1801,  married  his 
daughter,  Sarah  Moore.     Elder  Heath  died  Sept,  i,  i860,  aged  84. 

Elder  Jesse  Lee  was  another  Methodist  preacher  who  had  a  great 
deal  to  do  with  early  Methodism  in  Gorham.  Aug.  i,  1793,  Elder 
Lee  received  an  appointment  to  the  Province  of  Maine. 

In  1793  Maine  "was  a  new  country  in  many  respects,  sparsely 
settled,  with  an  odd  mixture  of  many  'kindred,  nations,  tongues  and 
people  '  poorly  cultivated  by  a  people  of  plain  manners,  with  a  very 
little  refinement,  and  a  loose  morality.  Of  religion,  except  in  a  few  of 
the  more  populous  settlements,  in  so  far  as  it-  is  developed  by  the 
presence  of  ministers,  churches,  and  means  of  grace,  there  was  very 
little  in  the  Province.  The  ministers  who  waited  for  calls  had  not 
received  them ;  and  as  a  general  thing,  they  are  not  received  from 
those  who  are  at  ease  in  sin,  and  the  mere  presence  of  sinners  is  not 
regarded  as  a  very  potent  element  in  a  call.  But  poor  and  rude  as 
were  the  people,  they  had  been  redeemed  by  the  precious  blood  of 
Christ ;  and  Christ  authorized  His  ministers  to  preach  the  gospel 
to  every  creature."  So  the  conference  at  Lynn,  Mass.,  reasoning 
upon  the  general  principles  of  Methodist  doctrine  and  usage,  con- 


OTHER    RELIGIOUS    SOCIETIES.  215 

eluded  ;  and  resolved  to  send  to  the  sinners  in  Maine  the  word  of 
salvation  —  and  who  so  fit  to  carry  it  to  them  as  Mr.  Lee?  A  few 
weeks  after  the  adjournment  of  the  conference,  he  entered  upon  what, 
in  those  days,  was  a  journey  of  considerable  magnitude.  Leaving 
Lynn  he  passed  through  Newburyport,  Greenland  and  Portsmouth, 
preaching  as  he  went,  and  thence,  on  Sept.  lo,  1793,  entered  Maine, 
and,  at  a  "  little  village  called  Saco,"  on  the  same  night  preached  in 
a  private  house  crowded  with  attentive  hearers.  This,  Lee  says,  was 
the  first  sermon  preached  in  the  Province,  by  a  Methodist  preacher. 

Somewhere  about  the  year  18 12,  the  members  of  the  Society  in 
Gorham  built  a  house  at  White  Rock.  It  stood  on  the  Hurricane 
road,  a  little  to  the  east  of  where  the  schoolhouse  now  stands.  This 
house  they  did  not  finish,  and  in  1825,  not  being  conveniently  located 
for  the  majority  of  the  worshippers,  it  was  taken  down  and  moved. 
The  Methodist  minister  then  in  Gorham  was  the  Rev.  John  Shaw. 
He  was  active  in  moving  the  house.  After  it  was  taken  down  and 
loaded  on  to  the  teams,  some  of  those  who  were  opposed  to  the 
change  appeared  on  the  ground,  and  forbade  the  moving.  But 
the  teams  were  ordered  to  start,  and  start  they  did.  The  material 
was  landed  in  the  Johnson  neighborhood  (so  called),  at  the  North, 
where  the  house  stood  for  many  years.  One  old  gentleman  told  me 
that  it  is  hardly  worth  while  to  say  that  one  was  more  enthusiastic 
than  another  in  the  business  of  having  a  meeting  house  ;  all  joined 
heart  and  hand.  Mr.  Shaw,  who  was  a  joiner  by  trade,  worked  hard 
to  complete  the  house,  anticipating  much  satisfaction  in  being  able  to 
assist  in  the  dedication  of  the  first  Methodist  meeting  house  in  Gor- 
ham, but  Providence  ordered  it  otherwise.  He  Avas  taken  sick,  and 
went  to  Limington  on  a  visit  to  recruit  himself,  and  there  died,  before 
the  day  of  the  dedication,  which  took  place  in  the  autumn  of  1825. 
In  1843  the  house  was  repaired  and  new  pews  placed  in  it.  This 
house  was  occupied  by  the  Society  at  the  North  until  187  i,  when  it 
was  taken  down,  and  the  present  handsome  and  commodious  build- 
ing was  erected,  where  a  large  and  influential  society  now  worship. 

As  I  have  before  said,  the  Methodists  at  the  village,  before  the  year 
182 1,  had  no  place  of  worship  other  than  the  schoolhouse.  About 
this  time  church  music  took  quite  an  impetus.  Much  attention  was 
paid  to  the  singing  of  sacred  music.  Singing  schools  were  much  in 
fashion.  The  singing-seats  of  the  old  Congregational  church  were 
all  the  ground  there  was  for  display,  and  there  were  more  musicians 
than  room.  There  was  no  organ  in  the  church  then,  but  there  were 
bass  viols,   violins,  cornets  and   flutes,  and  they  did  not  make  bad 


216  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

music.  All  wanted  to  occupy  the  seats.  Some  wanted  to  crowd 
one  out,  some  another,  some  families  were  too  flat,  some  too  sharp, 
some  were  too  aristocratic,  some  were  not  enough  so.  This  made  a 
lively  quarrel,  in  which  there  was  more  music  than  harmony;  and 
about  every  family  in  the  village  had  some  one  in  it ;  and  the  female 
combatants  were  not  in  the  minority.  Two  singing  societies  were 
formed,  the  Haydn,  and  the  Handel.  Their  meetings  were  held 
weekly.  One  occupied  March's  and  the  other  Hunt's  Hall.  The 
Haydns  finally  got  possession  of  the  old  seats,  and  the  Handels  were 
out.  The  outs  had  the  sympathy  of  a  large  number.  This  society 
had  many  of  the  oldest  and  best  singers  in  town.  At  once  an  effort 
was  made  to  get  them  a  place  in  which  to  sing.  A  subscription 
was  started  to  build  a  free  meeting  house,  and  it  met  with  great 
success.  Alexander  McLellan,  Esq.,  gave  them  a  lot,  where  the 
town  house  now  stands,  and  in  182 1  the  "Free  Meeting  House" 
was  built.  Here  the  Handels  found  a  home,  and  occupied  the 
singing-seats,  whoever  occupied  the  pulpit,  whether  Universalist, 
Methodist  or  Baptist.  This  house  was  dedicated  in  June,  1822. 
Clergymen  of  several  denominations  were  present  and  assisted, 
among  whom,  old  Elder  John  Buzzell  of  Parsonsfield,  and  Elder 
James  Lewis  of  Gorham  took  prominent  parts.  Mr.  Buzzell  preached 
the  sermon.  His  text  was  Haggai,  2:  9,  "The  glory  of  the 
latter  house  shall  be,"  etc.  The  Baptists  and  Methodists  occupied 
the  house  most  of  the  time;  occasionally  a  preacher  of  another 
denomination  would  come  along,  but  there  was  never  any  trouble 
about  who  should  occupy  the  pulpit.  However,  as  the  Baptists 
decreased,  the  Methodists  increased,  and  having  become  an  organ- 
ized society,  with  a  minister  in  charge,  they  occupied  the  house  most 
of  the  time.  But  to  obviate  all  difficulty,  and  help  to  hold  their 
members  together,  when  others  wished  to  occupy  the  Free  House, 
somewhere  about  the  year  1830  they  built  a  vestry,  sufficient  to 
accommodate  their  society,  on  a  lot  immediately  adjoining  the  Free 
Meeting  house,  where  they  could  worship  when  the  other  house  was 
occupied.  Thus  things  went  on  harmoniously  till  1840,  when  the 
society,  thinking  themselves  able,  and  being  desirous  of  having  a 
house  of  their  own,  purchased  a  lot  on  High  St.,  built  a  new  house 
of  worship  and  moved  their  vestry  on  to  their  lot  and  converted  it 
into  a  parsonage.  An  excellent  organ  was  purchased  and  placed 
in  the  church,  in  April,  187  i,  at  a  cost  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars.  In 
1880  it  was  deemed  best  to  build  on  a  different  site  a  larger  and 
better  church  edifice.     The  Society  accordingly  sold  the  old  church 


MKTiKjJtlST   CHURCH,    (JORHAM    VILLACJE. 


OTHER    RELIGIOUS    SOCIETIES.  217 

and  parsonage  and  the  lot  on  which  they  stood,  and  purchased  the 
lot  on  School  St.,  where  they  built  the  large  and  handsome  building, 
which  they  now  occupy. 

After  the  Methodists  abandoned  the  Free  House  it  fell  somewhat 
into  decay,  and  the  proprietors  petitioned  the  Court  for  license  to 
sell,  which  was  granted.  The  house  was  sold  at  auction,  and  bid  off 
by  Toppan  Robie,  Esq.,  for  the  sum  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars ; 
and  he  then  exchanged  it  with  the  town  for  the  old  town  house,  on 
Fort  Hill.  After  the  building  came  into  the  possession  of  the  town, 
some  alterations  were  made  by  taking  down  the  spire,  adding  the 
pillars  in  front,  and  adapting  the  inside  to  suit  its  present  use. 

Thacher,  in  his  Military  Journal,  speaks  of  a  new  order  of  fanatics  ; 
"  That  pretend  to  be  a  religious  sect,  but  are  a  disgrace  to  religion 
and  to  human  nature.  They  are  called  Shaking  Quakers,  or  Danc- 
ing Quakers  ;  but  have  no  affinity  in  principle  or  character  to  the 
established  order  of  Quakers.  Their  leader  is  a  woman,  Ann  Lee, 
niece  of  Gen.  Lee  in  our  Army.'  She  is  called  '  Mother  Ann',  and 
pretends  to  have  received  revelations  from  heaven.  The  method 
they  practice,  under  the  idea  of  religious  worship,  is  so  obviously 
impious  as  to  exceed  the  bounds  of  credibility.  A  spectator  asserts 
that  the  fantastic  contortions  of  body  in  which  these  pretended  relig- 
ious exercises  consist  bear  a  semblance  of  supernatural  impulse,  and 
the  extraordinary  conduct  of  these  infatuated  people  is  a  burlesque 
on  all  moral  and  religious  principles." 

While  this  account  of  the  doings  of  the  early  Shakers  may,  possibly, 
not  be  overdrawn,  the  Shakers  of  the  present  day  must  be  conceded 
to  be  of  an  entirely  different  style,  and  are  most  orderly  in  all  their 
ways.  They  are  worthy,  industrious  members  of  the  communities  in 
which  they  dwell,  and  are  noted  for  their  neatness,  industry  and  hon- 
orable dealing.  They  pay  much  attention  to  agriculture,  and  engage 
in  many  kinds  of  manufacturing  interests. 

The  first  Shaker  that  came  to  Gorham  was  Henry  Clough.  He 
came  from  Loudon,  N.  H. ;  and  was  accompanied  by  a  female  Shaker. 
He  stopped  with  the  Brown  family  at  West  Gorham,  and  commenced 
preaching  his  peculiar  doctrines.  This  was  about  the  year  1780,  at 
the  time  of  the  New  Light  excitement  among  the  Rev.  Josiah 
Thacher's  people.  About  all  the  disaffected,  or  "New  Lights,"  went 
to  hear  the  new  preaching.  The  first  convert  to  Shakerism  in  Gor- 
ham was  Barbara  Brown,  Samuel  Brown's  wife.  The  Browns  lived 
in  the  house  where  J.  Hanson  Clement  recently  lived,  and  which  was 

I  American  Army  of  the  Revolution. 


218  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

lately  owned  and  occupied  by  Simon  Lewis.  Soon  others  joined 
them  till  there  was  quite  a  society.  The  Loudon  Shakers  did  not 
remain  long  after  having  established  this  Society.  Mr.  Brown  became 
the  leading  man  among  them. 

In  the  early  days  of  Shakerism  in  Gorham,  it  was  concluded  by  the 
Society  to  be  necessary  to  make  a  pilgrimage  to  the  head  of  the  clan, 
Mother  Ann  Lee,  whose  home  was  at  Niskenna  (now  VVatervliet), 
near  Albany,  N.  Y.  The  Gorham,  Alfred  and  Sabbath  Day  Pond 
(New  Gloucester)  families  joined,  and  chartered  in  Portland  a  small 
schooner  of  twenty-eight  tons  burthen  called  the  "  Shark."  She  was 
owned  by  Capt.  Greenfield  Pote.  They  victualled  and  fitted  her  out, 
and  in  the  month  of  August,  1784,  started  on  their  journey.  Samuel 
Brown  was  commander  and  Enoch  Waite  assistant  skipper.  It  is 
said  that  Mother  Ann  in  a  vision  saw  them  on  the  way,  and  that  on 
their  arrival  at  Niskenna  they  were  met  at  the  door  with  the  words 
"  Welcome  here,  we  were  expecting  you.  Mother  saw  you  some  days 
ago  and  told  us  to  prepare  for  you." 

On  the  7  th  of  September  the  party  left  New  York,  and  on  the  suc- 
ceeding Sabbath  reached  Portland. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  those  that  made  the  journey : 

Robert  McFarland,  Dora  Abigail  Thorns, 

Barnabas  Bangs,  Lydia  Freeman, 

Nathan  Freeman,  Sen.,  Barbara  Brown, 

Samuel  Brown,  Nory  Hatch, 

Moses  Hanscome,  Catherine  Bangs, 

Nathaniel  Stevens,  Betty  Cotton, 

Ezekiel  Hatch,  Hannah  Whitney, 

James  Merrill,  Sen.,  Betty  Stevens, 

Nathan  Merrill,  Molly  Merrill, 

Solomon  Twombly,  Raichael  Merrill, 

Gowen  Wilson,  Molly  Wilson, 

Enoch  Waite,  Hannah  Starbird. 
Thomas  Bangs, 

The  most  important  convert  to  Shakerism,  made  in  Gorham,  was 
Barnabas  Bangs,  who  owned  a  large  tract  of  land.  This  land, 
when  Mr.  Bangs  joined  the  Society,  became  the  common  property  of 
the  Family.  The  story  is,  that  Mr.  Bangs  was  in  the  habit  of  taking 
a  daily  allowance  of  grog.  To  this  expense  the  Society  objected. 
Mr.  Bangs  then  threatened  to  withdraw  from  the  Shakers ;  but  was 
unable  to  get  back  his  land.  He,  however,  finally  obtained  his  allow- 
ance, and  concluded  to  remain  in  the  Family. 

The  Shakers  a  few  years  after  their  organization  here  split  up,  and 
most  of  the  f^amily  moved  to  Alfred.  Some  remained  in  town,  and 
settled,  and  had  a  village  on  Mr.  Bangs's  land,  which  is  where  Frank 


OTHER    RELIGIOUS    SOCIETIES. 


219 


Merrill  now  lives,  where  they  remained  many  years;  but  they  made 
little  addition  to  their  numbers,  and  finally  disposed  of  their  property 
and  removed  to  Poland,  where  the  Family  now  lives. 

Of  the  buildings  which  formed  their  village,  Rev.  Asa  Rand,  acting 
for  the  Congregational  Society,  and  Capt.  Robert  McLellan  purchased 
one  and  about  the  year  1819  hauled  it  to  Gorham  Village.  Mr.  Rand 
placed  his  half  of  this  building  on  South  St.,  just  south  of  the  burying 
ground,  and  made  it  into  a  Conference  House.  Capt.  McLellan  con- 
verted his  half  into  the  dwelling  house,  situated  just  north  of  the  old 
church,  and  lately  owned  by  Mrs.  Marcia  Parkhurst.  About  1826, 
the  old  Conference  House  was  moved  on  to  the  new  road  to  Sacca- 
rappa,  and  altered  into  the  dwelling  house  occupied  by  the  late  Geo. 
Jewett.  The  house  on  High  St.  in  which  Alfred  Bailey  and  his  sister 
live  was  also  one  of  the  Shaker  houses.  There  still  remain  in  the 
old  neighborhood  three  of  the  original  buildings,  the  small  house, 
formerly  occupied  by  Ichabod  Leighton,  and  the  large  ones,  in  one 
of  which  the  late  Andrew  Twombly  lived,  and  the  other  of  which  is 
occupied  by  Frank  Merrill.  In  the  Merrill  house  is  still  to  be  seen, 
in  one  of  the  upper  back  rooms,  the  marks  in  the  floor  worn  by  the 
feet  of  the  Shakers  in  their  dances. 

The  Gorham  family  of  Shakers  possessed  a  grist  mill  of  their  own, 
for  grinding  their  corn.  It  was  situated  in  what  is  now  Frank  Hopkin- 
son's  pasture  on  "Tommy's  brook,"  not  far  from  where  it  empties 
Little  River. 

The  following  is  a  specimen  of  the  early  Shaker  songs  : 


Come  Life  Etamall 
Come  Life  Etarnal ! 

Shake,  shake  out  of  me 
All  that  is  carnal ! 
All  thatis  carnal ! 


"  I'll  take  nimble  steps, 
I'll  be  a  David! 
I'll  tell  as  much  as  twice 
Mow  he  behaved  ! 
How  he  behaved  !  " 


The  first  Friends  (or  Quakers,  as  they  are  usually  called)  in  this 
country,  came  to  America  about  the  middle  of  the  17th  century,  from 
England,  where  they  originated  not  many  years  before.  At  this 
time,  in  Massachusetts,  the  Quakers  were  designated  as  a  religious 
sect  "  who  were  foes  to  forms,  fashions,  oaths,  parish  taxes,  wars,  and 
the  dictajtes  of  magistracy  ;  —  believing  the  outer  and  inner  man  should 
'be  yea,  yea,  and  nay,  nay.'"  A  law  was  passed  in  1677,  which 
rendered  the  mere  attendance  upon  a  Quaker-meeting  a  misdemeanor, 
punishable  by  a  fine. 

The  first  meeting  held  for  worship  by  the  Friends,  in  Maine,  was 
at  Newichawanic  (York  Co.),  in  December,   1662.     This,  however, 


220  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM, 

was  only  a  transient  meeting ;  the  first  permanent  meeting  being 
held  at  what  is  now  Eliot,  in  the  year  1730.  In  1743  a  meeting  for 
worship  was  established  in  Falmouth.  Under  date  of  May  6,  1779, 
Parson  Deane  of  Falmouth  says,  "  Continental  fast.  Four  Quakers 
at  our  meeting  —  sat  with  hats  on,  all  the  forenoon  service,  and  then 
^harangued." 

Previous  to  the  year  1696  the  Friends  held  meetings  for  worship 
on  the  first  day  of  the  week  only,  but  in  that  year  they  established 
four  kinds  of  meetings,  known  as  Preparative,  Monthly,  Quarterly 
and  Yearly.  The  Monthly  meetings  were  for  the  transaction  of 
business,  such  as  certifying  membership,  approbating  marriages,  pro- 
viding for  their  poor,  disciplining  members,  etc.  The  Quarterly 
meetings  were  composed  of  two  or  more  Monthly  meetings,  to  hear 
and  determine  any  appeals  from  the  latter,  while  the  Yearly  meeting, 
composed  of  several  Quarterly  meetings,  heard  appeals,  made  laws 
and  looked  out  for  the  general  interests  of  the  whole  body. 

The  first  Quarterly  meeting  of  Friends,  held  in,  Maine  after  being 
set  off  from  the  Salem  Quarterly  meetings,  occurred  on  the  4th  of 
12  month  (December)  1794.     It  was  held  in  the  town  of  Durham. 

The  first  meeting  of  this  sect  in  Gorham,  of  which  we  have  any 
record,  was  held  in  June,  1777,  at  a  dwelling  house,  by  David  Sands, 
who  probably  did  more  than  any  other  man  to  plant  this  denomina- 
tion in  Maine.  There  was,  however,  a  small  society  in  Windham 
previous  to  this  date.  As  was  the  case  with  the  Baptists  and  Shak- 
ers, the  Quakers  owed  the  formation  of  their  Society,  or  at  least  owed 
a  large  number  of  their  members,  to  the  New  Light  excitement, 
already  mentioned.  Among  these  members  were  George  Hamblen 
and  his  family,  William  Burton,  Jedediah  Cobb  and  his  son  William, 
Stephen  Harris,  James  Bangs,  Decker  Phinney  and  others.  Their 
meetings,  for  some  years,  were  held  at  the  houses  of  different  mem- 
bers of  the  Society,  until,  in  1804,  it  was  decided  to  build  a  meeting 
house.  This  house  was  erected  during  the  following  year  at  a  cost 
of  three  hundred  dollars.  It  was  located  on  land  which  belonged  to 
Jedediah  Cobb,  in  what  is  called  the  Horton  District,  not  far  from 
the  farm  now  owned  by  Isaac  L.  Johnson,  and  stood  near  the  maple 
trees,  on  the  western  side  of  the  road,  nearly  opposite  where  the 
schoolhouse  lately  stood.  It  was  a  small,  plain  building,  about  thirty 
feet  square,  and  with  ten-foot  posts.  At  the  end  of  the  audience 
room  were  situated  what  were  called  "  facing  seats,"  where  only  the 
ministers  and  elders  sat.  These  seats  were  raised,  and  so  placed  that 
their  occupants  faced  the  door  and  the  congregation.     The  congrega- 


OTHER    RELIGIOUS    SOCIETIES.  221 

tion  was  divided  by  the  aisle,  the  men  sitting  on  the  right  and  the 
women  on  the  left. 

Preparative  meetings  were  established  quite  early  in  Gorham.  They 
were  held  on  the  4th  day  of  the  week,  before  the  third  5th  day 
of  the  week  in  each  month.  As  early  as  the  28th  day  of  7th  month, 
1815,  the  Preparative  meeting  of  Gorham  sent  delegates  —  who  were 
John  Hamblen  and  Wm.  Harris  —  to  the  \\'indham  Monthly  meeting. 
This  Windham  Monthly  meeting  was  first  held  on  ist  month,  29th 
day,  1803  ;  and  to  it  the  Gorham  Society  sent  their  delegates,  and  on 
its  records  the  minutes  of  the  Gorham  meetings  were  inserted. 

Gorham  Friends  held  religious  services  twice  each  week,  Sundays 
and  Wednesdays,  beginning  at  1 1  o'clock  and  lasting  for  an  hour  and 
a  half,  wdth  no  evening  services,  except  on  special  occasions.  One  of 
the  principles  of  the  Quaker  religion  is  that  women,  equally  with  men, 
shall  "  know,  possess  and  perform  their  offices  and  services  in  the 
house  of  God,"  and  take  part  in  all  the  aflfairs  of  the  Church.  It  is 
not  surprising,  therefore,  that  we  find  a  woman,  Mary  Barker  of  Nan- 
tucket, the  first  minister  coming  from  a  distance  to  conduct  a  service 
in  the  new  meeting  house  at  Gorham.  This  was  in  1807.  Strangers 
frequently  preached  in  this  little  house,  one  of  whom  is  said  to  have 
foretold  the  death  of  two  young  men,  Stephen  P.  Mayberry  and  John 
Elder,  who  on  the  loth  of  June,  1824,  were  drowned  in  Little  River, 
near  Harding's  Bridge,  by  falling  from  a  raft. 

About  1849,  the  Society,  having  become  much  reduced  in  numbers, 
through  the  death,  and  removals  from  the  neighborhood,  of  many  of 
its  members,  decided  to  merge  itself  with  the  Windham  Society,  which 
it  accordingly  did,  and  sold  its  meeting  house,  which  was  moved  to 
Little  Falls,  and  converted  into  a  dwelling  house  on  Brackett  St., 
at  present  occupied  by  Mrs.  Samuel  Rand. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

EDUCATION. 
TOWN    SCHOOLS  —  GORHAM    ACADEMY   AND    SEMINARY — NORMAL    SCHOOL. 

In  granting  townships  for  settlement,  either  as  bounty  lands  to  sol- 
diers, or  otherwise,  in  early  times,  the  General  Court  of  Massachu- 
setts held  the  grantees  to  conform  in  all  things  to  the  laws  relating  to 
education  and  schools.  Having  in  mind  the  well-being  of  the  rising 
generation,  the  cause  of  religion  and  education  were  the  first  things 
for  consideration  when  a  new  settlement  was  to  be  made.  All  grants 
were  made  with  the  express  condition  that  one  share  of  the  town- 
ship so  granted  should  be  set  off  for  schools.  The  laws  in  relation 
to  schools,  about  the  year  1700,  —  and  we  can  find  no  material 
alteration  for  many  years  after  the  settlement  of  our  town  —  appear 
to  us  of  the  present  day  somewhat  curious,  when  we  read  from  the 
"  Act  Respecting  Schools,  Section  i  ;  It  being  one  chief  project  of 
Satan  to  keep  man  from  the  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures,  as  in  former 
times  keeping  them  in  unknown  tongues  ***=*****;  to  the 
end  that  learning  may  not  be  buried  in  the  graves  of  our  forefathers, 
in  the  church  and  commonwealth,  the  Lord  assisting  our  endeavors  ; 
It  is  therefore  ordered  by  this  Court  and  authority  thereof  that  every 
township  within  this  jurisdiction,  after  the  Lord  has  increased  them 
to  the  number  of  fifty  householders,  shall  then  forthwith  appoint  one 
within  their  town  to  teach  all  such  children,  as  shall  resort  to  him,  to 
write  and  read.  The  instruction  to  be  paid  by  the  parents  or  by  the 
inhabitants  in  general,  as  a  major  part  of  those  that  order  the  pru- 
dential concerns  of  the  town  shall  appoint.  The  teacher  shall  be 
Orthodox  and  no  Minister  of  any  town  shall  be  deemed,  or  held 
accepted  to  be  Schoolmaster  of  such  town.  That  no  person  shall 
presume  to  set  up,  or  keep,  a  school  for  teaching  children  in  reading, 
writing,  or  other  sciences,  but  such  as  are  of  sober  and  good  conver- 
sation, and  have  the  allowance  of  the  Selectmen.  When  this  town 
has  one  hundred  householders,  or  more,  there  shall  be  kept  a  gram- 
mar school,  whose  teacher  shall  have  the  approbation  of  the  minister 
of  the  town."  These  laws  and  regulations  were  to  be  observed  under 
penalty  of  a  fine. 


EDUCATION.  223 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Proprietors  of  Gorhamtown,  held  at  the  house 
of  Mr.  William  Pote  in  said  town,  Sept.  9,  1743,  it  was  "Voted,  that 
there  be  a  right  allowed  by  this  proprietary,  for  the  use  of  the  school, 
that  is,  to  help  to  the  maintenance  of  a  school  in  said  town  ;  said 
right  to  be  No.  123,  and  that  the  Committee  chosen  to  lay  out  a  hun- 
dred acres  to  the  Minister,  and  Ministerial  lot  be  also  empowered  to 
lay  out  one  hundred  acres  for  the  use  of  the  Schools."  This  appears 
to  have  been  a  good  start  for  the  cause  of  education  in  the  town,  but 
unfortunately,  the  vote  seems  to  have  been  the  last  of  it.  After  this 
we  find  no  allusion  to  the  subject  for  some  time.  This  right,  No. 
123,  was  not  entered  on  the  plan  of  the  thirty  acre  lots,  nor  was  it 
recognized  in  the  after  divisions  of  the  hundred  or  the  seventy  acre 
lots. 

On  the  2 2d  day  of  March,  1753,  the  Proprietors  passed  a  vote  that 
the  right  numbered  106  be  appropriated  for  schools.  This  right, 
or  the  thirty  acre  lot  belonging  thereto,  is  the  Col.  Edmund  Phinney 
homestead,  on  the  old  road  to  Portland ;  and  the  hundred  acre  lot 
drawn  to  this  thirty  is  85,  and  the  seventy  acre  lot  is  112.  This  vote 
was  eleven  and  a  half  years  previous  to  the  incorporation  of  the 
town.  The  right  may  have  been  sold,  and  the  proceeds  used  for 
the  school  in  the  plantation,  but  there  is  no  record  that  we  can  find, 
other  than  that  it  was  taxed  to  Capt.  John  Phinney  in  1762,  to  help 
raise  Mr.  Lombard's  salary,  and  to  build  bridges  and  repair  roads. 

From  the  first  settlement  of  the  township  to  the  time  of  its  incor- 
poration, we  have  no  record,  and  but  little  of  tradition,  informing  us 
of  schools  kept  in  the  plantation,  but  as  there  was  about  thirty  years 
of  time  we  must  believe  that  the  children  were  not  allowed  to  grow 
up  without  some  instruction.  During  this  time  a  learned  orthodox 
minister  had  been  settled,  and  well  supported ;  and  a  large  number 
of  settlers  had  come  in,  amongst  whom  were  some  men  well-educated 
for  the  times,  who  knew  the  worth  of  education.  Tradition  says  that 
while  in  the  fort  the  younger  children  were  instructed  by  some  of  the 
older  boys,  and  that  the  latter  had  a  fixed  salary  per  week  for  their 
work,  which  was  paid  in  mink  and  muskrat  skins ;  and  it  is  said  that 
one  of  the  females,  while  in  the  fort  during  the  Indian  war,  used  to 
take  the  children  into  a  room,  and  keep  them  out  of  mischief,  teach- 
ing the  boys  to  read  and  spell,  and  the  girls  to  sew  and  knit. 

At  the  time  of  the  incorporation,  there  were  probably  as  many  as 
sixty  or  seventy  householders  in  the  township,  for  we  have  by  us  a 
Province  tax  bill  for  1763,  in  which  there  are  one  hundred  and  forty- 
six  poll  taxes.     John  Green  is  said  to  have  kept  the  first  school  in 


224  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

town.  Of  this  we  have  some  doubt.  However,  we  find  him  taxed 
for  a  poll  tax  in  1763,  and  know  from  record  that  he  kept  the  first 
school  after  the  incorporation.  In  December,  1765,  he  received  an 
order  on  the  treasurer  for  three  pounds  for  keeping  school.  Austin 
Alden  came  here  about  the  year  1754,  and  it  is  said  that  he  kept  a 
school  soon  after  that  time.  Mr.  Alden  kept  a  diary  for  many  years 
after  he  came  here,  all  of  which  previous  to  1 761,  is  unfortunately 
lost,  but  we  find  under  date  of  "March  14.  1763,  First  to  McLellan's 
schooling."  As  he  probably  did  not  attend  school  as  a  scholar,  it  is 
likely  that  he  kept  school  in  Hugh  McLellan's  house.  It  is  also  said 
that  Edmund  Phinney  kept  a  school,  when  quite  a  young  man. 

Towns  were  not  divided  into  school  districts,  by  vote  of  the  town, 
before  1789.  Previous  to  this  time  the  selectment  had  control  of 
the  schools  ;  selecting  the  teachers,  appointing  the  place  where  the 
schools  should  be  kept,  if  from  the  location  of  the  settlers  it  was 
inconvenient  for  their  children  to  attend  the  school  at  the  Corner, 
where  the  first  school  was  kept.  After  the  incorporation,  they  made 
a  Class,  as  it  was  called,  and  ordered  the  teacher  to  keep  school 
there  a  portion  of  the  time. 

We  have  no  record  of  the  building  of  schoolhouses  in  the  early 
days  of  Gorham,  and  it  is  probable  that  there  were  none  built 
expressly  for  that  purpose  before  1796,  when  the  following  vote  was 
passed  at  a  parish  meeting  held  at  the  meeting  house  on  the  5th  of 
April,  "A'^oted,  That  the  first  School  Class  have  liberty  to  build  a 
School  House  on  the  South-east  corner  of  the  Meeting-house  lot  in 
said  Gorham,  said  School  House  to  continue  on  said  land  during  the 
pleasure  of  the  Parish  and  no  longer."  Schools  were  usually  kept  in 
private  houses,  or  in  buildings  temporarily  fitted  up  for  that  purpose. 
The  first  schoolhouse  at  Gorham  village,  and  probably  the  first  in 
town  appropriated  to  that  purpose,  was  the  old  Congregational 
meeting  house  given  by  the  town  to  the  District  with  the  under- 
standing that  the  town  should  have  it  when  wanted  for  the  purpose 
of  holding  town  meetings.  This  was  no  extraordinary  gift,  for  the 
town  was  obliged  to  build  all  schoolhouses  up  to  about  the  year 
1802,  Avhen  the  law  was  changed,  so  that  school  districts  were  com- 
pelled to  build  their  own  schoolhouses. 

Our  records  show  that  the  town  was  never  backward  in  raising 
money  for  schools.  It  is  true  that  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
when  money  was  scarce,  times  hard,  and  the  expenses  of  providing 
soldiers  and  taking  care  of  their  families  bore  hard  on  the  people, 
they  did  not  raise  much  money  for  school  purposes.     In   1765,  the 


EDUCATION.  225 

first  year  after  we  became  a  town,  /^^o  was  raised  ;  in  1766,  nothing ; 
in  1767  tine  town  raised  ^^40,  and  voted  not  to  di\ide  it;  in  1768 
^15  was  raised,  and  it  was  "voted  to  improve  Mr.  John  Green" 
till  the  money  is  expended,  and  the  selectmen  to  say  where  the  school 
shall  be  kept. 

It  appears  that  in  1769  the  town  had  come  up  to. a  hundred  house- 
holders, for  that  )-ear  the  town  voted  to  raise  ;^2o  to  pay  the  fine  for 
not  keeping  a  grammar  school.  In  1771  it  was  "voted  to  raise  ^30 
for  schools,  one-third  of  which  to  be  for  a  grammar  school.  Gram- 
mar school  to  go  one  mile  square  from  the  Meeting-house  in  said 
tow'n."  From  the  orders  drawn  for  boarding  the  master  we  think 
the  schools  were  movable,  and  kept  in  diff'erent  parts  of  the  town. 
In  1773  it  was  "voted  to  raise  ^^40  Lawful  money  for  a  grammar 
school."  As  no  money  was  raised  for  common  schools,  it  is  probable 
that  the  schools  were  somewhat  improved.  At  a  town  meeting, 
March  22,  1773,  it  was  "Voted,  that  the  selectmen  are  impowered  to 
give  to  some  of  the  remote  inhabitants  liberty  to  pay  their  proportion 
of  the  school  money  to  a  Master,  or  Mistress,  to  accommodate  them- 
selves, at  the  discretion  of  the  Selectmen."  This  appears  to  have 
been  the  manner  of  creating  classes,  and  probably  ///is  vote  was 
acted  upon  for  some  years,  for  in  the  year  1804  the  town  voted  a 
Class  to  be  school  district  No.  4,  which  leads  us  to  believe  that  at 
that  time  there  were  but  four  organized  school  districts  in  town. 

Of  the  old  school-masters  and  school-marms  we  can  give  but  an 
imperfect  list.  Amongst  them  we  find  John  Green,  wko  was  an 
Englishman.  He  kept  school  in  Gorham  at  times  from  1765  to  1769. 
Austin  Alden  kept  from  1766  to  1779;  James  Ross,  who  was  a 
Scotchman,  from  1766  to  1779.  Caleb  Chase  from  Newburyport 
taught  from  1769  to  1779.  A  Mr.  Hearn  was  one  of  the  old  school- 
masters. Andrew  Crockett  kept  in  1771  ;  Mrs.  Abigail  Weston  in 
1771  and  1773.  Mrs.  Bethiah  Freeman  kept  in  1771,  '73  and  '79; 
Mrs.  Brown  in  1783  ;  Thomas  Kennard,  1779  ;  the  wife  of  Nathaniel 
Walker,  1772.  Salmon  Chase  taught  at  the  village  at  one  time.  He 
was  an  uncle  of  the  celebrated  statesman,  Salmon  P.  Chase.  In  the 
winter  of  1790,  Capt.  Sylvanus  Davis  taught  a  school,  which  was  kept 
in  four  private  dwellings  successively.  Mrs.  Lydia  Watson  (daughter 
of  Samuel  Prentiss)  kept  a  school  quite  early  in  the  Class  above  Fort 
Hill.  She  boarded  herself  and  son  in  the  little  schoolhouse,  while 
keeping  the  school.  The  names  of  Master  Grace  and  Francis  Mor- 
risey  have  come  down  to  us,  the  latter  of  whom  was  long  remembered 
for  his  strict  discipline  and  the  liberal  manner  in  which  he  used  the 


2*26  HISTORY    OF    GOKHAM. 

rod.  Among  the  host  of  teachers  who  have  figured  in  the  schools  of 
Gorham,  whose  names  we  would  gladly  give  had  we  room,  we  cannot 
forget  that  of  Nathaniel  Phinney,  Esq.,  who  for  many  years  (probably 
longer  than  any  other  man)  kept  the  school  at  the  Corner.  His  was 
the  first  man's  school  we  ever  attended,  and  we  will  say  that  he  was 
a  good  citizen,  an  honest  man,  and  a  good  disciplinarian,  and  in 
school  always  just,  for  he  never  missed  giving  the  boys  the  full 
amount  of  the  contract. 

In  1826  the  brick  schoolhouse,  which  stood  just  south  of  the  cem- 
etery on  South  St.,  was  built.  William  Ashley  was  the  first  person 
that  taught  in  this  house.  This  building  was  used  until  the  erection 
of  the  present  High  School  building  in  1868,  when  it  was  converted 
into  a  fire-engine  house,  and  was  lately  torn  down  to  make  room  for 
the  new  Library  building. 

In  1873  the  town  established  a  Free  High  School  at  White  Rock, 
and  in  1876  one  was  kept  at  West  Gorham,  which  was  transferred  to 
the  village  the  following  year,  and  again  returned  to  West  Gorham. 
It  was  the  custom  for  some  years  to  have  two  High  Schools  in 
Gorham,  one  at  the  village,  the  other  in  the  northern  section  of  the 
town  with  one  term  at  White  Rock  and  one  at  Little  Falls.  A  High 
School  has  been  kept  for  the  past  seven  years  at  North  Gorham 
(Great  Falls). 

Thus  Gorham  has  been  going  along  from  early  times  to  this  day, 
increasing  in  scholars  and  schools,  raising  money  liberally  from  year 
to  year  for  educational  purposes,  and  employing  the  best  of  teachers. 
In  1874  there  were  nineteen  school  districts,  with  a  flourishing  High 
School  located  at  the  north  part  of  the  town,  and  there  were  in  town 
one  thousand  and  sixty-six  school  children.  The  nineteen  school 
houses  then  in  town  were  worth  about  twenty  thousand  dollars  in 
cash.  The  school  money  for  distribution  among  the  several  districts 
amounted  to  forty-six  hundred  and  thirty-three  dollars,  besides  four 
hundred  dollars  for  the  High  School. 

Gorham,  among  other  towns,  has  recently  abolished  the  school  dis- 
tricts and  substituted  what  is  known  as  the  Town  System. 

Our  town  now  (1901)  possesses  twelve  schoolhouses,  of  many  of 
which  any  town  might  well  be  proud,  and  among  these  we  might  men- 
tion the  fine,  large  house  at  the  village  built  in  1S68  at  a  cost  of  about 
ten  thousand  dollars  ;  a  building  erected  at  Little  Falls  in  1888, 
called  the  Frederick  Robie  schoolhouse ;  the  Levi  Hall  school 
building,  built  at  North  Gorham  in  1895  ;  the  Longfellow  school- 
house,  built  near  Geo.  Allen's  in  1897  ;  and  the  schoolhouse,  just 
completed,  near  Wm,  E.  Strout's. 


LEVI    HALL   SCHUOLHOUSE. 


EDUCATION.  227 

With  the  opening  of  the  century  the  time  had  arrived  when  the 
opinion  of  the  leading  men  of  the  town  was,  that  the  common  schools 
were  very  well  in  their  place,  but  that  that  place  was  not  to  teach 
Greek  and  Latin,  and  that  Gorham  ought  to  have  a  school  capable  of 
fitting  her  boys  for  college  and  the  higher  walks  of  life.  In  accord- 
ance with  this  feeling,  we  find  this  in  a  warrant  for  a  town  meeting, 
held  Jan.  21,  1803,  to  consider  the  application  of  sundiy  persons  of 
Gorham,  "  To  see  if  the  town  will  petition  the  General  Court,  at  the 
present  session,  for  a  grant  and  an  incorporation  of  an  academy  in 
said  town.''  "Third,  To  see  if  the  town  will  choose  a  committee  to 
consult  where  y*^  most  suitable  place  will  be  for  the  erecting  of  a 
building  for  that  purpose,  that  will  most  accommodate  the  inhabitants, 
and  to  consult  what  sort  of  a  building  will  be  most  advantageous." 
At  the  meeting  it  was  '*  Resolved,  Whereas  a  number  of  persons  in 
this  town  have  subscribed  liberally  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  an 
academy  here,  and  are  about  preferring  a  petition  to  the  General 
Court  at  the  present  session,  therefore  —  Voted,  That  Lothrop  Lewis, 
Esq.,  the  Representative  of  this  town,  now  at  the  General  Court,  be, 
and  he  hereby  is,  requested  to  do  all  in  his  power  that  said  incorpor- 
ation take  place,  and  that  the  usual  grant  be  made."  The  article 
'referring  to  the  erection  of  a  building  was  dismissed. 

On  the  petition  of  the  citizens  of  Gorham,  the  General  Court  of 
Massachusetts  passed  an  act  incorporating  the  Gorham  Academy, 
which  was  approved  by  Gov.  Caleb  Strong  March  5,  1803.  By  this 
act  the  Rev.  Thomas  Lancaster  of  Scarborough,  Hon.  William  Gor- 
ham of  Gorham,  Hon.  Stephen  Longfellow  of  Gorham,'  Rev.  Elijah 
Kellogg  of  Portland,  Rev.  Daniel  Marrett  of  Standish,  Rev.  Caleb 
Bradley  of  Westbrook,  Capt.  David  Harding,  Jr.,  of  Gorham,  John 
Park  Little,  Esq.  of  Gorham,  Mr.  Matthew  Cobb  of  Portland,  Hon. 
Woodbury  Storer  of  Portland,  Dr.  Dudley  Folsom  of  Gorham,  Mr. 
William  McLellan  of  Gorham,  Mr.  James  Phinney  of  Gorham, 
Mr.  Samuel  Elder  of  Gorham  and  Capt.  Samuel  Whitmore  of  Gor- 
ham were  nominated  and  appointed  trustees,  by  the  name  of  the 
Trustees  of  the  Gorham  Academy,  and  it  was  enacted  that  the  num- 
ber of  trustees  should  not  at  any  time  exceed  fifteen,  nor  be  less  than 
nine,  and  that  not  less  than  five  should  be  a  quorum  for  transacting 
business,  — with  power  to  fill  vacancies  in  their  board. 

The  first  notice  for  a  meeting  of   the   trustees  under  the  act  of 


1  Hon.  AVilliaiii  Gorham  and  Hon.  Stephen  Longfellow  were  members  of  the  ori{;inal 
board  of  Overseers  of  IJowdoin  College,  and  Hon.  Josiah  Thacher  a  member  of  the 
first  board  of  Trustees  of  the  College. 


228  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

incorporation,  was  issued  by  the  Hon.  William  Gorham,  on  the  first 
day  of  June,  1803  ;  and  the  meeting  was  held  at  the  Inn  of  Mr. 
Samuel  Staples  in  Gorham,  on  Wed.  June  ist,  at  2  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, when  the  Hon.  William  Gorham  was  chosen  President ;  John 
Park  Little,  Esq.,  Secretary,  and  Capt.  David  Harding,  Jr.,  Treas- 
urer. A  committee  of  five  was  chosen  to  solicit  subscriptions, — 
Rev.  Thomas  Lancaster,  Rev.  Daniel  Marrett,  Hon.  Stephen  Long- 
fellow, Dr.  Dudley  Folsom  and  Rev.  Caleb  Bradley. 

June  20,  1803,  a  resolve  was  passed  and  approved  by  the  Governor 
of  Massachusetts,  on  the  petition  of  Lothrop  Lewis,  Esq.,  in  behalf 
of  the  trustees  of  Gorham  Academy,  as  follows,  —  "Resolved 

That  there  be,  and  hereby  is,  granted  unto  the  trustees  of  Gorham 
Academy,  one  half  township  of  land,  of  the  contents  of  six  miles 
square  ;  out  of  any  of  the  unappropriated  lands  of  this  Common- 
wealth in  the  District  of  Maine  (excepting  the  ten  townships  on 
Penobscot  River,  purchased  of  the  Indians;  and  the  townships 
north  of  Waldo  Patent)  said  half  township  to  be  laid  out  under  the 
direction  of  the  Commonwealth's  agent  for  the  sale  of  eastern  lands. 
Provided,  however,  that  the  agent  aforesaid  shall  not  proceed  to  lay 
out  and  assign  said  half  township,  unless  said  trustees  shall  within 
one  year  from  the  passing  of  this  resolve,  lodge  in  the  Secretary's 
office,  a  certified  list  of  the  subscriptions  and  donations,  which  have 
been  made  and  secured  to  said  Academy,  which  amount  to  three 
thousand  dollars." 

By  a  vote  of  the  trustees  the  notices  for  their  meetings  were  pub- 
lished in  Jenk's  Portland  Gazette,  at  least  seven  days  previous  to  the 
meeting. 

Dec.  12,  1803,  a  committee  was  chosen  to  take  a  deed  from  Mr. 
Thomas  McLellan  of  a  lot  of  land  on  which  to  erect  the  Academy 
building,  which  lot  was  to  be  in  the  southeasterly  corner  of  his  home- 
stead lot  (where  the  Academy  now  stands)  ;  and  the  trustees  were  to 
build  and  maintain  a  stone  wall  on  the  westerly  and  northerly  sides 
of  the  said  lot,  equal  to  that  which  was  on  the  front.  Also  a  com- 
mittee was  chosen  to  fix  upon  a  plan  for  the  building,  which  it  was 
decided  should  be  of  two  stories,  built  of  wood,  with  a  cellar  under  it. 
It  was  also  settled  that  it  should  be  forty  by  fifty  feet  on  the  ground, 
with  stories  thirteen  and  eleven  feet  in  the  clear,  and  that  there 
should  be  a  cupola  on  the  top  of  the  building  for  the  reception  of  a 
bell. 

By  the  records  of  a  meeting  held  Dec.  27  th,  it  would  appear  that 
the  amount  of  subscriptions  required  by  the  Legislative  resolve  was 
not  readily  obtained,  as,  at  that  meeting,  a  committee  was  chosen  to 


EDUCATION.  229 

solicit  a  subscription  from  the  town  to  help  make  up  the  deficiency, 
in  order  that  the  Academy  might  be  able  to  obtain  the  grant  of  land. 
Also  an  addition  was  made  to  the  solicitation  committee  to  procure 
additional  subscriptions.  The  Academy  lot  was  appraised,  by  a  com- 
mittee chosen  for  that  purpose,  at  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars, 
and  Thomas  McLellan,  who  w-as  to  give  the  lot,  was  requested 
to  add  that  sum  to  his  previous  subscription  of  one  hundred  dollars  ; 
and  when  he  gave  the  deed,  he  had  a  receipt  for  so  much  of  his  sub- 
scription, if  the  Academy  was  completed  in  five  years. 

The  first  committee  chosen  by  the  trustees  to  draft  rules  and  regu- 
lations for  the  good  government  of  the  Academy  was  Hon.  William 
Gorham,  Rev.  Elijah  Kellogg  and  Hon.  Woodbury  Storer.  This  was 
on  the  twelfth  of  December,  1803. 

The  Hon.  Stephen  Longfellow,  Esq.,  Mr.  Samuel  Elder  and  Capt. 
David  Harding,  Jr.,  were  a  committee,  chosen  on  Feb.  6,  1804,  to 
draw  the  plans,  which  they  were  to  deliver  to  the  building  committee, 
Mr.  Samuel  Elder,  Capt.  David  Harding,  Jr.  and  Capt.  Samuel 
W'hitmore,  who  were  to  procure  the  underpinning  and  the  timber  for 
the  building,  as  well  as  to  provide  for  the  erection  of  a  stone  wall  on 
the  north  and  west  sides  of  the  lot.  It  was  also  voted  that  this  build- 
ing committee  should  provide  all  the  material  necessary  for  the 
erection  of  the  Academy  as  soon  as  possible,  and  that  Samuel  Elder 
be  a  committee  to  finish  the  cellar  under  the  Academy,  and  to  build 
and  finish  the  outside  of  the  building  and  the  inside  of  the  lower 
story  as  soon  as  might  be.  Mr,  Elder  was  also  to  build  a  chimney, 
and  furnish  the  schoolroom  with  three  rows  of  desks  on  each  side  of 
the  broad  aisle.  It  was  voted  that  he  should  receive  one  dollar  and 
seventy-five  cents  per  day,  including  board,  for  his  services.-  And  at 
the  same  meeting  the  committee  on  material  were  authorized  to  draw 
on  the  treasurer  for  nine  hundred  dollars,  if  so  much  was  needed,  to 
forward  the  said  building. 

It  appears  that  the  trustees  had  procured  the  amount  of  subscrip- 
tions required  by  the  Land  Resolve,  for  at  a  meeting,  held  May  14, 
1804,  Mr.  Matthew  Cobb  and  Lothrop  Lewis,  Esq.  were  chosen  a 
committee  to  locate  the  half  township  of  land,  granted  by  the  General 
Court  to  the  Academy.  This  half  township,  as  afterwards  located, 
and  which  was  surveyed  by  Gen.  James  Irish,  is  situated  in  what  is 
now  known  as  the  town  of  Woodstock,  in  the  County  of  Oxford. 

At  a  meeting  held  on  the  twentieth  day  of  August,  1804,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  decease  of  the  Hon.  William  Gorham,  the  Hon.  Stephen 
Longfellow    was  chosen   President,   and    Lothrop    Lewis,   Esq.   was 


230  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

chosen  to  fill  the  vacancy  in  the  Board,  occasioned  by  the  death  of 
the  said  Hon.  William  Gorham. 

It  appears  that  the  land-locating  committee  had  attended  to  its 
duty,  although  no  report  of  its  doings  is  on  record  ;  for  at  a  meeting 
held  May  i6,  1805,  Matthew  Cobb  and  Lothrop  Lewis,  Esqrs.  were 
chosen  a  committee  to  sell  the  land  granted,  if  an  opportunity  should 
offer  that  should  be  advantageous  to  the  Academy.  Stephen  Long- 
fellow, John  P.  Little  and  Lothrop  Lewis  were  chosen  a  committee  to 
make  and  execute  deeds  for  the  land,  and  to  take  security  therefor. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  trustees  called  to  meet  in  the  new  academy 
building  was  on  the  29th  day  of  November,  1805,  at  1 1  o'clock  A.  M. 
At  this  meeting,  Hon.  Stephen  Longfellow,  Rev.  Elijah  Kellogg  and 
John  P.  Little,  Esq.  were  chosen  a  committee  to  procure  a  Preceptor 
on  the  most  favorable  terms  they  could,  for  the  Academy :  and  it  was 
voted  that  the  terms  of  admission  to  the  Academy  be  two  dollars  per 
quarter  for  students. 

On  the  24th  day  of  February,  i8o6,the  following  report  was  made 
by  the  committee  for  the  sale  of  the  land :  — 

The  subscribers,  appointed  to  make  deeds  to  any  person,  or  per- 
sons, that  should  purchase  any  part  of  the  land  granted  to  Gorham 
Academy ;  Report,  That  we  have  made  a  deed  of  the  whole  of  the 
land,  granted  to  said  Academy,  to  James  H.  Chadbourn,  Ephraim 
Fogg,  Daniel  Fogg,  Joel  Whitmore,  David  Cobb,  Ellis  Standish, 
Thomas  Lothrop,  Stephen  Whitney,  Nahum  Lord,  Moses  Clark, 
Josiah  Shaw,  John  Watson,  Elijah  Stearns,  Thomas  McLellan,  Sewall 
Lancaster,  Thomas  Harding,  Samuel  Murch,  John  Lincoln  and  Sam- 
uel Longfellow,  all  of  Gorham,  in  the  County  of  Cumberland,  and 
Samuel  Harding  of  Buxton,  in  the  County  of  York,  who  have  all 
purchased  said  land  for  ten  thousand  dollars,  for  which  sum  we  have 
taken  good  security  of  the  before  mentioned  persons  and  others ; 
which  securities  we  have  lodged  with  the  treasurer  of  said  trustees. 

Stephen  Longfellow. 
John  P.  Little. 

There  is  no  direct  report  of  the  committee  chosen  to  procure  a 
Preceptor,  but  on  Aug.  4,  1806,  at  a  meeting,  it  was  voted  that  the  next 
meeting  be  at  the  tavern  of  Mr.  Josiah  Shaw,  and  that  the  trustees 
dine  together :  and  that  the  Rev.  Elijah  Kellogg  make  the  prayer  at 
the  Inauguration,  on  the  second  Monday  of  September  (Sept.  8,  1806)  ; 
and  that  Stephen  Longfellow,  Esq.,  Dr.  Dudley  Folsom  and  Lothrop 
Lewis,  Esq.  be  a  committee  of  arrangements.  At  this  meeting  a  vote 
was  passed  that  Capt.  Harding  purchase  a  set  of  globes,  to  be  not 
less  than  eighteen,  nor  over  twenty-four  inches  in  diameter.  The 
trustees  also  directed  Mr.  Elder  to  lay  a  floor  in  the  "smaller  room," 


EDUCATION.  231 

procure  a  lock,  hang  the  bell,  procure  a  rope  for  it,  and  any  other 
necessary  articles  suitable  to  put  the  Academy  into  operation,  previous 
to  the  second  Monday  of  the  coming  September. 

The  Inauguration  of  the  Academy  took  place  on  the  appointed 
date.  The  Rev.  Elijah  Kellogg  of  Portland  made  the  prayer,  and 
Rev.  Reuben  Nason,  the  Preceptor  elect,  delivered  the  address.  This 
latter  was  a  learned  and  scholarly  effort,  well  worthy  of  the  man.  In 
it  he  touches  briefly  upon  what  education  is,  and  what  evils  it  is 
intended  to  counteract.  Also  he  says  "  Among  the  studies  pursued 
here,  that  of  our  own  language  will  hold  a  distinguished  rank.  Of 
literary  acquirements  all  should  consider  this  the  basis.  *  *  *  *  Permit 
me  to  add  that  this  is  an  accomplishment  which  the  fair  sex  should 
hold  in  no  mean  estimation.  In  view  of  the  wise  and  discerning,  it 
gives  brilliancy  to  all  their  other  charms. 

"Mathematical  learning  constitutes  another  important  branch  of 
academical  education.  ***** 

"  Geography  is  at  once  a  very  pleasing  and  useful  study.  *  *  *  * 
Connected  with  this  is  astronomy,  of  which,  by  the  help  of  a  proper 
apparatus,  so  much  knowledge  may  be  acquired,  etc. 

"  Another  department  of  instruction,  for  which  we  hope  this 
seminary  will  not  be  undistinguished  among  its  sisters,  is  that  of  the 
learned  languages.  *****  For  the  divine  to  be  destitute  of  this, 
is  to  be  dependent  upon  man  for  the  sense  of  the  sacred  oracles ;  and 
to  be  liable  to  deliver  for  doctrines  of  God,  the  inventions  of  men,  if 
he  attempt  critically  to  explain  the  scriptures.  *  *  *  *  For  the 
physician,  to  be  ignorant  of  the  learned  languages,  is  to  be  ignorant 
of  the  language  of  his  profession.  *  *  *  *  The  lawyer,  who  is 
destitute  of  this,  can  never,  in  the  walks  of  his  profession,  pass  the 
threshold  of  the  temple  of  fame. 

"To  have  said  so  much  may  sutitice  respecting  the  literary  pursuits, 
to  which  this  seminary  invites.  May  I  be  permitted  to  notice  one 
thing  more,  which,  it  is  to  be  feared,  is  in  our  schools  too  much 
neglected  ;   that  is  moral  and  religious  instruction,  etc." 

After  the  conclusion  of  the  exercises,  the  trustees  met  as  agreed 
upon  and  dined  at  Josiah  Shaw's  tavern,  where  they  held  a  meeting,  and 
voted  the  following  set  of  laws  and  regulations  for  the  infant  institution. 

QUALIFICATIONS    FOR    ADMISSION. 

"  No  person  shall  become  a  member  of  this  Institution  without 
sufficient  evidence  that  he  is  of  good  moral  character. 

"  No  student  shall  be  admitted  for  a  less  term  than  one  quarter, 
the  price  of  tuition  for  which  shall  be  paid  in  advance  ;  no  student 
shall  be  admitted  under  ten  years  of  age,  nor  without  being  able  to 
write  Join-hand,  and  read  English  correctly. 

coursf:  of  studies. 
"  Students  in  this  Institution  will  receive  instruction  in  any,  or  all,  of 
the  following  branches,  Vizt.  Reading,   Writing,  Arithmetic,   English 


232  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Grammar  &  Composition,  Speaking,  Geography  and  the  use  of  the 
Globes,  the  Mathematics  in  their  various  branches,  and  the  Latin  and 
Greek  Languages.  The  Preceptor  will  also  instruct  them  weekly  in 
the  Doctrines  and  Precepts  of  the  Christian  Religion. 

"  In  teaching  the  above  branches,  the  following  books  shall  be  used, 
together  with  such  others  as  the  Trustees,  together  with  the  Pre- 
ceptor, may  see  fit  to  introduce,  Vizt.  The  Bible,  which  shall  be  read 
daily,  previous  to  morning  and  evening  prayers,  Beauties  of  the  Bible, 
Columbian  Orator,  Enfield's  Speaker,  Walsh's  Arithmetic,  Murray's 
English  Grammar  and  Exercises,  Blair  Abridged,  Morse's  Geography, 
Webber's  Mathematics,  and  Moor's  Navigation,  Adams's  Latin  and 
the  Gloucester  Greek  Grammar,  the  Latin  Primer,  Bigelow's  intro- 
duction to  making  Latin,  together  with  such  Classical  authors  in  both 
languages  as  are  requisite  for  admission  into  any  of  the  neighboring 
Colleges,  the  Worcester  Catechism,  and  Mason  on  self  knowledge. 

HOURS    OF    ATTENDANCE. 

"  From  the  first  of  April  to  the  first  of  October,  from  six  to  half  past 
seven,  and  from  nine  to  twelve  a.  m.,  and  from  three  to  six  p.  m. 
During  the  remaining  part  of  the  year,  from  half  past  eight  to  half 
past  twelve  a.  m.,  and  from  two  to  five  p.  m. 

VACATIONS. 

"  There  shall  be  three  vacations  annually,  Vizt.  The  first,  of  three 
weeks,  commencing  the  \^'ednesday  preceding  the  third  Wednesday 
in  August;  the  second,  of  three  weeks,  from  the  first  Wednesday  in 
January,  and  the  third,  of  two  weeks,  from  the  first  Wednesday 
in  May. 

"  If  any  student  shall  fail  to  return  punctually  at  the  close  of  the 
vacation,  he  shall,  if  a  minor,  produce  a  written  certificate  from  those 
who  have  the  charge  of  his  education,  specifying  the  reason  of  his 
absence. 

"  No  student  whose  connections  do  not  reside  in  town,  shall  on  any 
pretence  leave  town,  or  absent  himself  from  any  stated  exercise  of  this 
Institution,  without  leave  previously  obtained  of  the  Preceptor. 

"  When  any  student,  whose  connections  do  reside  in  town,  is 
detained  from  attendance  in  the  Academy,  he  shall  bring  a  written 
excuse  from  his  parents  or  guardian  with  the  reasons  of  his  non- 
attendance. 

"When  any  student  shall  come  into  the  Academy  after  the  exer- 
cises have  begun,  he  shall  be  considered  as  tardy. 

"At  the  tolling  of  the  bell  every  student  shall  repair  immediately 
to  his  seat,  which  he  shall  not  quit  without  permission  from  the 
Preceptor. 

"  Silence  and  strict  attention  are  required  of  every  student  during 
the  hours  of  study,  and  especially  in  the  presence  of  the  trustees,  and 
during  the  performance  of  religious  exercises. 

"To  prevent  noise  and  confusion,  it  is  expected  that  each  student 
be  provided  with  every  thing  necessary  to  the  advantageous  prosecu- 
tion of  his  studies. 


EDUCATION.  283 

"  That  the  minds  of  the  students  may  not  be  diverted  from  those 
pursuits  which  ought,  during  the  hours  of  study,  to  engage  their 
undivided  attention ;  no  prints,  playthings,  books  of  amusement,  etc., 
shall  be  brought  into  the  Academy  under  penalty  of  forfeiture. 

"  If  any  student  shall  wantonly,  carelessly,  or  maliciously  injure 
the  buildings  or  property  of  the  Academy,  or  the  property  of  his 
fellow  students,  he  shall  make  such  compensation  as  the  Preceptor 
shall  deem  adequate. 

"  It  is  strictly  enjoined  on  the  students  to  abstain  from  all  quarrel- 
ing and  contention  among  themselves,  from  insulting  or  abusive 
language,  and  any  thing  which  may  tend  to  disturb  the  peace  and 
harmony,  which  ought  ever  to  be  found  among  those  who  are  engaged 
in  similar  pursuits.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  earnestly  recommended  to 
the  members  of  this  Institution,  to  cultivate  a  spirit  of  concord  and 
unanimity,  and  to  consider  each  other  as  brothers  of  one  common 
family,  remembering  'to  do  to  others  as  they  wish  others  to  do  to 
them.' 

"  The  behavior  of  the  students  as  they  pass  the  streets  to  and  from 
the  Academy,  and  at  other  times,  shall  be  decent  and  orderly;  with- 
out noise  or  confusion;  especially  on  the  Sabbath,  when  every 
appearance  of  mirth  or  levity  is  strictly  forbidden. 

"  It  is  particularly  enjoined  on  the  students  of  this  Academy  to 
remember  the  Sabbath  Day  to  keep  it  holy ;  by  attending  public 
worship  on  both  parts  of  the  Day,  with  proper  reverence  and  atten- 
tion, and  by  spending  the  remainder  of  the  Day  at  their  lodgings  in 
a  manner  suitable  to  the  character  of  Christians.  All  walking  or 
assembling  at  each  other's  lodgings  for  amusements,  or  trifling  con- 
versation, is  most  positively  forbidden. 

"All  gaming  and  intemperance,  and  all  profaneness  and  indecency, 
in  language  or  behavior  will  be  considered  one  gross  violation  of  the 
laws  of  this  Institution;  and  will  be  censured  and  punished  accord- 
ingly: and  no  student  shall  spend  his  time  in  any  tavern,  or  other 
place  of  public  resort  of  a  similar  kind. 

"  Every  member  of  this  Institution  is  most  positively  forbidden,  as 
a  practice  highly  criminal  in  itself,  and  utterly  inconsistent  with 
the  character  of  young  gentlemen,  to  take  fruit  of  any  kind  from  the 
gardens,  orchards,  or  other  inclosures  of  the  town,  without  leave 
being  first  obtained  of  the  proprietors. 

"It  is  considered  as  the  indispensable  duty  of  the  students  of  this 
Academy  on  all  occasions,  to  treat  the  inhabitants  of  the  town,  and 
all  strangers  passing  through  it,  with  civility  and  respect ;  and  care- 
fully to  abstain  from  any  thing  which  might  afford  them  just  cause  of 
complaint. 

"Strict  attention  shall  be  paid  by  the  students  to  the  order  and 
regulations  of  the  families  in  which  they  board,  and  particularly,  care 
must  be  taken  not  to  incommode  them  by  staying  out  late  in  the 
evening. 

"There  shall  be  a  monitor  appointed  from  time  to  time,  whose 
duty   it   shall   be   to    note   those    who   are    absent,    or   tardy,   at  any 


234  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

exercise  of  this  Institution,  or  who  are  irregular  in  their  attendance 
on  the  exercises  of  public  worship. 

"  If  any  member  of  this  Institution,  after  repeated  admonitions  and 
discipline,  obstinately  persists  in  a  course  of  negligence  and  inatten- 
tion to  his  studies;  so  that  the  purposes  of  this  Institution,  as  it 
respects  him,  are  likely  to  be  frustrated:  or  if  he  be  generally  irregular 
in  his  deportment,  or  so  corrupt  in  his  morals  as  to  endanger  others 
by  his  example,  after  all  proper  methods  to  reclaim  him  have  failed, 
he  shall  be  privately  removed,  or  publicly  expelled  in  the  presence, 
and  with  the  consent,  of  one  or  more  of  the  trustees,  as  the  nature 
and  circumstances  of  the  case  may  require,  and  his  name  blotted  from 
the  Books  of  the  Institution. 

Stephen  Longfellow. 

Elijah  Kellogg." 

It  was  then  voted  that  the  Preceptor  should  be  a  committee  to 
judge  of  the  qualifications  of  students  to  be  admitted  to  the  school, 
and  that  the  number  should  be  limited,  for  the  present,  to  thirty 
pupils,  for  any  one  term  ;  but  afterwards,  if  the  Instructor  thought  it 
expedient,  he  might  admit  thirty-six.  At  this  meeting  it  was  also 
voted,  "That  Rev.  Caleb  Bradley,  Stephen  Longfellow  and  Lothrop 
Lewis,  Esqrs.  be  a  committee  to  wait  upon  Mr.  Reuben  Nason,  and 
in  the  name  of  the  trustees  of  Gorham  Academy,  to  thank  him  for 
his  address  this  day  delivered  before  them,  and  to  request  a  copy 
thereof  for  the  Press,  and  that  the  Rev.  Caleb  Bradley  procure  the 
same  to  be  printed." 

Mr.  Nason,  under  whose  care  the  Academy  opened,  was  a  thorough 
teacher  and  a  strict  disciplinarian.  A  man  of  marked  individuality, 
he  left  his  impress  for  good  on  the  town  and  people.  Passionately 
fond  of  the  classics,  and  excelling  in  them,  it  was  his  ambition  that 
every  boy  under  his  care  should  become  proficient  in  Latin  and 
Greek,  and  faithfully  did  he  drill  those  classes  to  this  end.  The 
student  under  him  must  have  been  a  stupid  one  indeed,  who,  grown  a 
man,  could  not  to  the  end  of  his  days,  construe  and  repeat  from 
memory  page  after  page  of  the  old  Liber  Piimiis.  It  was  a  common 
thing  for  Mr.  Nason  to  call  out  the  Virgil  class  and  hear  their 
recitation  without  so  much  as  taking  up  a  book  himself;  but  let  no 
scholar  hope  on  that  account  to  succeed  with  a  poor  lesson  —  not  one 
slip  in  any  point  could  escape  the  teacher's  notice. 

Mr.  Nason  was  genial  and  pleasant  to  those  scholars  who  merited 
his  favor  by  good  scholarship  and  correct  behavior  ;  but  the  idle  and 
mischievous  did  not  fail  of  receiving  their  due  reward.  Corporal 
punishment,  in  vogue  generally  in  schools  at  that  date,  flourished 
under  Mr.  Nason  at  the  Academy.     The   ferule   and  cowhide  occu- 


?:nucATiON. 


235 


pied  a  prominent  place  on  his  desk.  When  some  trick  was  detected, 
or  some  insult  suspected,  swift  and  severe  was  the  punishment  that 
fell  on  the  offender;  unsparingly  plied  was  the  cowhide,  until  he 
thought  the  offence  exploited,  and  without  fear  or  favor  he  chastised 
rich  or  poor,  his  own  or  other's  children,  impartially.  It  was  his  cus- 
tom to  pray  in  the  school  with  his  eyes  open  and  the  Amen  was 
usually  followed  by  the  sharp  command  "  Come  up,"  and  well  did  the 
luckless  culprit  know  what  was  implied  in  that  command.  His 
authority  was  never  resisted  in  school  but  once,  when  on  one  occasion 
a  party  of  boys  left  school  without  permission  to  hear  Lorenzo  Dow 
speak.  When  called  to  account  for  it  the  next  morning,  the  leader 
had  the  temerity  to  inform  Mr.  Nason  that  he  wasn't  going  to  take  a 
thrashing  for  that,  at  the  same  time  looking  around  to  his  mates  for 
support.  Quick  as  a  flash  the  cowhide  played  around  and  about 
him,  and  the  thunder  of  Mr.  Nason's  voice  and  the  lightning  of  his 
eyes,  cowed  all  the  mutineers  into  subjection  on  the  instant.  Mr. 
Nason  was  a  man  of  medium  size,  slightly  round-shouldered,  with 
dark  hair  and  eyes,  and  dark  complexion. 

The  Academy  opened  on  the  9th  of  Sept.,  1806,  with  the  Rev. 
Reuben  Nason,  A.M.,  as  Preceptor;  and  thirty-three  scholars  were 
enrolled  before  the  close  of  the  first  term.  These  first  scholars 
were  (from  list  made  by  Rev.  Reuben  Nason). 


NAMES. 

RESIDENCES. 

AGI 

Stephen  Evans  Cole, 

Saco, 

17 

Abiel  Lawrence  Parson,  • 

Biddeford, 

II 

Mark  Langdon  Hill, 

" 

12 

Robert  Harding, 

Gorham 

15 

Thomas  McLellan, 

" 

15 

Frederick  Codnian, 

" 

13 

Randolph  Codman, 

" 

10 

vSimon  Elder, 

" 

14 

Ebenezer  Davis, 

" 

18 

Joseph  Howe, 

Portland, 

15 

John   Philbrick, 

Standish, 

15 

Thomas  Cross  Stevens, 

Portland, 

10 

Charles  Morris, 

Scarborough, 

14 

Samuel  Bucknam  Cutter, 

No.  Yarmouth, 

15 

William  Stark  Rawson, 

Newton, 

13 

Simeon  Farnham, 

Gorham, 

18 

Peter  Smith  Anderson, 

Windham, 

16 

John  Anderson, 

" 

14 

George  Thatcher, 

Biddeford, 

16 

Asa  Metcalf  Adams, 

Gorham, 

18 

Peter  Williams, 

" 

21 

William  Freeman, 

Biddeford 

16 

Samuel  Longfellow, 

Gorham, 

17 

Samuel  Hanson, 

Windham, 

18 

Josiah  Little, 

" 

13 

236  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


NAMES. 

RESIDENCES. 

AGI 

George  McMillan, 

Fryeburgh, 

14 

Rufus  King  Porter, 

Biddeford, 

12 

Nathaniel  Hill, 

Buxton, 

16 

John  Slemons, 

Falmouth, 

19 

William  Putnam  Cleaves, 

Saco, 

17 

Daniel  Cleaves, 

" 

10 

Joseph  Hill, 

Buxton, 

24 

Nathaniel  Hatch, 

Gorham, 

23 

As  the  trustees  now  considered  that  the  Academy  was  fairly  on  its 
feet  and  things  were  running  smoothly,  at  the  beginning  of  the  new 
year  they  authorized  the  Preceptor  to  procure  an  assistant,  at  a  salary 
not  to  exceed  four  hundred  dollars ;  and  in  order  that  he  might  earn 
his  money,  they  voted  that  the  number  of  scholars  to  be  admitted 
into  the  Academy  be  enlarged,  but  not  to  exceed  seventy,  and  "  that 
that  number  may  be  completed  by  admitting  female  students,  to  the 
number  of  fifteen,  until  the  eighth  day  of  June  next,  provided,  that 
at  the  end  of  the  present  vacation,  there  shall  not  be  the  whole  num- 
ber of  seventy  male  students  entered." 

The  admission  of  females  into  the  Academy  appears  to  have  been 
a  subject  of  much  legislation  before  the  Board,  but  on  March  9,  1807, 
it  was  voted  to  leave  the  expediency  of  their  admission  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  Preceptor,  provided  that  the  total  number  of  scholars 
was  kept  at  seventy.     The  first  girls  admitted  were 

NAMES. 

Eunice  Whitmore, 
Temperance  Harding, 
Martha  Jewett, 
Betsey  Jewett, 
Joanna  Whitmore, 
Sarah  Randall, 
Betsey  McLellan, 
Caroline  Folsom, 
Sally  Rea, 
Sally  Bowman, 
Betsey  Farnham, 
Isabella  Holland, 

About  this  time  the  bell  in  the  cupola  was  put  up,  for  Mr.  Elder 
by  vote  of  the  trustees  was  directed  to  hang  the  same  as  soon  as  it 
should  arrive  at  the  x'\cademy.  A  stove  was  placed  in  the  Academy 
in  this  year  (1807).  The  treasurer  of  the  trustees  provided  the  wood, 
and  saw  that  it  was  cut  of  the  right  length  and  stored  in  the  cellar. 
A  sum  for  the  wood  bill,  as  well  as  for  ink,  was  always  added  to  the 
term  bill  for  tuition.  On  the  eighth  of  March  the  price  of  tuition  was 
raised  to  two  dollars  and  a  half  per  quarter. 

By  the  records  it  appears  that  occasionally  the  exuberant  spirits  of 
the  youthful  lads  would  break  out,  even  in  the  night  time,  for  it  is 


ESIDENCES. 

AGI 

Gorham, 

17 

a 

17 
20 

!! 

17 

21 

Buxton, 
Gorham, 

17 
17 

Windham. 
Gorham, 

II 

20 
14 

Portland, 

15 
21 

EDUCATION.  237 

written  "  Whereas,  the  trustees  of  (jorhani  Academy,  having  heard 
complaints  of  irregularities  committed  by  some  of  the  students  out  of 
the  Academy,  and  at  hite  hours  of  the  night ;  and  being  willing 
to  suppose  that  they  arose  chieHy  from  youthful  imprudence,  rather 
than  from  positive  bad  intentions  :  Therefore  ;  ^'oted,  That  the  Pre- 
ceptor give  them  an  admonition  before  all  the  students.  Voted, 
Also,  that  on  any  repetition  of  such  outrages,  their  perpetrators  be 
removed  from  the  Academy,  or  otherwise  punished  as  the  trustees 
may  think  proper,  according  to  the  aggravation  of  the  offence  ;  and 
their  parents  be  notified  of  the  same." 

The  salary  paid  to  Mr.  Nason  previous  to  Sept.  8,  1807,  is  not 
a  matter  of  record,  but  on  May  13,  of  that  year  there  was  a  vote 
passed  by  the  trustees  to  pay  him  six  hundred  dollars  per  annum 
after  that  term  for  his  services  as  preceptor  of  the  Academy,  and  at 
the  end  of  two  years  to  pay  him  eight  hundred  yearly,  the  payment 
to  be  made  semi-annually.  As  the  report  of  the  committee  chosen 
to  procure  a  preceptor  was  not  made  until  this  meeting  just  men- 
tioned, it  is  probable  that  Mr.  Nason  was  on  trial  previous  to  this 
time.  At  this  same  meeting  the  trustees  voted  that  females  should 
be  admitted  as  heretofore,  until  otherwise  ordered  by  the  trustees. 
They  also  voted  that  from  the  first  day  of  April  to  the  first  day  of 
October,  no  school  should  be  taught  in  the  Academy  on  Wednesday 
afternoons,  except  at  the  pleasure  of  the  Preceptor. 

The  trustees  deeded  their  land,  granted  them  by  the  Legislature, 
to  Chadbourn  and  others  on  Dec.  2,  1805,  (Acknowledged,  Dec.  20th, 
1805,  before  Barrett  Potter,  Justice  of  the  Peace,)  but  from  some 
reason,  which  does  not  appear,  they  did  not  receive  their  deed  from 
Massachusetts  until  Feb.  1 2,  1807,  when  they  made  a  new  deed,  a  quit- 
claim, to  Chadbourn  and  the  other  parties  to  the  old  deed,  which  is 
dated  May  23,  1807,  and  acknowledged  before  George  Lewis,  Justice 
of  the  Peace. 

The  first  public  examination  of  the  scholars  was  probably  held  on 
the  first  Wednesday  of  August,  1807.  On  this  day  the  trustees  met, 
and  a  quorum  being  present,  "  accordingly  examined  the  scholars,  and 
found  they  had  made  good  progress  in  their  studies."  Also  "  voted 
to  adjourn  to  Josiah  Shaw's  tavern,  and  meet  again  at  this  place  at 
five  of  the  clock  this  afternoon."  This  adjournment  was  to  get  their 
dinner,  w^hich  annual  dinner  was  a  great  affair  in  those  days.  After  din- 
ner they  voted  to  pay  Mr.  Nason  six  dollars  for  a  map  of  the  United 
States  which  he  had  purcha<>ed  for  the  use  of  the  Academy.  Also 
that  the  treasurer  procure  two  armchairs,  such  as  the  Preceptor  shall 


238  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

direct.  (We  have  sat  in  those  old  black  armchairs  many  a  time.) 
Arrangements  were  then  made  for  a  public  exhibition,  and  Capt. 
Harding  was  chosen  as  a  committee  to  procure  the  meeting  house, 
and  erect  a  stage  ;  the  expense  of  which  was  to  be  paid  by  the  treas- 
urer out  of  the  tuition  money.  This  affair,  which  was  the  first  of  the 
kind  ever  held  at  the  Academy,  came  off  at  the  end  of  the  term, 
which  finished  on  the  third  Wednesday  of  August,  1807,  and  report 
says  was  attended  by  a  large  concourse  of  people  from  far  and  near. 
All  things  appear  to  have  gone  along  well  till  the  twenty-third  clay 
of  February,  1808,  when  the  staid  heads  of  the  Sages  were  somewhat 
turned  by  sundry  doings  of  the  youngsters,  for  it  appears  they  had  in 
some  way  become  disciples,  and  commenced  the  worship  of  the  God- 
dess Terpsichore,  by  tripping  the  light  fantastic  toe.  Now  this 
worship  of  a  heathen  deity  in  a  Christian  land,  and  by  those  too, 
under  the  care  of  the  good  and  great,  was  not  to  be  thought  of  or 
tolerated,  and  a  committee  was  chosen  to  procure  suitable  boarding 
places  for  the  females  and  to  examine  into  their  conduct  out  of  the 
Academy  and  to  report  to  the  Preceptor  of  the  Academy.  Capt. 
Harding,  Dr.  Folsom  and  John  P.  Little,  Esq.  were  the  committee, 
and  they  reported  that  "Whereas  it  appears  to  the  trustees  of  this 
Academy  that  the  attendance  of  the  scholars  on  dancing  and  music 
and  other  schools,  while  they  are  engaged  in  studies  at  the  Academy, 
will  be  very  prejudicial  to  their  improvement  in  the  several  branches 
of  literature  :  — Therefore 

"Voted,  —  That  no  student,  while  a  member  of  the  Academy,  be 
allowed  to  attend  on  either  of  the  foregoing  schools,  or  any  other, 
without  the  permission  of  the  Preceptor,  and  at  the  express  desire  of 
their  parents  or  guardians." 

It  appears  that  the  trustees  had  hard  work  to  get  a  quorum  at  their 
meetings,  and  it  was  voted  that  whoever  absented  himself  from  the 
legal  meetings  of  the  Board  for  one  year  should  forfeit  his  trustee- 
ship, and  that  at  a  legal  meeting  the  trustees  should  fill  the  vacancy 
so  made.  This  was  rather  a  summary  way  to  turn  one  out  when  he 
was  appointed  by  Act  of  Legislature ;  the  Act  did  not  provide  for 
any  such  doings.  They  also  voted  that  there  should  be  an  annual 
examination  of  the  scholars,  to  be  held  on  the  first  Wednesday  of 
August  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  at  which  time  there  should  be 
an  annual  meeting  of  the  trustees. 

The  first  vote  passed  to  loan  money  from  the  old  academy  fund,  to 
which  at  one  time  nearly  every  individual  in  town  was  indebted,  was 
on  Dec.  24,  1808:  —  "Voted  that  the  treasurer  and  secretary  be  a 


EDUCATION.  239 

committee  to  loan  the  money  in  the  treasury  of  the  academy  to  the 
best  advantage,  and  take  good  security  by  three  men  appearing  to  be 
good  and  substantial." 

Between  the  last  meeting  and  that  of  August  2,  1809,  it  appears 
that  John  Park  Little,  Esq.  and  Capt.  Samuel  Whitmore,  two  of  the 
trustees,  died,  and  on  a  ballot,  the  Rev.  Asa  Rand  and  the  Rev.  Tim- 
othy Hilliard  were  chosen  to  fill  the  vacancies.  As  Mr.  Little  was 
secretary,  it  became  necessary  to  elect  some  one  in  his  place,  and 
Lothrop  Lewis,  Esq.  was  unanimously  chosen  to  fill  that  office. 

At  a  meeting  held  Jan.  15,  18 10,  Mr.  Nason  was  released  from  his 
engagement  as  preceptor,  to  take  effect  on  the  last  Saturday  of  Jan- 
uary, inst.  And  a  committee,  consisting  of  Stephen  Longfellow, 
Elijah  Kellogg  and  Lothrop  Lewis,  was  chosen  to  procure  a  preceptor 
to  commence  instruction  on  the  first  Wednesday  of  June. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  trustees  held  on  the  twentieth  day  of  March, 
181 1,  the  committee  appointed  to  procure  a  teacher  reported  that 
they  had  engaged  Charles  Coffin,  Esq.  for  that  purpose,  and  agreed 
to  give  him  six  hundred  dollars  per  year,  commencing  in  September 
next.  At  this  same  meeting  the  Preceptor  had  liberty  granted  him 
to  introduce  the  "American  Reader,"  and  "  Bowditch's  Navigator," 
as  text-books. 

The  fund  of  the  academy  as  reported  by  the  treasurer  on  April  23, 
181 1,  was  511,169.84.  At  the  same  time  that  this  report  was  made, 
a  petition  was  prepared  and  sent  around  to  be  signed  by  the  presi- 
dent in  behalf  of  the  trustees,  and  then  sent  to  the  General  Court, 
praying  for  a  grant  of  a  half  township  of  land  to  endow  a  female 
academy  in  Gorham. 

By  this  time  it  had  probably  become  a  settled  thing  to  admit  as 
many  females  as  wished  to  attend  the  school,  and  in  March  the  Rev. 
I'",lijah  Kellogg  was  instructed  to  procure  a  preceptress.  Miss  Rhoda 
Parker  was  engaged  as  preceptress  for  the  summer  term  of  this  year, 
at  a  salary  of  seventy-five  dollars  per  quarter  ;  and  Mr.  Coftin  giving 
notice  that  he  should  leave  at  the  end  of  his  year,  as  he  had  an  offer 
from  Portsmouth  of  one  thousand  dollars  per  annum,  Messrs.  Long- 
fellow, Hilliard  and  Lewis  were  appointed  a  committee  to  procure 
another  preceptor. 

Mr.  Asa  Redington  was  engaged  as  preceptor  after  Mr.  Cofiin,  at 
six  hundred  dollars  per  year,  and  acted  for  two  years.  He,  with  the 
assistance  of  some  of  the  older  scholars,  set  out  the  poplar  trees  on 
the  grounds  about  the  building. 

At  a  meeting  held  August  18,  18 12,  Rev.  Mr.  Lancaster  and  Mr. 


240  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

William  McLellan  having  resigned  their  places  on  the  Board,  Stephen 
Longfellow,  Jr.,  Esq.  and  Joseph  Adams,  Esq.  were  chosen  in  their 
places. 

At  this  time  the  tuition  was  one  dollar  and  a  half  per  quarter,  hav- 
ing been  reduced  from  two  dollars  and  a  half.  And  it  appears  that 
previous  to  June  30,  18 13,  for  some  time  a  morning  school  had  been 
kept,  but  it  was  then  voted  to  dispense  with  it,  and  that  the  forenoon 
school  commence  at  eight  o'clock  a.  m.  And  in  future,  boys  of  less 
than  ten  years  of  age  were  to  be  admitted  to  the  Academy  as  scholars. 

Between  Eebruaiy  and  May,  18 14,  "  Flint's  Surveying,"  and  "  Cum- 
ming's  Geography  "  and  maps,  were  added  to  the  books  to  be  studied 
in  the  school ;  and  a  surveyor's  compass  and  chain  were  ordered  to 
be  purchased. 

On  May  1 1,  1814,  Lothrop  Lewis,  Esq.  was  appointed  a  committee 
to  procure  a  preceptor,  and  engaged  Mr.  William  White  for  one  year, 
at  an  annual  salary  of  six  hundred  dollars. 

August  19,  1816,  the  trustees  voted  that  the  Preceptor  be  requested 
to  give  to  the  students  under  his  care  Bible  lessons  every  Saturday,  to 
be  recited  every  Sunday  afternoon,  or  Monday  morning.  Mr.  N. 
Cleveland,  Jr.  was  engaged  as  assistant,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
tuition  was  raised  to  two  dollars. 

Mr.  Lewis  resigned  the  office  of  secretary  in  18 19,  and  Jacob  S. 
Smith  was  chosen  to  fill  the  position.  Mr.  Smith  had  a  short  time 
before  been  empowered  to  procure  a  seal  for  the  use  of  the  Academy, 
which  was  now  accepted.  It  was  engraved  by  Daniel  Newcomb,  and 
cost  ten  dollars. 

In  1822,  it  was  decided  to  finish  the  hall  in  the  Academy,  and  also 
a  small  room  adjoining.  Harmony  Lodge  of  P>ee  Masons  wished  to 
hire  the  hall,  and  the  trustees  finally  leased  it  to  them  for  thirty  dol- 
lars per  year,  reserving  the  right  to  use  it  when  wanted. 

On  the  17th  of  August,  1824,  Rev.  Mr.  Pomeroy  was  chosen 
president  in  place  of  Mr.  Longfellow,  who  had  died  a  short  time 
previous.  The  grounds  around  the  Academy  were  graded  in  1827, 
forest  trees  set  out,  and  the  wall  in  front  built.  The  same  year  Capt. 
David  Harding,  who  had  been  treasurer  since  the  organization  of  the 
Board  in  1803,  resigned  hisofhce,  and  Toppan  Robie,  Esq.  was  chosen 
in  his  room.  Some  dissatisfaction  having  arisen  with  Mr.  Nason,  who 
had  returned  to  the  care  of  the  school  in  1815,  succeeding  Mr.  White, 
John  V.  Beane,  the  preceptor  of  Limerick  Academy,  was  in  1833 
engaged  as  assistant  under  Mr.  Nason  for  one  year,  at  the  end  of 
which  time  Mr.  Nason  left  and  Mr.  Beane  took  charge  of  the  school. 


KDUCATION.  .  241 

In  October,  1831,  Toppan  Robie,  Josiah  Pierce  and  Jacob  S. 
Smith  were  chosen  a  coumiittee  to  take  into  consideration  the  plan 
of  connecting  the  system  of  manual  labor  with  the  Academy ;  and 
determine  on  the  expediency  of  purchasing  a  suitable  tract  of  land  for 
the  purpose,  and  devise  the  means  thereof.  A  shop  was  hired  and 
fitted  up  in  March,  1834,  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Beane,  the 
assistant  ;  but  the  experiment  was  a  failure,  and  in  May  of  the  same 
year  it  was  voted  to  let  the  workshop,  and  dispose  of  the  tools  and 
stock. 

The  girls'  school  was  separated  from  the  boys'  in  1834,  and  the 
"  Female  Seminary  "  was  kept  in  the  Academy  Hall,  under  the  care 
of  the  Preceptress,' Miss  Blanchard.  In  1835,  the  trustees  voted  to 
attempt  to  raise  the  sum  of  thirty  thousand  dollars,  by  soliciting 
donations,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  additional  buildings,  procuring 
more  instructors,  and  elevating  the  character  of  the  institution  so  as 
to  meet  the  desires  and  wants  of  the  community.  Rev.  Thaddeus 
Pomeroy  was  chosen  as  a  General  Agent  to  raise  the  money  :  the 
Board  engaging  to  supply  his  pulpit  at  their  own  expense  during  his 
absence  on  their  business.  Through  Mr.  Pomeroy's  efforts  more 
than  twenty  thousand  dollars  was  subscribed,  of  which  amount, 
however,  only  about  seven  thousand  dollars  was  ever  paid.  It  was 
decided  to  erect  a  brick  three  story  building,  for  a  Female  Seminary, 
dormitory  and  boarding-house.  Mr.  Pomeroy  gave  the  land  for  the 
building,  a  lot  six  rods  on  the  street  and  eighteen  rods  back,  situated 
opposite  the  Academy. 

The   ceremony    of    laying  the    corner    stone    took    place  June  i, 

1836.     The  address  was  delivered  by  the  Rev.  Thaddeus  Pomeroy, 

President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  in  presence  of  the  trustees  and 

numerous  spectators.     There   was  deposited  in  the  cavity,  under  the 

corner  stone,  some  small  coins,  a  copy  of  the  laws  and  regulations  of 

the   Academy,  and  an  almanac  of  that  year,  and  newspapers  of  the 

day,  with  a  list   of  the    trustees   then   in    office    and   of   the   building 

committee,  &c.,  with  the  order  of  the  exercises  and  ceremonies  of  the 

occasion. 

ORDER  OF  EXERCISES. 

Invocation  &  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Jameson  of  Scarboro. 

Singing. 

Prayer,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Chickering,  of  Iligli  Street  Clmrch,  Portland. 

Singing. 

Address,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Pomeroy  of  Gorham. 

Subscription,  among  the  Spectators. 

Prayer,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Vaill  of  the  Second  Parish,  Portland. 

Singing. 

Benediction. 


242  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

The  Seminary  building  was  dedicated  on  the  13th  day  of  September, 
1837.     Following  is  the 

ORDER  OF  EXERCISES. 

Prayer,  by  the  Rev.  T.  Pomeroy,  and  an  ode,  by  C.  P.  Ilsley,  at  the  Seminary : 
then  was  formed  a  procession  to  the  meeting  house,  where  the  exercises  were 
resumed  in  the  following  order  — 

Anthem. 

Prayer,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Jameson. 

Ode,  composed  by  C.  P.  Ilsley  of  Portland. 

Address,  by  Prof.  Packard  of  Brunswick. 

Anthem. 

Poem,  by  Mr.  William  Cutter  of  Portland. 

Anthem. 

Benediction,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Pomeroy. 

At  this  time  the  Principal  was  Rev.  Amos  Brown,  a  graduate  of 
Dartmouth  College,  class  of  1832.  His  relations  with  the  Academy 
commenced  in  1835,  and  extended  over  a  period  of  twelve  years. 
The  Preceptress  was  Miss  Jane  Ingersol,  and  the  other  teachers 
were  Rev.  Thomas  Tenney,  Mr.  Benjamin  Wyman,  and  Mr.  George 
Woods.  In  1836  Mr.  Brown's  assistant  teachers  were  Miss  Margaret 
Woods,  Miss  Hannah  Lyman,  Rev.  Thomas  Tenney  and  Mr.  George 
L.  Prentiss. 

In  1847  the  institution  was  called  Gorham  Academy  and  Teachers' 
Institute.  The  male  and  female  schools  were  separated,  the  male 
department  made  into  an  independent  school  and  placed  under  the 
general  supervision  of  the  Principal.  Mr.  Brown  having  resigned 
his  office,  Edward  P.  Weston  was  chosen  to  succeed  him  in  the 
Principalship. 

By  an  Act  of  Legislature,  passed  in  August,  1850,  the  Maine 
Female  Seminary  was  established  on  the  basis  of  Gorham  Academy. 
The  trustees  surrendered  their  charter  and  received  a  new  one, 
together  with  a  grant  of  land,  on  condition  that  the  proceeds  should 
be  used  for  females  only.  With  the  acceptance  of  the  new  charter 
Gorham  Academy  as  such  ceased  to  be,  and  by  a  condition  of  that 
charter  the  male  school  was  discontinued.  Gorham  Male  Academy 
was  afterwards  reestablished,  and  in  1854,  Daniel  J.  Poor  was  made 
Principal.     He  was  succeeded  by  Josiah  B.  Webb. 

Mr.  Weston  left  the  Seminary  in  i860,  and  was  succeeded  as 
Principal  of  that  school  by  Mrs.  Laura  E.  Lord.  The  following  year, 
by  Act  of  Legislature  the  Maine  Female  Seminary  and  Gorham 
Academy  became  one  again,  and  was  known  as  Gorham  Seminary. 
This    union    affected    the    recitations    and   general    exercises.     The 


^^^B  ^ ' 

mk 

^^K< 

'^'          ]^H 

^^H%^ 

jfiV 

^^^^^^^^H' 

IsJcwBa 

l^^bl 

iL^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B 

31 

W/iAjy\ywyx. 


rfiAyyiM, 


EDUCATION.  "243 

Seminary  building  was  used  as  a  boarding  hall.  Josiah  B.  Webb 
was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  united  schools.  He  was  succeeded  by 
William  ().  Lord,  and  he  in  turn,  followed  by  George  M.  Bodge,  Joel 
Wilson  and  A.  E.  Woodsum. 

The  introduction  of  high  schools  some  years  ago,  and  the  popularity 
which  they  attained,  together  with  various  other  reasons,  was  the 
cause  of  the  suspension  of  many  academies  in  this  State.  Among 
others,  Gorham  Academy  closed  its  doors.  No  school  was  held  in 
the  building  until  a  few  years  since,  when  the  house  was  leased  for 
the  use  of  the  village  grammar  schools. 

The  Board  of  Trustees  still  maintains  its  organization,  and  has 
recently  held  a  meeting,  at  which  vacancies  in  its  number  were 
filled  —  the  Board  now  being  made  up  as  follows  :  Frederick  Robie, 
president,  John  A.  Waterman,  secretary  and  treasurer,  Roscoe  G. 
Harding,  John  A.  Hinkley,  Joseph  Ridlon  and  Lucian  Hunt  of 
Gorham,  Fabius  M.  Ray  of  Westbrook,  George  Hammond  of  Yar- 
mouth, and  Isaac  Dyer  of  Portland.  Measures  were  also  taken  at 
this  meeting  looking  toward  the  reopening  at  no  very  distant  date 
of  the  school  which  was  once  so  renowned  and  which  has  sent  forth 
so  many  men  who  have  written  their  names  high  up  on  the  scroll  of 
fame. 

The  Legislature  of  1878  provided  for  a  State  Normal  School,  to 
be  called  the  Western  Normal  School,  and  to  be  located  at  Gorham 
upon  certain  conditions.  Whereupon  the  town  voted  to  raise  fifteen 
thousand  dollars.  From  village  subscriptions  seven  thousand  dollars 
were  realized,  and  the  necessary  balance,  something  over  five  thous- 
and dollars,  was  paid  by  the  treasurer  of  Gorham  Seminary. 

A  lot  of  land, adjoining  the  easterly  side  of  the  town  house  property, 
was  purchased  of  Josiah  T.  McLellan,  and  a  tine  building  erected  at 
a  cost,  when  completed  and  ready  for  dedication,  of  about  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars.  At  the  same  time  the  old  Seminary  building  was 
presented  by  the  trustees  to  the  State,  and  converted  into  a  dormi- 
tory for  the  use  of  the  normal  scholars.  The  new  building  was 
dedicated  in  December,  1878.  The  following  is  a  hymn,  written  for 
the  occasion  by  the  Hon.  Edward  P.  Weston,  a  former  Principal 
of  the  old  Maine  Female  Seminary: 

Shout  the  glad  tidings  from  seaside  to  mountain, 
Wave  the  bright  banner  from  steeple  and  tower  ; 

Open  we  here  on  the  rock  a  new  fountain, 

Fountain  of  wisdom,  and  knowledge,  and  power. 

Not  from  the  brain  of  some  mystic  Minerva, 
Not  in  the  fables  of  heathendom  sung. 


244  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Wisdom's  fair  genius,  and  all  they  who  serve  her, 
Straight  from  the  line  of  dear  Bethlehem  sprung. 

Hail  to  the  Science  that  bows  in  devotion, 

Worshipping  still  with  the  wise  men  of  old  ; 
Bringing  from  earth,  and  from  air,  and  from  ocean, 

Treasures  more  costly  than  rubies  and  gold. 

Ever  in  beauty,  O  Temple  of  Learning, 

Shine  from  this  height  on  the  valleys  below, 
Bright  on  thine  altars  for  evermore  burning, 

Incense  of  knowledge  with  love  in  its  glow! 

Then  shall  the  guides  who  shall  pass  from  these  portals, 

Laden  with  lessons  of  wisdom  divine, 
Rise  to  the  glorious  rank  of  immortals, 

Crowned  with  their  jewels,  forever  to  shine. 

The  school  since  its  foundation  has  been  under  the  efficient  charge 
of  Principal  W.  J.  Corthell. 

In  October,  1894,  by  the  destruction  by  fire  of  the  old  Seminary 
building,  the  scholars  were  compelled  to  take  board  in  private  families 
in  the  village  until  the  completion  of  the  new  domitory  provided 
by  the  State.  This  beautiful  building,  which  is  known  as  "  Frederick 
Robie  Hall''  and  was  opened  for  use  in  September,  1898,  is  located 
near  to  the  Normal  School ;  together  with  which  it  forms  an  addition 
and  ornament  to  our  village  of  which  any  town  may  justly  feel  proud. 


CHAPTER  XJI. 

AGRICULTURAL    INTERESTS FIRST    MILLS BURYING    GROUNDS. 

It  is  impossible  for  us  of  the  present  generation  to  realize  fully  the 
hardships  and  privations  our  ancestors  had  to  contend  with  in 
the  early  settlement  of  Gorham.  In  the  year  1736,  when  John 
Phinney  made  his  settlement  here,  the  town  of  Gorham  was  an 
unbroken  wilderness,  and  contained  not  a  rod  of  cleared  land  where 
a  white  man  had  ever  lived,  nor  a  single  inhabitant,  except  it  were  a 
few  Indians  camped  here  for  fishing  and  hunting  purposes. 

Jt  is  not  our  purpose  to  devote  this  chapter  to  an  account  of  the 
personal  hardships  or  sufferings  of  our  ancestors,  but  to  view  progress 
in  certain  things,  showing  the  energy  and  perseverance  of  the  old 
settlers. 

Stock-raising  at  the  present  time,  when  feed  of  all  kinds,  long  feed 
and  short,  cracked  corn  and  whole,  oats  and  shorts,  are  plenty,  is 
thought  to  be  one  of  the  great  interests  of  the  country,  and  to  it 
much  time  and  attention  are  paid.  How  was  it  with  these  old  settlers, 
when  they  had  nothing  of  the  kind  ?  We  shall  see  that  they  went 
ahead,  notwithstanding.  Grass,  hay  and  browse  were  all  they  had 
to  boast  of,  and  but  little  of  that.  If  they  raised  a  little  corn,  they 
could  not  afford  to  feed  it  to  their  stock  ;  many  of  the  settlers  were 
compelled  to  travel  on  foot  to  Falmouth,  now  Portland,  purchase  a 
little  meal,  and  bring  it  home  on  their  backs,  to  keep  their  wives  and 
children  from  starving. 

The  settlers  knew  that  the  town  must  be  an  agricultural  town,  and 
that  farming  without  stock  was  of  no  account.  John  Phinney 's  lirst 
crop  was  Indian  corn,  peas  and  watermelons,  and  this  crop  of  melons 
is  what  throws  the  first  light  on  our  subject.  He  attempted  to  carry 
some  of  his  melons  to  Falmouth  for  sale,  and  as  presents  to  his 
friends  at  Presumpscot  Falls,  and  with  his  daughter  Elizabeth,  started 
with  a  load  in  his  boat.  They  got  along  very  well  till  the  transporta- 
tion around  the  falls  came  up  at  Saccarappa  and  Ammoncongin. 
There  they  found  that  the  thing  would  not  pay ;  and  as  Mr.  Phinney 
said,  when  they  came  home  they  commenced  to  feed  the  rest  of  the 
melons  to  their  cow  and  pig,  and  with  a  few  peas  they  made  a  splen- 
did piece  of  pork  of  that  pig.     These  were  probably  the  lirst  cow  and 


ti46  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

pig  in  Gorhani.  It  is  not  probable  that  Mr.  Phinney  owned  a  horse 
at  this  time.  In  the  winter  of  1738-9,  the  McLellans  came  into 
town  with  their  horse  and  httle  cow  ;  it  does  not  appear  that  they  had 
any  other  stock. 

Oxen  must  have  been  introduced  as  early  as  1743,  for  the  business 
of  logging  was  carried  on  at  that  time,  and  the  Proprietors  of  the 
town  were  often  troubled  by  trespassers  cutting  timber  on  the  com- 
mon lands.  A  sale  at  auction  was  had,  Aug.  16,  1743,  of  logs  thus 
cut.  Some  of  the  sales  were  as  follows  :  "  Sold  to  Ben  Stevens, 
Ben  Skillings  and  Hugh  McLellan,  one  hundred  logs  at  eleven 
pounds,  old  tenor."  "  Sold  to  Moses  Pearson  and  John  Gorham  the 
logs  cut  by  William  Knight  and  James  Knap  for  forty  shillings,  old 
tenor."  "The  logs  that  were  cut  by  Abram  Anderson  and  Stephen 
Manchester,  and  carried  off,  were  sold  to  William  Cotton  for  six 
shillings." 

These  transactions  show  clearly  that  there  must  have  been  some 
work  for  oxen  at  this  date.  A  number  of  oxen  were  in  town  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Indian  war,  for  on  the  morning  of  the  mas- 
sacre of  the  Bryant  family,  (April  19,  1746,)  Reed  came  to  the 
McLellans  to  borrow  an  ox-chain  with  which  to  plough,  and  when 
Mrs.  McLellan  gave  the  alarm  that  Bryant's  family  were  murdered, 
Hugh  McLellan  and  his  son  William  were  ploughing  in  the  field; 
they  immediately  unhooked  their  oxen  and  let  them  run,  and  them- 
selves made  for  the  house. 

It  is  not  probable  that  the  increase  of  stock  was  large  in  town 
during  the  war,  but  John  Phinney's  had  increased  one  certainly,  for 
at  first  he  had  but  a  cow.  In  one  of  the  Indian  raids,  in  1747,  they 
reported  they  had  killed  and  eaten  John  Phinney's  heifer.  The  fol- 
lowing extract  from  a  letter  written  by  Capt.  Charles  Frost  to  the 
Hon.  William  Pepperell,  dated  Falmouth,  April  16,  1747,'  throws 
some  light  on  this  affair :  "A  scout  of  what  few  soldiers  were  here 
with  some  of  our  inhabitants  immediately  followed,  came  athwart  of 
Three  Camps,  and  about  half  a  mile  abov^e  Gorham  Town  Garrison, 
where  they  found  some  beef  and  the  skins  of  two  cows.  (These 
camps  were  near  Files's  Bridge,  so  called,  on  the  road  leading  from 
Fort  Hill  to  West  Gorham.)  The  woods  seem  full  of  tracks,  *  *  * 
*  *  *  and  unless  immediate  succor  or  assistance  [arrive,]  I  cannot 
perceive  how  Gorham  Town,  Marblehead  and  Saccarappa  can  sub- 
sist, for  they  do  not  care  to  visit  them  or  carry  them  necessaries  of 
life  unless  they  have  more  men.  They  found  in  y^  above  camps 
eighteen  spits  or  sticks  to  roast  their  beef  on,  which  shows  there 
were  in  that  scout  at  least  18  Indians." 


AGRICULTURAL    INTERESTS.  247 

Although  there  were  but  about  seven  families  who  made  the  fort 
their  permanent  home,  it  is  evident  they  had  quite  a  stock  of  cattle  ; 
for  tradition  says  that  all  the  stock  that  could  be  found  were  brought 
home  to  the  fort  every  night  and  shut  up  within  the  stockade  under 
the  eye  of  the  sentinel.  At  times  the  milk  of  the  cows  contributed 
greatly  toward  the  support  of  the  garrison.  The  Indians  knew  well 
the  value  the  settlers  placed  on  their  cattle,  and  their  custom  of 
hunting  them  up  before  night.  Many  of  the  skirmishes  between 
them  and  the  whites  were  brought  on  by  these  hunting  parties  meet- 
ing the  Indians  in  ambush.  Edmund  Phinney  came  near  being 
kifled  in  this  manner,  while  after  the  cows  ;  he  was  severely  wounded, 
and  also  had  his  arm  broken,- by  being  fired  on  by  the  Indians,  but 
succeeded  in  getting  to  the  fort,  as  is  related  elsewhere. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  Indian  war,  masting  became  quite  a 
business  in  Gorham.  Gorham  was  not  called  a  pine  timber  township, 
being  covered  principally  with  hard  wood,  interspersed  with  a  great 
many  pines  of  a  large  size.  As  one  of  his  royal  reservations,  or  king's 
rights,  the  king  claimed  all  standing  trees  of  a  certain  size.  These 
pines  were  sharply  looked  after  by  the  king's  surveyors.  When  one  was 
found  large  and  long  enough  to  answer  for  a  king's  mast,  it  was  marked 
with  the  broad  R,  which,  however,  cannot  be  properly  represented 
without  being  engraved.  Trees  with  this  mark  none  were  allowed  to 
cut,  unless  they  had  a  government  contract  to  cut  and  haul  them. 
The  preparing  and  hauling  of  these  masts  was  a  large  business,  and 
as  it  gave  employment  to  a  large  number  of  men  and  oxen,  and  was 
paid  for  by  the  Government  in  cash,  was  exceedingly  profitable  to 
those  engaged  in  it.  The  trees  required  for  these  masts  were  truly 
fathers  of  the  forest ;  their  dimensions  must  be  "  over  one  hundred 
feet  in  the  clear,"  and  when  hewn  and  shaven  fit  for  use,  were  to  be 
"  not  less  than  thirty-six  inches  in  diameter  measuring  one-third  of 
the  way  from  the  butt  toward  the  top,  without  knot,  spawl,  or  blem- 
ish," and  when  delivered  at  the  king's  navy  yard,  they  were  worth 
about  seven  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  lawful  money.  The  moving  of 
these  trees  from  the  woods  to  suitable  places  for  finishing  often 
required  as  many  as  one  hundred  oxen  for  each  tree,  with  men  in 
proportion.  Sometimes  it  was  necessary  to  cross  deep  gullies,  and 
often  several  yoke  of  the  oxen  would  be  strung  up  by  the  head  at  a 
time,  unable  to  touch  ground  except  occasionally  with  their  hind  feet 
till  they  were  drawn  to  the  opposite  bank.  About  every  ox  in  the 
team  had  to  undergo  this  operation,  while  men  were  stationed  in 
the  bottom  of  the  gully,  to  seize  them  by  the  tail  and  keep  them 


248  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

steady,  and  enable  them  to  land  all  right.  Cattle  were  often  injured 
in  these  haulings,  and  they  were  attended  with  much  danger. 

Hugh  McLellan  and  his  son  William  were  largely  engaged  in  the 
mast  business.  They  cut  a  tree  on  their  own  land,  in  1763,  northerly 
of  where  the  corn  shop  was  burned  in  187 1,  on  land  now  owned  by 
the  heirs  of  the  late  Samuel  Bailey,  on  the  stump  of  which,  after  the 
tree  was  cut,  they  stood  a  yoke  of  seven-foot  oxen. 

A  story  is  told  of  one  of  these  trees  that  was  paraded  in  the  road, 
now  Main  St.,  in  the  village,  and  there  prepared  for  hauling  to 
Stroudwater,  the  place  of  shipment.  All  who  saw  it  pronounced  it  a 
splendid  stick.  When  the  surveyor  was  examining  it,  he  saw  a  dis- 
colored spot,  and  struck  it  with  the  pole  of  his  axe  ;  that  blow  reduced 
the  price  of  that  mast  three  hundred  dollars.  There  was  a  rotten 
spot,  which  condemned  it. 

About  the  year  1727  the  King's  Mast  Depot  was  moved  from 
Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  to  Falmouth,  Casco  Bay.  Col.  Thos.  Westbrook 
was  appointed  King's  Agent.  Col.  Westbrook,  though  never  a  citizen 
of  Gorham,  owned  a  large  amount  of  lands  in  town,  and  being  King's 
Agent  for  marking,  collecting  and  surveying  the  king's  masts,  had  a 
large  amount  of  business  with  the  early  settlers,  and  spent  much  time- 
in  perambulating  the  town  in  following  his  business,  and  was  much 
respected  by  the  citizens.  He  was  the  son  of  Col.  Westbrook  of 
Portsmouth,  N.  H.  How  early  he  came  to  Maine  we  cannot  say, 
but  in  1719  he  commenced  purchasing  lands  in  Maine.  He  and 
Samuel  Waldo  were  the  principal  members  of  the  company  which 
built  the  first  dam  across  the  Presumpscot  River,  at  what  is  known 
as  the  Presumpscot  Falls.  This  was  about  the  year  1734  or  1735, 
according  to  Mr.  Willis.  Parson  Smith  in  his  Journal  says,  Nov.  8, 
1734,  "I  rode  with  my  father  to  see  the  Colonel's  great  dam."  This 
dam  was  carried  away  by  a  freshet  on  the  31st  of  July,  1751.  It 
was  here,  and  about  this  time,  that  the  parson  saw  the  large  shoals 
of  salmon  ("an  acre  of  fish,  mostly  salmon")  and  other  fish,  con- 
gregated below  and  stopped  from  going  up  the  river  by  the  dam  then 
recently  completed,  and  remarks  that  damming  the  river,  and  thus 
stopping  the  fish  from  ascending  to  the  Pond,  would  be  more  damage 
to  the  population  above  the  dam,  than  they  could  receive  profit  from 
all  the  lumber  they  could  manufacture.  So  that  to  Col.  Westbrook 
and  his  copartners  may  be  laid  the  sin  of  stopping  the  fish  from 
going  up  the  river  to  Sebago  Pond. 

From  old  records  it  appears  that  our  ancestors  viewed  the  increase 
and  preservation  of  the  fish  in  our  rivers  and  ponds  as  an  important 


AGRICULTURAL    INTERESTS.  249 

item  in  the  economy  of  the  country,  for  we  find,  at  a  town  meeting 
held  in  Gorham  June  17,  1776,  it  was  "Voted,  Prince  Davis,  William 
Gorham,  Esq.  and  James  Phinney  be  a  committee  to  petition  the 
General  Court  for  an  order  for  the  removal  of  several  Dams  that 
obstruct  the  Fish,  coming  up  Presumpscot  River."  And  on  the  9th 
day  of  May,  1786,  it  was  "Voted,  To  concur  with  y«=  neighboring 
towns  in  a  petition  to  y^  General  Court  to  let  the  Fish  up  Presump- 
scot River."  And  as  early  as  March  12,  1765,  Edmund  Phinney 
and  Hart  Williams  were  chosen  Plsh-Wardens. 

It  is  probable  that  at  Saccarappa  was  the  only  dam  on  the  river. 
Whether  this  dam  crossed  the  whole  of  the  river,  or  ran  only  from 
the  island  to  the  shore,  we  cannot  say ;  but  Parson  Smith  says,  that 
in  February,  1748,  Mr.  Conant  at  Saccarappa  told  him  that  he  had 
ground  one  thousand  bushels  of  corn  that  winter,  there  being  no 
other  mill  than  his  between  North  Yarmouth  and  Saco.  There  had 
been  a  grist  mill  at  Gorham,  which  was  burned  by  the  Indians,  and  it 
is  known  that  at  this  time,  all  the  meal  used  in  Gorham  was  ground 
at  Saccarappa,  and  at  Capisic,  at  which  latter  place  we  think  there 
must  have  been  a  mill,  notwithstanding  what  Mr.  Conant  says. 

From  the  foregoing  facts  it  appears  there  was  quite  a  large  amount 
of  stock  in  Gorham  at  a  very  early  date.  The  amount  of  hay  raised 
in  the  town,  taking  into  account  the  number  of  hay-eating  animals, 
with  the  addition  thereto  of  the  number  of  oxen  brought  in,  in  the 
winter,  for  the  purpose  of  logging  and  masting,  must  have  made  a 
very  short  supply,  which  in  some  way  had  to  be  made  up.  Browse 
would  answer  partially  for  the  young  cattle,  but  this  was  hard  to  get 
when  the  snows  w-ere  deep.  Hay  was  necessary,  and  must  be  had ; 
they  got  it  by  perseverance  and  hard  work,  but  often  had  to  look  a 
long  way  off  to  find  their  crop,  and  in  harvesting,  it  does  not  appear 
that  they  were  governed  by  the  same  rule  laid  down  for  them  at 
home,  where  no  one  was  allowed  to  cut  hay  on  the  common  land 
before  his  share  was  surveyed  and  allotted  off  to  him. 

A  large  part  of  the  salt  marshes  in  Scarborough  at  this  time  was 
proprietors' property.  In  1750  we  find  the  Proprietors  of  Gorham- 
town  voted  to  have  the  road  cleared  out  to  the  salt  marshes  in 
Scarborough.  In  addition  to  this,  many  notices  appear  to  have  been 
issued  from  the  Court  at  York,  requiring  some  of  the  citizens  of 
Gorham  to  appear  and  answer  to  the  charge  of  trespassing  on  the 
Proprietors'  salt  marsh  in  the  town  of  Scarborough.  Some  of  them 
had  to  pay  quite  smartly,  but  they  got  the  hay.  This  was  salt-haying, 
now  for  the  fresh. 


250  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Mr.  Austin  Alden,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Gorham,  in  the  diary 
of  his  daily  doings  has  many  entries  between  the  years  1760  and 
1766  like  this:  "Worked  to-day  for  William  McLellan  on  the  Great 
Meadows,  cutting  and  stacking  hay."  One  like  this :  "  Worked  for 
William  McLellan  on  Great  Meadows.  William  got  scared,  the  first 
time  he  was  ever  scared  in  his  life;  he  trod  on  a  big  rattle-snake.  He 
killed  the  snake,  and  then  fainted." 

The  location  of  these  meadows  seemed  to  be  rather  a  mystery  to 
the  younger  generation;  nearly  a  hundred  years  had  passed  away,  so 
had  all  the  laborers.  There  was  no  place  in  town  answering  to  the 
description,  but  since  the  publication  of  the  Rev.  Paul  Coffin's  Journal 
of  a  Missionary  Tour  to  Pequawkett,  made  in  the  autumn  of  the  year 
1768,  the  location  is  made  certain.  He  says  he  climbed  a  pitch-pine 
tree  to  leave  his  name.  "From  this  tree  we  had  a  fair  prospect  of 
that  land  of  delight  which  makes  Fryeburg  and  Capt.  Brown's  town 
(Brownfield).  We  saw  the  long  meadows  at  the  east  end  of  Fryeburg. 
There  the  people  of  Falmouth  and  Gorham  cut  hay  in  1762,  and  the 
winter  following  they  kept  at  one  of  the  meadows,  viz.,  the  most 
easterly,  105  head  of  cattle  and  11  horses,  and  the  people  of  Frye- 
burg kept  there  also,  the  same  winter,  70  head  of  black  cattle.  And 
the  Gorham  and  Falmouth  people  kept  the. same  winter  at  the  other 
meadow  two  miles  northerly  about  100  black  cattle.  There  were 
then  no  settlements  in  Fryeburg,  but  some  clearings  near  where  the 
village  is.  The  stock  driven  in  was  in  charge  of  Nathaniel  Merrill, 
John  Stevens,  and  Limbo,  an  African." 

By  reference  to  the  list  of  the  first  seven  settlers  of  Fryeburg, 
Merrill  is  found  to  be  one  of  the  number ;  he  went  in  the  fall  previous 
to  the  coming  of  the  others,  and  remained  in  charge  of  the  cattle. 
Benjamin  Stevens,  who  is  spoken  of  above  as  "John"  Stevens, 
belonged  to  Gorham,  and  Limbo  was  the  slave  of  Hugh  McLellan  of 
Gorham. 

When  a  clew  is  gotten  hold  of,  it  is  sometimes  easy  to  unravel. 
Mr.  James  Phinney,  the  youngest  son  of  John  the  first  settler,  a  short 
time  before  his  death,  told  a  person  while  in  conversation  about  these 
meadows,  that  he  knew  all  about  them  ;  he  had  several  times  when 
young,  helped  the  men  drive  the  cattle  up.  He  said  their  track  was 
to  Standish,  over  Pudding  Hill  to  Baldwin,  to  Saco  River,  up  the 
river  to  near  where  Hiram  bridge  now  stands,  thence  to  the  right, 
skirting  Moose  Pond  through  the  westerly  part  of  Bridgton,  on  to 
the  meadows.  He  said  the  keepers  had  a  nice  time,  carrying  only 
their  breadstuff,  guns  and  ammunition,  plenty  of  game  and  fish  being 


AGRICULTURAL    INTERESTS.  251 

always  at  hand.  They  often  made  something  handsome  with  the 
furs  they  caught,  and  the  cattle  always  came  home  in  the  spring  in 
good  order,  though  occasionally  a  calf  or  young  creature  would  be 
lost,  or  be  killed  by  wild  animals. 

This  hay  was  cut,  made,  and  put  up  in  stacks,  with  a  rick  fence 
around  it  to  keep  off  the  animals.  A  shelter  of  bushes  constructed 
so  as  to  keep  off  the  snows  and  wind  from  the  cattle,  with  a  comfort- 
able camp  built  of  logs  for  the  keepers,  was  all  that  was  required. 
The  animals  would  not  go  astray,  but  would  keep  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  camp. 

After  the  settlement  of  Fryeburg  these  meadows  and  hay  went  into 
the  hands  of  the  proprietors;  but  some  of  the  citizens  of  Gorham 
continued  to  winter  stock  there  for  several  years,  by  purchasing  the 
grass  standing,  and  cutting  it  as  of  old. 

Lately  some  old  records,  left  by  Samuel  Wiley,  grandson  of 
Benjamin  Wiley  who  came  to  Fryeburg  with  his  father  William  Wiley 
in  1766,  have  come  to  hand,  still  farther  enlightening  the  matter. 
Old  Kezar,  for  whom  the  ponds  and  rivers  in  that  region  are  named, 
used  to  come  to  Fryeburg  trapping  after  he  was  quite  an  old  man 
and  stop  with  Benjamin  Wiley,  who  lived  at  the  north  part  of  the 
town.  Kezar  was  the  old  trapper  who  told  the  Gorham  people  about 
the  Great  (Kezar)  Meadows,  and  afterwards  told  Benjamin  Wiley 
that  Gorham  people  went  there  in  1760.  They  drove  there  some 
cattle  and  horses  through  the  woods,  on  the  old  Indian  trail,  and 
wintered  them  at  what  is  now  lower  Kezar  ;  building  there  a  log 
house  for  themselves,  and  long  shelters  for  the  cattle.  Some  of 
the  Proprietors  of  Fryeburg  came  with  catttle  in  1762  and  claimed  the 
lower  Kezar  meadows,  but  concluded  to  let  the  Gorham  people  winter 
their  cattle  there  that  year.  The  next  year,  1763,  the  Gorham  people 
gave  up  their  camps  on  lower  Kezar  to  the  Fryeburg  Proprietors, 
and  built  new  camps,  two  and  a  half  miles  to  the  north,  beyond  the 
limits  of  Fryeburg  upon  upper  Kezar  Meadows,  now  Lovell.  There 
they  wintered  two  hundred  head  of  cattle  and  twelve  horses.  The 
Proprietors  of  Fryeburg  took  possession  of  their  old  camps  in  that 
year. 

Our  record  is  rather  scant  for  many  years,  but  there  is  enough  to 
show  that  after  the  year  1760  settlers  began  to  come  in  more  freely, 
and  improvements  increased  fast.  In  the  year  1772,  thirty-six  years 
after  the  first  settlement  of  the  town,  we  find  in  an  old  document  the 
amount  of  stock  owned  in  Gorham  to  be  five  hundred  and  six  sheep, 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  swine,  seventy-seven  horses,  two  hun- 


252  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

dred  and  eighty-one  cows  and  two  hundred  and  four  oxen  ;  and  there 
were  cut  in  that  year  eight  hundred  and  fifty-three  tons  of  hay.  As 
this  enumeration  was  taken  for  tax  purposes,  it  is  probable  that  it 
was  by  no  means  overestimated. 

Since  the  days  we  have  spoken  of,  a  great  change  has  come  over 
the  land.  Our  citizens  no  longer  have  to  labor  and  toil  with  the 
trees  of  the  forest,  to  reduce  them  to  masts  and  lumber,  for  small 
pay.  These  things  have  all  passed  away.  Our  hills  are  now  covered 
with  fields  and  rich  crops.  Our  farmers  do  not  have  to  go  seventy- 
five  miles  for  hay  for  their  animals  ;  they  now  raise  enough  and  to 
spare  on  their  own  land,  and  send  to  market  annually  over  five 
thousand  tons  of  hay  alone.  Improvements  have  made  rapid  strides. 
Our  farmers,  for  all  are  more  or  less  of  that  class,  by  industry  and 
perseverance  have  become  prosperous,  and  some  of  them  rich. 

Col.  John  Gorham  was  a  man  of  good  judgment  and  great  energy. 
After  the  death  of  his  father,  he  was  the  largest  Proprietor.  He 
knew  his  father  had  lost  money  by  the  proprietary,  and  that  he  should 
make  none  unless  the  town  could  be  brought  forward  to  such  a 
point  as  to  make  the  lands  salable,  and  to  accomplish  this  end  he 
spared  no  means  in  his  power. 

The  settlers  were  greatly  in  want  of  mills,  both  to  grind  their  corn 
and  saw  their  lumber.  Whether  Col.  John  Gorham  built  the  first  mill 
in  town  does  not  clearly  appear.  In  August,  1739,  Col.  Gorham  and 
his  cousin,  Daniel  Gorham,  were  in  town.  Some  preparation  for,  or 
commencement  of  the  work  of  building  a  mill  below  the  bridge  above 
Fort  Hill  had  then  already  been  begun.  A  Proprietors'  meeting  was 
held  at  the  fort  on  the  9th  of  August,  1739,  when  the  following  pro- 
ceedings were  had: 

At  a  proprietors'  meeting  held  for  Gorhamtown,  alias  Y^  seventh 
township  granted  to  y*^  Naraganset  soldiers,  August  y^  9'*^,  1739,  by 
adjournment,  it  was  —  Voted  Y'  any  proprietor  or  Inhabitant  may 
have  y*^  privilege  of  building  a  Grist  Mill  on  Y«  Little  River  in  s^ 
township,  provided  they  do  not  incommode  the  b^iilding  of  a  Saw 
Mill  intended  to  be  built  below  y"^  Bridge  on  s'^  River,  and  provided 
they  build  and  completely  finish  y^  same  by  y'^  first  of  March  next, 
then  they  to  have  y*^  fee  of  y^  same  to  them,  their  heirs  and  assigns 
forever. 

A  true  copy  attest, 

Daniel  Gorham, 

Props  Clerk. 

It  does  not  appear  who  procured  the  passage  of  this  vote,  or  who 
took  up  the  contract  to  build  the  grist  mill,  or  who  it  was  who  con- 


FIRST    MILLS.  253 

templated  building  the  saw  mill  below  the  bridge.  But  some  years 
after,  the  Book  of  Records  appears  to  have  been  taken  to  York,  and 
the  foregoing  vote  to  have  been  recorded  in  the  Registry  of  Deeds, 
for  under  the  vote  the  following  entry  is  made  : 

York,  ss.  Received  December  the  4,  1742,  and  recorded  with  the 
Records  of  Deeds  in  said  County,  Lib°  23,  fol°  106. 

Attest  Daniel  Moulton,  Regr. 

At  a  Proprietors'  meeting  held  in  Falmouth,  Aug.  29,  1750,  it 
appears  that  the  minutes  of  this  meeting  were  brought  forward  and 
referred  to  a  committee  for  examination,  and  the  following  is  the 
report.  (The  records  examined  contained  also  the  vote  whereby  the 
two  hundred  acres  of  land  were  granted  to  Edmund  and  Stephen 
Phinney. ) 

Falmouth,  Aug.  29,  1750.  We  the  subscribers  have  examined 
the  votes  within  and  compared  y*^  same  with  an  attestation  of  the 
within  named  Daniel  Gorham,  and  are  of  opinion  that  he  compared 
and  attested  the  same,  and  are  of  opmion  they  be  recorded. 

Moses  Pearson,  ^  Props 
Joshua  Bangs,     J  Committee. 
Voted,  Accepted    the    committee's    report  above,    and  that  it  be 
recorded  in  Y"^  Proprietors  Book  of  Records,  with  Y"^  within  named 
Lots  and  Grants,  as  may  be. 

John  Phinney,   Moderator. 
Examined  and  compared. 

Per  Moses  Pearson,  Pro  Clerk. 

It  is  evident  that  there  was  no  grist  mill  in  town  in  1739,  and  none 
was  completed  by  the  Gorhams  before  March,  1743;  and  it  is  also 
evident  that  at  that  time,  March,  1743,  there  was  a  mill  owned  by 
another  person  than  Gorham  on  Little  River.  This  mill  was  the 
Blenham  mill,  situated  on  the  small  falls  some  fifty  rods  below  the 
other  falls  and  the  bridge.  It  appears  strange  at  this  day,  that  a  grist 
mill  should  have  been  built  on  the  small  falls  and  in  this  to  us  out-of- 
the-way  place,  when  falls  far  superior  in  power  and  convenience  were 
so  near,  but  perhaps  these  early  settlers  took  a  different  view  of  the 
case.  These  falls  were  at  the  head  of  navigation.  Here  John  Phin- 
ney landed  in  his  boat  when  he  came  into  town,  —  so  said  his 
grandson,  Mr.  James  Phinney  ;  here  he  took  his  boat  when  he  went 
out ;  here  he  landed  his  corn  and  all  his  supplies.  Most  of  the  set- 
tlers who  had  no  horse  to  truck  through  the  wilderness  brought 
everything  by  boat  up  the  river,  and  landed  at  the  same  place.  The 
fort  and  Fort  Hill  were  the  centre  of  business.     The  present  was 


254  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

probably  as  important  to  them  as  the  future.  They  Hked  to  have 
the  mill  handy  ;  this  location  was  handy,  being  in  the  highway  to  and 
from  market,  and  here  the  first  grist  mill  was  built,  in  all  probability, 
by  a  Mr.  Blenham. 

Who  Blenham  was,  whence  he  came,  or  where  he  went,  is  not  now 
known.  He  occupied  the  thirty  acre  lot  122,  on  which  these  little 
falls  are  situated.  The  hill  on  which  Messrs.  Matthew  and  William 
H.  Johnson  live  (1889)  was  called  by  the  old  people  Blenham's  Hill. 
Blenham  commenced  his  mill  before  the  Indian  war.  What  state  of 
forwardness  it  was  in,  is  not  known  ;  but  here,  tradition  says,  the 
early  settlers  had  their  corn  ground  before  the  war.  During  the  war 
the  Indians  set  fire  to  the  mill ;  they  unwittingly,  however,  when 
applying  the  torch,  hoisted  the  gate,  which  prevented  the  full  comple- 
tion of  their  intended  destruction.  The  mill  was  not  repaired.  At 
a  Proprietors'  meeting,  March  28,  1743,  the  right  to  settle  the  lot 
was  confirmed  to  Blenham  in  consequence  of  his  having  completed 
the  mill : 

Voted  Y'  ys  Blenham  house  lot,  and  y*^  mill  lot,  have  y*^  privilege 
of  settling  y^  lot  on  condition  of  there  being  so  much  done  at  y'^  cost 
of  y^  owner,  per  y'^  advancement  of  y"^  settlement  of  y^  township. 

An  old  lady  now  (1875)  living  in  Gorham,  about  eighty  years  of 
age,  says  she  remembers  distinctly,  when  a  young  girl,  hearing  the 
old  people  tell  of  old  Mr.  Blenham  and  his  mill,  situated  on  these 
lower  falls,  and  that  it  was  burned  by  the  Indians  in  the  war  ;  that 
Mr.  Blenham  lived  near  where  the  Buttrick  house  afterwards  stood ; 
also  of  the  Blenham  hill. 

Gorham's  mills  were  built  on  the  falls  at  the  bridge,  on  the  south 
shore.  He  probably  did  not  build  them  under  the  vote  passed 
August,  1739.  He  did  not  need  to  have  the  Proprietors  vote  him 
the  fee  of  the  lot,  for  No.  64,  on  which  the  mills  were  built,  was  one 
of  the  lots  belonging  to  the  Gorhams.  About  the  year  1780,  Timothy 
Hamblen,  whose  house  stood  on  the  hill  above  the  bridge  on  the  west 
side  of  the  road,  built  a  saw  mill  on  the  northerly  shore  of  the  large 
falls,  and  it  was  for  many  years  carried  on  by  him,  and  after  his 
death  by  his  sons  Enoch  and  John.  The  sons  added  a  grist  mill  at 
the  lower  end  of  the  saw  mill  at  the  time  the  other  mills  were  used 
by  Mr.  Buttrick  as  a  clothier's  establishment.  One  of  the  rooms  in 
the  old  Hamblen  house  was  said  to  have  been  the  second  room 
plastered  in  town.  The  old  house,  the  old  saw  mill  and  grist  mill 
built  by  the  Hamblens  have  disappeared.  Mr.  Daniel  Davis's  mills 
(now  owned  by  John  Parkhurst),  occupy  the  site  where  the  Gorhams 


FIRST    MILLS.  255 

built   their  mills,  and  the  little   falls  where   the   Blenham    mill  was 
destroyed  by  the  Indians  are  unoccupied. 

At  the  Proprietors'  meeting  aforesaid,  held  March  28,  1743  : 

Voted  and  granted  unto  Capt.  John  Gorham,  Four  hundred  acres 
of  the  common  land  in  that  corner  of  the  township  adjoining  to 
Falmouth  on  Presumpscot  River,  alias,  the  eastern  corner  of  said 
Township,  he  y^  said  Gorham  to  finish  or  cause  to  finish  the  Saw 
Mill  and  Grist  Mill  that  he  has  already  begun  in  said  township  on 
Little  River,  and  also  give  security  to  y^  committee  chosen  to  sign  y'^ 
grants,  that  he  will  give  in  exchange  to  y*^  proprietors  so  many  acres 
of  his  undivided  lands  for  y'=  use  of  y'^  proprietary,  that  is  of  y*^  third 
division. 

Col.  Gorham  died  soon  after  this  vote  was  passed  by  the  Proprie- 
tors. He  did  not  finish  the  mills,  but  they  were  completed  by  his 
brother,  David  Gorham ;  to  him  were  confirmed  the  four  hundred 
acres  of  land,  as  appears  by  a  vote  passed  Jan.  11,  1759. 

The  two  votes  above  cited  show  clearly  that  at  the  time,  1743, 
there  were  two  sets  of  mills,  one  known  as  Blenham's  mill,  which 
appears  to  have  been  finished,  and  the  other,  the  Gorham  mills,  in  a 
state  of  building.  That  the  Gorham  mills  were  at  the  bridge  is  clear, 
for  they  owned  the  lot  on  which  they  were  built,  and  these  were  the 
mills  finally  finished  by  David  Gorham. 

That  there  were  no  mills  in  town  for  grinding  corn  during  the  war, 
after  the  burning  of  the  Blenham  mill,  is  a  fact  as  well  authenticated 
as  any  tradition.  The  settlers  were  compelled  to  carry  their  corn  to 
Capisic  to  have  it  ground,  and  when  they  had  none,  to  go  to  Portland, 
purchase  it,  and  have  it  ground  on  the  way  home.  There  was  then 
no  road,  only  a  track  through  the  woods  marked  by  spotted  trees. 
Some  carried  their  grist  on  their  backs;  those  so  fortunate  as  to  own 
a  horse  went  on  horseback. 

As  before  said,  no  one  now  knows  who  this  Mr.  Blenham  was,  or 
what  became  of  him.  It  is  believed  that  before  the  war,  there  were 
some  twenty  families  in  town,  in  addition  to  some  men  unmarried.  No 
perfect  list  of  these  persons  has  been  preserved  to  let  us  know  who 
they  were,  but  we  know  the  names  of  most  of  them.  The  probability 
is,  that  after  the  burning  of  his  mill  and  the  destruction  of  his 
property,  Blenham  left  town  for  parts  more  safe,  abandoning  his  rights 
and  improvements,  and  on  account  of  his  age,  (he  was  known  as  old 
Blenham,)  or  for  some  other  reason,  never  returned. 

In  1753  Solomon  Lombard,  Esq.,  Enoch  Freeman,  Esq.  and 
Wentworth  Stuart  erected  a  mill  on  the  site  of  the  Blenham  mill,  at  a 
cost  of    ;^i738-9s-8d.     On    Feb.  11,    1762,   David  Gorham   sold  to 


256  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM, 

Lemuel  Rich  of  Truro,  Mass.,  thirty  acres  in  the  whole  (thirty  acre 
lot  No.  64),  with  one-half  of  the  mill,  mill-dam,  stream,  and  all 
material  for  building  mills  on  said  thirty  acre  lot,  also  the  whole  of 
the  thirty  acre  lot  lying  opposite  the  first,  No.  63.  This  half  of  the 
saw  mill,  and  one-half-  of  a  grist  mill,  dam  and  the  privileges  of  the 
stream,  together  with  a  quarter  of  the  thirty  acre  lot  No.  64,  Mr.  Rich 
sold  in  1765  to  Enoch  Freeman. 

The  first  fulling  mill  in  Gorham  was  built  by  two  men,  Conant  and 
Chase,  about  the  year  1788  or  '89.  It  was  located  on  the  Hamblen 
falls,  on  the  site  of  Gorham's  mills.  In  1790  Chase,  then  of  Haver- 
hill, Mass.,  sold  to  Josiah  Morse  of  Pembroke,  N.  H.,  clothier,  the 
north  half  of  the  thirty  acre  lot  122,  together  with  the  fulling  mill 
situated  on  the  said  half.  Morse  carried  on  the  business  a  few  years, 
but  removed  to  Limington  about  1797.  He  was  succeeded  by  James 
Tyler,  a  clothier  and  fuller,  who  carried  on  the  principal  part  of  his 
business  at  the  mill  by  the  bridge,  but  had  a  fulling  mill  and  dye 
house  on  the  little,  or  Blenham  fall,  just  below.  In  1801  Tyler  sold 
out  the  mills  and  business  to  Willard  Buttrick,  who  continued  to 
carry  on  the  business  at  the  same  places.  In  August,  18 13,  the 
fulling  mill  and  dye  house  were  destroyed  by  fire,  together  with  some 
six  thousand  yards  of  cloth  belonging  to  other  persons,  and  sent  to 
him  to  be  dressed.  After  the  fire  he  moved  all  his  machinery  into 
the  mill  near  the  bridge,  and  abandoned  the  Blenham  falls.  Here 
he  remained  till  he  sold  out  to  Peter  Whitney.  Mr.  Whitney  was  the 
last  that  carried  on  the  business  at  these  Gorham  falls,  and  probably 
the  last  that  carried  it  on  in  Gorham.  A  few  years  before  his  death 
in  1842,  his  mill  was  changed  to  a  grist  mill  and  saw  mill. 

Samuel  Warren  raised  a  saw  mill,  Aug.  2,  1763,  on  Little  River, 
on  the  mill  privilege  belonging  to  the  hundred  acre  lot  66,  which  lot 
he  purchased  in  1761  of  William  Lakeman  and  Anthony  Brackett. 
Mr.  Warren's  two  sons,  Samuel  and  James,  afterwards  owned  a  grist 
mill  on  the  northerly  side  of  the  old  Buxton  (Flaggy  Meadow)  road, 
and  near  to  the  town  line.  A  man  by  the  name  of  Partridge  raised 
the  frame  of  a  saw  mill  in  Gorham  on  the  8th  of  November,  1763, 
but  where  this  mill  was  located  we  do  not  know. 

In  1753  Joseph  Quimby  of  Falmouth  purchased  of  Samuel  Cobb, 
one-half  of  the  hundred  acre  lot  75,  which  lot  contains  the  mill 
privilege  on  Little  River  near  what  is  called  Stephenson's  bridge, 
near  the  foot  of  Brandy  Brook  hill.  On  these  falls  he  built  a  saw 
mill,  which  was  raised  Oct.  2,  1764.  This  mill  was  owned  in  common, 
and  run  on  shares  by  several  of  the  neighboring  settlers  ;  amongst 


FIRST    MILLS.  257 

whom,  John  Watson  and  Isaac  Skillings  owned  a  right,  as  possibly 
did  Nathan  Whitney  also,  for  we  find  that  he  purchased  on  Sept. 
8,  1764,  of  Abijah  P.  Lewis  a  half  of  the  mill  privilege.  Quimby 
sold  his  share  of  the  mill  and  privilege  in  1766  to  Ebenezer  Mayo  of 
Falmouth.  There  was  a  grist  mill,  known  as  Harding's  mill,  on  these 
falls  as  early  as  the  year  1785.  This  mill  was  probably  built  by  the 
two  Hardings,  Capt.  Samuel  and  his  brother  Simon.  On  the  24th 
of  August,  1789,  we  find  the  owners  to  be  Simon  Harding,  Martha 
the  widow  of  Capt.  Samuel  Harding,  Capt.  John  Stephenson,  and 
James  and  Lucy  (Holbrook)  Rolfe. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  Cary  McLellan 
and  his  brother  William  built  a  saw  mill  on  the  hundred  acre  lot  No. 
25.  This  mill  was  situated  on  the  westerly  side  of  the  road,  on  the 
small  stream  which  crosses  the  road  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  just  south 
of  where  Mrs.  Levi  Hamblen  lately  lived.  When  they  built  this  mill 
there  was  not  water  enough  in  the  brook,  as  they  said,  to  mix  their 
grog ;  but  in  the  following  spring  the  little  stream,  swollen  by  a 
sudden  freshet,  rose  and  completely  destroyed  the  mill.  Solomon 
Lombard,  Esq.,  the  McLellans,  and  some  others,  who  were  largely 
interested  in  lands  and  timber  in  Gorham,  owned  and  ran  a  number  of 
small  saw  mills  on  the  brooks  and  small  streams  in  the  various  parts 
of  the  town.  They  would  cut  the  timber  on  the  banks  and  near  by 
at  odd  times,  and  then  saw  it  up  in  the  spring  and  fall,  when  the 
melting  snows  and  heavy  rains  would  furnish  power  enough  to  run 
the  machinery. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  century  there  were  several  small  carding 
mills  in  town,  where  the  farmers'  wives  could  bring  their  wool  and 
have  it  carded  into  rolls  ready  to  be  spun  on  their  spinning  wheels. 
Solomon  Newcomb  had  one  of  these  mills.  It  was  situated  in  the 
north  part  of  the  town,  on  what  is  known  as  the  "  West  Branch,"  on 
land  lately  owned  by  Mr.  Benjamin  Irish.  About  18 16  Livy  Buker 
built  a  carding  mill  at  Gambo,  where  he  carried  on  the  business  for  a 
few  years. 

It  appears  that  the  old  Proprietors  intended  to  reserve  a  burying- 
place  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  settled  minister's  lot,  57,  and  the 
spot  was  used  for  that  purpose  from  early  times,  though  the  town's 
title  was  never  made  perfect.  In  this  yard  William  Bryant  and  his 
family  were  buried  in  April,  1746,  as  were  also  those  who  died  in  the 
fort  in  1750  at  the  time  of  the  dreadful  disease  that  then  prevailed. 
This  thirty  acre  lot  which  belonged  to  Mr.  Lombard,  the  first  settled 
minister,   finally   came   into   fhe  hands  of  Mr.  James    Phinney.     It 


258  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

appears  that  Mr.  Phinney  proposed  to  give  the  land  occupied  to  the 
town,  and  at  a  town  meeting  held  on  the  3d  day  of  May,  1802,  it  was 
"  Voted,  that  the  selectmen  see  that  the  forty  dollars  voted  to  fence 
y^  burying  place  at  Fort  Hill  be  laid  out  to  y«=  best  advantage,  and 
take  a  deed  of  Mr.  James  Phinney  for  the  burying  grounds.  And 
that  the  Selectmen  be,  and  they  are  hereby  directed  to  purchase  of 
Mr.  Phinney  land  enough  to  complete  one  acre,  with  what  he  is  to 
give  the  Town." 

The  present  Methodist  church  edifice  at  the  village  covers  what 
was  one  of  the  earliest  burying  places  in  town.  At  the  time  it  was 
used  it  was  an  orchard,  and  belonged  to  Capt.  Bryant  Morton,  whose 
first  wife  was  probably  buried  there.  Besides  Mrs.  Morton,  there 
were  buried  here  Rev.  Ebenezer  Townsend,  Mrs.  Samuel  Hamblen, 
Mrs.  Cole,  Joseph  Morton  and  many  others  long  since  forgotten. 

In  the  year  1770  Mr.  Jacob  Hamblen  presented  the  town  with  a 
half  acre  of  land  to  be  used  for  a  burying  ground.  Mr.  Hamblen's 
dwelling  house  was  on  the  thirty  acre  lot  16,  where  Mr.  Harding's 
store  lately  stood,  and  the  land  which  he  gave  was  a  part  of  his 
homestead  farm. 

The  following  vote  was  passed  at  a  town  meeting  held  on  the  35th 
day  of  March,  1771  :  —  '"  Voted,  That  Solomon  Lombard,  Esq.,  Capt. 
Edmund  Phinney,  Nathan  Whitney,  Nathaniel  Whitney,  Joseph 
Cates,  Benjamin  Stevens,  Benjamin  Skillings,  Eliphalet  Watson  and 
Joseph  Pilkinton  be  a  Committee  to  Return  the  Thanks  of  the  Town 
to  Mr.  Joseph  Hamblen  for  his  Generosity  in  giving  to  the  Town 
Half  an  Acre  of  Land  for  the  Purpose  of  a  Burying  Yard." 

The  meeting  was  then  adjourned  to  the  3d  of  April,  when  the 
committee  through  its  chairman  reported  publicly  as  follows  : 

"  An  Address  of  thanks,  of  the  Town  of  Gorham,  to  Mr.  Jacob 
Hamblen,  for  his  Generous  present  and  gift  to  the  Town  of  a  tract 
of  Land  for  a  Common  Burying  Place,  Pronounced  by  Solomon 
Lombard,  Esq.,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  that  was  Chosen  by  the 
Town  for  that  purpose  the  25th  of  March,  1771. 

"  Mr.  Hamblen,  this  Large  Committee  are  Commanded  by  the 
Town  of  Gorham  to  wait  upon  you,  Sir,  with  an  Address  of  thanks 
of  the  Town  for  your  free  and  Generous  present  made  to  the  Town  of 
a  parcel  of  land  for  a  Common  Burying  place,  where  the  people 
may  Bury  their  Dead  out  of  their  Sight.  True  it  is  Sir,  that  the 
intrinsic  value  of  the  present  made  to  the  Town  is  not  Equal  to  the 
Donations  of  Some  of  Greater  Fortunes  who  have  Built  Hospitals 
and  Endowed  them,  and  have  Built  Churches  and  Endowed  them, 
and  thereby  have  transmitted  their  names  and  Honor  to  L^nborn 
Ages,  Yet,  Notwithstanding  this,  Sir,  the  free  and  Generous  Air  and 
the  Religious  end  for  which  you  made  this  gift  to  the  Town,  renders 


BURYING    GROUNDS.  259 

it  a  Great,  Noble  and  Generous  Donation  where  Survivors  may 
Deposit  their  greatest  Treasure,  their  Dear  friend  and  Relative  ;  that 
provision  be  made  for  Depositing  the  Dead  is  as  necessary  as  to 
make  provision  of  houses  for  the  Living  to  Dwell  in.  By  the  Apos- 
tacy  and  fall  from  God,  Adam  and  all  his  posterity  became  Mortal  : 
in  the  day  thou  Eatest  thereof  thou  Shalt  Surely  Die.  Death  is 
entailed  upon  all  Adam's  Posterity,  and  every  one  knows,  that  as  he 
is  Born,  he  shall  Surely  Die;  so  that  P5urying  places  not  only  are 
Convenient,  but  Absolutely  Necessary,  for  the  Dearest  friend  and 
relative  while  living,  that  gives  the  most  Sensation  of  pleasure  and 
delight  in  Converse  and  Communion  with  them,  but  when  once  Cold 
Death  Embraces  this  Object  in  her  Arms,  He  or  She,  becomes  Disa- 
greeable Company.  That  object  that  once  Delighted  every  eye  and 
Charmed  every  Heart,  and  engrossed  the  Strongest  Affections ; 
when  once  the  lovely  Corpse  becomes  Shaded  with  the  Image  and 
Picture  of  Death  and  Corruption,  all  pleasing  Sensation  and  Delight 
is  lost  and  gone,  and  the  Breast  that  once  swelled  with  Joy,  now  is 
Charged  with  an  insupportable  load  of  Grief,  and  his  thoughts 
employed,  where  to  Deposit  his  Dead  out  of  his  sight.  When  God 
visited  Abraham  and  by  his  Afflictive  hand  had  Snatched  from  him 
a  Portion  of  his  very  heart,  in  the  Death  of  his  Dearly  beloved  Sarah, 
she  who  once  by  her  Beauty  charmed  him,  and  her  becoming  mien 
greatly  Delighted  him.  And  her  ready  and  Cheerful  Obedience  and 
Affection  for  him  gave  her  the  highest  place  in  his  heart  of  all 
Earthly  Objects,  but  upon  this  Event,  viz,  the  Death  of  Sarah,  he 
was  so  far  from  Receiving  pleasure  or  Satisfaction  from  the  presence 
of  the  Corpse,  that  it  Excited  the  greatest  pain  and  Uneasiness  of 
mind,  and  he  Seeks  a  place  to  repose  his  Dead  out  of  his  Sight,  for 
we  find  Recorded  in  Sacred  Writ,  that  Abraham  stood  up  before  his 
Dead  and  Spoke  to  the  Sons  of  Heth,  Saying  I  am  a  Stranger  and 
a  Sojourner  with  you,  give  me  a  Possession  of  a  Buiying  place  with 
you  that  I  may  Bury  my  Dead  out  of  my  sight.  Upon  which  they 
Generously  offered  him  the  Choice  of  their  Sepulchres  to  Bury  his 
Dead.  Upon  which  Abraham  bowed  himself  to  the  people  in  Grati- 
tude to  them  ;  but  this  was  not  what  he  was  desirous  of ;  but  a  piece 
of  Ground  that  he  might  Call  his  own,  that  he  might  there  without 
Trespass,  view  the  monument  of  his  Dying  or  Dead  friend,  and  there 
Empty  his  Breast  over  Charged  with  Grief  in  Showers  of  Tears  over 
her  Grave.  For  this  purpose  he  entreats  the  Sons  of  Heth  to  plead 
for  him  with  Zohar  for  the  Cave  Machpelah  at  y^  end  of  his  field  for 
as  much  Money  as  it  was  worth,  where  he  might  Deposit  this  once 
Lovely  Corpse,  and  without  Trespass  or  offence  to  any  visit  and 
mourn  over.  S"",  the  Same  desire  prevails  in  every  man,  he  desires 
the  Liberty  of  visiting  the  Grave  Yard,  and  see  the  little  Hillock,  the 
Rising  Ground,  the  memorial  of  the  D»ad,  without  Ground  of  Com- 
plaint from  any  one,  there  to  Contemplate  the  State  of  Mortality, 
the  irreparable  loss  Sustained,  and  to  weep  over  the  Dead.  There 
is,  S"",  a  Secret  pleasure  in  this,  as  weeping  for  Sin  yields  Comfort  to 
the  penitent,  so  mourning  for  the  Dead  does  yield  Satisfaction.    This 


260  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

mourning  is  not  Altogether  a  painful  Sensation.  You,  S"",  have  put 
it  in  the  power  of  the  people  in  this  place  to  visit  their  Dead,  as  often 
as  their  inclination  Excites  them  thereto.  The  Dead  Bodys  are 
Deposed  as  Seed,  as  Seed  Sown  for  the  Resurrection.  And  Probable 
it  is  that  most  of  us  may  soon,  in  a  few  months  or  years,  mingle  our 
Dust  with  those  there  Buried,  until  the  Sound  of  the  last  Trumpet, 
Arise  y^  dead,  and  Come  to  Judgment.  God  in  mercy  prepare  each 
of  us  for  such  an  Event. 

"  And  now,  S"",  to  Conclude,  we,  the  Committee  do,  in  the  name  of 
the  Town,  wish  and  pray  that  God  in  his  providence  may  Shower 
down  into  your  Bosom,  Seven  fold  of  the  Good  things  of  this  Life  in 
Recompense  for  your  Charity  and  Goodness,  and  in  the  world 
to  Come  may  you  be  Rewarded  with  Life  Eternal,  and  that  both  you 
and  we  may  be  so  happy  as  to  joyn  the  Great  Assembly  above. 
Angels,  Arch-Angels,  and  the  whole  Church  Tryumphant  in  Singing 
the  Song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb,  where  there  shall  be  no  more  pain 
or  dying,  no  weeping  for  Departed  friends,  but  fullness  of  Joy  at 
God's  Right  Hand." 

This  lot  of  land,  which  Mr.  Hamblen  so  kindly  gave  to  the  town, 
is  the  burying  ground  at  the  village,  on  South  St.,  which  is  now 
known  as  "The  Old  Yard." 

The  "  New  Yard  "  at  the  village,  on  Main  St.,  was  purchased  by 
the  town  about  1830.  It  consisted  originally  of  the  southeast 
quarter  of  the  present  yard,  and  has  been  twice  enlarged.  In  1846 
the  town  bought  of  Daniel  C.  Libby,  a  sufficient  quantity  of  land  to 
extend  the  yard  through  to  Main  St.,  and  in  1878  the  cemetery  was 
doubled  by  the  purchase  of  the  Capt.  Nathaniel  Frost  place,  on  its 
western  side. 

In  the  north  part  of  the  town  there  are  large  burying  grounds. 
One  is  situated  at  Sapling  Hill,  and  another  is  near  the  North 
Meeting  House.  The  beginning  of  this  latter  yard  was  when,  in 
November,  1790,  the  town  voted  that  the  selectmen  should  buy  an 
acre  of  land  in  the  north  part  of  the  town  for  a  graveyard.  The 
land  was  purchased  of  Zebulon  Whitney,  and  in  1793  John  Phinney, 
Uriel  Whitney  and  Decker  Phinney  were  chosen  a  committee  to 
build  a  good  post  and  board  fence  around  it.  Since  then  more  land 
has  been  added  to  this  yard  from  time  to  time,  until  it  has  reached 
its  present  size.  There  is  also  a  smaller  yard  near  Merrill  T.  Files's 
store  at  White  Rock,  the  land  for  which  was  purchased  by  the  town 
of  Josedeck  Sanborn  in  1791.  East  of  the  present  schoolhouse  at 
White  Rock,  and  near  the  spot  where  the  old  church  once  stood,  is 
an  old  burying  ground,  with  but  three  stones  standing  in  it  bearing 
inscriptions.     This  yard,  four  rods  wide  on  the  road  and  six  rods 


BURYING    GROUNDS.  201 

deep,  was  given  for  a  neighborhood  burying  ground  by  Mr.  Clay,  a 
part  of  whose  farm  it  was.  Here  some  seventy-five  of  the  older 
dwellers  in  this  region  are  buried,  including  Joseph  McDonald,  Sr., 
Mrs.  Lydia  Young,  William  Clay  and  his  wife  Anna.  When  the 
road  was  widened  a  few  years  ago  about  a  rod  of  the  yard  was  thrown 
out  into  the  highway. 

Great  Falls  (North  Gorham)  has  a  nice  cemetery,  which  was  pur- 
chased and  laid  out  about  1850.  At  Little  Falls,  besides  the  large 
yard  on  the  hill  near  William  H.  McLellan's,  there  is  the  smaller 
"  Swett  yard  "  near  the  Free  Baptist  church,  where  two  of  our  earliest 
settlers,  Timothy  Cloutman  and  his  wife  Katy,  are  buried.  The 
south  part  of  the  town  for  many  years  used  a  burying  ground, 
situated  just  north  of  the  residence  of  Melville  C.  Burnell.  In  1880, 
however,  the  town  purchasing  land  for  the  present  yard  near  Parker's 
Corner,  this  yard  was  taken  up,  and  the  bodies  from  it,  and  various 
private  yards,  were  moved  to  their  new  resting  place.  There  is  also 
a  cemetery  at  West  Gorham,  and  one  near  S.  S.  VVaterhouse's. 
Besides  the  "  Swett  yard,"  mentioned  above,  there  are  many  other 
private  or  family  burying  grounds  scattered  over  the  town. 

Gorham  certainly  has  no  need  to  feel  ashamed  of  its  numerous 
cemeteries,  shaded  with  beautiful  trees  ;  many  of  them  containing 
fine  monuments,  and  with  their  lots  for  the  most  part  neatly  and 
tastily  laid  out. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

DIFFERENT    VILLAGES    IN    THE    TOWN. 

BUSINESS    CENTRES  —  NORTHEAST    PART    OF    THE   TOWN  —  WHIIE    ROCK  —  WEST 
GORHAM  —  GAMBO — MALLISON'S    FALLS,    AND    LITTLE    FALLS. 

About  the  year  1800  Black  Brook  road,  so  called,  (now  closed) 
leading  from  the  late  Rufus  Mosher's  to  the  late  William  Burton's, 
and  passing  the  house  of  Mr.  Hamblen,  was  the  principal  thorough- 
fare to  Horse  Beef,  Great  Falls,  Sebago  Pond,  North  Windham 
and  Raymond.  Over  this  road  all  the  lumber  and  other  material 
hauled  to  and  from  the  above  places  had  to  pass.  Many  thought 
that  the  centre  of  business  would  be  near  the  mouth  of  Black  Brook 
Road,  consequently  quite  a  collection  of  buildings  sprang  up  near 
there.  Within  sixty  rods  there  were  ten  houses,  most  of  them  of  two 
stories,  two  stores,  two  cooper's  shops,  two  shoemaker's  shops,  and 
a  blacksmith's  shop  ;  and  quite  a  business  was  done  here.  Joseph 
Gilkey  built  one  of  these  houses,  a  large  two  story  one,  which  stood 
a  little  east  of  where  Mrs.  Rufus  Mosher  now  lives.  This  house  was 
torn  down  about  1815.  Mr.  Gilkey  was  a  joiner  and  house  carpenter 
by  trade.  The  coopers  were  James  King,  Joseph  \^'hitney  and 
Clement  Phinney.  Mr.  Southernham  was  the  blacksmith,  while  Joseph 
Whitney,  Edmund  Gammon  and  Nathaniel  Hatch  were  in  trade  here. 
Mr.  Gammon  kept  a  grocery  store,  which  stood  nearly  opposite  the 
dwelling  of  Mrs.  Rufus  Mosher.  This  building  was  afterwards 
moved  on  to  the  cross  road,  and  now  forms  the  dwelling  house  where 
the  late  Daniel  C.  Libby  lived. 

As  time  passed,  however,  business  gradually  centered  more  and 
more  at  the  Corner.  Here,  stores  had  been  kept  soon  after  the 
Revolution  by  Gary  McLellan,  and  Samuel  Prentiss,  the  latter  of 
whom  built  the  "  Old  Yellow  Shop  "  about  1784.  Daniel  Cressey 
about  1795  built  the  first  store  which  stood  on  the  corner  of  Main 
and  South  streets,  where  the  store  of  F.  H.  Emery  now  stands. 
Here  he  did  a  thriving  business.  John  Horton  had  a  store  on  Main 
St.  just  west  of  the  house  where  Llewellyn  Brown  now  lives. 
This  store  was  afterwards  owned  and  occupied  by  Capt.  David 
Harding,  Jr.  Across  the  street,  and  nearly  opposite,  was  the  shop  of 
Nathaniel  Gould,  saddler  and  harness-maker.     Joseph  Hunt  had  a 


BUSINESS    CENTRES.  263 

shop  on  the  east  side  of  School  St.  where  he  made  and  sold  hats. 
The  site  of  this  shop  is  now  covered  by  the  building  at  present  used 
by  the  Public  Library.  In  iSio  Capt.  Ebenezer  Hatch  traded  in  a 
store  which  he  built  on  School  St.  on  the  lot  where  the  buildings  of 
Simon  E.  McLellan  now  stand.  For  this  lot  Capt.  Hatch  paid  a  row  of 
silver  dollars  equal  in  length  to  the  width  of  the  lot  on  the  street,  which 
was  two  rods.  The  Joseph  Hunt  lot,  just  spoken  of,  was  purchased  in 
like  manner,  except  that  its  street  line  (twenty-eight  and  one-half 
feet)  was  covered  with  half  dollars.  In  1820  Dea.  Nahum  Chadbourn 
and  Capt.  David  Harding,  Jr.  hired  the  parish  lot,  and  built  two  stores 
on  it.  In  one  of  these  Dea.  Chadbourn  carried  on  his  business  of 
saddler  and  harness-maker,  while  in  the  other  Capt.  Harding,  and 
after  him  his  son  David,  traded.  About  1802  Toppan  Robie  and 
Sewall  Lancaster  built  a  store  on  the  southwest  corner  of  High  and 
School  streets.  Mr.  Lancaster  died  in  181 2,  and  soon  after  Mr.  Robie 
formed  a  partnership  with  his  brother  Thomas  S.  Robie.  About  181 2 
Alexander  McLellan  built  a  store  on  the  northwest  corner  of  High 
and  School  streets.  In  the  stores  of  both  T.  and  T.  S.  Robie,  and  Mr. 
McLellan  there  was  carried  on  for  many  years  an  extensive  and 
flourishing  business  in  the  grocery  and  variety  line  common  to  the 
country  store  of  that  day.  It  would  be  hard  to  name  any  article  of 
ordinary  use  which  could  not  be  found  in  those  stores.  Mr. 
McLellan,  who  was  postmaster  for  many  years,  kept  the  office  in  his 
store.  Much  of  the  trade  of  the  time  was  carried  on  by  barter.  Most 
of  the  above-mentioned  merchants  packed  beef  for  the  West  India 
market.  They  employed  many  coopers  in  making  their  barrels,  and 
also  in  making  heading  and  shooks  which  they  sent  to  the  West 
Indies  to  be  exchanged  for  molasses,  sugar,  rum  and  various  other 
commodities. 

In  winter  a  long  procession  of  ox-sleds,  teams  and  pungs  loaded 
with  country  produce,  coming  through  the  Notch  from  Vermont  and 
Coos  County,  passed  daily  down  over  Fort  Hill  and  through  the  vil- 
lage on  their  way  to  the  Portland  market.  Much  business  was 
brought  by  them,  however,  to  Gorham,  and  not  infrequently  whole 
loads  of  their  produce  were  disposed  of  at  the  village  stores.  Gorham 
village  was  a  lively  place  in  those  days.  After  the  new  road  to 
Standish  was  opened  about  1820,  cutting  off  the  hard  hills  of  the  Fort 
Hill  road,  the  teaming  came  dow-n  High  St.,  but  with  the  opening  of 
State  St.'  most  of  the  country  travel  came  into  town  that  way.     In 

I  The  first  house  built  on   State   St.  was  the  house  now  occupied  by  Hon.  Edward 
Hardinfr,  which  was  liuilt  by  Phineas  Harmon,  at  one  time  a  blacksmitli  in  Gorham. 


264  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

course  of  time,  however,  the  building  of  railroads  and  the  ease  with 
which  goods  could  be  transported  over  them  affected  the  business  of 
teaming,  and  soon  destroyed  it  altogether. 

Gorham  village  was  incorporated,  under  the  name  of  Gorham  Vil- 
lage Corporation,  by  an  Act  of  the  Legislature  passed  Mar.  22,  1895. 

It  is  probable  that  Uriah  Nason  was  the  first  settler  in  the  north- 
east part  of  the  town,  near  Great  Falls.  Mr.  Nason  took  up  a  lot  in 
its  natural  state  somewhere  about  the  year  1765,  and  built  a  log 
house  near  where  the  house  now  (1874)  occupied  by  his  grand- 
daughter Rebecca  (daughter  of  Uriah  the  second)  stands,  on  the 
seventy  acre  lot  81.  For  several  years  the  nearest  neighbor  the  family 
had  was  about  four  miles  off.  At  that  time  the  only  communication 
they  had  with  the  outside  world  was  by  a  logging  road  cut  and 
bushed  out  through  the  woods,  hardly  passable  in  the  summer,  other- 
wise than  on  foot.  This  road  was  only  used  by  the  lumbermen  in 
going  to  and  from  Great  Falls.  Mrs.  Nason  said  that  she  often 
remained  for  months  without  seeing  the  face  of  a  white  woman.  At 
one  time  she  did  not  see  a  white  woman  for  six  months,  when  she  was 
taken  sick,  and  her  husband  went  out  with  his  team  and  ox-sled  and 
brought  in  an  old  lady,  who  remained  with  her  a  few  hours  minis- 
tering to  her  necessities,  and  then  departed  for  home,  six  miles  off, 
by  the  same  conveyance.  Indians  at  this  time  were  quite  common 
about  town,  hunting  and  fishing.  Mrs.  Nason  found  them  rather 
annoying,  and  great  beggars,  which  was  inconvenient  for  her  and  her 
family,  as  they  were  themselves  often  lacking  even  the  necessaries  of 
life. 

July  31,  1767,  was  a  very  memorable  day  for  this  section  of  the 
town,  which  fortunately  for  itself  at  that  date  was  practically  unin- 
habited. Of  this  day  tradition  has  preserved  the  following  account : 
The  weather  throughout  the  forenoon  was  unusually  hot  and  sultr}' 
with  not  a  breath  of  air  stirring,  when  suddenly,  about  noon,  a  noise 
like  the  roaring  of  a  mighty  cataract  of  waters  was  heard,  and  a 
cloud  of  a  dull  copper  color  was  seen  rushing  swiftly  from  the  direc- 
tion of  Sebago  Pond,  and  making  an  almost  due  eastern  course. 
This  hurricane,  which  is  said  to  have  begun  near  the  southern  end  of 
Sebago  Lake,  passed  across  this  part  of  the  town,  through  what  is 
still  known  as  the  Hurricane  District,  and  struck  the  Presumpscot 
River  near  Loveitt's  Falls.  It  tore  through  the  dense  forest  at  tre- 
mendous speed,  carrying  all  before  it,  and  leaving  a  track,  varying 
from  three-fourths  of  a  mile  to  a  mile  in  width,  swept  as  bare  of 


NORTHEAST    PART    OF    THE    TOWN.  265 

ever)^  growing  thing  as  if  an  army  of  sturdy  pioneers  had  been  at 
work  clearing  the  land  for  settlement :  scarcely  a  tree  remained 
standing  in  its  path.  After  crossing  the  Presumpscot  it  continued  its 
devastating  career  through  the  town  of  Windham,  passing  directly  over 
Windham  Duck  Pond,  and  from  thence  through  Falmouth  to  Cum- 
berland where  it  finally  spent  its  fury  upon  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic' 

As  if  the  destruction  caused  by  the  wrath  of  Nature  did  not  work 
harm  enough  to  this  corner  of  the  town,  it  was  to  be  augmented  a  few 
years  later,  in  1777,  by  a  great  forest  conflagration  caused  by  human 
agency.  There  are  various  stories  as  to  where  and  how  this  fire 
started,  but  the  following  account,  given  us  by  a  descendant  of  one 
of  the  earliest  settlers  in  this  neighborhood,  as  it  had  been  handed 
down  to  him,  is  probably  very  close  to  the  truth  of  the  matter. 

The  early  settlers  were  greatly  annoyed  at  the  depredations  com- 
mitted upon  their  property  by  the  wild  beasts  of  the  forest.  Bears, 
especially,  were  great  aggressors :  they  would  snatch  up  in  their 
fore  paws  pigs  and  sheep  and  carry  them  off,  walking  on  their  hind 
legs  till  they  could  get  a  chance  to  kill  them ;  or  breaking  into  a 
field  of  corn  at  night  when  the  ears  were  in  the  milk,  would  gather  in 
all  the  stocks  their  arms  could  hold,  when  they  would  deposit  them- 
selves on  the  top  of  the  pile  and  devour  whatever  ears  might  be  in 
sight  on  the  surface  of  the  mass,  then  up  and  repeat  the  perform- 
ance in  another  part  of  the  field,  and  so  on ;  one  animal  in  this 
manner  destroying  much  more  than  several  could  eat. 

One  old  strip-faced  bear  in  particular  proved  an  unmitigated  source 
of  annoyance  to  Uriah  Nason,  continuing  his  predatory  attacks  on 
Mr.  Nason's  property  in  spite  of  all  efforts  made  for  his  capture  by 
this  famous  hunter,  who  seldom  needed  to  fire  twice  at  the  same  ani- 
mal. All  to  no  purpose  ;  spring-guns,  traps,  pitfalls  and  even  the 
unerring  rifle  in  the  hands  of  the  long-suffering  pioneer,  who  spent 
nights  and  days  lying  in  wait  for  a  shot,  were  useless.  The  old  fellow 
seemed  to  know  when  Mr.  Nason  was  on  the  war  path,  and  laid  low, 
accordingly.  Mr.  Nason  finally  discovered  the  dwelling  place  of  his 
bear-ship  amongst  a  heap  of  fallen  trees,  overthrown  and  piled  up  by 
the  hurricane  of  1767.     Amongst  these  trees  the  bear  had  securely 

I  Gorhara  was  also  visited  by  another  small  tornado  or  hurricane  which,  on  the  after- 
noon of  Sunday,  the  4th  of  June,  18G5,  passed  over  a  part  of  the  town,  travelling  in  an 
easterly  direction.  Amongst  other  damage  done  by  this  gale,  it  destroyed  l)arns  belong- 
ing to  Alexander  Allen,  Stephen  .Stephenson.  David  Moore  (who  lived  on  the  place  now 
occupied  by  Marshall  Sturgis),  Daniel  Haker  and  William  Trickey.  It  also  started  Mr. 
Wescott's  barn  from  its  foundations,  and  unroofed  a  house  near  Saccarappa.  Many  trees 
which  came  in  its  path  were  uprooted  :  as  it  tore  its  way  through  the  Woodbury  place  it 
destroyed  many  of  the  fine  trees  bordering  the  driveways. 


266  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

entrenched  himself,  and  all  Mr.  Nason's  efforts  failed  to  bring  him 
out.  At  length  he  set  fire  to  the  mass,  intending  to  shoot  the  bear 
when  he  should  be  driven  forth  by  the  heat  and  smoke,  but  the  wind, 
which  was  blowing  strongly  at  the  time,  fanned  the  blaze  and  in  a 
moment  the  dried  underbrush  and  timber  was  a  roaring,  seething 
mass  of  flame.  It  is  said  that  Mr.  Nason  did  not  remain  long  to  see 
what  had  become  of  the  bear,  but  made  good  his  retreat  from  the 
scene  with  all  speed.  The  confiagration,  having  a  supply  of  dry  fuel 
already  provided  for  it,  followed  the  track  of  the  hurricane  eastward, 
crossed  the  Presumpscot  by  means  of  the  bridge  at  Loveitt's  Falls, 
and  continued  across  Windham,  until  stopped  by  the  Duck  Pond, 
destroying  a  number  of  buildings  and  dwelling  houses  standing  in  its 
path. 

Great  Falls,  or  North  Gorham  as  it  is  now  called,  is  situated  on 
the  Presumpscot  River,  near  the  most  northeasterly  corner  of  the 
town.  The  river  is  tweny-two  miles  in  length  from  the  outlet  at 
Sebago  Pond  to  tide  water,  and  bounds  the  entire  eastern  side  of 
Gorham,  being  the  dividing  line  between  Gorham  and  Windham. 
The  falls  are  about  two  hundred  and  twenty-one  feet  above  tide 
water :  they  are  three  miles  below  the  outlet  of  the  Pond.  At 
the  foot  of  the  Basin,  so  called,  two  miles  above  Great  Falls,  are  the 
Head  Works,  where  has  been  built  a  dam  for  throwing  back  and 
reserving  the  water,  creating  an  artificial  head  of  four  feet  over  the 
whole  area  of  the  Lake,  thus  making  the  supply  always  equal  and 
reliable  at  all  seasons.  The  peculiar  make  of  the  banks  of  the  river 
at  the  falls,  being  of  solid  ledge-rock  high  out  of  water,  throwing  the 
river  into  a  narrow  channel,  renders  it  extremely  easy  to  dam,  and 
remarkably  safe  and  secure,  with  an  always  abundant  supply  of  water. 
Though  all  the  water  powers  on  the  river  may  be  called  good,  there 
is  none  better  for  all  manufacturing  purposes  than  the  Great  Falls. 
There  is  but  one  objection  in  the  way  of  these  falls  being  among  the 
best  in  the  State  for  business,  and  that  is  their  location,  having  so 
near  to  them  on  the  north  Sebago  Lake  which  extends  easterly  and 
westerly  so  far  that  to  make  a  railroad  to  pass  the  falls,  from  the 
seaboard  into  the  country,  would  cause  a  large  and  expensive  detour 
from  the  line.  This  will  probably  be  accomplished,  however,  before 
many  years,  if  not  by  a  steam  road,  perhaps  by  means  of  a  trolley 
line.  The  Oxford  and  Cumberland  Canal,  leading  from  Lake  Sebago 
to  Portland,  and  running  through  Gorham  from  Standish  to  Westbrook, 
was  opened  in  1829.  The  first  boat  to  make  the  passage  from  Port- 
land to  the  Lake  was  a  pleasure  boat  called  the  "  George  Washington," 


HB^^^BB^BHr*l'e7«T''r; 

.']  g 

liH 

> 

^^H 

^^^^^^^^R 

w     '   '    ' 

^^^^^^^^^^^p-   ' 

I   '■5) 

jff.^                 ■»        j^ 

B^xa^i 

^^^^^^^^^^His 

I^K 

^K^  ^^^^ 

^^^^^^HP^^^^^^^I 

|g|^P; 

^^ 

^^^^^^^^B^^*-*^ '-   i  I'^^l 

■ 

NORTHEAST    PART    OF    THE    TOWN.  207 

owned  and  fitted  up  by  William  A.  Rice.  After  a  while  this  boat  was 
used  for  the  transportation  of  freight,  and  was  finally  sunk  in  the 
canal  some  twenty  rods  or  so  below  the  lowest  Kemp  lock  where  a 
few  of  its  timbers  still  remain.  This  canal,  starting  from  the  head- 
works,  ran  past  the  falls,  and  was  a  great  help  to  the  transportation 
of  the  place,  but  railroads,  and  the  use  of  steamers  on  the  Lake 
caused  so  large  a  falling  off  of  the  business  of  the  canal  that  it  was 
abandoned.  In  1873  there  was  not  a  boat  ran  or  any  repairs  made 
on  it,  and  at  the  present  time  everything  is  in  a  state  of  complete 
ruin. 

The  first  improvement  made  on  these  falls  was  the  building  of  a 
saw  mill  by  Zephaniah  Harding,  Zebulon  Trickey  and  Solomon 
Mains  somewhere  between  the  years  1767  and  1770,  and  it  is  prob- 
able that  the  bridge  was  built  about  the  same  time,  as  there  was 
a  road  in  Windham  to  the  falls.  This  first  mill  is  said  to  have  stood 
in  what  is  now  known  as  John  Lindsay's  privilege,  on  the  Gorham 
side.  The  mill  house  at  this  time  was  a  log  house,  and  stood  where 
the  old  Harding  house  stood  some  years  since. 

The  road  from  Gorham  village  was  a  logging,  or  as  they  were  then 
called,  a  mast-road,  cut  and  bushed  out  through  the  woods,  hardly 
passable  other  than  in  the  winter.  According  to  the  best  tradition 
that  can  now  be  had  of  the  main  road  north,  it  had  little  or  no  refer- 
ence to,  or  connection  with,  the  present  located  or  travelled  road, 
but  started  from  near  Mrs.  Rufus  Mosher's,  ran  over  or  near  the 
Black  Brook  road,  passing  near  Horse  Beef  Falls,  thence  northerly 
near  Gambo,  and  keeping  to  the  east  of  Sapling  Hill,  over  the  Hurri- 
cane road,  passed  near  where  Uriah  Nason  built  his  first  house,  and 
thus  on  to  the  Falls.  The  survey  and  plan  of  the  seventy  acre  lots 
was  completed  in  January,  1765,  and  the  drawing  of  assignments  to 
Proprietors  made  soon  after.  The  drawing  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  completed  until  sometime  after  this  date,  which  makes  it  evident 
that  the  planned  roads  could  not  have  been  opened  for  some  years 
after  this  time. 

Zephaniah  Harding  was  a  large  property  holder  at  and  near  the 
Falls.  He  was  an  owner  at  the  falls,  of  what  exact  proportion  we  do 
not  know,  but  probably  one-third,  as  he  built  the  saw  mill  with 
Trickey  and  Mains.  The  falls  are  on  the  seventy  acre  lots  91  and 
93.  At  the  drawing  for  the  seventy  acre  lots  in  1765,  John  Harding 
drew  gi,  William  Lakeman  drew  92,  and  James  Irish  drew  93.  In 
November,  1765,  Zephaniah  Harding  purchased  of  his  father,  John 
Harding,  the  seventy-  acre  lot  91,  which  includes  a  part  of  the  falls. 


268  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

In  1781  he  bought  of  William  Lakeman  the  seventy  acre  lot  92,  this 
being  the  second  lot  west  from  the  river,  adjoining  the  Standish  line. 
No.  93,  which  is  on  the  river,  and  the  corner  lot  in  the  town,  was 
sold  by  James  Irish  in  1770  to  Zephaniah  Harding.  Nov.  6,  1780, 
Harding  sold  to  Zebulon  Trickey  two-thirds  of  ten  acres  from  the 
seventy  acre  lo.ts  91  and  93  for  a  mill  privilege.  The  remainder  of 
lot  91  he  sold  in  1785  to  Nicholas  Mains.  Lot  93  he  conveyed,  June 
27,  1 79 1,  to  John  Harding,  reserving  to  himself  his  half  of  the  mill 
and  mill  privilege.  His  share  in  the  saw  mill  and  grist  mill  he  owned 
up  to  Nov.  20,  1792,  when  he  sold  all  his  part  of  said  saw  and  grist 
mill  to  William  Elwell ;  Elwell  giving  him  an  obligation  to  keep  said 
mill  in  good  repair  for  the  use  of  Samuel  Nason,  the  son  of  Uriah 
Nason,  who  then  had  a  lease  of  them,  the  lease  being  dated  the  22d 
day  of  the  October  previous. 

Mr.  Trickey'  lived  on  the  Windham  side,  and  Mr.  Mains  lived  at 
the  Falls.  The  three  owners  of  the  mills  took  turns  in  running  them, 
each  having  his  share.  Harding,  living  at  Gorham  Corner,  had  to 
camp  out  in  the  mill  house  when  at  work  in  his  time.  He  usually 
went  up  on  horseback,  or  on  foot,  leading  his  horse  loaded  with  such 
provisions  as  he  needed,  with  a  boy  to  take  the  horse  back,  as  he 
often  spent  several  weeks  at  a  time  at  the  mill. 

Trout  at  this  time  were  abundant  in  the  river.  Nicholas  Harding, 
son  of  Zephaniah,  when  a  young  man  lived  from  his  fourteenth  to  his 
twenty-first  year  at  the  Falls,  cutting  timber,  and  sawing  in  the  mill, 
and  taking  care  of  the  mill  much  of  the  time.  He  said  that  they 
considered  a  hook  and  line  as  much  a  part  of  their  fit-out  as  they  did 
an  axe,  and  that  often  he  would  stand  in  the  mill  and  catch  a  dozen 
trout  of  such  a  size  that  they  would  be  quite  a  load  for  him  to  take 
to  the  house.  Sometimes  for  days  he  would  see  no  person  except 
occasionally  an  Indian  would  come  along  fishing  or  hunting. 

For  many  years  boards,  selling  at  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per 
thousand,  were  hauled  from  the  Falls  by  way  of  Windham  Hill 
to  Stroudwater  on  ox-teams,  which  consisted  of  one  pair  of  wheels. 

The  first  settler  in  the  northern  part  of  the  town,  as  has  been  said, 
was  Uriah  Nason  ;  following  him  came  Thomas  Snow,  Lemuel  Hicks, 
John  Ward,  Joseph  McDonald,  John  Harding  and  Nicholas  Mains. 

About  the  year  1804  Uriah  Nason  and  Nicholas  Mains  built  a  mill 
at  the  Falls.  The  first  frame  house  built  at  Great  Falls  was  raised  in 
1791  by  Nicholas  Mains.  It  was  afterwards  owned  by  his  son  David, 
then  by  John  Colly  and  lately  by  the  widow  of  Joshua  E.  Hall,  Esq. 

I  Zebulon  Trickey  was  born  at  Cape  Elizabeth,  July  20, 1736. 


NORTHEAST    PART    OF    THE    TOWN.  269 

John  Harding,  the  father  of  Zephaniah  Harding,  was  the  first 
person  to  keep  a  store  and  trade  in  this  vicinity.  Following  him 
came  Ebenezer  Proctor,  William  Metcalf;  Samuel  Nason,  Samuel 
VVhitmore,  William  A.  Rice,  Wyer  Cannell,  Parker  &  Bodge,  J.  &  J. 
Parker,  John  Lindsay,  Whipple  &  Carter,  Charles  Paine,  Edward 
Libby,  Samuel  L.  Nason,  Parker  &  Hawkes,  James  R.  Hunnewill,  A. 
R.  Hawkes  &  Co.,  M.  H.  Moses,  Parker  Ingraham,  Daniel  \\'escott, 
Chamberlain  &  Seeley.  After  Seeley  left  off  trading  here,  Daniel  P. 
Parker  opened  a  clothing  store,  and  afterwards  a  grocery  store;  he 
then  took  a  partner.  Nelson  Shaw.  After  this  the  firm  was  Shaw  & 
Dyer.  They  sold  out  to  Oliver  Dole.  Then  came  Carl  W.  Shaw  and 
H.  G.  Parker;  Parker  bought  out  Shaw,  and  still  continues  the 
business.  Smith  Bros,  have  a  grocery  store  on  the  Whipple  road. 
This  Whipple  road  was  petitioned  for  in  1856  by  Carlisle  Whipple, 
to  run  from  the  Falls  to  his  mills  at  Middle  Jam.  Whipple  built  the 
first  mills  on  these  falls,  and  used  to  manufacture  long  and  short 
lumber,  also  shingles,  kegs,  etc.  He  sold  these  mills  to  Jefferson 
Mabry,  and  he  to  Goff  and  Plummer.  Prince  and  Wescott  are  the 
present  owners.  There  is  a  mill  now  at  the  Falls  for  the  manufacture 
of  pails  from  pulp,  and  a  large  electric  power  plant,  but  the  railroads 
and  fire  have  destroyed  nearly  all  the  business  of  the  place. 

Great  Falls  for  a  long  time  received  its  mail  by  way  of  Windham, 
but  on  Jan.  25,  1873,  ^  P'^*'^  office  was  established  here  under  the 
name  of  North  Gorham,  and  Chas.  D.  Seeley  appointed  Postmaster, 
who  kept  the  office  in  his  store  by  the  canal.  Daniel  P.  Parker 
succeeded  Mr.  Seeley.  He  removed  the  office  to  his  store,  where  it 
remained  until  the  building  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  December,  1897. 
Mr.  Parker  in  turn  has  been  succeeded  by  Oliver  Dole,  C.  W.  Shaw 
and  H.  G.  Parker. 

This  part  of  the  town  was  known  as  the  "  Nason  district,"  and  the 
first  schoolhouse  built  here  stood  opposite  the  house  now  occupied 
by  Mr.  Eben  Manchester.  The  present  district  of  Great  Falls  was 
set  off  from  the  old  district  in  1828,  and  the  first  school  was  kept  in 
a  building  owned  by  Mr.  Levi  Hall,  which  had  been  used  as  a 
wood  shed.  Until  the  "little  red  schoolhouse"  was  built  on  Rowe's 
Hill  in  1843,  this  building  was  used  as  a  chapel  and  lecture  room,  as 
well  as  for  the  school.  The  schoolhouse  on  Rowe's  Hill  was 
destroyed  by  fire  in  1877.  The  present  structure  was  built  in  1895. 
After  the  completion  of  this  new  schoolhouse  the  old  building  was 
converted  into  a  chapel.  A  nice  building,  "  Forest  Hall,"  was  built 
a  few  years  since  on  the  Whipple  road.     It  is  owned  by  a  stock  com- 


270  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

pany,  and  is  occupied  by  the  "  Red  Men."  There  is  a  good  public 
library  here  in  the  village.  This  library  a  few  years  since  received  a 
donation  of  six  hundred  dollars  from  the  "Walker  Fund."' 

The  locality  known  as  White  Rock,  owes  its  name  to  a  large 
boulder,  which  used  to  stand  on  the  hill,  in  the  field  nearly  in  front 
of  the  present  White  Rock  church.  It  was  a  large  white  rock,  some 
ten  or  twelve  feet  in  height,  with  a  sloping  top,  and  formed  a  con- 
spicuous object  for  miles  around.  Against  this  rock  the  Indians, 
stopping  here  to  rest  on  their  way  from  Sebago  Pond  to  the  salt 
water,  used  to  build  their  fires  to  cook  their  meat.  Later,  when  the 
white  men  had  penetrated  the  forest,  and  begun  to  cull  out  the  larger 
trees  for  masts,  which  they  hauled  to  Stroudwater,  there  was  a 
"mast  camp"  built  here  around  the  rock.  Still  later,  when  lumber- 
ing had  become  more  of  a  business,  and  the  teaming  began  to 
penetrate  still  further  back  into  the  country,  it  was  the  custom  to  rest 
and  bait  the  cattle  on  the  fiat  top  of  the  hill  near  the  white  rock, 
while  their  owners  prepared  their  own  food  over  a  fire  kindled  in  the 
same  old  place  against  the  rock.  Capt.  John  Sturgis,  on  whose  farm 
the  rock  lay,  finally  decided  to  destroy  it;  but  he  said  afterwards, 
that  he  never  in  his  life  was  so  sorry  for  any  act  of  his,  and  that  the 
moment  after  the  powder  exploded  and  the  stone  flew  to  pieces  he 
would  have  given  anything  to  have  been  able  to  put  it  back  as  it  was 
before.     But  the  deed  was  done,  and  the  old  landmark  gone  forever. 

The  inhabitants  of  this  neighborhood  for  some  years  were  obliged 
to  attend  church,  and  to  send  their  children  to  school,  at  Fort  Hill ; 
but  somewhere  about  1805  a  schoolhouse  was  built,  which  stood 
nearly  opposite  the  old  Edward  Libby  house.  About  181 2  a  Metho- 
dist meeting  house  was  built  here,  which  was  located  on  the  Hurricane 
road,  a  little  to  the  east  of  where  the  present  White  Rock  school 
house  now  stands.  It  was  never  finished,  and  after  being  used  in  an 
incomplete  state  for  some  years  was  taken  down  in  1825  and  moved 
to  the  "Johnson  neighborhood."  The  Baptist  meeting  house  here 
was  built  in  1839. 

James  McCorrison  was  married  to  Deliverance  Rich  in  1765,  and 
soon  after  made  a  clearing  and  built  a  house  on  what  he  supposed 
was  the  northerly  half  of  the  hundred  acre  lot  81.  His  house  was 
then  the  most  northwesterly  house  in  town,  and  was  the  first  to  be 
built  in  this  section.  This  was  before  the  roads  in  this  part  of  the 
town  were  laid  out,  and  when  the  road,  now  known  as  "the  old  road  " 
to  West  Gorham,  running  northerly  from  Watson's  Corner  to  Clement's 


WEST    GO R HAM.  271 

Corner,  was  opened,  he  found  his  house  to  be  on  the  east  side  of  the 
road  and  his  farm  on  the  west.  His  house  stood  where  the  old 
cellar  is  still  to  be  seen,  opposite  the  house  where  Joseph  Gilkey 
lately  lived. 

McCorrison  was  followed  very  closely  by  John  Watson,  who  first 
settled  on  the  northerly  half  of  the  hundred  acre  lot  72.  In  1769, 
however,  after  the  road  running  northerly,  between  the  hundred  acre 
lots,  80  and  81,  was  laid  out,  he  purchased  twenty-five  acres  ofi"  the 
southerly  end  of  81,  and  built  his  house  on  the  spot  where  his  son, 
Capt.  Greenleaf  C.  Watson,  afterwards  lived.  Isaac  Skillings  built 
his  house  in  1767.  This  same  house  is  now  occupied  by  his  grand- 
son, George  Skillings.  About  two  years  later,  Jonathan  Sturgis  came 
here  and  cleared  the  farm  and  built  the  house  where  his  great-grand- 
son, Frederic  O.  Sturgis,  lately  lived.  It  is  said  that  a  clearing  was 
made  and  a  house  put  up  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Lewis  Files. 
Ithiel  Blake  made  a  settlement  in  this  part  of  the  town,  on  the  farm 
lately  owned  by  his  grandson,  Timothy  Blake.  This  farm  he  bought 
of  Nathaniel  Bacon.  Mr.  Bacon  first  settled  on  the  seventy  acre  lot 
114,  of  which  this  farm  formed  a  part.  The  locality  in  which  these 
two  men  settled  has  always  been  known  as  the  "Blake  neighborhood." 

The  road  running  westerly  from  the  Fort  Hill  road  known  as 
Pendleton's  lane  and  formerly  extending  through  to  the  saw  mill, 
which  stood  on  the  falls  below  what  is  now  known  as  Stej^henson's 
bridge,  (see  Mills)  is  a  very  old  road  and  is  said  to  have  been  used 
before  the  road  (now  discontinued)  running  northerly  from  where 
Samuel  Cressey  lately  lived  to  the  saw  mill  was  laid  out.  The  swale 
from  the  river  to  Sturgis's  hill  was  covered  with  such  a  dense  growth 
of  heavy  hemlock  timber  that  the  road  through  it  was  dark,  even  in 
the  day  time,  and  it  was  known  as  "the  dark  hole." 

Besides  the  families  already  mentioned,  others  soon  began  to  settle 
in  this  neighborhood,  among  whom  were  the  Lewises,  Clements,  Lin- 
colns,  Fileses,  Stephensons,  etc.,  and  in  the  course  of  time  a  small 
hamlet,  called  "  Clement's  Corner,"  made  its  appearance.  This  vil- 
lage is  now  known  by  the  name  of  West  Gorham.  A  post  office  was 
established  here  Jan.  13,  1829,  on  which  date  Simeon  C.  Clement 
was  appointed  postmaster.  He  was  succeeded  on  the  6th  of  Feb., 
1 841,  by  Greenleaf  C.  Watson.  Following  him  came  Naaman  C. 
Watson,  appointed  Aug.  6,  1841,  and  Daniel  B.  Clement,  May  17, 
1844.  Mr.  Clement  was  postmaster  till  his  death  in  1859,  when 
Jonathan  Eastman  received  the  appointment.  He  has  been  followed 
by  Edward  Hasty,  Thomas  J.  Hasty,  Kimball  Eastman,  H.  R.  Coles- 


272  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

worthy,  Geo.  C.  Jordan,  C.  E.  Crockett  (who  received  the  appointment, 
but  did  not  serve)  and  George  C.  Jordan. 

West  Gorham  was  most  prosperous  in  the  thirties.  At  that  time, 
before  the  building  of  the  railroads  in  this  vicinit}',  it  was  a  busy, 
thriving  little  village.  It  was  a  stopping  place  for  the  stages  which 
ran  on  the  Portland  and  White  Mountain  mail  route,  and  for  the 
teams  which  at  that  time  carried  on  a  large  transportation  of  lumber 
and  country  produce  from  Coos  County,  N.  H.,  down  through 
the  White  Mountain  Notch  to  Portland.  There  were  two  large  tav- 
erns here  which,  with  their  great  stables,  were  designed  especially  to 
meet  the  wants  of  this  travel.  Quite  a  coopering  business  was  car- 
ried on  here  by  the  Watsons.  There  was  also  a  hat  shop,  shoe 
shops,  blacksmith  shops,  stores,  and  a  post  office. 

The  first  man  to  engage  in  trade  at  Clement's  Corner  was  Jacob 
H.  Clement,  who  opened  a  store  in  a  little  building  which  he  built 
for  that  purpose,  and  which  stood  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Standish 
road,  just  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  and  has  only  lately  been  removed. 
Samuel  Lincoln  traded  in  the  building  in  which  the  post  office  is  now 
located,  and  which  he  built.  The  store  next  to  the  post  office,  on  the 
other  corner,  was  built  by  Theophilus  Dame  and  Samuel  Baker,  and 
was  afterwards  traded  in  by  Daniel  B.  Clement.  Edward  Hasty  put 
up  the  building,  next  south  of  the  post  office,  in  which  his  father 
Thomas  J.  Hasty  traded,  and  he  himself  ran  a  coat  shop.  Samuel  R. 
Clement  built  the  store  located  next  to  the  hotel,  where  Sawyer  & 
Ridlon  at  one  time,  and  Mr.  Clement  himself  afterwards,  were  in 
business.  Mr.  Clement  sold  out  to  Frank  Hamblen  and  Fred 
Hanson  of  Buxton,  who  traded  there.  Naaman  Watson  and  James 
Lewis,  Jr.  kept  store  where  Stackpole's  blacksmith  shop  now  stands. 
This  store  was  burned  in  1844,  but  was  afterwards  rebuilt  and 
Samuel  Sturgis  traded  there,  dying  while  in  business  here.  Arthur 
M.  Drown  then  used  the  building  for  a  wheelwright's  shop,  and  was 
himself  burned  out  in  185 1.  James  L.  Drown,  brother  of  Arthur, 
was  also  a  wagon  maker  here  for  a  time,  moving  later  to  Gorham 
village. 

Of  the  taverns,  already  spoken  of,  the  larger  one  was  built  by 
Jacob  H.  Clement  and  kept  by  him  for  years.  He  afterwards  let 
the  stand  to  Peleg  Barker,  who  was  followed  by  Reuben  Lowell. 
George  T.  Clement  then  kept  it  for  some  ten  years,  when  the  building 
was  remodeled  and  Samuel  R.  Clement  took  it.  After  him  came  a 
Mr.  Sands  of  Massachusetts,  a  Mr.  Brackett  from  Limerick,  J. 
Hanson    Clement    and    Jedediah    Graffam.     The   other  tavern  was 


'   "MM 


GAMBO.  273 

built,  and  kept  for  some  years,  by  Reuben  Lovvell.  He  then  moved 
to  Standish,  but  afterwards  returned  to  West  Gorham,  where  he  built 
the  house  south  of  his  former  residence.  Lowell's  tavern,  after  he 
left  it,  had  various  landlords,  among  them.  Frost,  Shaw,  Seth  Douglass, 
and  Sadler. 

Seth  Higgins  was  a  blacksmith  here,  and  built  the  brick  house 
which  stands  on  the  road  which  leads  to  Fort  Hill. 

A  handsome  and  commodious  chapel  for  religious  worship  has  just 
(1898)  been  erected  here,  built  by  the  United  Christian  Endeavor 
Society. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  last  century  a  small  settlement  began  to 
form  around  the  falls  on  the  Presumpscot,  near  what  is  now  known 
as  VVinship's  Corner.  The  name  of  Gambo  was  given  to  these  falls, 
and  to  this  neighborhood.  Opinions  differ  as  to  the  origin  of  this 
name.  It  has  been  believed  by  many  to  be  an  Indian  name  ;  but 
an  authority  on  Indian  language  (Rev.  M.  C.  O'Brien)  finds  no 
place-name  corresponding  to  this.  There  is  a  word  "Kamsku," 
meaning  falls,  which  might  possibly  be  corrupted  into  Gambo. 
There  was  an  old  negro,  named  Gambo,  who  lived  in  this  region,  and 
who  gave  great  entertainment  to  parties  of  young  people,  who 
enjoyed  the  music  of  his  fiddle,  and  his  songs  and  jokes  ;  and  it  was 
common  to  "go  to  Gambo's."  It  may  be  that  the  region  took  its 
name  from  this  fact. 

Among  the  early  settlers  in  this  locality  were  Eli  Webb,  John 
Morton  and  William  Bolton.  Mr.  Webb  owned  a  large  tract  of  land 
adjoining  the  river  on  the  Gorham  side.  The  water  power  on  this 
side  also  belonged  to  him.  Jonathan  Loveitt  at  one  time  kept  a 
store  on  the  Windham  side,  and  leased  a  saw  mill  on  these  falls.  He 
also  had  a  grist  mill  here,  and  employed  Peter  Bolton  to  tend  it.  Peter 
Bolton  lived  on  the  Windham  side,  and  it  is  said  afterwards  owned  this 
mill.  Loveitt,  who  was  a  Windham  man,  after  some  years  purchased, 
farther  up  the  river,  the  falls  still  known  by  his  name,  where  he  built 
mills  and  did  an  extensive  lumbering  business.  A  man  by  the  name 
of  Livy  Buker  came  into  this  neighborhood,  and  in  18 14  married 
Ann  Webb,  who  was  the  daughter  of  Edward,  and  the  granddaughter 
of  Eli  Webb.  A  few  years  later,  probably  in  1816,  Buker  built  on 
the  Webb  property  a  mill  for  carding  wool  into  rolls  for  spinning. 
His  home  was  the  old  house  which  stands  on  the  sand  hill  near  the 
river. 

In  the  year  1817  Edmund  Fowler  and  Lester  Laflin  came  here 
from  Southwick,  Mass.,  and  bought  twenty-fiv^e  acres  of  land,  which 


274  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

had  formerly  belonged  to  Edward  aad  Seth  Webb.  This  purchase 
was  a  part  of  the  hundred  acre  lot  No.  loi,  and  included  within  its 
bounds  all  the  mill-sites  and  privileges  which  belonged  to  loi. 
Fowler  and  Laflin  immediately  commenced  the  erection  of  mills  for 
the  manufacture  of  gunpowder,  and  put  them  in  operation  the 
following  year.  There  is  a  law  on  the  Statute  Books  of  this  State 
making  the  erection  of  any  mill  to  grind  or  mix  powder  within  eighty 
rods  of  any  valuable  building  then  standing,  a  nuisance,  and  making 
the  owners  liable  to  a  prosecution.  It  seems  that  Fowler  and  Laflin 
built  their  mills  within  the  proscribed  distance  from  Buker's  house. 
Seeing  his  chance,  Buker  made  them  pay  him  double  for  his  land, 
and  selling  them  the  remainder  of  his  property,  moved  away.  Fowler 
and  Laflin  continued  in  business  here  until  1827,  when  on  the  2 2d 
of  June  both  men,  together  with  their  foreman,  Walter  McCully, 
were  drowned  in  Sebago  Pond,  by  the  upsetting  of  their  boat. 

Oliver  M.  Whipple  of  Lowell,  Mass.,  in  1833  purchased  the  plant, 
and  also  bought  the  privilege  on  the  Windham  side  of  the  Presumpscot. 
He  put  Lucius  Whipple,  his  brother,  in  charge  of  the  works  as 
foreman.  Powder  mills  have  a  bad  habit  of  exploding  periodically, 
and  the  Gambo  mills  have  proved  no  exception  to  the  rule,  some  one 
or  more  of  the  buildings  blowing  up  in  1828,  1835,  1847,  1849,  1850, 
1851,  1855,  1859,  1863,  1865,  1870,  1871  and  numerous  other  times 
down  to  the  present.  In  the  explosion  which  occurred  on  Oct.  12, 
1855,  one  wheel-mill,  press  mill  and  a  canal  boat  were  destroyed. 
James  Whipple  and  Oliver  G.  Whipple,  who  were  respectively  Oliver 
M.  Whipple's  brother  and  son,  were  killed,  as  well  as  Lvither  Robinson, 
Edwin  Hardy,  John  Swett,  Franklin  Hawkes  and  Samuel  Phinney ; 
five  others  were  wounded.  Previous  to  this  the  entire  property  had 
been  sold  by  Mr.  Whipple  to  G.  G.  Newhall  &  Co.,  of  Boston. 

In  1859  a  new  partnership  was  formed,  by  which  the  Oriental 
Powder  Company  came  into  being.  In  1873  the  superintendent,  Mr. 
Jackson,  resigned  ;  since  which  time  Mr.  Ezra  F.  Newhall,  and  Mr. 
Kaiser  and  also  Mr.  Smith,  have  filled  that  position.  The  mills  are 
still  controlled  and  operated  by  the  Oriental  Powder  Mills. 

On  the  30th  of  May,  1733,  the  Great  and  General  Court  of  the 
Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  made  a  grant  to  Joseph  Mallison 
of  Boston  of  two  hundred  acres  of  land,  commencing  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  Presumpscot  River,  five  miles  above  the  Great  Saccarappa 
Falls.  This  land,  which  is  known  as  Mallison 's  Grant,  was  surveyed 
by  Phineas  Jones,  Aug.  22,  1733,  and  a  plan  made  of  the  same.  It 
was  in  the  shape  of  a  rectangle  ;  two  hundred  rods  along  the  river. 


mallison's  falls.  275 

and  running  west  one  hundred  and  sixty  rods,  having  Little  River 
flowing  through  its  southwest  quarter.  Mallison  sold  this  grant  for 
the  sum  of  fifty  pounds  to  Gen.  Samuel  Waldo  of  Boston.  It  does 
not  appear  that  either  Mallison  or  Waldo  built  any  mills  here, 
although  as  early  as  1743  there  was  a  saw  mill  on  these  falls,  which 
was  probably  situated  on  the  Windham  side. 

The  land  coming  into  the  possession  of  Enoch  Ilsley  of  Falmouth, 
he  sold  it  to  John  Waite  of  Gorham.  Joseph  Sanborn  bought  fifty 
acres  of  Waite,  and  on  Sept.  i,  1778,  Joseph  Winslow  of  Falmouth 
purchased  one  hundred  acres,  with  two  saw  mills,  the  iron  work  of 
another,  and  other  buildings  standing  thereon.  These  are  the  first 
mills  on  the  Gorham  side  at  these  falls  of  which  we  find  any  record. 
There  was  a  grist  mill  built  here  sometime  before  1779,  for  on  Jan. 
9th  of  that  year  Winslow  leased  to  Joseph  Libby  of  Gorham  one-half 
of  the  grist  mill  standing  on  this  land  at  Horse  Beef  Falls,  below  the 
saw  mill.  On  Nov.  30,  1779,  Winslow  sold  Libby  a  half  acre  of  land 
joining  the  falls,  together  with  one-half  the  falls  and  dam  and  the 
saw  mill,  likewise  a  road  "trod"  from  the  mill  to  the  landing  place  : 
and  on  the  5th  of  December  of  the  year  following  he  sold  him,  for 
thirteen  hundred  and  thirty-three  Spanish  milled  dollars,  the  hundred 
acres  of  the  grant  which  he  had  purchased  of  Waite.  This 
hundred  acres  appears  to  have  been  the  northerly  part  of  the  right, 
being  an  irregularly  shaped  triangle,  with  one  side  lying  along  the 
river,  and  extending  westerly  to  the  side  line  of  said  right.  In  1787 
Joseph  Libby  sold  the  half  acre  of  land,  just  mentioned,  and  the  mill 
privilege  to  John  Libby  and  Matthias  Murch,  his  son  and  son-in-law. 

Capt.  Joshua  Swett  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  here,  and  was 
quite  largely  interested  in  the  mills.  His  son,  Clark  Swett,  afterwards 
owned  a  saw  mill  on  the  Gorham  side  of  the  river.  At  the  same 
time,  on  the  Windham  side,  were  another  saw  mill,  a  grist  mill  and  a 
shop  where  wool  was  carded  into  rolls  for  spinning.  Judge  F.  M. 
Ray  of  Westbrook,  and  John  Stevens,  in  1863  purchased  the  water 
power  on  both  sides  of  the  river  of  the  heirs  of  Nathan  Winslow  of 
Portland.  In  187 1  they  sold  the  privilege  on  the  Gorham  side  to 
Thomas  K.  Law.  The  latter  did  nothing  whatever  with  the  power, 
which  was  afterwards  bought  by  the  Sebago  Wood  Board  Co. 

As  to  why  this  locality  should  receive  the  name  of  Horse  Beef, 
which  appellation  it  bore  for  many  years,  the  old  tradition  is  that 
when  one  of  the  earliest  mill-men  here  opened  a  barrel  of  beef  which 
he  had  purchased,  he  discovered,  snugly  packed  away  among  the 


276  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

meat,  a  horse's  shoe.  Of  late  years,  however,  the  falls  have  again 
been  known  as  "Mallison's." 

The  need  of  a  bridge  across  the  Presumpscot  River  between  the 
towns  of  Gorham  and  New  Marblehead,  now  Windham,  was  felt  for  a 
number  of  years,  but  was  not  considered  very  important  so  long  as 
the  only  necessity  for  crossing  lay  in  the  hauling  out  of  logs,  which 
could  be  brought  across  on  the  ice  in  the  winter  time.  At  last,  how- 
ever, in  July,  1762,  the  Proprietors  of  Gorham  phose  Moses  Pearson, 
Solomon  Lombard,  Esq.  and  Jacob  Hamblen  as  a  committee  to 
concur  with  the  committee  of  Marblehead  on  the  proposal  to  build  a 
bridge  over  the  Presumpscot  River  at  Horse  Beef  Falls.  The  bridge 
was  built  in  the  following  year,  and  was  the  prst  bridge  uniting  the 
towns,  In  April,  1795,  the  town  of  Gorham  voted  that  a  committee, 
consisting  of  Lothrop  Lewis,  Samuel  Elder  and  Thomas  Bangs, 
should  let  out  Horse  Beef  bridge  to  be  rebuilt,  in  the  best  and  cheap- 
est manner  that  it  could  be  done. 

With  the  building  of  the  mills  settlers  began  to  gather,  and  the 
place  grew  into  quite  a  busy  little  hamlet.  The  first  trader  to  locate 
here  is  said  to  have  been  Oliver  Johnson.  He  was  followed  by 
Robert  Wier,  who  also  owned  a  paper  mill  on  the  Windham  side, 
Edmund  Griffin,  Thomas  Rea,  John  Webb,  Josiah  Elder,  Jonathan 
Hanson  and  Thomas  Brackett. 

Among  the  houses  which  used  to  stand  here,  and  which  was  by 
far  the  most  of  a  house  of  any  in  this  locality,  was  one  occupied  at 
one  time  by  Dr.  Henry  Dupee,  an  Englishman,  who  was  a  physician 
and  apothecary.  He  had  a  garden  near  the  house,  in  which  he  used 
to  raise  herbs  for  medicinal  purposes.  It  is  not  known  when  or  by 
whom  the  old  house  was  built.  George  Johnson,  the  father  of 
Benjamin  Johnson,  lived  in  it  previous  to  Dr.  Dupee's  occupying  it. 

With  the  cutting  off  of  the  timber  hereabouts  the  business  of  the 
saw  mills  gradually  ceased,  and  as  the  building  of  the  cotton  mill  at 
Little  Falls  offered  a  chance  of  employment,  the  most  of  the  people 
who  were  left  moved  there.  Quite  a  number  of  houses  were  hauled 
from  Horse  Beef  to  Little  Falls,  and  now  form  a  part  of  that  village. 
At  present  Robinson's  woolen  mill  on  the  Windham  side,  with  a  few 
scattered  houses  on  the  Gorham  side,  are  all  that  remain  of  the  once 
thriving  little  village  of  Horse  Beef. 

On  the  26th  of  November,  1741,  the  Proprietors  of  Narragansett 
No.  7,  or  Gorhamtown,  passed  the  following  votes  :  — 

"  Voted  &  Granted  unto  his  Excellency  William  Shirley,  Esq"", 
Governor  of  the  Province  of  the   Massachusetts  Bay,  his  heirs    & 


LITTLE    FALLS.  Zi  i 

assigns  for  Ever,  Four  Hundred  Acres  of  the  Common  &  undivided 
Lands  within  said  Township. 

"  Voted,  Mr.  Moses  Pearson,  Jn°  Gorham  &  Joshua  Bangs,  Be  a 
Committee  to  Lay  out  the  same,  pursuant  to  said  Grant." 

This  committee  hired  William  Pote,  Jr.  to  run  out  the  grant, 
which  was  done  in  the  following  summer,  and  a  plan  made,  which 
was  accepted  by  the  Proprietors  on  the  15th  of  November,  1742, 
when  they  voted  to  accept  the  committee's  report  and  plan,  "pro- 
vided said  plan  contains  no  more  than  the  four  hundred  acres 
granted."  They  also  voted  to  have  the  same  recorded  in  the  Pro- 
prietors' book,  and  we  find  in  the  old  Proprietors'  Records,  under 
date  of  Dec.  20,  1743,  the  report  of  this  committee: — "  \\'e,  the 
Subscribers,  being  chosen  by  the  Proprietors  of  Gorhamtown,  as  a 
Committee  to  lay  out  the  four  hundred  acres  of  Land  voted  & 
granted  to  his  Excellency,  William  Shirley,  Esq'',  have,  agreeable  to 
the  Vote,  laid  out  the  same  as  within  described. 

John  Gorham     ')    p        .  , 

Moses  Pearson  ;-    ,,    ^    .^      ,, 
T  r>  i    Committee. 

Joshua  Bangs     ) 

Upon  the  same  page  is  also  drawn  the  plan,  on  which  is  written 
the  following  description  :  — 

"  Decemb"'  20th,  1743. 
Within  these  Bounds  is  contain'd  four  hundred  acres  of  upland 
lying  on  Presumpscot  River,  &  adjoining  to  the  Land  granted  by  the 
great  &  general  Court  to  M""  Joseph  Mallison,  as  described  in  this 
Plan,  which  I,  the  Subscriber,  have  Survey 'd  by  the  Desire  of  the 
Committee  of  Gorhamtown,  so  called,  appointed  by  the  Proprietors 
of  said  Town,  to  lay  out  the  said  Premises  to  his  Excellency,  Wil- 
liam Shirley,  Esq"". 

William  Pote,  Junr  Survey^" 

This  land  was  situated  near  Little  Falls  ;  the  eastern  end  of  it 
lying  along  the  Presumpscot  for  about  sixty  rods  each  way  from 
where  the  bridge  now  is,  and  running  westerly  five  hundred  and  eight 
rods.  At  the  west  end  it  was  one  hundred  and  sixty  rods  wide,  and 
the  southern  side,  which  was  parallel  to  the  northern  side,  ran  easterly 
three  hundred  and  one  rods,  till  it  struck  the  westerly  side  of  the 
Mallison  Grant. 

Joseph  Knight  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  Indians,  Feb.,  1756,  on 
the  hundred  acre  lot  No.  2  in  Windham,  while  he  was  engaged  in 
cutting  logs  for  the  saw  mill  of  his  father,  William  Knight.  This  mill 
was  on  the  Windham  side  of  the  river,  and  is  the  first  on  these  falls 
of  which  we  have  any  knowledge.     About  the  year  1767  Capt.  Joseph 


278  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Knight  purchased  some  ninety  acres  of  the  Shirley  Grant,  including 
the  water  power  on  the  Gorham  side,  on  which  he  erected  and  ran  a 
saw  mill,  which  was  afterwards  owned  by  his  son  Joseph.  This  mill 
and  water  power  Joseph  Knight,  Jr.  sold  in  1823  to  the  Cumberland 
Cotton  Manufacturing  Company. 

The  Cumberland  Cotton  Manufacturing  Company,  which  was 
chartered  by  the  State,  held  its  first  meeting  in  Portland  and  elected 
its  officers,  Mar.  23,  1824.  At  the  annual  meeting,  Apr.  i,  1825, 
when  they  elected  their  Directors  and  other  officers,  Jacob  Coburn 
was  re-elected  as  Agent  and  Superintendent  of  the  Works.  At  this 
meeting  the  first  assessment,  two  hundred  dollars  per  share  was 
voted  to  be  called  for  by  the  treasurer,  Thos.  O.  Bailey.  The  year 
following,  another  assessment  of  four  hundred  dollars  per  share  was 
voted  in  order  to  meet  the  contracts  made  for  machinery  and  other 
purposes.  In  1827  it  was  voted  that  the  capital  stock  be  divided 
into  eighty  shares  instead  of  the  former  number  of  twenty-four.  This 
company,  which  was  composed  of  Portland  men,  having  purchased 
the  water  power  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  proceeded  to  build  a  new 
dam.  The  mill  was  erected  in  1825,  the  foundation  being  laid  the 
year  previous.  Several  large  dwelling  houses  were  also  built  by  the 
company  for  the  use  of  their  operatives.  The  factory  carried  eighteen 
hundred  spindles  and  ran  eighty  looms.  It  gave  employment  to 
about  eighty  persons,  and  manufactured  some  eight  thousand  yards 
of  shirting  and  sheeting  per  week.  This  property  afterwards  passed 
into  the  hands  of  the  Casco  Company.  In  Nov.,  1834,  Mr.  John  R. 
Larrabee  entered  upon  the  duties  of  agent  of  the  mills,  succeeding 
Thos.  J.  Butler.  Mr.  Larrabee  continued  in  charge  of  the  mills  until 
the  autumn  of  1855,  when  he  resigned  his  position,  and  the  following 
spring  left  town.    The  mill  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  November,  1856. 

The  Little  Falls  mill  privilege  was  purchased  in  1875  by  C.  A. 
Brown  and  Co.,  who  built  the  present  large  brick  mill  for  the  purpose 
of  manufacturing  wood-board. 

About  1846,  Ichabod  W.  Leighton  and  Freeman  Harding  built  a 
saw  mill  at  Little  Falls,  on  the  spot  where  the  pulp  mill  now  stands. 
In  1 86 1,  Wm.  Cloudman  built  at  the  lower  falls  on  Little  River  the 
first  dam  ever  placed  there.  He  then  purchased  Leighton  and 
Harding's  mill,  tore  it  down,  and  rebuilt  it  at  the  latter  place.  In  1868 
Mr.  Cloudman  sold  this  property  to  Jos.  Deguio,  who  in  turn  sold  it 
to  Theodore  Sayward. 

The  present  village  of  Little  Falls  owes  its  existence  to  the  business 
which    began  to  come  here  with   the   building  of   the   cotton   mill. 


LITTLE    FALLS.  '  279 

Jonathan  Andrew,  the  father  of  Gov.  John  A.  Andrew  of  Massachu- 
setts, kept  a  store  near  the  Windham  end  of  the  present  bridge,  and 
was  the  first  trader  to  locate  here.  When  the  post  office  of  South 
Windham  was  established  in  1828,  he  received  the  appointment  of 
postmaster.  Jacob  Coburn,  of  whom  we  have  spoken  as  the  agent 
of  the  mills  of  the  Cumberland  Manufacturing  Company,  settled  here 
about  the  same  time  as  Mr.  Andrew,  which  was  about  1824,  and 
built  the  large  brick  house,  now  owned  by  Geo.  W.  Heath,  Mr. 
Coburn  was  the  first  man  to  open  a  store  and  go  into  trade  on  the 
Gorham  side.  After  some  five  or  six  years  Edwin  Coburn,  his  son, 
took  the  business,  which  he,  in  1838,  sold  to  Ichabod  W.  Leighton, 
who  took  the  store,  which  when  owned  by  the  Coburns  stood  on  the 
spot  now  occupied  by  the  Hill  block,  and  moved  it  to  the  place 
where  the  block  owned  by  Wm.  H.  McLellan  now  stands.  Mr. 
Leighton  traded  in  this  building  for  a  number  of  years,  after  having 
moved  and  enlarged  it,  but  finally  left  town.  Elisha  Guilford  occu- 
pied the  place  for  a  year  or  two;  when  on  Feb.  20,  1864,  the 
building  was  consumed  by  fire.  Among  others  who  have  followed 
Mr.  Coburn  in  trade  here  are  Benjamin  Sturgis,  Geo.  Cole,  Benjamin 
B.  Mayberry,  Edmund  Libby,  A.  O.  Hill,  Josiah  C.  Shirley,  A.  L. 
Folsom,  Freeman  Harding,  John  F.  Smith,  Jonathan  Loveitt  and 
Fred  Freeman. 

There  have  been  two  Public  Houses  kept  at  Little  Falls,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  river.  That  on  the  Windham  side  was  opened 
about  1832  by  Andrew  Libby,  in  the  old  house  still  standing  at  the 
corner  of  Main  and  Depot  Sts.  The  one  on  the  Gorham  side  was 
kept  by  Ebenezer  Hicks  and  after  him  by  Justus  Butler,  who  came 
here  some  fifteen  years  later. 

There  has  been  quite  a  business  done  here  in  days  past  in  the 
manufacture  of  boots  and  shoes.  It  seems  a  little  strange  that 
the  shop  in  which  the  first  shoes  were  made  in  this  village  should 
be  situated  on  the  spot  occupied  by  the  store  in  which  Coburn  com- 
menced trading.  Edmund  Libby,  who  was  a  shoemaker  by  trade, 
engaged,  in  a  small  way  at  first,  in  the  manufacture  of  boots  in  the 
shop  just  spoken  of.  His  business  increasing,  he  took  a  partner, 
John  F.  Smith.  Walter  Berry  and  Joseph  M.  Plummer,  as  well  as 
Lendall  Brown,  were  also  connected  with  him  in  this  business  at  vari- 
ous times.  The  firm  is  said  to  have  employed  somewhere  in  the 
neighborhood  of  a  hundred  men.  About  1855  Mr.  Libby  removed  to 
Portland,  and  there  went  into  the  shoe  business  with  C.  J.  Walker. 
A  few  years  after  Libby  established  himself  in  the  business  here, 


280  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

John  Frink  also  opened  a  shop,  employing  quite  a  number  of  men. 
He  sold  out  in  i860  to  Clement  Brackett,  who  in  turn  sold  to  Jacob 
Bragdon.  John  F.  Smith,  before  going  into  trade  in  this  village, 
manufactured  ladies'  shoes  here  about  the  time  of  the  Civil  War. 

There  was  a  Free  Baptist  Church  and  Society  organized  at  Horse 
Beef  in  1827,  which  built  a  house  there  on  the  Windham  side,  known 
as  the  "Old  Oak  Meeting  House."  In  1841  they  decided  to  move, 
and  in  that  year  erected  a  meeting  house  on  the  Gorham  side  of  the 
river  at  Little  Falls.  The  first  minister  to  preach  in  this  building 
was  Rev.  James  M.  Buzzell^  M.  D.  This  church  in  January,  1864, 
took  fire  and  was  destroyed.  About  two  years  later,  however,  the 
Society  built  the  present  edifice,  which  stands  upon  the  spot  that  was 
occupied  by  the  burned  building. 

Before  the  abolishment  by  the  town  of  the  District  System  and  the 
substitution  of  the  Town  System,  this  locality  comprised  what  was 
known  as  District  No.  16.  In  1834  the  schoolhouse  belonging 
to  this  district  was  destroyed  by  fire.  It  was  situated  at  Horse  Beef, 
where  the  house  of  Perry  Stevens  now  (1877)  stands.  A  new  one 
was  built  between  the  Gray  and  Portland  roads,  on  the  road  running 
across  from  the  Gray  road  to  Mallison's  Falls.  In  the  Town  Report 
for  the  year  1855,  the  School  Committee,  speaking  of  No.  16,  say, 
"  This  district  has  the  advantage  of  possessing  a  good  schoolhouse, 
and  more  school  apparatus  than  any  other  district  in  town."  The 
town,  believing  that  the  growth  of  Little  Falls  demanded  better  school 
accommodations,  m  1888  built  a  fine  new  schoolhouse  on  the  Gray 
road  at  a  cost  of  about  three  thousand  dollars.  Hon.  Frederick  Robie 
generously  donated  a  bell  to  be  hung  in  the  cupola  for  the  use  of  the 
school,  and  in  his  honor  the  building  is  known  as  the  "  Frederick 
Robie  School." 


CHAPTER    XIV. 


PHYSICIANS    AND    LAWYERS. 


For  many  years  after  the  first  settlement  of  the  town  there  was  no 
physician  in  Gorham.  Nor  was  this  lack  often  especially  felt  or 
noted.  The  women  of  the  families  were  skillful  in  the  compounding, 
from  the  barks,  roots  and  herbs  which  grew  around  them,  simple 
remedies  which  availed  for  all  ordinary  ailments.  Their  Indian 
neighbors  also,  in  time  of  peace,  taught  them,  the  settlers,  very  many 
useful  lessons  in  the  arts  of  medicine  and  surgery.  Occasionally,  as 
in  the  case  of  young  Phinney,  when  the  injury  demanded  more  scien- 
tific treatment  than  home  could  afford,  the  patient  was  carried 
through  the  woods  to  Falmouth,  there  to  receive  surgical  aid. 

At  length  with  the  growth  of  the  town  and  the  increase  of  the  pop- 
ulation the  opening  came  for  a  physician,  and  with  it  in  1770  came 
the  man.  Dr.  Stephen  Swett.  He  made  his  home  near  Fort  Hill, 
and  soon  brought  there  his  family,  consisting  of  his  wife  and  seven 
children.  Seven  other  children  were  afterwards  born  in  this  town  to 
him  and  his  wife.  Dr.  Swett  was  an  earnest  patriot,  and  enlisted 
as  surgeon  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  May  7,  1775,  in  Col.  Phin- 
ney's  31st  Massachusetts  regiment.  He  probably  served  until  the 
regiment  was  discharged,  Dec.  31,  1775,  and  doubtless  saw  other  ser- 
vice, though  there  seems  to  be  no  official  record  thereof.  After  a 
successful  practice  of  several  years  in  Gorham  he  removed  to  Wind- 
ham and  thence  to  Otisfield  where  he  died  in  1807. 

The  second  physician  to  locate  in  town  was  Dr.  Jeremiah  Barker. 
He  was  a  native  of  Scituate,  Mass.,  and  had  studied  medicine  in 
Cambridge  under  the  eminent  Dr.  Lincoln,  He  had  practiced  for 
some  time  in  Barnstable,  Mass.,  before  coming  to  Gorham.  He 
came  here  soon  after  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  having  become 
interested  in  the  place  through  the  influence  of  his  brother-in-law, 
Hon.  William  Gorham.  He  lived  east  of  the  village,  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Black  Brook  road.  He  was  a  noted  man  in  his  profession, 
and  also  took  a  prominent  part  in  town  affairs.  After  several  years 
he  moved  to  Portland,  where  he  remained  till  about  1808,  when  he 
returned  to  Gorham  and  resided  here  until  his  death  in  1834,  at  the 
age  of  84  years. 


282  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Dr.  Nathaniel  Bowman,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  in  1786,  was  the 
third  physician  to  settle  in  Gorham.  Shortly  after  coming  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Johnson  of  Andover,  Mass.  He  was  a  young  man 
of  much  ability,  and  gave  promise  of  taking  a  high  rank  in  his  pro- 
fession. It  is  said  that  while  visiting  a  patient  on  the  seventh  of 
June,  1797,  he  remarked  that  none  of  his  family  had  lived  to  pass 
their  thirtieth  birthday,  but  that  he  was  going  to  break  the  record  as 
he  should  be  thirty  on  the  following  day.  The  next  day,  June  8th, 
he  was  killed  by  the  fall  of  the  church  steeple,  as  is  elsewhere  related. 
His  untimely  death  was  greatly  lamented.  The  tradition  also  says 
that  his  patient  lost  her  life  through  the  lack  of  medical  attendance 
consequent  upon  his  death. 

About  the  time  of  Dr.  Bowman's  death  Dr.  Dudley  Folsom  came 
here.  He  took  at  once  an  active  and  a  prominent  part  in  town  and 
educational  matters,  and  was  esteemed  not  only  as  a  skillful  physician, 
but  as  a  wise  and  prudent  counsellor  in  public  matters.  He  was 
Surgeon  of  Col.  Burbank's  militia  regiment  which  marched  to  Port- 
land for  the  protection  of  that  place  during  the  War  of  181 2.  Dr. 
Folsom  had  a  large  and  extensive  practice,  till  his  death  in  1836. 

About  181 1,  or  1812,  Dr.  Elihu  Baxter  commenced  the  practice  of 
medicine  in  Gorham.  He  was  educated  for  a  physician  in  Hanover, 
N.  H.,  and  received  his  diploma  at  the  age  of  twenty-one.  He 
practiced  at  first  in  Lemington,  Vt.,  going  from  that  place  to  Alna, 
Me.,  and  thence  to  Wayne,  Me.,  in  which  latter  town  he  remained 
for  some  years  in  good  practice.  From  this  place  he  removed  to 
Gorham,  where  he  resided  for  nearly  twenty  years ;  establishing  a 
lasting  reputation  as  a  good  citizen  and  a  faithful  and  successful 
physician.     He  removed  to  Portland,  where  he  died.     (See   Baxter.) 

Dr.  Seaver  was  a  physician  in  town  for  a  few  years  in  the  first 
quarter  of  this  century.  He  lived  in  the  house  since  owned  by  Col. 
Hugh  D.  McLellan.  Drs.  Kittredge,  Adams  and  Thorndike  also 
practiced  here. 

Dr.  Nelson  H.  Cary,  a  native  of  Bridgewater,  Mass.  and  a  graduate 
of  Bowdoin  Medical  School,  succeeded  Dr.  Baxter,  and  lived  in  the 
house  on  South  St.,  formerly  occupied  by  him.  Here  he  continued 
for  several  years,  when  he  removed  to  Livermore.  About  1860-62 
he  returned  to  Gorham  and  again  entered  into  practice  here.  After 
a  few  years  he  went  to  VVestbrook.  He  died  in  Durham  in  1877.  Dr. 
Cary  was  the  father  of  Mrs.  Annie  Louise  (Cary)  Raymond,  of  whose 
musical  fame  and  talents  Gorham  is  proud,  though  it  cannot  claim 
the  honor  of  having  been  her  birthplace. 


ELIHU    BAXTER,    M.  D. 


DR.    ALDEN   T.    KEEN. 


PHYSICIANS.  283 

Dr.  John  Pierce,  a  native  of  Monmouth,  came  here  in  1835.  He 
married  Chloe,  the  daughter  of  Alexander  McLellan,  Esq.  After 
practicing  here  for  four  years  he  removed  to  Edgartown,  Mass., 
where  he  resided  till  his  death  in  1885. 

Dr.  S.  W.  Baker  followed  Dr.  Pierce.  He  came  to  Gorham  from 
Windham.  He  remained  some  years  in  practice  here,  when  he 
moved  to  Saccarappa,  but  returned  later  to  this  place.  Mrs.  Mary 
A.  Baker,  his  wife,  died  in  Gorham  in  1849.  Dr.  Baker  with  several 
of  his  children  removed  to  Texas,  where  he  was  still  living  not  many 
years  since. 

William  H.  Peabody,  son  of  Ebenezer  and  Sally  (Lewis)  Peabody, 
was  born  in  Gorham.  He  commenced  practice  here  about  1825, 
and  was  a  beloved  physician.  He  identilied  himself  with  every  good 
cause  and  work,  till  his  death  in  1843.  His  wife  was  Hannah, 
daughter  of  Col.  James  March,  of  Gorham. 

Alden  T.  Keen,  a  native  of  Freedom,  located  first  at  West  Gorham 
about  1840.  He  soon  removed  to  the  Village,  where  he  had  an 
extensive  practice  for  many  years.  He  was  especially  noted  for  his 
kindness  to  the  poor  and  needy.  He  married  Elizabeth  W.,  daughter 
of  Rev.  Clark  Perry.  In  1878  he  removed  to  Cambridge,  Mass., 
where  he  and  his  wife  died.  Two  daughters,  Julia  M.  and  Lillian  B., 
and  a  son,  Jarvis  B.  Keen,  survive  them. 

Dr.  Enoch  Cross,  Dr.  S.  C.  Strong  and  Dr.  Baldwin  succeeded 
each  other. 

Dr.  William  Wescott  was  a  surgeon  in  the  Civil  War.  He  married 
Martha  A.  Libby  of  Gorham,  and  after  practicing  in  Standish  and 
Kennebunk,  lived  in  the  north  part  of  the  town. 

Dr.  E.  F.  Mitchell,  Dr.  Lewis  W.  Houghton,  Dr.  Phineas  Ingalls 
and  Dr.  Anderson  have  resided  and  practiced  in  Gorham  for  a  longer 
or  shorter  time.  Dr.  Houghton  built  the  house  on  State  St.,  where 
Henry  W.  Hale  lately  lived. 

Dr.  John  Waterman  came  from  Windham  about  1839-40.  He  was 
a  man  of  great  discretion,  and  excellent  judgment.  He  was  for  many 
years  a  member  of  the  board  of  Trustees  of  the  Academy  and  Semi- 
nary. He  had  a  good  practice  until  increasing  years  and  feebleness 
compelled  him  to  lay  aside  active  work. 

Dr.  Seth  C.  Gordon,  now  in  an  extensive  practice  in  Portland,  was 
for  some  time  at  Little  Falls. 

Dr.  John  Sanborn  lived  near  Ganibo,  and  practiced  medicine  there 
for  some  years. 


284  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Dr.  James  M.  Buzzell  practiced  at  West  Gorham  and  Gorham 
village.     He  had  much  skill  as  a  surgeon. 

Dr.  George  Fabyan  of  Scarboro  came  to  this  town  about  1844,  and 
remained  for  several  years.  His  home  was  the  house  now  occupied 
by  Hon.  Isaac  W.  Dyer,  He  removed  from  Groham  to  Portland, 
and  soon  after  to  Boston. 

Dr.  Cheney,  Dr.  Vose  (now  of  Calais),  and  Dr.  Hitchcock  have  all 
practiced  here. 

Hon.  Frederick  Robie,  a  native  of  Gorham  and  a  graduate  of  Bow- 
doin,  came  here  from  Waldoboro,  where  he  had  been  in  practice.  He 
remained  here  till  the  breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion.  After  the  war, 
having  given  up  his  medical  pursuits,  he  returned  to  Gorham  to 
reside.  He  still  lives  with  us,  an  honored  citizen,  having  received 
from  his  townsmen  many  honors,  and  from  the  people  of  Maine  the 
highest  gift  in  their  power. 

Henry  H.  Hunt,  a  native  of  Gorham,  was  a  graduate  of  Bowdoin 
College,  Class  of  '62.  Soon  after  his  graduation  he  enlisted  in  the 
5th  Maine  Battery,  and  was  appointed  Hospital  Steward.  He  partic- 
ipated in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  and  was  with  Gen.  Grant  in  his 
campaign  from  the  Rapidan  to  the  James  River.  After  the  war  he 
completed  his  medical  course  at  Bowdoin  Medical  School,  graduating 
in  1867,  and  having  spent  another  year  in  study  in  Philadelphia 
settled  in  his  native  town,  where  he  soon  won  the  respect  and  confi- 
dence of  all,  and  entered  upon  a  large  practice,  which  continued 
until  about  1880,  when  on  account  of  his  health,  he  felt  he  must  seek 
a  different  field  of  labor.  At  this  time,  to  the  great  regret  of  our 
entire  community,  he  removed  to  Portland,  where  he  speedily  took  a 
place  in  the  front  rank  of  his  professional  brethren.  He  died  in 
Portland  in  1894. 

Dr.  A.  P.  Toplifif,  now  of  Deering,  practiced  here  a  few  years. 

After  Dr.  Hunt's  removal.  Dr.  William  H.  Watson  took  his  house, 
and  was  a  physician  in  this  place  for  some  years.  After  he  left  town. 
Dr.  Charles  H.  Ridlon  succeeded  him  in  1887,  and  is  now  in  suc- 
cessful practice  here. 

Mrs.  Rebecca  Buzzell  had  for  many  years  an  excellent  practice, 
till  failing  health  compelled  her  to  lay  it  aside.  She  was  of  the 
homeopathic  school. 

Dr.  O'Neil  R.  Straw  was  a  successful  physician  here  for  some 
fifteen  years,  till  in  1897  he  removed  to  Portland.  His  place  here 
was  taken  by  Dr.  Clinton  Stacy,  who  after  practicing  for  about  a  year 
and  a  half  died  Jan.  15,  1899. 


LAWYERS.  285 

Dr.  A.  W.  Lincoln,  Dr.  Chas.  H.  Ridlon,  Dr.  Philip  P.  Lewis  and 
Dr.  E.  D.  Chellis  are  the  present  physicians  at  Gorham  village. 

Dr.  N.  M.  Marshall  and  Dr.  B.  F.  Marshall  were  for  some  years  at 
Little  Falls.  Dr.  Hamlet  and  Dr.  Woodman  are  now  in  practice 
at  that  place. 

It  was  not  until  the  year  1801  that  a  member  of  the  legal  fraternity, 
John  Park  Little,  located  here  in  town.  At  that  time  the  town  con- 
tained about  twenty-five  hundred  inhabitants.  Whatever  occasions 
for  legal  advice  or  assistance  might  have  arisen  previous  to  this  must 
have  been  settled  without  the  intervention  of  a  Gorham  lawyer. 
Indeed  the  community  seems  to  have  been  a  remarkably  peaceable 
one,  for  when  it  was  known  that  a  lawyer  proposed  to  take  up  his 
abode  here,  there  was  strenuous  objection  made  to  his  coming,  on 
the  ground  that  while  nothing  was  known  against  Mr.  Little  person- 
ally, a?iy  lawyer  must  of  necessity  be  a  promoter  of  strife  and  division 
for  the  sake  of  furthering  and  promoting  his  own  interests.  Indeed 
the  opposition  was  so  strong  that  a  meeting  was  held  after  service 
one  Sabbath  to  discuss  the  matter,  and  to  vote,  almost  unanimously 
that  Mr.  Little  should  not  come  to  Gorham.  Notwithstanding  all 
this,  however,  he  came,  and  proved  a  decided  acquisition,  and  soon 
held  a  prominent  position  in  town.  Spite  of  his  legal  profession  he 
made  it  his  aim  to  promote  peace  and  to  lessen  litigation.  He  was 
a  graduate  of  Brown  University  in  the  class  of  1794,  and  was 
admitted  in  1799  to  the  bar  in  Massachusetts.  He  was  tall  and 
commanding  in  figure,  dignified  and  courteous  in  his  bearing.  One 
who  was  a  small  child  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Little's  death  says  "  I  well 
remember  the  stately  walk  of  John  P.  Little  as  he  passed  between 
his  splendid  new  house  and  his  law  office."  Mr.  Little  built  the 
large  three  story  house  on  Main  St.,  now  the  property  of  Hon. 
Frederick  Robie.  His  office  stood  near  the  sidewalk,  next  west  of 
the  house  of  Mrs.  Sawyer  (then  Nathaniel  Gould's).  Many  years 
since  it  was  moved  on  to  what  is  now  Green  St.,  and  used  for  a 
dwelling  house.  It  has  recently  been  moved  again,  in  anticipation 
of  the  new  Library  building,  and  has  been  placed  south  of  the  depot, 
on  Lincoln  St.  Mr.  Little  was  a  man  of  sterling  integrity,  and 
undoubted  honor.  He  was  also  an  earnest  and  consistent  Christian, 
and  in  -every  respect  proved  himself  a  most  valuable  citizen.  He 
was  one  of  the  original  trustees  of  Gorham  Academy,  and  was 
chosen  secretary  of  the  Board  at  its  first  meeting.  He  enjoyed  the 
respect  of  the  whole  community,  and  attained  to  a  large  and  increas- 
ing practice.     He  was  the  son  of  John  and   Margaret  (Park)  Little, 


286  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

and  was  born  in  Lunenburg,  Mass.,  Nov.  17,  1772.  He  married, 
September,  1805,  Mary  Jackson,  daughter  of  Hon.  Oliver  Prescott 
of  Groton,  Mass.,  and  niece  to  Col.  Wm.  Prescott  who  commanded 
the  American  forces  at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  Mr.  Little  died  of 
quick  consumption  Mar.  26,  1809.  His  only  child,  John  Oliver, 
born  Mar.  17,  1808,  died  Sept.  18,  1809.  Mrs.  Little  married  Hon. 
Lothrop  Lewis. 

Peter  Thacher,  son  of  Hon.  Judge  Thacher,  the  former  pastor  of 
the  First  Parish  Church,  read  law  with  Wm.  Symmes,  Esq. 
of  Portland  who  was  one  of  the  most  able  lawyers  of  his  day.  Mr. 
Thacher  entered  into  practice  in  1804  at  Saccarappa.  After 
remaining  there  about  five  years,  he  removed  to  his  old  home  in 
Gorham,  where  he  lived  but  a  year  or  two,  dying  of  consumption, 
Jan.  26,  1811. 

In  1805  Barrett  Potter  came  to  this  place  and  opened  an  office. 
He  remained,  however,  only  a  year  and  removed  to  Portland,  where 
he  became  distinguished  in  his  profession,  and  received  many  honors 
in  public  life.  He  was,  for  about  twenty-three  years,  Judge  of 
Probate  for  Cumberland  County. 

Samuel  VVhitmore,  Jr.,  son  of  Capt.  Samuel  Whitmore  of  Gorham, 
read  law  with  Mr.  Little,  and  opened  an  office  for  himself  about 
1806.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth,  class  of  1802.  He  prac- 
ticed law  here  for  only  two  years,  dying  Aug.  27,  1808,  at  the  age  of  28. 

About  this  time  Jacob  Sheaff  Smith,  a  native  of  Durham,  N.  H., 
opened  an  office  in  this  place.  He  had  the  reputation  of  being  an 
able  lawyer,  and  was  devoted  to  his  profession  during  the  more  than 
twenty-five  years  that  he  practiced  at  the  village.  About  1833  he 
removed  to  the  farm  about  two  miles  south  of  the  village,  lately 
occupied  by  Mr.  Merritt.  Here  he  lived  until  about  1867  when, 
after  the  death  of  his  wife,  he  went  to  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  to  reside  with 
his  son.     He  died  in  Brooklyn  in  1880,  at  the  age  of  94. 

Joseph  Adams  was  born  in  1779  in  Wayland  (Sudbury),  Mass. 
He  graduated  from  Harvard  College  in  1805,  and  having  studied 
law  with  Hon.  George  Thacher  of  Biddeford,  located  for  a  short  time, 
after  his  admission  to  the  bar,  in  Buxton.  He  soon  removed  to 
Gorham,  where  he  remained  until  182 1,  in  which  year  he  removed  to 
Portland.  He  was  a  man  who  commanded  much  respect  and 
confidence.  He  was  one  of  the  delegates  from  this  town  to  the  Con- 
vention in  Portland  in  18 19,  at  which  the  Constitution  of  the  State 
was  adopted.     He  was  also  for  a  term  of  years  County  Attorney. 

Mr.  Adams's  successor  was  Josiah  Pierce,  who  came  to  Gorham  in 


JOHN  A.  WATERMAN. 


LAWYERS.  287 

182 1.  He  was  born  in  Baldwin,  and  was  graduated  from  Bowdoin. 
He  was  a  man  of  rare  intellectual  gifts,  and  was  remarkably 
interesting  and  brilliant  in  conversation.  He  possessed  many  and 
varied  talents,  and  was  an  able  and  skillful  lawyer.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  board  of  selectmen  in  1837  and  1838,  was  repre- 
sentative to  the  State  Legislature,  State  Senator  three  years,  and 
President  of  the  Senate  in  1835  and  1836.  He  was  for  ten 
years  Judge  of  Probate  for  Cumberland  County.  At  the  time  of 
the  Centennial  Celebration  of  the  town  in  1836  he  was  chosen  orator 
of  the  day  and  delivered  an  eloquent  historical  address.  In  1 861,  at 
the  request  of  the  town,  he  prepared  a  History  of  Gorham.  He 
continued  in  active  practice  in  town  till  his  death  in  1866,  at  the  age 

of  73- 

About    1833    Elijah    Hayes    opened   an   oi^ce    here.     He  was  a 

native  of  Limerick.     He  soon  obtained  a  good  and  rapidly  increasing 

practice.      His    prospects   were,  however,   cut    short  by  his  sudden 

death,  Dec.  22,  1847.     His  wife,  Eliza  (Gilpatrick),  died  shortly  after 

him,  leaving  two  sons,  George  and   Walter,  and   a  daughter,  Eliza. 

Thomas  H.  Goodwin  and  John  W.  Dana  had  law  oflfices  in  town 
for  a  short  time,  also  Charles  Danforth,  the  latter  of  whom  has  since 
been  well  known  and  honored  as  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court 
of  Maine.  Alvah  Black  taught  for  a  time  in  the  Seminary,  and 
afterwards  practiced  law  here.  Henry  P.  A.  Smith,  son  of  Mr.  Isaac 
Smith  of  Portland,  had  an  office  here  for  a  few  years.  He  removed 
to  Cherryfield,  and  afterwards  went  to  California.  He  died  in 
Helena,  Montana,  Nov.  20,  1870. 

John  A.  Waterman,  son  of  Dr.  John  Waterman,  came  here  with  his 
father's  family  from  Windham  when  quite  a  lad.  He  took  his  pre- 
paratory studies  at  the  Academy,  and  was  graduated  from  Bowdoin 
in  1846.  In  1850  he  opened  a  law  office  in  this  village,  and  continued 
in  practice  here  till  his  death.  He  was  a  man  of  rare  good  judgment, 
great  prudence  and  discretion,  and  of  singular  affability  and  kindness 
of  heart.  He  was  Judge  of  Probate  for  Cumberland  County  for 
many  years.  He  died,  lamented  by  the  community  at  large,  Mar.  6, 
1893.  His  son,  John  A.  Waterman,  Jr.,  also  a  graduate  of  Bowdoin, 
after  practicing  for  a  time  in  Brunswick,  came  to  Gorham  after  the 
death  of  his  father,  and  taking  his  father's  office,  is  now  in  practice 
here. 

George  B.  Emery,  son  of  Capt.  Daniel  C.  Emery,  was  a  native  of 
Gorham,  a  student  at  the  Academy,  and  a  graduate  of  Bowdoin,  class 
of  i860.  After  his  admission  to  the  bar  he  opened  an  office  at  the 
village,  where  he  continued  in  practice  till  his  death,  Aug.  11,  1898. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

CONDITION    OF    THE    ROADS    IN    AND    ABOUT    GORHAM    IN    EARLY    TIMES. 
BRANDYBROOK    HILL HORSE    MEADOW    ROAD — MAILS — RAILROADS. 

Rev.  P'aul  Coffin  of  Buxton  married  Miss  Mary  Gorham,  daughter 
of  Capt.  Nathaniel  Gorham  of  Charlestown,  Mass.  In  July,  1777, 
Stephen  Gorham,  Esq.  came  with  his  wife  in  a  chaise,  to  Buxton  to 
visit  his  sister.  When  they  got  as  far  as  Saco,  they  were  advised  not 
to  attempt  to  proceed  farther  in  the  carriage,  as  none  had  ever  passed 
the  road.  Mrs.  Gorham,  having  never  ridden  on  a  pillion,  did  not 
wish  to  attempt  the  ride  in  that  way,  and  they  concluded  to  try  the 
chaise.  They  got  through  in  four  hours,  Mr.  Gorham  walking,  and 
steadying  the  chaise  to  keep  it  from  being  overturned.  While  in 
Buxton  they  with  Mr.  Coffin  wished  to  visit  their  relative  the  Hon. 
William  Gorham,  at  Gorham.  They  had  to  make  the  journey  on 
horseback,  with  the  pillions  for  the  ladies.  The  ride  and  visit  were 
accomplished  in  two  days,  by  the  track  through  the  woods,  there 
being  a  carriage  road  scarcely  any  of  the  way,  and  the  trip  occasioned 
some  amusement  to  the  gentlemen,  and  much  fear  and  trepidation  to 
the  ladies.  At  this  time  no  carriage  had  ever  passed  the  road  from 
Gorham  to  Buxton. 

In  surveying  the  town  of  Gorham,  and  lotting  the  same,  the  first 
division  of  lots  amongst  the  grantees  were  thirty  acre  lots,  and  a  road 
was  to  run  around  every  four  lots,  thus  making  a  road  on  two  sides 
of  each  thirty  acre  lot.  A  part  of  these  roads  were  laid  out  four 
rods,  and  a  part  two  rods  wide.  Such  as  were  then  thought  would 
be  the  great  thoroughfares  through  the  town  were  four  rods.  Many 
of  these  roads  have  never  been  opened,  and  probably  never  will  be. 
And  in  the  second  division  the  plan  was  general  to  have  a  road 
around  every  two  hundred  acres,  thus  bringing  a  road  on  three  sides 
of  every  lot.  In  the  original  plan  of  the  thirty  acre  lots  the  four-rod, 
or  principal  roads  were  named.  The  road  running  northerly,  past 
Gorham  village,  over  Fort  Hill,  was  named  "  King  Street."  The 
next  road  westerly,  parallel  to  this,  running  between  the  land  lately 
owned  by  Joseph  Harding,  and  Mr.  Weston's  land,  thence  between 
the   land   of  the  Alden  heirs,  and   that  recently  owned  by   George 


BRANDYBROOK    HILL.  289 

Chadbourn  (now  Mr.  Shorey's)  was  named  "Queen  Street."  This 
street  was  never  opened.  The  main  street  in  Gorham  village, 
running  as  far  as  Mark  Mosher's,  or  near  there,  was  named  "  Gorham 
Street."  The  old  Buxton  (Flaggy  meadow)  road  was  called  "Ham- 
blen Street."  The  road  between  Archelaus  Hamblen's  and  Samuel 
Roberts's,  Moses  Fogg's  and  Leonard  Roberts's,  since  called  "Queen 
Street  "  was  named  "  Phinney  Street."  The  road  from  Scarborough, 
running  northerly  past  Alexander  Allen's,  past  the  schoolhouse, 
which  lately  stood  on  Main  St.,  Daniel  C.  Libby's  and  Ezra  Richard- 
son's and  on  north  was  named  "  Paine  Street."  It  appears  that 
previous  to  Nov.  24,  1743,  the  road  was  made  as  far  easterly  from 
Gorham  village  as  where  Merrill  Mosher  lately  lived,  which  by  the 
plan  was  the  end  of  Gorham  Street.  And  at  a  Proprietors'  meeting, 
then  held,  it  was  "Voted,  That  Mr.  William  Pote,  Jno.  Phinney,  and 
Daniel  Mozier  be  chosen  a  Committee  to  Lay  out  a  New  Road  through 
the  woods  from  the  end  of  Gorham  Street,  down  to  Saccarappa  Mills,  in 
the  most  Convenient  Place.  And  twenty  shillings  on  each  right,  in 
addition  to  the  twenty  shillings  on  each  right  previously  raised,  be 
raised  to  be  expended  in  Cutting  and  Clearing  Roads." 

The  same  year  a  vote  was  passed  "to  raise  sixpence  on  each 
share,  to  be  paid  to  Daniel  Mozier,  provided  he  look  out  and  spot  a 
road  direct  to  Black  Point,  in  y*^  most  convenient  way  from  our  lots  laid 
out  that  way."  Up  to  October,  1749,  it  does  not  appear  that  a  road 
had  been  made  to  the  Scarborough  line,  for  at  that  time,  the  following 
vote  was  passed  at  a  Proprietors'  meeting  :  "  Voted,  that  thirty  pounds, 
old  tenor,  be  paid  to  any  person  or  persons,  that  appear,  and  clear  a 
passable  road  from  Gorham  Corner  to  Scarborough  Une."  At  this 
time  all  the  travel,  southerly,  did  not  take  the  planned  road,  called 
King  Street,  for  the  reason  that  there  was  a  better  road  in  the  old 
Mast  and  Logging-road  which  entered  the  village  near  where  State 
St.  now  enters  School  St.,  thence  turning  southerly  near  where  J.  C. 
Summersides'  house  now  stands,  ran  across  the  lots,  through  what  is 
now  Mrs.  Tolford's  pasture,  over  the  lot  of  Sammel  Carruthers,  and 
the  Higgins  lot,  to  the  lot  owned  by  Hugh  D.  McLellan,  through 
what  is  called  the  "  Old  Slough  Road,"  over  Woodchuck  hill,  past  the 
spot  where  Simon  Waterhouse  formerly  had  a  house,  on  to  the 
Borough  Mill,  so  called,  on  the  brook,  westerly  of  where  William 
McLellan  and  Benjamin  Waterhouse  now  live,  then  to  the  south 
part  of  the  town  to  Bragdon's  Mill,  now  owned  by  S.  B.  Knight. 

By  a  vote  passed  in  1753,  it  appears  that  the  principal  roads  in 
town   at   that  time   were   as   follows  :    from  Saccarappa  to  Gorham 


290  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Corner,  on  which  they  voted  to  expend  ^6-13-4;  from  Gorham  to 
Narragansett,  No.  i  (Buxton),  as  far  as  the  thirty  acre  lots  went  (to 
the  road  by  Samuel  Cressey's),  ;^6-i3-4;  from  the  Fort  to  the  Mills, 
and  as  far  as  the  town  line,  ;^i3-6-8  ;  from  Gorham  Corner  to  the 
Scarborough  line,  ;^6-i3-4.  The  remainder  of  the  money  raised 
was  to  be  laid  out  on  the  cross  roads  as  the  committee  might  think 
best. 

At  a  Proprietors'  meeting  held  July  26,  1762,  it  was  "Voted,  that 
Moses  Pearson,  Solomon  Lombard,  Esq.,  and  Jacob  Hamblen  be  a 
Committee  to  converse  with  the  Committee  of  Marblehead  (Windham) 
on  the  proposal  of  Building  a  Bridge  over  Presumpscott  River  at 
Horsebeef  Falls,  or  else  where  it  will  be  most  convenient,  and  make 
a  report  next  meeting." 

There  was  no  planned  road  located  from  the  hundred  acre  lot, 
where  Wilder  Libby  now  lives,  before  Dec.  31,  1764,  only  a  track 
running  northerly. 

It  appears  on  record,  that  as  early  as  the  year  1804,  efforts  were 
made  to  shorten  and  improve  the  roads  from  Standish  to  Gorham. 
On  or  about  that  time  petitions  were  presented  to  the  Courts  for  a 
road  from  Capt.  Shaw's,  in  Standish,  to  John  Miller's,  in  Gorham,  thus 
avoiding,  if  possible.  Fort  Hill,  and  the  large  sweep  round  by  the 
Messrs.  Johnson. 

To  offset  this,  at  a  town  meeting  held  at  the  schoolhouse  at 
Gorham  Corner,  it  was  "  Voted,  that  Lothrop  Lewis,  Esq.,  Decker 
Phinney  and  Col.  Nathaniel  Frost  be  a  committee  to  survey  the  old 
road  above  Timothy  Hamblen's,  and  look  out  a  new  road  from  said 
Hamblen's  to  the  main  road  between  Samuel  Moody's  and  Capt. 
Davis's,  and  to  ascertain  the  saving  that  may  be  made  by  such 
alteration,  and  the  difference  of  saving  between  said  road  and  the 
one  petitioned  for  from  Standish  to  John  Miller's,  to  enable  the 
agent  more  effectively  to  oppose  the  laying  out  the  last-mentioned 
road." 

It  appears  that  before  April,  1805,  the  Court  had  located  the 
Horse  Meadow  road,  so  called,  from  Timothy  Hamblen's  to  the 
branch  near  Samuel  Moody's,  instead  of  the  one  petitioned  for  from 
Standish  to  Miller's,  for  at  a  town  meeting  held  April  15,  1805,  the 
town  took  measures  to  settle  the  damages  awarded  to  land-owners, 
and  to  open  and  make  the  road,  which  is  still  known  as  the  Horse 
Meadow  road. 

Before  the  year  1820,  all  the  travel  to  Standish  and  the  back 
country  had  to  pass  over  Fort   Hill,  which    was    "  a  hard  road  to 


BRANDYBROOK    HILL.  291 

travel."  A  few  years  previous  to  this  date  the  back  country  people 
got  quite  waked  up  on  the  subject  that  a  new  road  must  be  had,  but 
some  wanted  to  keep  down  the  old  Standish  road  to  the  branch,  so 
called,  thence  haul  to  the  right,  on  such  a  course  as  would  pass  Lit- 
tle River  half  a  mile  west  of  the  mills  above  Fort  Hill,  thence  over 
Fort  Hill,  by  the  "  apple-tree,"  (and  this  apple-tree  was  a  noted 
point  in  town  for  several  years,)  thence  by  David  Elder's  to  near 
Benjamin  Mosher's,  into  the  old  Saccarappa  road.  Others  thought 
a  better  and  more  direct  route  was  by  the  way  now  travelled,  by 
West  Gorham.  At  last  it  came  to  a  focus ;  the  Court  granted  a 
road  ;  a  committee  of  three  was  appointed  to  examine  the  several 
routes,  and  locate  the  one  they  thought  the  best.  The  Fort  Hill 
route  was  examined  first.  In  the  meantime,  the  people  in  the  vil- 
lage, and  at  West  Gorham,  assembled  at  Brandybrook  hill  (then 
a  hill  without  a  name),  with  oxen,  ploughs,  shovels,  and  crow-bars, 
and  soon  made  it  look  quite  passable.  A  great  amount  of  work  was 
done  in  a  short  time.  At  last  the  day  came  for  the  examination.  As 
may  well  be  supposed  all  the  village  took  an  interest  in  the  pro- 
ceedings.    The  chairman  of  the    committee  was    Esq.    B of 

Portland,  who  acted  as  surveyor.  As  the  crowd  was  about  to  start 
for  West  Gorham  to  meet  the  committee,  some  one,  knowing  the 
man,  suggested  that  a  drop  of  good  brandy  (this  was  in  the  days,  be 
it  remembered,  when  almost  all  took  their  Jiipper)    might  possibly 

have  a  good  effect  on  the  committee,  particularly  on  Esq.  B 

especially  as  it  was  warm  and  fatiguing  scrambling  through  bushes 
and  over  brooks.  The  hint  was  acted  upon ;  the  writer  of  this 
article  was  commissioned  to  fill  a  quart  flask  with  the  best  the  store 
contained,  and  to  carry  it  to  the  scene  of  action.  At  the  brook 
a  consultation  was  held  by  the  elders  to  determine  the  best  place  of 
crossing.  At  the  point  fixed  upon,  the  bottle  was  taken  and  depos- 
ited in  the  brook  under  the  bank  in  a  cool  place.  Then  the  company 
passed  on,  met  the  committee  at  \^'est  Gorham,  and  commenced  the 

return  march.     And  it  so  came  to  pass  that  when  Esq.  B set 

his  compass  to  make  the  necessary'  angle  to  pass  up  the  hill,  the 
course  hit  squarely  the  point  where  the  brandy  was  deposited.  At 
the  brook  a  halt  was  made  ;  some  to  rest,  some  to  take  a  drink  of 

water,    and    some    to    view    the    countr}-   over,     Esq.    B was 

a  stout  man,  and  the  perspiration  ran  from  him  profusely.  Some  one 
remarked  to  him  in  a  jocose  way,  that  a  little  brandy  would  fit  his 
case.  "  Nothing  could  be  better,"  said  he,  "but  where  is  the  brandy 
coming  from  ?    That's  the  question,"     An  arm  was  run  under  the 


292  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

bank,  and  the  bottle  produced,  all  red  and  smiling.  There  was 
rejoicing  in  the  camp.  The  liquor  was  drunk  and  much  admired  ; 
and  the  boy  that  produced  it  was  patted  and  praised.     When  about 

to  start,  Esq.   B said  "I  want  the  name  of  this  brook,  and 

Providence  has  provided  it.  I  will  call  it  Brandybrook,"  and  so 
entered  it  in  his  minutes  of  the  survey,  and  the  hill  Brandy-brook 
hill.  The  road  was  located  by  West  Gorham,  and  over  the  spot 
where  the  bottle  was  found  in  Brandybrook.  Whether  the  bottle  of 
brandy  had  anything  to  do  with  the  location,  remains  to  this  day  a 
mystery. 

What  is  known  as  "  the  new  road  to  Saccarappa  "  was  also  laid 
out  and  opened  to  travel  at  about  this  same  time. 

In  the  house  owned  and  occupied  by  the  Rev.  Josiah  Thacher,  and 
which  is  now  owned  by  Lewis  Johnson,  may  be  seen  some  heart- 
shaped  holes  cut  in  the  window  shutters.  These  owe  their  origin  to 
the  following  fact  :  Mr.  Thacher  was  expecting  a  very  important 
letter.  The  mail  came  up  from  Portland  that  week  so  that  the  car- 
rier passed  through  Gorham  after  dark  ;  it  was  a  cold  evening,  and 
the  Thachers  had  all  the  shutters  closed  to  help  them  to  keep  warm  ; 
the  postman,  seeing  no  light  in  the  house,  passed  on  up  country  with 
the  letter,  and  Mr.  Thacher  was  obliged  to  wait  until  he  came  back, 
a  week  later.  To  prevent  this  ever  happening  again,  Mr.  Thacher 
had  the  holes  cut  so  that  the  light  might  shine  out  and  warn  the 
postman  that  he  was  at  home. 

The  first  mail  between  Portland  and  Boston  is  said  to  have  been 
carried  by  William  Wescott,  who  during  the  Revolution  was  known 
to  every  man,  woman  and  child  on  the  road  between  Boston  and 
Portland  and  over  the  entire  region  of  the  County  of  Cumberland,  as 
"  Post "  Wescott.  He  was  employed  by  Washington,  during  the 
war,  in  carrying  dispatches,  and  in  carrying  letters  to  and  from 
the  soldiers  in  the  army  and  their  friends  and  families  in  New  Hamp- 
shire and  Maine.  The  writer  of  this  has  in  his  possession  a  letter 
written  by  his  grandfather,  while  in  the  army  at  Cambridge,  and 
brought  home  to  Gorham  by  Post  Wescott  in  1775. 

Parson  Smith  in  his  Journal,  under  date  of  Apr.  6,  1785,  says, 
"  The  post  at  last  got  here,  having  been  hindered  near  5  weeks." 
And  in  a  footnote  to  the  above,  Mr.  Willis  adds,  "  This  was  an 
unusual  occurrence.  From  June,  1775  to  January,  1789,  the  mail  was 
sent  once  a  week  from  Boston ;  but  it  was  very  irregular  in  its  time 
of  arrival ;  it  was  brought  sometimes  by  the  postman  on  foot,  but 
generally  on  horseback.    From  January  to  May,  1789,  it  was  sent  twice 


MAILS.  293 

a  week  ;  after  May  of  that  year  it  came  three  times  a  week.  In  those 
days  of  irregularity,  a  gentleman  of  Portland,  having  business  in 
Boston,  and  tired  of  waiting  for  the  mail  to  arrive,  started  on  his 
journey.  He  met  the  mail  carrier,  Joseph  Barnard,  in  Saco  woods, 
and  the  gentleman  expressing  a  great  desire  to  have  a  letter  which 
he  had  been  expecting,  the  accomodating  postman  took  off  his  saddle 
bags  and  deliberately  opening  the  mail,  delivered  to  his  impatient 
enquirer  the  long  expected  communication.  As  late  as  1790,  a  letter 
was  sixteen  days  coming  from  Philadelphia,  thirteen  from  New  York, 
and  three  from  Boston;  they  travelled  about  forty  miles  a  day. 
Postage,  in  1786,  was  charged  by  pennyweights  and  grains;  two 
pennyweights  to  Portsmouth  was  twelve  and  a  half  cents,  to  Boston, 
a  shilling,  and  to  Baltimore,  thirty-seven  and  a  half  cents." 

The  mails  were  carried  on  horseback  for  many  years.  The  first  of 
the  mails  carried  through  Gorham  in  carriages,  was  on  the  White 
Mountain  route,  in  an  old  two  wheeled  chaise  or  sulkey.  The  first 
mail  stage  or  coach  was  also  on  this  route. 

In  the  year  181 1,  and  for  some  time  after  that  date,  there  were 
but  two  mails  per  week  up,  and  two  down,  passing  through  Gorham. 
Both  went  down  on  Monday,  and  up  Tuesday ;  one  up  through 
Buxton,  Limington,  Alfred  and  the  towns  in  York  County;  the  other 
up  through  Standish,  Baldwin  and  through  the  White  Mountains. 

A  stage  route  was  early  established  through  Gorham,  Alfred,  Dover, 
N.  H.,  and  on  to  Boston. 

A  post  office  was  established  in  Gorham  in  1797,  and  Samuel 
Prentiss  was  appointed  postmaster  in  September  of  that  same  year. 
Samuel  Whitmore,  Jr.  succeeded  him  in  June,  1807  ;  and  he  in  turn 
was  followed  by  Alexander  McLellan,  Esq.,  who  was  appointed 
Dec.  5,  1809,  and  held  the  office  for  nearly  twenty-eight  years. 

In  1820  there  was  a  White  Mountain,  or  Coos  mail,  coming  down 
from  Conway  every  Monday  and  returning  the  following  Tuesday. 
Passing  through  the  place  on  these  same  days,  was  also  a  York 
County  mail,  carried  on  horseback  by  "Master"  Tucker.  As' these 
mails  left  Portland  Tuesday  morning,  the  Portland  weekly  papers  — 
at  that  time  the  Portland  Gazette,  and  the  Eastern  Argus  —  were 
printed  Monday  evening,  to  be  in  readiness  for  them.  The  rate  on 
letters  then  was  not  uniform,  as  at  present,  but  differed  according  to 
the  distance  to  which  the  letter  was  to  be  sent.  For  Philadelphia, 
and  all  over  three  hundred  miles,  the  postage  was  twenty-five  cents. 
To  New  York,  it  was  eighteen  and  three-quarter  cents.  For  distances 
of  thirty  miles  or  less,  it  was  six  cents;  for  more  than  thirty  and 
less  than  seventy-five  miles,  ten  cents  ;  and  for  over  seventy-five  but 


294  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  nine  pence  (twelve  and  one- 
half  cents).  A  single  letter,  provided  it  contained  no  enclosures, 
might  weigh  one-half  ounce.  It  was  of  no  use  for  people  to  try  and 
evade  these  prices  by  enclosing  a  number  of  letters  for  the  same 
destination  but  for  different  individuals,  in  the  same  packet.  Each 
enclosed  scrap  of  paper,  even  if  a  bank  bill,  was  charged  full  rates. 
Owing  to  this,  a  great  number  of  letters  were  sent  by  the  hands  of 
friends,  or  even  strangers,  who  might  chance  to  be  going  in  the 
right  direction. 

Mr.  McLellan  was  succeeded,  Apr.  i8,  1837,  by  Isaac  C.  Irish; 
and  he  in  turn  has  been  followed  by  Stevens  Smith,  appointed  Dec. 
8,  1841  ;  James  Irish,  June  7,  1845  ;  Joshua  B.  Phipps,  July  20,  1849  ; 
Samuel  W.  Lord,  June  20,  1853;  John  Farnham,  Dec,  1857; 
Eben  W.  Nevens,  June,  1861  ;  Cornelius  Waters,  May  7,  1863  ;  Anna 
G.  Waters,  Feb.  16,  1880-Feb.  25,  1882  ;  Henry  R.  Millett,  Mar.  6, 
1882  ;  Theodore  B.  Edwards,  1885  ;  Henry  R.  Millett,  Apr.  14,  1889  ; 
Simon  B.  Guthrie,  Apr.  3,  1893,  and  Edward  Harding,  1897. 

This  office  at  the  Village  was  made  a  presidential  office  in  1896 
by  President  Cleveland. 

There  are  also  post  offices  at  West  Gorham,  White  Rock  and  North 
Gorham. 

When  a  few  years  ago,  rural  deliveiy  of  mail  was  established  in 
this  State,  Gorham  was  one  of  the  first  towns  to  profit  by  it. 

On  Aug.  10,  1835,  a  meeting  was  held  at  Alfred,  to  consider  the 
expediency  of  building  a  railroad  from  Portland,  passing  through 
Westbrook,  Gorham,  Buxton,  HoUis,  Waterborough,  Sanford,  No. 
Berwick  and  Berwick,  in  Maine  ;  Great  Falls,  Dover,  Newmarket  and 
Exeter,  in  New  Hampshire  ;  to  meet  the  Andover  and  Wilmington 
Railroad  at  Haverhill,  in  Massachusetts.  The  delegates  from  Gorham 
to  this  meeting  were  Capt.  Toppan  Robie,  Joseph  M.  Gerrish  and 
Gen.  James  Irish.  Gen.  Irish  was  chosen  chainnan  of  the  meeting, 
and  he  was  also  chosen  chairman  of  a  committee,  appointed  to  make 
a  preliminaiy  examination  of  the  ground,  with  a  view  to  selecting 
the  best  route. 

This  railroad  was  incorporated  under  the  name  of  the  Me.,  N.  H. 
and  Mass.  Railroad  Corporation,  and  a  charter  granted,  by  an  Act 
of  the  Legislature,  approved  by  Gov.  Dunlap,  March  30,  1836.  In 
December  of  the  same  year,  the  town  of  Gorham  chose  Gen.  Irish, 
Capt.  Robie  and  Josiah  Pierce,  Esq.  to  petition  the  next  Legislature 
to  grant  a  part  of  the  surplus  revenue  of  the  Government  toward 
building  this  railroad. 


RAILROADS.  295 

Gorham  village  experienced  quite  a  boom  in  real  estate  at  this 
time,  owing  to  the  prospect  of  having  a  railroad  built  through  it ;  but 
time  passed,  and  the  road  was  not  built. 

The  York  and  Cumberland  Railroad,  which  was  planned  to  pass 
through  most  of  the  same  towns,  and  connect  at  Salmon  Falls,  N.  H., 
with  the  Boston  and  Maine  Railroad,  was  incorporated  in  1846.  The 
company  organized  July  20,  1848,  with  Joshua  Richardson  of  Port- 
land as  president,  and  Toppan  Robie  of  Gorham,  treasurer.  Work 
was  begun  on  the  road  the  same  year.  It  was  opened  as  far  as 
Gorham  about  1850;  then  to  Saco  River,  and  after  that  as  far 
as  Alfred.  The  first  conductor  on  this  road  was  Col.  Humphrey 
Cousins,  now  of  Gorham,  who  had  charge  of  the  first  train  that  passed 
over  it.  The  route  of  the  road  was  changed,  and  Rochester,  N.  H., 
made  the  terminus.  The  name  of  the  line  was  also  changed  from  the 
York  and  Cumberland  to  that  of  the  Portland  and  Rochester 
Railroad.  On  the  first  of  January,  1900,  this  road  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  Boston  and  Maine,  and  was  incorporated  into  its 
system. 

The  Portland  and  Ogdensburg  Railroad,  now  known  as  the 
White  Mountain  division  of  the  Maine  Central  Railroad,  passes 
through  the  northeasterly  part  of  the  town.  It  has  a  station  at  the 
village  of  White  Rock,  and  also  one  on  the  Windham  side  at  Little 
Falls,  known  as  South  Windham.  A  Gorham  man,  Mr.  Stephen 
Stephenson,  was  one  of  the  engineers  engaged  in  the  construction  of 
this  road.  On  Sept.  12,  1870,  the  first  train  of  cars  passed  over  this 
road  from  Portland  to  Lake  Sebago. 

The  electric  road,  known  as  the  Westbrook,  Windham  and  Naples 
Road,  and  running  from  Saccarappa  to  Little  Falls,  was  opened  on 
the  17th  of  August,  1S99.  The  electric  road  connecting  with  this 
road  at  "  Mosher's,"  and  running  to  Gorham  village  was  built  in  the 
summer  of  1901. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

SLAVES THE     TOWN's     POOR CHANGE     OF     BOUNDARY     LINE OLD 

BELLS  ^  TOWN  CLOCK THE  RED  STONE    MONUMENT 

TOMATOES THE    POUND FIRE    ENGINES. 

Slavery  existed  in  Massachusetts  for  many  years;  in  1754  there 
were  four  hundred  and  thirty-nine  slaves  in  Essex  County  alone. 
Slavery  in  the  State,  however,  was  of  a  very  modified  form,  the  con- 
dition of  the  slaves^  differing  little  from  that  of  ordinary  servants  or 
apprentices,  excepting  that  it  was  a  life  service.  Their  masters  were 
not  allowed  to  beat  or  chastise  them  unmercifully  ;  their  marriages 
were  protected  by  law  ;  the  children  of  a  female  slave  were  free,  and 
many  other  privileges  were  granted  them. 

The  present  Constitution  of  Massachusetts  was  established  in  1780. 
The  first  article  in  the  Declaration  of  Rights  asserts  that  all  men  are 
born  free  and  equal ;  and  this  was  generally  supposed  to  have 
reference  to  slavery,  still  it  was  a  point  on  which  all  did  not  agree. 
In  1 78 1,  however,  at  the  Court  in  Worcester  an  indictment  was 
found  against  a  white  man  for  assaulting,  beating  and  imprisoning 
a  black.  His  trial  took  place  at  the  Supreme  Court  in  1783,  and  the 
defence  was  that  the  black  man  was  a  slave,  and  the  beating,  etc., 
was  the  necessary  correction  of  the  master.  This  defence  did  not 
avail,  the  white  man  was  found  guilty  and  fined,  and  this  decision 
was  the  death-warrant  for  slavery  in  Massachusetts. 

A  few  slaves  were  owned  in  Gorham.  John  Phinney  doubtless 
brought  with  him  at  least  one  slave.  He  certainly  owned  one 
shortly  before  he  came  to  Gorham,  as  the  following  document  will 
show  : 

KNOW  all  Men  by  these  Presents  That  I  Cornelius  Waldo  of  Bos- 
ton in  the  County  of  Suffolk  in  the  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay 
in  New  England  Merchant  for  &  in  consideration  of  the  Sum  of  One 
hundred  &  fifty  pounds  in  Money  to  me  in  hand  paid  by  John  Phinney 
of  I^almouth  in  the  County  of  York  &  Province  afores'^.  Innholder  the 
Receipt  whereof  I  hereby  acknowledge.  Have  and  by  these  Presents 
Do  fully  &  absolutly  Give  Grant,  Bargain  &  Sell  unto  the  said  John 
Phinney  his  Heirs  and  assignes  forever  My  Negro  man  Named  Nedd 
aged  T7ve?ity  Jive  years 


SLAVES.  297 

TO  Have  &  to  Hold  the  s''.  Negro  Man  Nedd  unto  the  s^.  John  Phinney 
his  Heirs  and  assignes,  To  His  &  their  only  proper  use,  benefit  and 
behoof  forever  with  warranty  against  all  and  every  person  and  Per- 
sons whomsoever 

In  Witness  Whereof  I  the  said  Cornelius  Waldo  have  hereunto  Set 
my  Hand  and  Seale  the  Sixteenth  Day  of  January  anno  Dom.  One 

Thousand  Seven  hundred  &  Thirty  two  1732/3 

Corn*.  Waldo      t  "'^  1 

Signed  Sealed  &  Delivered 

in  preseace  of  us  Received  on   the  day   of  the   date 

Stephen  Minot  Jun  above  of  Mr.  John  Phinney  the  Sum 

Samuel  Wentworth  Ter^.  of    one    hundred    &    fifty    Pounds 

being  the  full  consideration  within 

Expressed 

p""  CoRN^.  Waldo 

In  1772  there  were  a  number  of  slaves  in  town,  of  whom  Jacob 
Hamblen  owned  one,  Hugh  McLellan,  one,  and  William  McLellan, 
two.  Mr.  Hamblen  in  •1774  emancipated  his  "negro  man  servant 
named  Ceasor,''  in  consideration  of  his  having  "faithfully  served  him 
(the  said  Jacob),  and  in  further  consideration  of  Five  Shillings  "  paid 
by  the  said  Ceasor.  The  discharge  was  "  signed  and  delivered  "  in 
presence  of  Austin  Alden  and  Stephen  Phinney,  May  2,  1774,  and 
recorded  by  Enoch  Freeman,  Oct.  i8th,  same  year.  William  McLellan 
must  have  been  a  humane  and  considerate  master,  for  he  settled  a 
slave  named  Prince  and  his  wife  Chloe,  on  a  little  farm  of  twenty- 
two  acres,  with  a  house  free,  and  veiy  kindly  made  provision  for 
their  support  from  the  McLellan  family,  during  their  remaining 
years.  During  the  Revolutionary  war  Prince  served  as  a  seaman  on 
board  the  "  Frigate  Deane  "  on  a  cruise  to  the  West  Indies,  under 
Capt.  Nickson.  He  also  served  fourteen  or  fifteen  months  on  board 
the  same  vessel  (then  called  the  "  Frigate  Hague  "),  under  Com. 
Manley.  He  was  at  Martinique  when  peace  was  declared,  and  was 
honorably  discharged  at  Boston  in  the  fall  of  1783.  Prince  was  a 
Guinea  negro,  bought  in  Antigua,  from  a  venture  sent  by  Mrs. 
Rebecca  McLellan,  and  brought  home  to  her  by  Capt.  Joseph 
McLellan  of  Portland,  who  married  Mary  McLellan,  her  husband's 
sister.  A  load  of  shooks  was  necessary  to  complete  the  purchase, 
and  Prince  always  boasted  that  the  first  work  he  did  in  this  country 
was  to  drive  the  team  to  Portland  with  this  load  of  shooks  that  were 
to  be  sent  to  the  West  Indies  to  pay  the  boot  to  purchase  himself. 


298  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Prince  was  exceedingly  strong  and  active,  though  b)^  no  means  a  large 
man.  A  stoiy  is  told  that  a  wager  was  laid  that  he  could  not  draw  a 
very  large  and  heaAy  pair  of  ox-cart  wheels  up  a  certain  steep  clay 
hill :  Prince,  a  little  doubtful  as  to  his  own  ability  in  the  case,  went 
out  in  the  night  and  easily  drew  them  to  the  top.  The  next  day, 
when  the  crowd  assembled,  the  prints  of  his  bare  feet,  with  the  tracks 
of  the  wheels,  betrayed  him,  and  the  wager  was  declared  off.  Mr. 
McLellan  bought  a  negress,  Dinah,  for  a  wife  for  Prince,  and  after 
her  death  another,  Chloe,  with  whom  he  lived  between  sixty  and  sev- 
enty years.  From  the  year  1818,  he  received  a  pension  from  the 
Government  for  his  services  performed  duiing  the  Revolutionary  war. 
He  died  July  19,  1829,  aged  89,  according  to  Pension  Records. 

Limbo  was  an  African  slave  owned  by  Elder  Hugh  McLellan.  He 
was  sent  to  the  Great  Meadows  to  spend  the  winter  of  1760,  to  help 
Benjamin  Stevens  take  care  of  the  Gorham  cattle.  He  was  quite  an 
old  man  at  the  time  of  the  commencement  of  the  agitation  of  the 
proposition  to  liberate  the  slaves  in  Massachusetts.  About  this  time 
the  Come-Outers  and  New  Lights  were  in  full  blast  in  Gorham  ;  uni- 
versal freedom  and  universal  liberty  for  every  man  to  do  just  what  he 
pleased,  seemed  to  be  the  hobby  of  most  of  them.  Limbo  was  very 
fond  of  going  to  their  meetings.  They  attempted  to  persuade  him  to 
run  away,  but  at  first  he  was  unwilling.  One  Sunday  morning  he  was 
met  in  his  little  piece  of  corn,  at  some  distance  from  the  house,  by 
some  of  his  religious  friends.  This  time  they  succeeded  in  drawing 
him  away,  and  Limbo  vanished.  He  probably  went  to  Concord,  N. 
H.  No  search  was  ever  made  for  him,  as  Mr.  McLellan  considered 
him  worthless.  In  1790  he  was  sold  to  Samuel  Osgood  of  Fryeburg, 
by  Moses  Ames  of  Concord,  N.  H.,  for  a  yoke  of  oxen.  He  was  a 
native  of  Africa,  but  was  probably  brought  to  Maine  from  the  West 
Indies.  He  used  to  say  that  he  was  kidnapped  on  the  coast  of 
Africa,  when  out  feeding  the  silkworms.  He  died  Dec.  12,  1828,  at 
the  Oxford  House,  in  the  village  of  Fryeburg,  and  in  the  cemetery 
belonging  to  that  village  a  tombstone  has  been  raised  to  him.  The 
Abolitionists  ought  to  erect  a  monument  to  Limbo's  memory,  for  he 
was  probably  the  first  slave  ever  sent  over  the  underground  railroad 
to  freedom.  He  gained  but  a  veiy  short  time,  for  soon  after  all  the 
slaves  in  Massachusetts  were  liberated. 

Several  of  the  Hugh  McLellan  slaves  are  buried  on  the  east  side  of 
the  road,  nearly  opposite  the  old  McLellan  brick  house. 

Plato,  who  was  a  slave  owned  by  Lieut.  Caiy  McLellan  of  Gorham, 
was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionaiy  army.      He,  together  with  another 


SLAVES.  299 

slave,  Cato  Shattuck  of  Falmouth,  was  mustered  into  the  service  by 
Maj.  Daniel  Ilsley  of  Falmouth,  July  27,  1777,  as  a  member  of  Capt. 
Paul  Ellis's  company.  Col.  Bigelow's  15th  Mass. 

After  the  abolishment  of  slavery  in  Massachusetts  there  were  a 
number  of  colored  men  who  made  their  home  in  Gorham,  amongst 
whom  were  Cato,  Thomas  Francis,  and  Neptune  Stephenson,  the  lat- 
ter of  whom  married  in  1807  Mary  Pollard,  and  died  Aug.  9,  1824, 
aged  44.     His  gravestone  says  "  A  pious  man." 

Cato  lived  on  the  Capt.  Sylvanus  Davis  place,  where  Jonathan  S. 
Whitney  now  lives.  Samuel  Bvitts,  who  bought  the  place  of  Capt. 
Davis  and  who  kept  a  tavern  there,  had  on  one  of  his  sea  voyages, 
found  and  brought  home  Cato,  and  when  he  came  to  Gorham  he 
brought  him  here  with  him.  Cato  worked  long  and  faithfully  for  Mr. 
Butts  on  his  farm  and  at  coopering,  in  which  business  Mr.  Butts  was 
also  engaged.  Having  one  day  been  to  Portland  with  a  load  of 
shooks,  he  started  on  his  return  home  rather  the  worse  for  rum, 
of  which  article  he  was  very  fond.  When  just  above  Little  river,  on 
the  Fort  Hill  road,  overcome  by  the  liquor  he  fell  from  his  team 
and  the  heavy  wheels  passed  over  his  head  and  killed  him.  He  was 
found  that  evening  by  Capt.  Cyrus  Hamblen  who  was  on  his  way  to 
a  school  meeting.  The  old  negro  was  taken  home,  and  the  next  day 
buried  in  Mr.  Butts's  field. 

Thomas  Francis  came  to  town  about  the  time  of  the  freeing  of  the 
slaves,  and  lived  for  a  time  in  the  family  of  Elder  Hugh  McLellan, 
and  after  his  death  in  1787  with  Mr.  McLellan's  son-in-law  James 
Warren  who  settled  Francis  on  a  piece  of  land.  Francis  was  married 
by  Rev.  Caleb  Jewett  on  Sept.  30,  1792,  to  Lucy  Ludlow,  a  colored 
woman. 

In  the  early  history  of  Gorham,  and  for  many  years,  the  entire  care 
of  the  poor  of  the  town  was  intrusted  to  the  oversight  of  the  Select- 
men. No  specific  sums  of  money  were  appropriated  for  their  use, 
but  the  town  would  vote  that  the  poor  be  assisted,  or  taken  care  of, 
as  economically  as  possible.  Later,  it  was  customary  for  the  Select- 
men to  invite  and  receive  bids  for  the  support  of  the  paupers  ;  letting 
them  out  to  the  lowest  bidder,  provided  they  considered  him  capable 
of  properly  caring  for  them.  In  many  cases  this  was  quite  a  profit- 
able operation,  as  the  successful  applicant,  in  addition  to  his  money 
received  from  the  town,  would  not  fail  to  obtain  a  great  deal  of  labor 
from  his  lodgers.  As  late  as  181 1  the  town's  poor  were  let  out  at 
auction.  At  a  town  meeting  held  in  May,  181 2,  it  was  "Voted; 
That  those  persons  that  are  now  wholly  supported   by  the  town,  be 


300  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

let  out  now  at  the  present  time  in  town  meeting  to  the  lowest  bidders." 
But  before  the  meeting  dissolved  it  was  "Voted;  To  reconsider  the 
vote  passed  this  day  referring  to  the  letting  out  of  the  poor."  And 
this  we  think  was  the  last  time  the  letting  out  at  auction  of  the  poor 
was  acted  on  by  Gorham. 

The  purchase  of  a  farm  for  the  poor  was  agitated  as  early  as  1807. 
Col.  Lothrop  Lewis,  as  a  committee,  reported  favorably  on  the  pur- 
chase of  the  Daniel  Hamblen  farm  on  South  St.  The  price  asked 
was  six  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  for  five-sixths  of  the  farm. 
Nothing  definite,  however,  was  done  in  this  direction,  until  the  town 
received  from  the  Treasurer  of  the  State  its  share  of  the  surplus 
revenue  of  the  United  States  (which  amounted  to  a  little  over  two 
dollars  for  each  individual  in  the  town),  when  it  was  decided  to  use 
this  money  for  the  purchase  of  a  town  farm.  In  May,  1836,  it  was 
"  voted  that  Josiah  Bacon  have  the  poor  for  the  year ;  to  give  him 
eight  hundred  dollars,  and  to  raise  nine  hundred  dollars  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  poor."  At  this  same  meeting  Daniel  C.  Emery,  Esq., 
George  Strout  and  Wm.  Cobb  were  chosen  as  a  committee  to  look 
out  a  farm  on  which  to  locate  the  poor,  and  in  September  the  same 
committee,  with  Wm.  Thomes  in  place  of  D.  C.  Emery,  were  author- 
ized to  purchase  the  farm  of  John  Hamblen,  Jr.,  on  the  Gray  road,  to 
be  used  for  this  purpose.  This  farm  was  bought  and  stocked  and  a 
man  hired  to  take  care  of  it. 

A  large  number  of  the  \'Oters  of  the  town,  however,  preferred  that 
the  owners  of  property  should  be  taxed  a  little  heavier  to  support  the 
poor,  and  that  they  themselves,  who  paid  little  or  no  tax  beyond  a 
poll  tax,  should  pocket  their  share  of  the  cash:  so  in  August,  1837, 
Caleb  Hodgdon,  Esq.,  Wendall  P.  Smith  and  Jacob  H.  Clement  were 
chosen  by  the  town  as  a  committee  to  sell  the  town  farm,  distribute 
the  "  surplus  revenue  "  and  purchase  another  farm.  In  September,  it 
was  voted  to  raise  thirty-four  hundred  dollars  to  pay  for  this  latter. 
The  committee,  Nov.  20  of  the  same  year,  reported  that  they  had 
sold  the  town  farm  to  John  Hamblen,  Jr.,  subject  to  the  town's 
approval,  and  recommended  that  the  town  hire  the  Huston  farm  of 
Mrs.  Huston,  as  it  would  become  their  property  at  her  death  by  the 
will  of  her  husband,  Simon  Huston,  and  as  the  rent  asked  would  be 
less  than  the  interest  of  the  value  of  the  Hamblen  farm.  This  report 
was  accepted,  and  it  was  voted  that  the  overseers  of  the  poor  should 
be  a  committee  to  take  a  lease  of  the  Huston  farm  in  behalf  of  the 
town.  This  was  done,  and  until  the  death  of  Mrs.  Huston  in  1865, 
the  town  hired  the  farm  of  her. 


CHANGE  OF  BOUNDARY  LINE.  301 

At  the  death  of  Mrs.  Huston  the  town  gave  a  note  to  itself,  for  the 
vakie  of  the  farm,  for  the  sum  of  three  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
nine  dollars  and  seventy-five  cents.  This  note  constitutes  what  is 
known  as  the  "Huston  Fund,""  the  semi-annual  interest  of  which,  at 
six  per  cent.,  is  applied  to  aid  worthy  and  deserving  poor,  according 
to  the  terms  of  Mr.  Huston's  will.  The  town  provides  its  farm  with 
tools  and  stock,  and  hires  a  Superintendent  to  cultivate  it,  and  to 
take  charge  of  those  of  its  poor  who  are  placed  there.  In  1874  this 
Huston  farm  more  than  supported  the  poor  of  the  town. 

In  December,  1829,  a  bill  was  introduced  into  the  Legislature  by 
Mark  White  and  others  petitioning  that  the  town  be  divided  and  that 
a  new  town  be  formed  from  portions  of  Standish  and  Windham,  to- 
gether with  the  northerly  part  of  Gorham.    It,  however,  failed  to  pass. 

In  1835  Winslow  Hall  and  some  others  made  an  effort  to  have 
themselves  set  off  to  Windham,  but  the  town  of  Gorham  opposed  it, 
and  the  idea  was  abandoned. 

The  small,  square  piece  of  land,  near  the  village  of  Great  Falls, 
containing  about  twenty  acres,  was  taken  from  Standish  and  set  off 
to  Gorham  by  Act  of  Legislature,  approved  Mar.  14,  1839.  '  This 
was  done  for  the  accommodation  of  Daniel  Fogg,  3d,  whose  land  lay 
in  both  towns. 

By  an  Act  of  the  Legislature,  passed  March  4,  1864,  a  part  of  the 
town  of  Scarboro  was  set  off  and  annexed  to  Gorham.  This  was 
accomplished  chiefly  through  the  efforts  of  Charles  W.  Deering,  Eli 
L.  \^'aterhouse,  and  others.  The  old  line  between  the  towns  cut 
through  many  of  the  farms,  while  the  new  boundar}^  running  from 
the  Buxton  line  to  the  Nonesuch  river,  ran  along  the  border  of 
a  range  of  lots.  This  "  Scarboro  Strip,"  as  it  is  called,  contains 
eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-seven  acres,  valued  at  about  forty 
thousand  dollars. 

The  first  bell  hung  in  Gorham  was  on  the  old  Academy.  Tradition 
says  that  it  was  given  by  friends  of  the  institution  ;  but  who  they 
were  has  not  come  clown  to  us.  There  is  no  record  showing  that  it 
was  purchased  by  the  trustees.  It  was  voted  to  have  a  cupola  on  the 
Academy,  in  which  to  hang  a  bell ;  and  the  first  that  we  hear  of 
the  bell  itself  is  that  March  9,  1807,  it  was  voted  that  Mr.  Samuel 
Elder  hang  the  bell  as  soon  as  it  arrives  in  town.  And  on  May  13, 
following,  it  was  voted  to  pay  Mr.  Samuel  Elder's  bill  of  $21.49  ^^^ 
hanging  the  bell,  he  having  then  accompHshed  this  duty.  After 
many  years'  use   this   old   bell   becoming   broken,  it   was   carried   to 


302  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Boston  and  recast,  or  a  new  one  procured,  which  is  now  on  duty  in 
the  old  Academy. 

The  bell  on  the  First  Parish  church  was  purchased  partly  by 
subscriptions  gotten  up  by  the  citizens  of  the  village,  and  partly 
paid  for  by  the  parish.  Sept.  ii,  1820,  the  parish  leased  two  lots  of 
land,  on  the  southerly  side  of  their  lot,  of  twenty  feet  front  each,  to 
Capt.  David  Harding,  and  Mr.  Nahum  Chadbourn,  for  seven  years,  at 
fifteen  dollars  each  per  annum.  As  it  was  found  that  enough  could 
not  be  raised  by  subscription,  at  a  parish  meeting  held  Apr.  3,  182 1, 
it  was  voted  that  the  money  arising  from  the  leasing  of  the  land  to 
Harding  and  Chadbourn  shall  be  appropriated  to  the  purchase  of  a 
bell  for  the  meeting  house ;  the  debts  of  the  parish  to  be  paid  first. 
Also,  that  the  parish  assessors  be  a  committee  to  receive  all  money 
that  may  be  appropriated  for  purchasing  a  bell,  (as  well  that  by 
subscription  as  that  voted  by  the  parish,)  and  put  the  same  out  at 
interest  on  good  security.  One  year  after  this  vote,  viz, :  Apr.  2,  1822, 
it  was  voted  that  the  treasurer  hire  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  to 
aid  in  purchasing  a  bell,  if  obtainable,  by  pledging  the  rents  of 
Harding  and  Chadbourn  as  security  for  the  loan  and  interest.  It 
would  appear  that  there  was  no  trouble  in  procuring  the  money,  for 
at  this  same  meeting  Capt.  Toppan  Robie  was  chosen  a  committee 
to  procure  the  bell  and  see  to  the  hanging  of  the  same.  We  cannot 
say  what  day  the  bell  arrived  in  town,  but  probably  there  was  no 
delay,  as  everyone  was  anxious  to  have  it  hung  before  the  installation 
of  Rev.  Mr.  Pomeroy,  which  was  to  occur  on  the  12th  of  June  fol- 
lowing. However,  the  bell  arrived  from  Boston,  and  was  quietly 
resting  on  the  ground,  on  the  south  side  of  the  belfiy,  on  the  6th  of 
June,  with  the  shears  all  rigged  out  from  the  bell-deck  all  ready  for 
hoisting ;  when  word  was  given  out  that  it  would  be  hoi.sted  the  next 
morning  (June  7,  1822),  and  at  the  appointed  time  there  was  a  general 
turnout.  Whether  the  bell  was  blessed,  or  no,  I  cannot  say,  but  am 
sure  there  were  many  speeches  made  over  it.  When  all  was  ready 
(about  ten  o'clock,  a.  m.),  the  fall  was  passed  through  the  snatch  block, 
secured  at  the  bottom  of  the  belfiy,  and  laid  off  some  fifty  feet  on  the 
ground.  Word  was  given  to  take  the  warp,  and  walk  off  slow  and 
steady.  Every  man,  woman  and  child  that  could  do  so,  got  hold,  and 
when  the  bell  reached  the  bell-deck,  the  procession  with  the  warp 
reached  to  Capt.  Hunt's  tavern  (since  R.  G.  Harding's  store).  After 
it  was  safely  landed  on  the  deck,  the  tackle  and  fall  was  changed  to 
an  eyebolt  over  the  bell-frame  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  bell  was 
landed  in   place,  and  before   twelve  o'clock   at    noon    was    ringing 


OLD    RED    STONE    MONUMENT.  303 

merrily,  and  continued  so  to  do  for  two  days.  The  weight  of  the  bell 
is  twelve  hundred  and  twenty-eight  pounds,  and  its  cost  was  about 
five  hundred  dollars.  June  17,  1822,  consent  was  given  "that  the 
bell  may  be  rung  on  week  days."  At  a  meeting  of  the  parish  held 
Apr.  6,  1824,  it  was  voted  to  appropriate  the  sum  of  ninety-six  dollars 
and  ninety-six  cents  to  settle  the  debt  incurred  by  purchasing  the 
bell. 

About  the  year  1868  the  subject  of  having  a  Town  Clock  in  the 
village  was  agitated,  when  the  Hon.  Toppan  Robie  came  forward  and 
proposed  that  he  should  purchase  a  clock  to  be  placed  on  the 
Congregational  church,  provided  the  citizens  of  the  village  would 
alter  and  prepare  the  steeple  over  the  bell  for  putting  it  up.  Per- 
mission having  been  obtained  from  the  parish,  the  alterations  and 
repairs  were  done  by  subscription,  at  a  cost  of  about  five  hundred 
dollars.  Capt.  Robie  commissioned  Mr.  Simon  E.  McLellan  to  go  to 
Boston  and  procure  the  clock,  which  was  done  March  19,  1868,  at  a 
cost  of  five  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  The  clock  was  put  in  place 
and  set  going  in  April,  1868.  It  was  made  by  the  Howard  Watch 
and  Clock  Company,  Boston,  Mass. 

An  article  was  inserted  in  a  warrant  for  a  town  meeting,  to  be 
holden  in  the  schoolhouse  at  Gorham  corner,  May  6,  1805  :  To  see 
if  the  town  would  erect  a  suitable  monument  in  some  suitable  part  of 
the  town,  designating  thereon  the  time  when  the  said  town  was  first 
settled,  etc. 

The  meeting  was  held  as  aforesaid,  and  it  was  "  Voted,  that  a  stone 
be  provided  agreeable  to  the  said  article  in  the  warrant  for  the 
meeting,  and  that  the  Hon.  Stephen  Longfellow  be  a  committee  for 
that  purpose  ;  that  said  stone  be  placed  near  the  Corner,  in  such 
place  as  said  committee  may  judge  most  proper."  And  fifty  dollars 
was  raised  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  said  stone. 

After  the  monument  was  procured  it  was  set  by  the  northeast 
corner  of  Capt.  Robie's  store  (now  Dea.  Ridlon's)  ;  from  that  place 
it  was  moved  across  the  street  to  near  the  old  Hatch  store  (since 
burned,  situated  about  where  Mr.  Simon  E.  McLellan 's  garden  spot 
is,  south  of  his  house).  After  a  time  it  was  moved  back  to  its  former 
location  by  Capt.  Robie's  store  ;  and  from  here  it  was  moved  to  the 
corner  of  the  Congregational  church  platform.  In  1886,  at  the  time 
of  the  celebration  of  the  one  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the 
settlement  of  the  town,  it  was  removed  to  its  present  location. 

The  inscription  on  the  monument  is  as  follows  : 


304  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

On  the  West  Side. 
"  Gorham  is  one  of  the  seven  townships  granted  by  Gen.  Court  in 
the  year  1732,  to  the  Narragansett  settlers.  On  a  division  of  the 
property  among  the  original  grantees,  this  town  was  assigned  to  Capt. 
John  Gorham  and  one  hundred  and  nineteen  others,  and  was  then 
called  Narragansett,  No.  7." 

North  Side. 
"  Capt.  John  Phinney  commenced  the  first  settlement  in  this  town 
May,  1736.     This  event  celebrated  May  26,  1836,  May  26,  1886." 

South  Side. 
"  This  town  was  incorporated  by  the  name  of  Gorham,  Oct.  30, 
1764." 

East  Side. 
"  This  monument  was  erected  by  direction  and  at  the  expense  of 
this  town,  May  6,  1805.    Placed  upon  its  present  base,  May  26,  1886." 

Notwithstanding  the  very  large  amount  of  tomatoes  now  used  in 
town,  the  day  of  the  introduction  of  this  vegetable  is  not  veiy  far 
back.  And  I  will  state  the  fact  that  probably  the  first,  or  nearly 
so,  of  the  raising  of  tomatoes  in  Maine,  was  in  Gorham.  In  the  year 
1820,  the  family  of  the  Rev.  Timothy  Hilliard,  then  living  on  the 
Madam  Tyng  place,  so  called,  in  Gorham,  raised  a  quantity  of  what 
were  then  called  "  Love  Apples."  Some  of  the  family  brought  an 
old-fashioned  champagne-basket  full  of  them  to  the  village  for  sale. 
No  one  knew  what  they  were,  or  how  they  were  to  be  eaten,  whether 
raw  or  cooked.  They  were  handsome,  every  one  admitted,  but  none 
/(77Wthem.  They  were  an  entirely  new  article  in  the  vegetable  mar- 
ket for  this  region  of  the  country.  They  were  left  at  the  store  for 
sale.  A  few  were  purchased  at  a  cent  each,  as  curiosities  for  the 
children  ;  the  remainder  rotted  and  were  thrown  into  the  street. 
The  seed,  or  plants,  were  sent  to  the  Hilliard  family,  from  the  Botanic 
Gardens  in  Cambridge,  by  their  uncle  Mr.  Peck,  Professor  of  Botany 
in  Harvard  College,  and  were  highly  recommended  as  a  vegetable 
not  to  be  neglected  by  the  healthy,  wealthy  or  wise.  But  like  many 
other  good  things,  the  people's  taste  had  to  be  educated,  before  their 
good  qualities  were  duly  appreciated. 

Many  of  us  remember  the  old  Pound  at  Gorham  village.  Follow- 
ing is  the  vote  on  record  in  relation  thereto.  At  a  town  meeting 
held  in  the  schoolhouse  at  Gorham  corner  on  the  first  day  of  April, 
1805: 

•'  Voted,  That  a  Stone  Pound  be  built  at  the  Corner,  and  that  it  be 
set  on  the  South  east  corner  of  the  Burying  Ground,  and  that  it 
be  built  thirty  feet  wide  "and  thirty  five  feet  long,  and  that  the   Sum 


FIRE    ENGINES.  305 

of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  be  raised  to  defray  the  expense 
thereof.  That  the  Selectmen  be  a  Committee  to  let  out  and  Super- 
intend the  building  of  said  pound." 

The  pound  was  built  of  stone,  and  was  about  thirty  feet  square  on 
the  inside.  The  walls  were  two  feet  in  thickness,  and  were  six  feet 
high.  Around  the  top  was  run  a  timber,  one  foot  square,  sawed 
diagonally.  A  hea\7  barred  gate,  five  feet  in  height,  and  four  and 
one-half  feet  in  width,  was  set  in  a  stout  frame.  It  was  hung  by 
making  the  joist,  which  formed  one  of  the  side  pieces,  longer  than 
the  gate  itself,  and  rounded  at  the  ends.  Holes  were  then  cut  in  the 
sill  and  cap-piece,  into  which  these  rounded  ends  fitted,  thus  making 
the  hinge.  Field-drivers  drove  into  the  pound  whatever  stray  cattle 
they  found,  and  the  poundkeeper  turned  the  key  on  them.  The 
owner  was  obliged  to  pay  a  fine  before  he  could  recover  his  missing 
property  ;  the  poundkeeper  receiving  so  much  a  head  for  the  cattle 
thus  impounded.  In  1840,  the  town  voted  to  discontinue  the  pound 
at  the  village,  and  to  dispose  of  the  rocks. 

The  first  we  find  in  Gorham  in  relation  to  fire  engines  was  in 
181 2.  It  appears  that  a  subscription  was  started  for  the  purchase  of 
an  engine,  and  at  a  town  meeting  it  was  voted  "  to  raise  the  sum 
of  two  hundred  dollars,  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  these  persons  that 
have  subscribed  for  the  purchase  of  an  engine,  for  the  use  of  said 
subscribers,  and  the  town."  At  a  meeting  held  subsequently,  and 
called  expressly  for  that  purpose,  this  vote  was  reconsidered.  Public 
enthusiasm,  however,  ran  high,  and  in  spite  of  the  withdrawal  of  the 
town's  offer  of  aid,  enough  money  was  subscribed  to  purchase  an 
engine.  This  was  an  ordinaiy  wooden  "  tub,"  with  hand  brakes, 
which  worked  by  being  pushed  forward  and  back.  The  hose,  which 
was  about  five  or  six  feet  in  length,  rose  from  the  middle  of  the 
machine.  After  using  this  engine  for  many  years,  the  citizens,  about 
1848,  held  a  meeting  and  decided  to  purchase  a  new  engine.  The 
Hon.  James  Mann  was  appointed  to  procure  one  ;  but  when  bought 
it  did  not  prove  satisfactory,  being  large  and  clumsy,  and  requiring 
the  strength  of  some  sixty  men  to  manipulate  it.  On  occount  of  this 
fact,  another  meeting  of  the  citizens  was  held,  and  it  was  voted  to 
dispose  of  this  machine.  Liberal  subscriptions  were  then  made,  and 
the  engine  which  has  been  in  use  until  the  introduction  of  the  water 
system  in  our  village  was  procured.  This  engine  was  a  new  one 
and  has  done  excellent  service   in  its  day. 

The  old  machine  was  taken  out  for  a  frolic  by  a  party  of  youngsters, 
and  destroyed  by  some  irate  Irishmen. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


FIRES    IN    GORHAM. 


1745.  About  this  time  a  small  grist  mill  on  Little  River,  above 
Fort  Hill,  was  burned  by  the  Indians. 

1745.  At  this  time  the  Indians  also  burned  the  first  little  log 
meeting  house  of  the  settlers,  situated  near  Fort  Hill. 

1766,  Oct.  25.  Mr.  Elisha  Cobb's  house  was  burned.  This  house 
was  situated  on  the  northern  side  of  the  Flaggy  Meadow  road,  about 
one  half-mile  from  the  village. 

1774,  Jan.  15.  The  house  of  Capt.  Daniel  Eldridge,  situated 
westerly  from  where  Col.  Colman  Harding  recently  lived,  was  burned. 
This  fire  was  on  one  of  the  coldest  nights  of  the  winter.  There 
were  no  neighbors  within  half  a  mile.  The  family,  consisting  of 
sixteen  persons,  were  all  in  bed  when  the  fire  was  discovered.  The 
light  was  seen  from  Flaggy  Meadow  road,  where  some  dozen  or  more 
men  started  for  the  scene.  As  there  was  no  road  broken  through 
the  woods,  and  the  snow  deep,  they  had  to  form  in  Indian  file,  and 
make  their  way  as  best  they  could.  When  they  arrived,  the  house 
was  entirely  consumed.  The  family  were  found  in  the  barn,  some  of 
them  nearly  naked,  and  frost-bitten,  having  saved  scarcely  an  article 
of  any  kind.  The  rescuers  immediately  divested  themselves  of  every 
article  they  could  spare,  divided  them  amongst  the  sufferers,  wrapped 
up  the  children  as  well  as  they  could,  took  on  their  backs  all  that 
could  not  well  travel,'  and  carried  them  through  the  woods  to  the 
house  of  Mr.  Zephaniah  Harding  (where  the  late  Mr.  Chas.  Whitney 
has  since  lived),  where  the  suft'erers  were  kindly  cared  for  by  their 
friends  and  neighbors.  One  of  Mr.  Eldridge's  children,  a  boy  about 
eight  years  of  age,  was  burned  up  in  the  house.  Capt.  Eldridge  often 
made  ballads  and  songs,  famous  for  singing  at  huskings  and  social 
gatherings  about  town.  He  made  a  very  pathetic  one  in  relation  to 
the  loss  of  his  house,  death  of  his  son,  and  the  sufferings  of  his 
family  on  this  night. 

1780.  About  this  time  a  two-story  dwelling  house  being  built  by 
Dr.  Jeremiah  Barker,  nearly  opposite  where  the  house  of  Mrs.  Rufus 
Mosher  now  stands,  was  burned  while  the  Doctor  and  the  workmen 
were  at  dinner.     Another  house  was  immediately  built  around  the 


FIRES    IN    GORHAM.  307 

Standing  chimney  :  afterwards  moved  and  called  the  David  Elder 
house.  It  was  hauled  across  the  fields  loack  of  Mr.  Coburn's  build- 
ings to  its  present  location.     (See  Dec.  21,  1889.) 

1798,  June.  Andrew  Cobb's  house,  situated  on  the  hundred  acre 
lot  ;i8,  was  burned  on  a  Sunday  in  this  month,  while  the  men 
were  at  a  Free  Will  Baptist  Convention,  and  the  women  at  home 
cooking  dinner. 

1802.  About  this  time  the  Fickett  house  situated  on  land  lately 
owned  by  James  Larrabee,  nearly  opposite  the  house  on  the  farm  of 
William  M.  Dyer,  was  burned. 

1805,  Sept.  5.  Mr.  Joseph  Cressey's  tw-o-story  house,  with  barn 
and  outbuildings,  standing  on  Flaggy  Meadow  road  where  the  late 
Samuel  Cressey  lived,  together  with  a  two-story  store  on  the  opposite 
corner,  five  buildings  in  all,  were  burned. 

1807,  June.  The  dwelling  house  of  Madam  Elizabeth  Tyng  was 
burned  on  a  Sabbath  afternoon.  It  was  a  nice  mansion,  situated  on 
the  northerly  side  of  the  old  road  to  Saccarappa.  This  house  was 
built  by  Madam  Ross,  the  widow  of  Alexander  Ross,  Esq.,  dur- 
ing the  Revolution,  or  before  the  year  1781.  On  the  decease  of 
Mrs.  Ross,  it  w^ent  to  her  daughter,  Madam  Tyng  and  her  husband 
Col.  V\'illiam  Tyng.  It  stood  on  the  spot  where  the  present  house  on 
the  old  Tyng  place  now  stands.  When  burned  it  was  occupied  by 
Mrs.  Tyng  and  the  family  of  the  Rev.  Timothy  Hilliard,  who  married 
the  niece  of  Madam  Tyng. 

1808,  April.  Samuel  Elder's  two-story  dwelling  house,  situated  on 
the  southerly  side  of  the  old  road  to  Portland,  three-fourths  of  a  mile 
from  the  village,  was  burned. 

1808,  June.  The  house  and  buildings  of  Thomas  Bangs,  situated 
on  lot  88,  on  Queen  street,  were  burned  on  a  Sunday  morning.  This 
was  about  the  time  Mr.  Bangs's  wife  and  some  of  his  family  had 
joined  the  Shakers.  It  was  intimated  to  him  that  this  was  a  judgment 
sent  upon  him  for  his  obstinacy,  and  opposition  to  the  brethren. 
He  soon  after  joined  the  Family,  and  carried  with  him  a  large  property, 
and  moved  with  them  to  Poland  where  he  died. 

18 1 2.  Samuel  McLellan  lost  by  fire  his  joiner's  shop,  situated 
back  of  his  dwelling  house. 

1 8 13,  Aug.  29.  Willard  Buttrick's  fulling  and  clothing  mill, 
situated  on  Blenham's  falls.  Little  River,  above  Fort  Hill,  some 
twenty  rods  below  the  bridge,  burned. 

1820  or  182 1.  David  Mains's  house  and  barn  at  Great  Falls  were 
burned  ;  situated  where  the  schoolhouse  now  stands. 


308  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

1825,  June  3.  Dr.  Dudley  Folsom's  nice  dwelling  house,  stable 
and  outbuildings,  on  South  St.  at  Gorham  village,  where  the  house  of 
Mrs.  Tolford  now  stands,  were  all  burned  on  the  night  of  the  3d.  It 
was  supposed  to  have  been  fired  by  their  negro  girl,  in  revenge  for 
some  fancied  injury.  The  present  house  was  mostly  built  for  the 
Doctor  by  his  friends  and  neighbors.  It  was  framed  and  raised  by  a 
grand  turn-out  of  the  citizens  of  the  town  on  the  4th  of  July,  1825, 
when  a  handsome  and  substantial  collation  was  furnished,  and  served 
by  the  young  ladies  of  the  village. 

1826,  Feb.  21.  William  Ashley's  barn  was  burned  by  carelessness, 
while  "  smoking  "  a  sick  horse. 

1827,  About  this  time  Mrs.  Martha  Nason,  widow  of  Samuel, 
who  was  the  son  of  Uriah  Nason,  the  first,  had  her  house  and  barn 
burned. 

1834.  Schoolhouse  in  District  No.  9,  White  Rock,  which  stood 
on  the  corner  where  the  last  house  stood,  was  burned  ;  also  the  school- 
house  at  Horse  Beef,  which  stood  where  Perry  Stevens'  house  now 
(1875)  stands. 

1834.  On  the  same  night  that  the  schoolhouses  were  burned,  the 
barn  of  Mr.  B.  R.  Stur^is,  on  the  Elkanah  Harding-  farm  ;  the  barn 
of  Everett  VVescott,  and  the  barn  of  Isaac  Richardson,  at  Winship's 
corner,  were  burned. 

1836,  Dec.  David  McLellan's  house  on  the  cross-road  by  Water- 
house's.     This  house  was  built  by  Mr.  William  McLellan  in  1782. 

1840.  Peter  Whitney's  mills  on  Little  River,  above  Fort  Hill, 
burned. 

1 84 1,  April  20.  Jeremiah  Lord's  house,  store  and  barn  were 
burned  at  the  south  part  of  the  town. 

1841,  Nov.  29.  William  Cotton's  house  and  buildings,  standing 
on  his  farm  above  West  Gorham,  where  he  lived,  were  burned. 

1842.  Daniel  Broad's  shop  was  burned.  It  stood  at  the  junction 
of  the  old  and  new  roads  to  Portland. 

1842,  Sept.  9.  Silas  Libby,  in  the  south  part  of  the  town,  had  two 
barns  destroyed  by  lightning. 

1843.  Solomon  Libby's  buildings  were  burned;  situated  on 
Horse  Meadow  road,  so  called,  near  where  the  late  Reuben  Bangs 
lived. 

1843.  Samuel  R.  Clement  had  a  barn  burned  at  West  Gorham. 

1844,  June  26.  Robert  Lowrey's  house  and  carpet  factory  were 
burned  at  Gorham  village. 

1844,  Oct.  II.     John  Watson's  store  at  West  Gorham  was  burned. 


FIRES    IN    GORHAM.  309 

1845.  Simon  Elder's  workshop,  on  the  old  Portland  road,  oppo- 
site his  house,  was  burned. 

1845,  May  2.  Old  Longfellow  store,  so  called,  on  the  corner  of 
South  and  Main  Sts.,  was  burned.  It  was  occupied  below  as  a  store 
by  Mr.  Jones  ;  above  by  the  Farmers'  and  Mechanics'  Fire  Insurance 
office ;  Dr.  S.  W.  Baker,  secretary.  This  building  was  built  by  Mr. 
Daniel  Cressey  for  a  store  about  the  year  1795.  It  stood  on  the 
spot  where  the  brick  store  owned  by  F.  H.  Emery  now  stands. 

1845  (  ?),  June  6.  Capt.  Joshua  Swett's  house  and  buildings,  at 
Little  Falls. 

1845,  June.  Col.  William  B.  Freeman's  grist  and  saw  mill  on 
Little  River,  above  Fort  Hill. 

1846,  Aug.  15.  Dea.  Nahum  Chadbourn's  building,  situated  on 
the  Parish  lot,  near  the  Congregational  meeting  house,  occupied 
below  as  a  harness-maker's  shop,  and  above  as  lawyers'  offices,  was 
burned ;  also  the  David  Harding  store,  occupied  by  Russell  Linnell 
as  a  store  ;  the  old  Hatch  store,  built  by  Capt.  Ebenezer  Hatch  about 
1810,  and  occupied  by  Mrs.  Bangs  as  a  fancy  goods  store  ;  the  Eben 
Preble  store,  owned  by  Charles  Hunt,  Esq.,  and  unoccupied ;  Stevens 
Smith's  jeweller's  and  watchmaker's  shop.  Mr.  Joseph  Hunt's  hatter's 
shop  was  burned  at  the  same  time  with  the  foregoing  five  buildings. 
Here  many  old-fashioned  and  fantastically  shaped  hats  came  to  light, 
and  not  a  bareheaded  boy  could  be  found  in  the  village  for  many  a 
day  after  this  fire. 

1847,  Sept.  3.  Aaron  Clark's  house  on  Fort  Hill  was  burned. 
Known  as  the  James  Phinney  house.  It  stood  where  Samuel 
Roberts  lately  lived. 

1848,  April  26.  Joseph  Cressey 's  two-story  house,  on  the  road  to 
Standish,  was  burned. 

1848,  Dec.  12.  Israel  Harmon  had  a  building  burned  in  the  north 
part  of  the  town. 

1850.  Thomas  Phinney's  barn  at  the  village  was  burned.  Occu- 
pied by  Charles  C.  Bangs. 

1850,  Dec.  The  Congregational  Church  took  fire,  and  was  some- 
what damaged.     It  came  near  being  a  serious  fire. 

185 1,  Nov.     Arthur  M.  Drown's  shop  at  West  Gorham  was  burned. 

1853.  Henry  Broad's  barn  was  burned  this  spring,  on  the  old 
Parson  Jewett  place.  Lost  a  horse,  two  cows,  hog,  carriage  and 
farming  tools. 

1854,  June  13.  Berry's  shoe-shop  at  \MTite  Rock.  Capt.  John 
Sturgis  was  badly  burned  at  this  fire,  and  died  in  about  twelve  hours 


310  HISTORY    OF    GOKHAM. 

in  consequence.      His  son  was  also  very  badly  burned  at  the  same 
time. 

1854,  July  I.     William  Cotton's  buildings  were  damaged  by  fire. 

1856,  Nov.  The  Cotton  Factory  at  Little  Falls.  This  factory  was 
built  by  the  Cumberland  Manufacturing  Company  in  1824:  after- 
wards owned  by  the  Casco  Company. 

1857,  Aug.  12.  Schoolhouse  in  Dist.  No.  4  ("Fogg  District") 
was  burned ;  also  schoolhouse  in  District  No.  5,  West  Gorham, 
the  same  night. 

Mr.  Prescott's  dwelling  house  at  North  Gorham,  near  Esq.  Hodg- 
don's,  was  burned. 

Schoolhouse  in  District  No.  15,  near  where  Isaiah  Nason  lives, 
was  burned. 

1858,  May  II.  William  P.  Sturgis  lost  a  blacksmith's  shop  by 
fire  at  West  Gorham. 

1859,  Mar.  9.  Old  Yellow  Shop,  so  called,  owned  by  Mrs.  Mary 
J.  Lewis  and  others,  on  the  northerly  corner  of  Main  and  School  Sts., 
Gorham  village.  This  store  was  built  by  Mr.  Samuel  Prentiss  about 
the  year  1784,  and  occupied  by  him  for  many  years.  After  he  left 
it,  it  had  many  occupants,  and  was  used  for  various  purposes. 
Becoming  badly  dilapidated,  it  finally  went  up.  Many  a  jolly  shine 
has  been  cut  up  in  this  old  building,  eyes  blacked  and  noses  flattened, 
in  days  when  it  was  thought  no  sin  to  drink  rum,  and  fun  to  get 
drunk  on  flip,  toddy  and  punch. 

I  do  not  think  our  old  citizens  took  much  time  to  study  into  the 
right  or  wrong  of  a  case  when  they  went  into  a  muss.  Sometime 
before  the  War  of  18 12,  one  of  our  national  vessels  came  into  Port- 
land, where  several  of  her  crew  deserted,  and  found  their  way  into 
the  "  old  yellow  shop,"  where  an  officer  and  four  men,  sent  from  the 
ship  in  pursuit,  found  them  drinking  with  a  crowd  of  citizens,  who 
were  listening  to  their  recital  of  their  wrongs  and  injuries.  The 
officer  and  his  men  were  invited  to  drink,  which  they  did.  When 
this  was  over,  the  officer  told  his  business,  and  ordered  the  deserters 
to  return  with  him,  which  they  refused  to  do  ;  the  crowd  sympathiz- 
ing with  the  deserters.  A  general  arming  took  place  from  a  pile  of 
hogshead  staves  at  the  door,  and  a  free  fight  came  off.  If  heads 
•were  not  broken,  it  was  no  fault  of  the  heads.  It  was  said  that 
some  blood  ran.  The  officer  fired  his  pistol  into  the  crowd,  but  no 
one  was  hit.  He  was  immediately  knocked  down  and  disarmed,  and 
his  men  surrendered.  After  the  victory  the  victors  did  not  know 
exactly  what  to  do  with  the  prisoners.     They  were,  however,  liberated 


FIRES    IN    GORHAM.  311 

on  condition  that  they  would  make  tracks  for  Portland  as  fast  as 
boots  would  let  them.  And  the  deserters  were  hurried  off  the  other 
way,  amidst  the  shouts  of  the  conquerors  and  of  all  the  boys  in  the 
village.  No  one  ever  knew  what  the  officer  reported  on  his  return 
to  his  ship. 

1859,  May  II.     Augustus  J.  Stackpole  had  a  loss  by  fire. 

1859,  July  12,  and  Dec.  3.  Gorham  Female  Seminary  damaged 
by  fire. 

1859,  July  31.  Daniel  Davis  had  a  store  burned  at  the  north  part 
of  the  town. 

1859.  John  F.  Smith's  shoe  shop  at  Little  Falls  was  burned  about 
this  time. 

1 860, Mar.  12.  Charles  H.  Sykes's  shop  was  burned,  situated  on 
the  ground  where  the  Methodist  Church  now  stands.  Occupied  by 
the  Misses  Lowrey,  milliners. 

i860,  Nov.  9.  Jacob  C.  Baker's  barn,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Gray 
road,  was  burned. 

i860.  Samuel  R.  Clement's  old  mill  house,  near  Stephenson's 
bridge,  burned  about  this  time. 

1 86 1,  Mar.  31.  William  Johnson's  barn,  on  the  old  Jacob  Ham- 
blen place. 

1861,  April  23.  Mrs.  Mary  Tyler's  barn,  on  the  place  now  owned 
by  Willis  I.  Bickford,  was  burned. 

1 86 1,  Dec.  7.  Charles  B.  Cotton's  store,  near  the  Standish  line, 
North  Gorham,  was  burned. 

1864,  Jan.  The  Free  Baptist  meeting  house,  at  Little  Falls,  was 
burned. 

1864,  Feb.  20.     Ichabod  W.  Leighton's  store  burned  at  Little  Falls. 

1864,  June  4.  Mrs.  Lucy  Emery's  house  and  buildings  burned. 
Formerly  owned  by  Oliver  Hanson,  near  Standish. 

Barnabas  Cannell's  house  and  barn  burned  at  Great  Falls. 

1865,  Jan.  2.     Alfred  Libby's  buildings  at  Great  Falls. 

1865,  Jan.  15.  Col.  James  Larrabee's  house  and  barn  burned. 
This  was  on  the  strip  taken  from  Scarborough. 

1865,  Feb.  28.  A.  A.  Waterhouse,  and  others,  partial  loss  by  fire, 
at  Little  Falls. 

1865,  Aug.  Charles  H.  Cressey :  the  Mann  barn,  on  southerly 
side  of  road,  burned  about  this  time. 

1866,  Nov.   Harris  Barnes's  barn  burned,  on  the  old  McDougall  farm. 
1869,  July   5.     Stephen    Anderson's    house,   barn    and  workshop 

were  burned  at  Great  Falls. 


312  HISTORY    OF    GOKHAM. 

1869,  Nov.  Stephen  Hinkley  &  Co.'s  tannery  buildings,  at 
Gorham  village,  caught  fire  near  the  engine  house  on  Nov.  12,  1869, 
but  by  great  exertion  a  total  conflagration  of  the  establishment  was 
prevented.  On  the  14th  day  of  the  same  month  and  year,  the  prin- 
cipal building  again  took  fire,  at  about  half  past  eight  in  the  evening, 
when  the  establishment  was  totally  consumed,  excepting  the  office, 
which  with  the  Hinkley  dwelling  house  and  stable,  was  saved  only 
with  great  difficulty.  Loss  about  thirty  thousand  dollars.  Insured 
for  about  twenty-one  thousand  dollars.  This  was  the  largest  fire 
ever  known  in  town,  notwithstanding  that  a  large  amount  of  property 
was  saved  in  hides,  bark  and  unfinished  leather. 

1870,  Jan.  21.  Gorham  Fruit  Preserving  Company's  iron  build- 
ing was  burned  at  Gorham  village. 

1870,  Feb.  4.  Rev.  Charles  Cressey's  house  and  barn,  on  the 
Mann  farm,  so  called. 

187 1,  May  15.  Gorham  corn-packing  house  was  totally  consumed. 
This  building  was  originally  Irish's  tannery,  then  the  carpet  factory, 
and  finally  a  corn-packing  factory. 

1 87 1,  May  18.  Henry  B.  Johnson's  brick  hotel  was  burned. 
This  house  was  built  by  Maj.  Farnham  in  1805,  and  recently  owned 
and  occupied  by  Gen.  James  Irish.  The  fire  communicated  to 
several  neighboring  houses,  but  little  damage  was  done  to  them. 
Thaddeus  P.  Irish's  new  house  now  stands  on  the  spot  at  Gorham 
village. 

187  I,  Aug.  13.  Col.  William  B.  Freeman's  house,  barn  and  out- 
buildings, on  his  farm  above  Fort  Hill,  were  burned. 

1871,  Oct.  18.  Charles  Osborne's  house  was  burned;  it  stood 
where  his  new  house  now  stands.  It  was  formerly  the  William  Paine 
house.  The  family  were  at  dinner ;  the  fire  made  such  rapid  progress 
that  nothing  was  saved. 

187 1,  Dec.  Goff  &  Plummer's  dry-house,  a  little  above  Great 
Falls.     The  loss  was  five  thousand  dollars. 

1872,  Mar.  26.     John  Lindsay's  shop  at  Great  Falls. 

1872,  Nov.  8.  Edward  P.  Weston's  barn  was  burned,  on  the  John 
Harding  farm,  so  called,  at  Gorham  village. 

1873,  July  4.  White's  Mills,  so  called;  chair  factory,  boarding 
house ;  including  grist  and  saw  mill,  with  the  Great  Falls  bridge. 
Most  of  this  property  was  in  Windham. 

1873,   Sept.   21.     John    Lindsay's    store    burned    at   Great    Falls. 
•  Occupied  by  Jeremiah  Parker,  Esq.,  as  a  clothing-shop. 

George  D.  Beck's  store  at  depot,  White  Rock  Station. 


I 


FIRES    IN    GORHAM.  313 

1874,  Mar.  23.  John  Lindsay's  two-story  store  at  Great  Falls. 
Store  stood  near  the  end  of  the  Canal  bridge,  and  was  occupied  by 
Chamberlain  &  Seeley  as  a  store. 

1874,  July  II.  Clinton  D.  W.  Shaw's  house  and  barn  burned, 
near  Great  Falls. 

1874,  Sept.  8.     Enoch  Mayberry's  house  at  Great  Falls. 
Joseph  Plummer's  store,  at  the  north  part  of  the  town,  near 

the  house  of  Caleb  Hodgdon,  Esq. 

1875,  Jan.  9.  Col.  Frederick  Robie  lost  a  row  of  tenement  houses, 
standing  on  the  northerly  side  of  the  old  burying  ground  at  Gorham 
village,  occupied  by  Mr.  Flaherty,  Mr.  Whitmore  and  Mrs.  Cochran. 
These  buildings  were  old  settlers,  and  have  a  history.  The  first 
building  was  probably  built  by  Capt.  Cary  McLellan,  on  the  easterly 
side  of  the  road,  and  used  by  him  and  others  as  a  store,  soon  after 
the  Revolution.  The  second  was  originally  a  potash  house,  built  on 
the  Biyant  Morton  lot,  —  more  recently  known  as  the  Longfellow 
lot —  and  was  afterwards  used  as  a  pottery  for  the  manufacturing  of 
brown  earthern  ware,  such  as  cups  and  saucers,  pots,  milk-pans, 
bowls  and  pitchers.  After  the  close  of  the  Revolution  imported 
ware  was  scarce  and  high,  and  people  were  compelled  to  use  coarse 
articles.  The  writer  can  remember  when  brown  earthern  table-ware, 
such  as  cups  and  saucers,  bowls,  pitchers  and  plates  were  in  use, 
and  an  article  of  sale  in  the  stores.  The  other  building  was,  as  long 
ago  as  the  year  1808,  an  old  cooper  shop,  standing  on  the  easterly 
side  of  the  road,  in  front  of  the  (now)  new  schoolhouse.  The  first 
two  of  these  buildings  were  moved  across  the  road,  placed  near  the 
burying  ground,  facing  the  street,  and  used  by  Mr.  David  McLellan 
as  a  soap  factory,  in  the  days  when  brown  bar  soap  was  quite  an 
article  of  manufacture  in  Gorham,  at  which  time  there  were  three  of 

.these  factories  in  the  village  doing  a  good  business.  The  old  store 
was  used  for  a  drying  house,  and  the  other  for  a  boiling  house.  In 
this  there  were  two  large  kettles,  set  with  big  wooden  curbs,  that 
would  hold  several  hogsheads  of  soap.  When  the  property  came 
into  the  hands  of  Capt.  Robie,  these  buildings  were  moved  back,  and 
faced  to  the  north,  on  to  the  line  of  the  burying  yard.  The  old 
cooper  shop  was  taken  across  the  street,  and  joined  on  to  the  west- 
erly end  of  the  row,  and  all  converted  into  tenement  houses. 

These  buildings,  at  this  time,  stood  on  a  court  that  ran  from 
South  St.,  westerly.  State  St.  was  not  then  open.  The  old 
hay  scales  were  moved  into  this  court,  and  there  was  a  large  barn 
standing  beyond  the  burying  yard,  where  Mr.  Winship's  blacksmith 


314 


HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


shop  now  stands.  The  hay  scales  were  built  by  Isaac  Gilkey,  and  at 
that  time,  and  for  many  years  afterwards,  stood  in  the  street,  opposite 
the  new  school  house,  reaching  nearly  half  way  across  the  street. 
These  scales  were  a  curiously  constructed  machine.  I  cannot  liken 
them  to  anything  now  about,  but  will  describe  them  as  nearly  as  I 
can.  Their  general  appearance  was  that  of  a  sort  of  open  shed, 
under  which  the  loads  to  be  weighed  were  driven.  From  the  under 
side  of  the  roof  was  suspended  a  horizontal  bar,  the  principle  of 
whose  working  was  precisely  that  of  a  pair  of  old-fashioned  steel- 
yards. From  the  short  end  of  the  lever  hung  two  chains,  one  of 
which  was  attached  to  each  of  the  clumsy  wooden  hubs  of  the 
great  wheels.     (It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  ox-carts  then  in 


0\X    VAaH    "itaXtS 

use,  were  all  of  the  old-fashioned  two-wheeled  variety.)  Heavy  weights 
were  then  placed  in  the  scale-pan,  which  was  suspended  from  the 
long  arm  of  the  bar  :  in  this  way  the  load  was  weighed ;  the  cart 
when  balanced  being  lifted  bodily  clear  of  the  ground. 

House  of  Capt.  Stanwood,  on  Flaggy  Meadow  road.     This. 

house,  at  one  time  occupied  by  James  Paine,  stood  opposite  that  of 
the  late  Samuel  Cressey,  and  was  built  by  David  Patrick. 

1877.  Schoolhouse  burned  at  Great  Falls. 

1878,  April.  The  tar  house  of  the  Oriental  Powder  Company. 
Loss  five  hundred  dollars. 

1878  or  '79.  About  this  time  the  house  on  the  old  Jedediah  Cobb 
place  in  the  Quaker  neighborhood  was  burned.  It  was  where  Charles 
Horton  had  lately  lived,  but  at  this  time  was  unoccupied. 

1883,  Sept.  9.  The  two  story  house,  known  as  the  Webster  house, 
situated  nearly  opposite  the  Congregational  church,  was  burned. 
This    house    was    one    of  a    number   built    by    the    late    Alexander 


I 


FIRES    IN    GORHAM.  315 

McLellan,   Esq.,   as  tenement,   houses    for    the    use    of    the    coopers 
employed  by  him  in  his  West  India  trade. 

1884,  Feb.     Stave  mill  of  GofT  &  Plummer;  above  Great  Falls. 

1885,  Nov.  Large  barn  on  the  Haggett  heirs'  estate;  loss  seven 
hundred  dollars  ;  fire  was  caused  by  children  playing  with  matches. 

1885  or  '86.  House  of  Asa  Libby,  situated  in  Whitney  neighbor- 
hood, near  William  Files's,  was  burned. 

1886,  Jan.  House  of  Freeman  Fairbanks.  This  was  the  old 
Lieut.  Ebenezer  Murch  place,  on  Flaggy  Meadow  road. 

1886,  Jan.  or  Feb.  House  of  Uriah  S.  Nason  at  White  Rock  was 
burned.     Fire  was  caused  by  a  defective  chimney. 

1888,  Aug.  2.  The  old  Alden  house,  on  the  Standish  road,  was 
burned.  This  house  was  built  by  Dea.  Austin  Alden,  and  was 
raised  Dec.  1 1,  1764. 

1889,  Dec.  21,  or  22.  The  David  Elder  house,  so  called,  was 
burned.  This  was  the  house  built  by  Dr.  Jeremiah  Barker,  and  spoken 
of  in  this  chapter  under  date  of  1780. 

1892,  Feb.  5.  On  the  night  of  the  5th  and  6th  of  February  fire 
destroyed  at  Gorham  village  the  building  occupied  by  Frank  H. 
Emery  as  a  store.  This  building  was  known  as  the  Emery  and 
Jameson  block,  and  stood  on  the  spot  where  the  old  Longfellow 
store  was  burned  in  May,  1845.  It  was  occupied  in  part  as  a 
dwelling  by  Stephen  P.  Libby.  There  was  also  burned  at  the  same 
time  a  tenement  house,  facing  on  South  St.,  owned  by  Dr.  Alden  T. 
Keen,  and  the  grocery  store  of  Cyrus  Abbott. 

1894,  Aug.  26.  The  house  of  William  P.  Sturgis  at  West  Gorham 
was  burned.  It  was  occupied  at  the  time  by  Harris  Moody.  Loss 
two  thousand  dollars. 

1894,  Oct.  I.  Normal  School  dormitory  building,  owned  by  the 
State,  better  known  as  Gorham  Seminary,  was  burned.  The  building 
was  four  stories  high,  and  was  occupied  by  about  eighty  students. 
As  the  fire  occurred  in  the  day  time,  the  occupants,  except  those  who 
roomed  on  the  fourth  floor,  were  able  to  save  nearly  everything.  The 
total  loss  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  five  thousand  dollars. 

1894,  Dec.  25.  The  two-story  house  at  the  village,  on  State  St., 
occupied  by  Silas  Rounds. 

1895,  Aug.  About  this  time  the  Ansel  Stone  and  the  Richard 
Willis  places,  situated  in  what  is  known  as  the  "Quaker  neighbor- 
hood," were  burned.  The  Stone  place  was  where  James  Bangs 
formerly  lived,  while  Elder  Joseph  Gates  resided  on  the  farm  after- 
wards owned  by  his  grandson,  Richard  Willis. 


316  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

1895,  Sept.  26.  The  farm  buildings  of  W.  H.  Parker,  near  Grove- 
ville.     The  fire  was  caused  by  Hghtning. 

1897,  Aug.  Dwelling  house  burned  on  the  Gray  road;  standing 
near  Little  River.  It  was  owned  by  Theodore  Sayward,  and  was 
occupied  at  the  time  by  a  Mayberry  family. 

1897,  Dec.  The  store  of  H.  G.  Parker,  at  Great  Falls,  was 
burned,  together  with  the  post  office,  and  the  residence  of  Carlyle  W. 
Shaw.     All  the  mail  was  burned. 

1900.  Barn  of  Mrs.  Henry  L.  Carll,  at  West  Gorham,  was  burned 
in  the  spring  of  this  year. 

1900,  Aug.  20.  Schoolhouse  in  Fogg  district  was  burned  during 
the  night. 

1900,  Oct.  24.  House  of  Mrs.  Henry  L.  Carll,  at  West  Gorham. 
This  was  the  old  Ithiel  Blake  place. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

TAVERNS TEMPERANCE LIBRARIES. 

The  earliest  settlers  of  Gorham  were  as  a  rule  a  hospitable  set  of 
people,  ready  to  share  their  beds  and  their  food  with  the  wayfarer 
and  the  stranger,  when  occasion  brought  such  to  their  doors.  It  was 
only  with  the  opening  of  the  roads,  and  the  easier  chance  thus  offered 
for  travellers  to  pass  to  and  through  the  town,  that  Gorham  began  to 
feel  the  need  of  some  public  place  of  entertainment  for  man  and 
beast.  The  first  person  to  meet  and  relieve  this  want  was  Mr.  Jacob 
Hamblen.  In  1757  he  opened  in  his  dwelling  house,  which  stood  at 
the  head  of  Main  St.,  on  the  spot  lately  occupied  by  R.  G.  Harding's 
store,  a  "house  of  entertainment,"  as  it  was  called,  which  he  kept 
until  his  death  in  1774. 

He  was  succeeded  in  this  business  by  Jonathan  Elwell,  who  came 
to  Gorham  in  1775.  and  during  the  following  year  opened  a  tavern 
in  the  Mosher  neighborhood.  In  the  year  1778  he  moved  to  the 
village  and  took  the  old  Hamblen  tavern,  which  he  kept  for  a  short 
time.  We  find  meetings  of  the  Proprietors  notified  to  meet  at  his 
public  house  in  Gorham.  A  part  of  this  old  Hamblen  tavern  was 
afterwards  moved,  and  with  some  additions,  used  by  Maj.  Simeon 
Farnham  as  a  dwelling  house.  In  1805,  when  he  built  the  brick 
house,  recently  known  as  the  "'Gorham  House,"  he  moved  .the  old 
house  farther  down  the  street,  and  for  many  years  it  stood  in  what  is 
now  the  Misses  Hinkley's  flower  garden,  just  west  of  the  tannery. 
It  was  torn  down  some  years  since. 

In  1779  Gary  McLellan  exchanged  his  farm,  the  hundred  acre  lot 
No.  I,  situated  on  South  St.,  with  Daniel  Hamblen  for  his  farm  at 
Gorham  corner  (formerly  his  father's).  He  then  built,  on  the  site  of 
the  old  Jacob  Hamblen  house,  a  tavern,  into  which  he  worked  the 
Daniel  Hamblen  house.  This  building  is  the  Harding  store.  Here 
Mr.  McLellan  kept  tavern  until  1805.  We  have  recollections  of  this 
hotel  as  having  been  occupied  by  Capt.  Daniel  Hunt,  who  died  in 
1833,  and  later  by  Mr.  Jonathan  Tukesbury,  and  Col.  Colman 
Harding. 

From  the  old  Court  of  Session  Records  we  find  that  Capt.  Bryant 
Morton  was  licensed  as  an  Inn-holder  in  1764,  as  were  also  Samuel 


318  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Whitmore  in  177 1,  Ebenezer  Hall  in  1774,  Jonathan  Elwell  in  1776, 
and  Caleb  Chase  Feb.  13,  1777.  In  1762  Bryant  Morton  and 
Wentworth  Stuart,  in  1765  Stephen  Phinney,  in  1767  Benjamin  Frost 
and  Joel  Whitney,  in  1769  Caleb  Chase,  in  1772  William  Gorham, 
and  in  1774  Cary  McLellan,  Alexander  McLellan  and  James  Warren 
were  licensed  as  "Retailers  of  Tea,  Coffee  and  Liquors." 

Samuel  Prentiss  opened  a  public  house  here  in  1786.  His  house 
stood  on  what  is  still  known  as  the  Prentiss  lot,  close  to  the  spot 
where  Simon  B.  Guthrie's  store  now  stands.  About  1805  there  were 
several  public  houses  in  town.  Samuel  Staples  kept  a  public  house 
at  the  village,  in  his  dwelling  which  still  stands  on  the  west  corner  of 
Main  and  Elm  Sts.  James  Phinney,  Jr.,  who  lived  about  a  mile 
below  the  village  on  the  old  road  to  Saccarappa,  on  the  farm  now 
owned  by  Geo.  Alden,  kept  a  hotel  in  the  old  house  which  stands 
in  the  corner  of  the  roads.  This  hotel  was  long  a  famous  resort  for 
fashionable  parties  from  the  village.  The  best  society  in  the  place 
would  gather  there  for  a  fine  supper  and  a  good  dance.  In  the  north 
part  of  the  town  Samuel  Butts  kept  a  tavern  in  his  house,  which  is 
the  place,  not  far  from  the  North  Meeting  house,  where  Jonathan  S. 
Whitney  now  lives.  Allen  Davis  also  kept  a  tavern  in  his  house  on 
the  Flaggy  Meadow  road,  now  owned  and  occupied  by  his  grandson, 
Frederic  D.  Scamman.  Josiah  Shaw  bought  of  Samuel  Prentiss  in 
1797  a  lot  of  land  on  Main  St.  in  the  village,  and  on  this  land  built 
the  house  now  occupied  by  Prof.  Lucian  Hunt.  Here  he  kept  a 
tavern,  noted  far  and  near  for  its  good  cheer.  The  old  Judge 
Thacher  mansion  was  purchased  by  Alexander  McLellan,  Esq.,  who 
added  the  ell  (lately  removed),  fitted  the  house  up  and  let  it  for  a 
hotel.  Thomas  A.  Barker  kept  a  public  house  here,  and  was  fol- 
lowed by  Capt.  William  Stephenson,  Mr.  Bragdon,  Mr.  Drake,  Mr. 
Lowell  and  Joseph  Estes. 

Jacob  H.  Clement  and  Reuben  Lowell  kept  large  taverns  at  West 
Gorham,  designed  with  their  immense  stables  especially  to  accommo- 
date the  teaming  travel  to  Portland,  which  came  down  through  the 
White  Mountain  Notch. 

William  A.  Rice  came  from  Portland  and  settled  at  Great  Falls 
about  the  year  1833,  vvhen  he  opened  a  public  house  there. 

Col.  James  March  came  to  Gorham  from  Scarborough  about  1806, 
and  kept  a  hotel,  called  the  "  Bell  Tavern,"  at  Gorham  village,  in  the 
brick  house  built  by  Maj.  Simeon  Farnham.  This  house,  after 
having  been  used  as  a  private  dwelling  for  some  years,  was  again 
converted  into  a  hotel,   which  was  kept  by  various  parties,  among 


TEMPERANCE.  319 

them,  Eli  and  Jesse  Annis  (Eli  died  there  in  1852),  Augustus  John- 
son, who  came  from  Cornish  in  1854  and  bought  the  place,  then 
called  the  ''  Narragansett  House,"  Mr.  Dow,  and  Henry  B.  Johnson, 
the  latter  of  whom  was  running  the  house  at  the  time  it  was  burned 
in  1871. 

Mrs.  Harmon  has  more  recently  kept  a  hotel  at  her  house  on 
Main  St.  Willis  I.  Bickford  now  keeps,  in  the  Capt.  Winslow  house, 
a  hotel  called  the  "  Ciystal  Spring  House."  Mrs.  Jose  keeps  a  pub- 
lic house  at  the  village  in  the  house  which  was  formerly  Samuel 
Staples's  tavern. 

In  the  town  of  Gorham  the  cause  of  temperance  seems  by  our 
records  to  have  had  quite  an  early  consideration,  for  at  a  town  meet- 
ing, held  April  7,  1S06,  it  was  "  Voted,  That  whereas  the  practice  of 
selling  ardent  spirits  in  retail  shops  in  small  quantities  to  be  drank 
in  said  shops  is  pernicious  and  injurious  to  the  interests  and  morals 
of  the  citizens  at  large  and  ought  to  be  guarded  against,  and  sup- 
pressed, therefore,  Voted  as  the  sense  of  this  town,  in  public  town 
meeting  expressed,  the  standing  laws  respecting  retailers  are  good 
and  wholesome,  and  ought  to  be  strictly  observed  by  all  the  retailers 
of  ardent  spirits  in  this  tovv'n."  Still  we  were  like  other  towns  in 
those  days  much  engaged  in  business  of  M'hich  lumber  formed  the 
principal  part.  For  this  article  the  West  Indies  was  the  chief  mar- 
ket, and  the  returns  came  home  generally  invested  in  ardent  spirits, 
and  everybody  supposed  that  it  must  be  used,  so  about  everybody 
drank,  and  nearly  all  thought  that  it  was  all  right. 

The  first  Temperance  Society  that  was  in  operation  here  was  what 
at  the  time  was  known  as  the  "  Sixty  Nine  Society,"  so  named  from 
the  fact  of  its  having  sixty-nine  members.  This  was  about  the  year 
18 1 5,  but  the  mass  of  the  people  did  not  receive  it  with  much  favor. 
All  the  traders  were  forbidden  by  the  agents  of  this  society  to  sell 
liquor  to  be  drank  within  the  premises.  This  was  carried  out  for  a 
short  time,  but  was  evaded  by  purchasing  it  in  one  store,  and  drink- 
ing it  in  another,  or  by  withdrawing  to  the  platform  in  front  of  the 
building,  which  was  furnished  with  a  hogshead  standing  on  its  head 
for  an  extempore  table,  on  which  was  a  pail  of  water,  tumblers  and 
sugar.  Small  pocket-flasks  were  much  in  use  in  those  days.  The 
seller  would  not  have  the  liquor  drank  on  his  premises,  but  would 
put  it  into  a  flask,  and  give  notice  that  across  the  street  all  the 
appliances  for  concocting  a  mixture  could  be  found.  This  did  not 
stop  the  drinking,  but  made  the  thing  so  ridiculous  that  the  whole 
affair  soon  blew  over,  and  people  who  wished  were  allowed  to  take 


320  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

their  drinks  under  cover.  Rev.  Asa  Rand,  Dr.  Barker,  Col.  Lewis, 
Mr.  Alden  and  Dea.  Cross  were  the  principal  movers  in  this  society. 
The  formers  were  ahead  of  the  times  ;  the  society  was  never  popular, 
and  died  purely  from  dissolution. 

It  was  the  fashion,  and  probably  the  law,  that  the  selectmen 
should  once  in  a  year,  and  oftener  if  necessary,  read  to  the  retailers, 
and  post  up  in  their  stores,  a  list  of  persons  by  them  deemed  to  be 
drunkards,  forbidding  all  persons  selling  those  named  any  intoxicating 
liquors,  under  the  pains  and  penalties  of  the  law.  Usually,  soon 
after  the  March  meeting,  the  selectmen  would  be  seen  with  notices 
in  hand  marching  about  the  village,  and  going  into  the  stores,  where 
they  would  call  the  owner  before  them,  and  in  a  solemn  manner  read 
the  notice  to  him,  post  it  up  conspicuously,  and  walk  out.  And  by 
the  time  their  last  foot  had  left  the  door,  the  notice  was  stowed  away 
in  some  snug  place,  not  to  appear  till  wanted.  Many  persons  were 
thus  posted  who  never  knew  the  fact.  But  the  law  had  been  com- 
plied with. 

Another  attempt  at  reform  was  made  in  1822,  when  a  society, 
known  as  the  "Total  Abstinence  Society,"  was  formed.  The  princi- 
pal movers  in  this  were  Rev.  James  Lewis  and  James  Smith,  Esq. 
This  society  accomplished  some  good,  but  soon  died.  Among  other 
temperance  organizations  which  have  existed  in  Gorham  have  been 
the  "  Rechabites,"  and  the  "  Reform  Club." 

At  a  town  meeting  held  in  March,  1839,  the  town  voted  to  accept 
the  following  resolves,  which  were  presented  by  Edmund  Mann, 
Esq.  : 

"  Whereas  it  has  been  the  practice  of  certain  individuals  to  post 
themselves  at  or  near  our  Public  Meetings  for  the  purpose  of  selling 
intoxicating  liquors,  the  effect  of  the  use  of  which  is  wrangling, 
disorder,  confusion  and  indecency  at  said  meeting.  Therefore 
resolved  that  our  Moderator,  Selectmen  and  Constables  be  instructed 
to  use  their  authority  to  the  extent  of  their  jurisdiction  to  protect  us 
in  the  exercise  of  our  rights,  from  the  loathsome  and  demoralizing 
effects  of  tippling  establishments,  by  preventing  their  locating  at  or 
near  the  place  where  we  meet.  And  whereas  the  Statute  provides 
that  the  Selectmen  may  grant  license  to  as  many  as  they  think  neces- 
sary, to  retail  spirituous  liquors  ; 

"  Therefore  Resolved  that  we  respectfully  request  said  officers  to 
review  the  scenes  frequently  exhibited  in  our  bar-rooms  and  grog 
shops,  and  that  they  regard  the  feelings  of  wives  and  children  whose 
bread  is  there  taken  from  them,  and  then  decide  how  many  such 
establishments  shall  have  their  sanction ;  sum  up  the  advantages  and 
disadvantages  and  be  guided  by  the  result." 


LIBRARIES.  -  321 

In  1845  the  town  voted  that  the  selectmen,  clerk  and  treasurer, 
be  directed  not  to  grant  license  to  retail  spirituous  liquors  in  any  case 
otherwise  than  for  medical  and  mechanical  purposes.  The  select- 
men were  also  directed  to  prosecute  all  persons  who  might  sell  in 
town  without  a  license. 

In  1814  a  village  library  was  kept  in  Mr.  Nathaniel  Gould's  house. 
Mr.  Gould  was  a  saddler  and  harness-maker.  His  son  Edward,  who 
had  some  care  of  the  books,  says  that  his  father's  shop  was  a  resort 
for  many  of  the  Revolutionary  soldiers  and  others,  who  would  take 
the  books  into  the  shop,  where  the  old  soldiers  would  compare  the 
Revolutionary  history  with  their  views  and  memories. 

The  Attic  Fraternity  at  Gorham  Academy,  a  society  modelled  on 
the  Peucinian  and  Athenean  societies  of  Bowdoin  College,  possessed 
a  library  about  the  year  18 18. 

In  January,  1834,  a  Social  and  Circulating  Library  was  established, 
the  shares  in  which  were  one  dollar  per  year.  Daniel  C.  Emery  was 
chosen  president,  and  Eben  Preble,  secretar}'.  This  library  was  at 
first  kept  in  the  wooden  building,  which  stood  where  F.  H.  Emery's 
store  now  stands,  and  which  was  destroyed  by  fire  m  1845.  Mr. 
Preble  at  this  time  kept  store  in  this  building,  and  as  he  w^as  libra- 
rian, the  having  of  the  books  here  made  it  very  convenient  for  him. 
The  library  was  afterwards  kept  in  Dea.  Chadbourn's  shop,  which 
stood  on  the  Parish  lot,  where  the  new  Congregational  vestry  is 
located.  From  thence  it  was  moved  across  the  street  and  placed 
in  the  room  behind  Dr.  Waterman's  office.  This  library  contained 
about  one  thousand  volumes  —  magazines  and  books.  The  members 
of  the  Association,  with  the  exception  of  Dr.  Keen  and  Judge 
Waterman,  having  allowed  their  membership  to  lapse  from  the  non- 
payment of  dues,  these  two  gentlemen  claimed  the  library,  and 
presented  it  to  the  Seminary  library.  When  the  Seminary  was  discon- 
tinued, the  books  were  transferred  to  the  Normal  School. 

In  1 88 1  the  idea  of  forming  a  Library  Association  was  proposed 
and  talked  up  by  some  of  our  citizens.  It  was  thought  best  to  sell 
shares  at  five  dollars  each,  and  the  village  was  canvassed  for 
subscribers.  Circulars  were  also  sent  out  addressed  to  former  resi- 
dents. There  was  no  opposition,  and  the  movement  was  a  success 
from  the  start ;  people  subscribing  liberally ;  among  others,  Ex-Gov- 
ernor Robie  took  twenty-five  shares,  Judge  Waterman,  ten,  etc.  Rev. 
Dr.  Geo.  L.  Prentiss  of  New  York  City,  the  Robies,  Hiram  Tenney, 
Dana  Estes  and  others  made  contributions  of  books,  while  Judge 
Waterman  offered  the  Association  the  use  of  a  room,  free  of  rent  for 
a  year.     This  Library  Association  was  incorporated  in  April,  1882, 


322  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

and  the  library  opened  to  the  public  in  the  following  October.  The 
Association  has  had  a  number  of  librarians,  among  them  Miss  Mary 
Smith  (Mrs.  John  A.  Waterman),  Miss  Sarah  Warren  and  Miss  Sally 
Robie.  The  late  John  R.  Cressey  at  his  decease  in  1892,  left 
by  will  to  this  library  the  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars.  It  also 
received  from  the  Walker  estate  a  donation  of  five  hundred  dollars. 
The  library  at  North  Gorham  (Great  Falls)  also  received  six  hundred 
dollars  from  this  latter  source. 

About  1892  John  McGregor  Adams  of  Chicago,  the  oldest  son  of 
Rev.  Dr.  John  R.  Adams,  late  of  Gorham,  made  the  Gorham  Village 
Library  Association  the  generous  offer  to  erect  for  their  use  a  build- 
ing to  cost  not  less  than  ten  thousand  dollars.  After  some  delay 
and  discussion  as  to  the  location  of  the  building,  Mr.  Adams  made 
the  town  the  following  proposition  : 

"  If  the  Free  Public  Library  Building  is  erected  upon  the  Drown 
and  old  school  house  lots  1  offer  to  enclose  these  lots,  together  with 
the  cemetery  lot,  with  a  substantial  fence  —  a  neat,  uniform  iron 
fence  on  the  east  side  and  south  side,  and  to  have  the  cemetery  put 
in  such  condition  that  it  will  be  an  ornament  to  the  village,  and  place 
a  sufficient  sum  of  money  in  the  hands  of  the  Library  Association  to 
provide  and  maintain  it  (the  cemetery)  in  such  condition  ;  provided 
the  schoolhouse  lot  is  conveyed  by  a  good  and  sufficient  deed  of 
warranty  to  the  Library  Association." 

Dec.  3,  1892,  Ex-Governor  Robie  offered  the  following  preamble 
and  motion,  with  appropriate  remarks :  — 

In  consideration  of  the  munificent  gifts  of  Mr.  J.  McGregor  Adams 
of  Chicago,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  suitable  free  public  library 
building  for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants  of  Gorham,  also  providing  for 
the  proper  and  perpetual  care  of  the  old  cemetery  in  said  town,  the 
voters  of  Gorham,  in  town  meeting  assembled,  do  return  a  unanimous 
expression  of  sincere  thanks  to  our  distinguished  former  townsman 
for  these  public  testimonials  to  his  honored  father,  the  late  John  R. 
Adams,  D.  D.,  and  his  worthy  and  accomplished  mother,  Mrs.  Mary 
Ann  McGregor  Adams,  whose  sacred  memories  are  held  by  every 
citizen  of  the  town  in  the  highest  veneration  and  esteem. 

It  was  then  voted  "  That  the  town  accept  the  ofifer  made  by  Mr.  J. 
McGregor  Adams,  and  grant  to  him  such  permission  and  full 
authority  to  act  as  contemplated  by  him  in  his  offer  to  take  care  of 
the  cemetery." 

For  various  reasons  the  carrying  out  and  completing  of  this 
designed  work  has  been  for  the  time  being  postponed,  but  will  no 
doubt  be  satisfactorily  accomplished  in  the  near  future. 


^^ 


^5^'     t:^^/^iu^^^ 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

EARLY     SOCIETY     IN     GORHAM,    AND    SOME    FACTS    ABOUT    GORHAM    FOR 

THE    YEAR    1780. 

When  the  first  settlers  came  to  Gorham,  and  made  their  small 
clearings,  they  were  hemmed  in  on  every  side  by  the  dark  and  dense 
woods.  There  were  neither  roads  nor  bridges.  Neighbors  found 
their  way  to  each  other's  cabins  by  paths  marked  out  by  spotted 
trees. 

Their  first  dwellings  were  of  logs  laid  cob-house  fashion  one  upon 
another  as  close  together  as  possible  ;  the  crevices  stuffed  and  chinked 
with  moss  and  clay  to  keep  out  the  cold.  These  houses  were  built 
with  an  enormous  chimney  on  the  outside,  usually  made  of  stone,  and 
the  open  fireplace  took  up  the  larger  part  of  one  side  of  the  room. 
The  mantle-bar,  as  it  was  called,  which  held  up  the  top  of  the  fire- 
place, was  in  those  early  days  made  of  wood,  and  one  of  the  last 
duties  to  be  performed  before  going  to  bed  was  to  wet  this  thoroughly, 
and  thus  lessen  the  danger  of  its  taking  fire  in  the  night.  In  the 
depth  of  the  great  fireplace  was  burned  wood  four  feet  in  length. 
A  huge  log,  from  two  to  three  feet  in  diameter,  hauled  in  sometimes 
on  a  hand-sled,  and  sometimes  by  the  horse,  was  placed  first  in 
position ;  upon  this  was  laid  a  back-stick,  just  enough  smaller 
than  the  log  to  lie  well  upon  it ;  next  came  the  fore-stick,  and  upon 
these  was  piled  the  smaller  wood,  the  coals  fanned  with  boughs,  or 
blown  by  the  bellows,  and  soon  a  roaring  fire  leaped  high  up  the 
chimney,  and  filled  the  room  with  light  and  heat.  There  was  no 
need  for  economy  in  the  article  of  firewood  in  those  days. 

A  sulphur  match  was  then  unknown,  and  it  was  a  serious  calamity 
to  our  ancestors  to  lose  their  fire.  It  was  the  custom  on  retiring  to 
cover  up  carefully  and  deep  with  the  ashes  in  the  fireplace  the  coals 
and  half  burned  brands  of  the  evening's  fire  and  on  raking  open  the 
ashes  the  next  morning  there  would  be  found  a  fine  bed  of  glowing 
embers.  If,  however,  by  some  mischance  the  fire  went  out,  the  only 
way  to  relight  it  was  by  the  slow  and  uncertain  method  of  striking  a 
spark  from  fiint  and  steel  into  tinder  or  tow,  or  by  "borrowing  fire  " 
of  a  neighbor,  which  was  frequently  done,  if  one  was  within  reason- 
able   distance.     For    instance,  when    George    Waterhouse    built    his 


324  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

cabin  and  made  his  clearing,  his  family  and  that  of  his  nearest 
neighbor,  John  Dyer,  a  half  mile  away,  often  borrowed  fire  of  each 
other,  going  across  lots  through  the  woods  by  the  spotted  trees.  To 
bring  home  live  coals  and  burning  brands  required  haste,  hence  the 
expression,  so  often  used  of  a  person  in  a  hurry,  "going  to  borrow 
fire." 

Pots  and  kettles  swung  from  the  iron  crane  over  the  fire,  and  were 
hung  lower  or  higher  by  means  of  pot-hooks  and  trammels.  Skillets, 
trivets,  toasting-irons  and  other  cooking  utensils  stood  or  hung  around 
the  hearth.  Meats  were  suspended  by  a  stout  string  over  a  dripping- 
pan  to  roast  before  the  blaze.  To  twist  this  string,  and  so  turn  the 
meat  and  give  each  part  a  chance  to  cook,  was  usually  the  duty  of 
some  child  of  the  household.  When  the  string  had  been  twisted  in 
one  direction  a  while  it  could  be  left  to  itself  to  untwist,  then  the 
process  must  be  repeated.  No  meat  was  ever  better  cooked  or  tasted 
sweeter  than  that  cooked  in  this  way.  Bread  and  cakes  were  baked 
on  a  board  propped  up  before  the  fire,  unless  the  housewife  were  so 
fortunate  as  to  have  brought  a  Dutch  oven  w4th  her  from  her  old 
home.  Potatoes  and  onions  were  roasted  to  a  turn  in  the  hot  ashes. 
Our  ancestors  would  at  first  have  fared  hardly  for  fresh  meat,  but  for 
the  fact  that  game  abounded  in  the  woods.  Squirrels,  rabbits  and 
coons  were  easily  caught  in  their  season,  and  occasionally  a  bear,  a 
deer,  or  a  moose  furnished  the  table  with  a  luxurious  meal.  It  is 
said  that  the  last  moose  seen  in  town  was  on  the  hill  east  of  the  Black 
Brook  road,  not  far  from  the  house  of  Freeman  Richardson. 

The  chimney  corner  was  a  favorite  resort.  In  and  around  the 
fireplace  the  family  would  gather,  scorching  their  faces,  while  the 
draft  up  the  chimney's  throat  chilled  their  backs.  Almost  as  much 
light  must  have  come  into  the  room  through  the  top  of  one  of  these 
low,  broad  chimneys,  as  came  in  through  the  small  window  openings. 
Certainly  there  could  have  been  no  lack  of  fresh  air  or  of  ventilation. 
As  years  went  by,  and  larger  houses  were  built,  the  huge  chimneys 
still  held  their  own,  but  were  placed  in  the  centre  of  the  house,  and 
had  deep  brick  ovens  built  in  them.  In  these  ovens  large  fires  were 
kindled,  and  kept  burning  till  the  temperature  was  judged  to  be  right, 
when  the  fire  was  "drawn,"  and  the  ashes  swept  out  by  means  of  a 
broom  of  green  hemlock  boughs,  and  the  oven  was  ready  to  be  filled 
with  all  manner  of  savory  compounds.  An  iron  shovel  with  a  handle 
four  feet  in  length  was  used  in  putting  in  and  taking  out  the  food,  and 
it  required  long  practice  and  much  dexterity  to  slip  from  the  blade  of 
this  shovel,  into  its  place  at  the  back  of  the  oven,  a  hand-moulded 


EARLY    SOCIETY. 


J25 


loaf  of  "  rye  and  Indian  "  bread,  and  not  have  it  fall  a  shapeless 
mass.  The  first  act  of  the  hospitable  housewife  on  the  arrival  of 
unexpected  company  was  to  "  put  a  blast ''  into  the  oven,  that  is,  heat 
it  for  a  baking.  The  mouths  of  these  ovens  were  at  first  closed  by 
squares  of  sheet  iron,  but  about  1815-20,  Samuel  Edwards,  for  some 
years  a  resident  of  Gorham,  invented  the  cast  iron  oven-door,  famil- 
iar to  so  many  of  us.  The  large  two-story  house  which  lately  stood 
on  South  St.,  near  where  the  late  Freeman  Higgins  lived,  and  which 
was  built  about  the  year  1767  by  Capt.  Gary  McLellan,  had  a  kitchen 
fireplace  which  was  ten  feet  wide  on  the  front,  eight  feet  across  the 
back,  and  about  six  feet  high.  Within  this  fireplace  were  two  brick 
ovens,  one  on  either  hand,  each  capable  of  holding  several  loaves  of 
bread  and  pots  of  beans,  and  a  dozen  or  more  pies. 

The  first  cabins  had  for  windows,  small  openings  cut  to  admit 
light  and  air,  and  these  could  be  closed  and  fastened  by  heavy 
wooden  shutters  and  bars,  for  security  against  wild  beasts  and 
Indians.      Window-glass  was  not  used  in   Gorham  for  many  years. 


HOUSE    BUILT    BY    PRINCE    DAVIS. 


Oiled  paper  sometimes  served  as  a  substitute.  When  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Gofiin  came  to  the  neighboring  town  of  Buxton  in  1768,  he  put  a  few 
panes  of  glass  in  his  study,  and  these  were  the  only  ones  in  the 
house,  or  the  town.  When  Prince  Davis  builf  his  house  on  the  Flaggy 
Meadow  road,  about  1764,  he  made  his  windows  of  7  x  9  glass,  and 
only  two  panes  in  width  and  five  high,  on  account  of  the  scarcity 
and  high  price  of  glass.  At  night  the  huge  fire  and  blazing  pine- 
knots  gave  sufficient  light  for  all  necessary  purposes.  Later  came 
tallow  candles,  either  dipped,  or  run  in  moulds,  and  sometimes  bay- 
berry  wax  was  mixed  with  the  tallow,  and  gave  out  a  pleasant  frag- 
rance as  the  candles  burned. 

In  these  days  of  plenty,  of  comforts,  and  conveniencies,  we  can 
but  smile  when  told  of  the  doings  of  our  ancestors,  and  the  shifts 
and  contrivances  our  mothers  had  to  make  use  of,  in  order  to  have 


326  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

good  times  and  keep  up  appearances.  For  many  years  after  the 
settlement  of  the  town,  population  was  sparse,  roads  hardly  more 
than  foot-paths  through  the  woods,  and  barely  passable  for  teams, 
and  the  houses  small,  some  of  them  only  log  cabins  ;  but  the  few 
inhabitants  had  large  hearts  and  social  dispositions,  and  hospitality 
was  never  known  to  lack.  A  well  furnished  house  of  that  day  would 
be  a  curiosity  of  this.  The  furniture  was  of  the  coarsest  and  com- 
monest kind,  most  of  it  of  purely  domestic  manufacture.  The  article 
of  lumber  was  not  lacking,  but  the  cabinet-maker  was  missing.  Such 
articles  as  could  be  manufactured  by  the  man  of  the  house  with  his 
scanty  supply  of  tools  was  thought  to  be  all  that  was  needed,  and  all 
that  could  be  accommodated  in  the  house.  Wooden  dishes  or 
trenchers  of  home  manufacture  were  in  common  use  for  the  table. 
These  were  followed  by  pewter  dishes,  which  were  much  used.  A 
hundred  years  ago  the  dresser,  filled  with  long  rows  of  pewter  plat- 
ters, plates,  mugs  and  porringers  of  various  sizes,  was  the  pride  of 
the  housewife's  heart.  These,  being  often  rubbed  and  scoured  by 
her  diligent  hands,  shone  like  polished  silver.  On  one  of  these  large 
round  pewter  platters  it  was  the  custom  to  serve  up  a  whole  dinner, 
the  meat  in  the  centre  and  the  various  vegetables  piled  around  it. 

At  that  time  visiting  and  parties  were  thought  to  be  the  business 
of  the  day,  not  of  the  evening  or  night.  Locomotion  was  slow, 
carriages  were  not  known  in  town,  only  such  as  were  drawn  by  stout 
and  rugged  oxen,  which  the  settlers  had  for  carrying  on  their  lumber- 
ing operations,  and  tilling  their  farms. 

Let  us  give  a  sketch  of  a  neighborly  visit  about  the  year  1770. 
When  the  day  came  the  family  were  up  and  stirring  in  the  morning, 
breakfast  was  had  and  cleared  away,  and  then  came  a  general  fixing 
and  dressing  up  of  such  as  were  to  go  visiting.  If  the  distance 
made  it  inconvenient  for  the  women  to  walk  and  carry  the  baby  the 
oxen  were  put  to  the  cart  or  sled  as  the  season  might  be,  the  old- 
fashioned  basket-bottomed  chairs  in  sufficient  numbers  to  hold  the 
company  were  arranged  in  the  cart,  and  if  the  weather  made  it 
necessary,  the  best  and  brightest  colored  quilts  and  coverlets  of  the 
ladies'  own  manufacture  were  brought  into  requisition,  for  then 
the  buffalo  that  ranged  over  the  vast  prairies  of  the  great  West  was 
an  animal  of  which  they  knew  nothing,  and  they  made  use  of  such 
comforts  as  they  had.  Compliments  were  rarely  sent,  if  so  or  not, 
the  difference  was  but  little  ;  the  visits  were  visits  of  aid,  comfort 
and  encouragement.  When  all  was  ready  the  team  was  carefully 
driven  toward  the  destined  place  by  the  watchful  husband  and  father, 


EARLY    SOCIETY.  827 

who  walked  by  the  side  of  his  oxen,  and  with  skill  and  dexterity 
avoided  the  stumps,  logs  and  rocks,  that  he  might  not  injure  his 
precious  load.  These  rides  and  drives  were  not  through  pleasant, 
shady  lanes  and  over  gently  sloping  hills,  covered  by  the  rich  crops 
of  the  husbandman.  They  were  through  the  dark  forest  where  the 
axe  of  the  woodman  had  made  but  small  way  ;  the  trees  had  been 
cut  and  thrown  on  each  side  to  allow  a  passage ;  the  rocks,  too  large 
to  be  moved  by  the  scanty  help  then  to  be  had,  were  shunned  as 
best  they  could  be.  Here  and  there  was  a  small  clearing  of  a  few 
acres,  with  its  black  and  charred  stumps,  and  with  its  small  house, 
the  home  of  the  hardy  pioneer,  and  a  still  smaller  hovel  or  shed  for 
the  scanty  supply  of  stock. 

These  settlers  were  men  and  women  for  the  times  in  which  they 
lived  ;  hardy,  robust  and  brave.  They  could  clear  the  forest,  till  the 
land,  raise  their  crops,  and  defend  their  homes  and  families  against 
attacks  of  the  Indians  as  well  as  trained  and  tried  veterans  of  war 
could  do.  But  war  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  day  of  which  we  are 
now  writing ;  the  black  cloud  has  passed,  these  dark  forests  can  now 
be  passed  in  safety  so  far  as  the  savage  is  concerned  ;  the  visit  of 
friends,  not  of  Indians,  is  expected,  and  when  they  arrive  all  is  bustle 
and  joy.  The  baby  is  caught  in  the  arms  of  the  matron  of  the  house, 
the  woman  is  helped  to  get  down  from  the  cart,  and  the  boys  jump 
their  own  way.  The  oxen  are  taken  off,  secured  and  fed,  for  no 
farmer  neglects  his  oxen.  All  this  is  but  the  work  of  a  few  minutes. 
Now  comes  the  real  business  of  the  day,  which  is  still  but  a  little 
advanced  from  the  morning.  The  men  go  about  the  work  of  the 
farm,  both  visitor  and  host,  in  order  that  they  may  have  a  good 
appetite  for  dinner,  and  that  the  improvements  of  the  farm  may  be 
seen  and  talked  over,  the  children  run  to  their  play,  and  the  women 
to  making  the  preparations  for  dinner.  The  fowls  are  caught  and 
dressed  in  nearly  as  short  a  time  as  it  takes  us  to  tell  of  the  operation, 
some  of  the  girls  are  sent  to  hunt  the  hens'  eggs,  and  to  make  the 
custard  and  pudding.  The  old  cider  is  put  on  tap,  and  perhaps 
the  men  allow  themselves  a  drop  of  something  a  little  stronger. 

Now  comes  the  dilemma,  what  is  to  be  done  for  a  table ;  the  little 
pine  table  in  the  corner  of  the  room  can  never  be  made  big  enough 
for  a  "social  board "  to  hold  all  the  company;  but  women  have 
quick  invention  :  Bill  and  Tom  are  sent  in  haste  to  take  down  the 
barn  door;  in  it  comes  and  the  little  pine  table  is  put  under  one  end, 
and  something  else  under  the  other.  The  old  family  chest  is  turned 
upside  down,  and  the  substantial  domestic-made  linen   tablecloths 


828  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

are  brought  out  from  their  depository.  These  were  spun  and  woven 
by  the  matron's  own  hands  before  she  left  Cape  Cod  when  she  was 
a  girl,  and  are  of  a  lily  whiteness,  and  of  the  most  approved  figure 
and  pattern  of  diamond  and  huckabuck.  The  honor  of  eating  from 
them  is  never  awarded  to  the  family,  except  when  they  have  company. 
They  were  her  wedding  tablecloths,  and  consequently  much  prized. 
The  barn  door  is  quickly  covered  with  the  cloth,  and  there  is  a  social 
board  of  which  no  woman  need  be  ashamed.  The  table  is  made 
literally  to  groan  under  the  weight  of  substantial  and  delicacies 
prepared  for  the  dinner.  These  delicacies  are  not  of  foreign  pro- 
duction, as  the  settlers  can  have  but  few  things  other  than  the 
produce  of  the  forest,  field  and  brook,  immediately  around  them. 

When  dinner  is  ready  all  the  chairs  from  the  cart  are  removed, 
and  all  the  seats  in  the  house  are  called  into  requisition.  The  horn 
is  blown,  and  the  men  and  boys  come  from  the  clearing  with  wills  to 
do  ample  justice  to  the  fixings  prepared  by  their  wives  and  mothers. 
Dinner  commences,  and  it  soon  appears  evident  that  "  A  dinner  of 
herbs  where  love  is,  is  better  than  a  stalled  ox  with  hatred,"  for  all 
is  joy  and  contentment ;  all  the  labor  is  performed  that  is  intended  for 
that  day,  there  is  no  hurry,  all  take  their  time  and  enjoy  themselves. 

When  the  meal  is  over,  and  a  little  time  spent  in  talk,  the  afternoon 
is  on  the  wane,  and  the  careful  father  and  prudent  mother  think  it 
about  time  to  be  moving;  he  has  his  work  to  attend  to  and  his  chores 
to  do;  she  has  the  cows  to  milk,  and  milk  to  strain.  So  the  oxen 
are  again  put  to  the  "  carriage,"  the  passengers  stowed,  the  driver 
takes  his  place,  and  in  due  time  the  happy  and  contented  party 
arrive  at  their  forest  home,  and  for  a  month  talk  of  nothing  but  the 
pleasures  of  this  visit. 

Wolves  and  other  predatory  beasts  were  for  many  years  numerous 
and  troublesome.  At  the  time  of  Almery  Hamblen's  birth  in  1775 
wolves  abounded  in  the  woods  in  great  numbers,  and  it  is  said  that 
they  chased  the  attending  physician  and  the  man  who  went  for  him, 
so  that  they  had  to  run  their  horses  to  the  house  at  their  utmost 
speed  to  escape  being  overtaken  by  them.  The  event  occurred,  we 
suppose,  in  the  night.  About  this  time  a  bounty  was  paid  of  forty 
shillings  on  every  wolf  killed.  The  State  refunded  to  the  towns 
what  they  paid  for  the  destruction  of  wolves  on  the  presentation  of  a 
certificate,  of  one  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy  : 

Mr.  Treasurer 

THIS  may  certify  that  there  has  been  paid  out  of  the  Town  Stock  of 

Gorliani  for  three  Grown  Wolves,  and '-  Wolves  Whelps,  kill'd  in 


EARLY    SOCIETY.  329 

and  near  this  Town,  and  within  this  Province,  since  the  first  Day  of 
December  last  past,  and  the  Heads  thereof  brought  unto  our  Constable 
or  Constables,  and  the  Ears  thereof  cut  off  in  the  Presence  of  some 
of  our  Selves,  as  the  Law  directs,  and  so  certified  unto  us,  in  the 
whole  the  Sum  of  Six  Pounds ;  which  Sum  we  desire  you  to  allow  to 
our  Town,  by  paying  the  same  unto  Mr.  Caleb  Chase  our  Town 
Treasurer.  Dated  in  Gorham  aforesaid,  the  third  Day  oi  January 
Anno  Dom.  177./. 

\  Select  Men 

Town  Treasurer 
or  Town  Clerk. 


Sam"  Whitmore 
James  Gilkev 

Caleb  Chase       )■ 


This  certificate  was  duly  attested  by  the  Constable,  Cary  McLellan. 
As  late  as  18 15  a  bounty  of  twenty  dollars  was  voted  on  the  heads  of 
wolves  killed  in  town  the  current  year.  There  was  also  a  bounty 
of  one  dollar  on  foxes  as  late  as  181 1.  Bears  occasioned  much  loss  to 
the  settlers  by  carrying  off  their  pigs  and  calves.  An  amusing  little 
story  is  told  of  a  man  then  living  in  the  north  part  of  the  town,  who 
was  greatly  annoyed  by  the  depredations  of  one  of  these  animals,  and 
resolved  to  lie  in  wait  for  him.  When  the  bear  appeared,  and  rose 
on  his  hind  legs  to  take  a  good  look  at  things  and  plan  his  campaign, 
Mr.  R.  raised  his  gun  and  took  a  careful  aim,  but  before  pulling  the 
trigger  sang  out  "  Take  care  there !"  Bruin  taking  the  hint,  dropped 
and  vanished.  When  asked  why  he  shouted  at  the  bear,  he  said  he 
"  thought  it  no  more  than  fair  to  give  the  critter  a  chance."  It  was 
rare  that  Bruin  met  with  so  considerate  a  foe. 

Comfort  had  much  more  to  do  with  the  dress  of  our  ancestors  than 
did  fashion.  Each  woman  was  skilled  in  the  art  of  carding,  spinning 
and  weaving,  and  her  household  were  clothed  in  good,  solid,  sub- 
stantia], home-spun  cloth,  spun  and  woven  by  her  own  hands.  One 
of  the  entertainments  of  the  day  was  a  "  wool  breaking,"  or  carding 
bee,  where  the  women  would  meet  with  their  wool-cards  at  the  house 
of  one  of  their  number,  and  break,  or  card  her  wool  for  her,  ready 
for  the  spinning-wheel.  This  was  hard  work,  but  the  opportunity 
thus  given  for  talking  over  the  news,  besides  doing  a  neighborly 
kindness,  paid  for  it  all.  Each  family  gladly  helped  the  others. 
No  service  was  beneath  the  dignity  of  any  when  friends  and 
neighbors  required  aid.  There  were  also  spinning-bees,  when  all 
the  spinners,  married  and  single,  would  assemble  with  their  wheels, 
which  made  merry  music  while  their  practiced  hands  drew  out  the 
threads  of  wool  or  linen.      Five  skeins  of  seven  knot  yarn  was  a  fair 


330  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

day's  work  for  each.  Flax  was  raised  in  considerable  quantities,  and 
spun  upon  the  "little  "  or  iiax  wheel.  Many  beautiful  specimens  of 
snowy  hand-made  linen  are  still  treasured  in  town,  the  work  of  a 
hundred  years  ago.  The  dye-pot  played  an  important  part  in  each 
household.  Much  of  the  cloth  for  wearing  apparel  was  of  indigo- 
blue,  striped  or  checked  with  white  threads. 

For  many  years  a  clock  was  too  precious  a  luxury  to  be  brought 
into  the  wilderness.  Nor  was  there  need  of  one.  The  goodman  and 
his  wife  could  regulate  their  daily  work  to  a  nicety  by  a  glance  at  the 
sun,  or  by  the  noon-mark  on  the  door  sill,  or  window  ledge. 

The  holidays  and  amusements  of  our  forefathers  were  not  very 
numerous.  Fast  Day  was  observed  as  sacredly  as  the  Sabbath.  All 
secular  employments  and  sports  were  laid  aside,  and  all  attended 
service,  where  they  usually  heard  a  long  discourse  on  the  degeneracy 
of  the  times.  The  annual  Thanksgiving  was  kept  with  thankful 
hearts.  All  went  to  meeting,  save  those  who  were  detained  at  home 
by  age  or  sickness,  or  the  necessary  preparations  for  the  dinner. 
After  dinner  the  young  folks  spent  the  day  in  the  sports  of  the  times, 
and  at  dusk  the  family  gathered  around  the  hearth  with  nuts, 
apples  and  cider,  for  a  general  good  time.  Corn-huskings,  quilt- 
ings,  apple-bees,  the  general  muster,  and  the  raising  of  buildings 
were  occasions  of  festivity.  It  was  the  custom  at  a  raising  to  break 
a  bottle  of  spirit  on  the  ridgepole,  and  to  repeat  some  rhymes,  naming 
the  frame  as  it  was  called.  When  in  1839  Jacob  H.  Clement  of 
West  Gorham  raised  a  stable,  John  Phinney,  an  old  revolutionary 
soldier  who  was  present,  repeated  the  following  lines  which  he  said 
were  used  in  naming  the  frames  of  Capt.  John  Stephenson's  house 
and  barn  which  were  raised  about  1775  : 

For  the  house  frame. 
"  Cursed  is  the  tory's  heart, 

Which  from  the  Congress  laws  depart. 
If  the  laws  they  do  not  fear 

I  hope  they  will  not  prosper  here, 
And  if  the  laws  they  do  obey 

I  hope  they  will  prosper  in  corn  and  hay." 
For  the  frame  of  the  bam. 
"  May  flames'  nation  seize 

AH  them  that  doth  displease 
The  name  of  the  other  frame." 

At  all  these  gatherings  rum,  grog  and  flip  circulated  freely.  The 
day  or  evening  closed  with  a  liberal  supper  and  a  merry  dance. 

The  Sabbath  was  strictly  a  religious  day,  and  its  privileges  were 
dearly  prized.  No  one  was  excused  from  attending  meeting,  except 
for  the  best  and  most  valid  of   reasons.     The   meeting  house  was 


EARLY    SOCIETY.  331 

without  fire,  and  would  seem  to  us  a  bleak,  cheerless  place.     A  fore- 
noon   and    afternoon   service   each   Sabbath   with    long    prayers    and 
longer  sermons  was  the  rule.      A  prayer  of  an   hour  and   a  quarter, 
and  a  sermon  of  two  hours  in  length  were  not  unusual.     About  the 
close  of  the  last  century  footstoves  came  into  vogue.     These  were  tin 
boxes,  some   nine  or  ten   inches  square,   perforated  with   holes,  and 
contained  an  iron  pan,  which  when  the   stove  was  in  use  was  filled 
with  good,   live,   hard-wood  coals  from   the   hearth.     These   stoves, 
enclosed  in  an  open  frame  of  wood,  were  carried  by  a  bail,  and  it  was 
the  custom  for  the  small  boys  to  carry  them  to  church  each  Sabbath 
for  their  mothers  and  sisters.      When   placed  beneath  the  feet  they 
afforded  a  grateful  warmth  to  the  chilled  worshipper.     The  present 
Congregational  church  at  the  village  was  once  set  on  fire  and   nar- 
rowly escaped  destruction   through  the  overturning  of  one  of  these 
stoves.     Wood  stoves  were  not  placed  in  the  meeting  house  till  1822, 
and  many  and  strong  complaints  were  made  at  the  time  on  account 
of  the  discomfort  caused  by  the  heat  given  out  by  them.     Tithing 
men  were  appointed  whose  duty  it  was  to  enforce  the  laws  against 
travelling  on  the  Sabbath,  and  also  to  see  that  order  was  preserved 
in  the  Lord's  house.     These  men  were  provided  with  suitable  staves 
or   poles   at  the  expense  of  the  town,  and  with  these  they  rapped 
smartly  on   the  head  the  offender  caught  nodding,  or  playing  in  the 
meeting  house.     The  following  are  among  those  who  served  as  tith- 
ing men  :  —  James  McLellan,  Benjamin  Morton,  Thomas   Irish,  Gary 
McLellan,    Richard    Lombard,    Samuel    Murch,   James    Irish,    John 
Perkins,  Nathaniel  Freeman,  Isaac  Plummer,  Nathaniel  Phinney  and 
James  Chadbourn.      Misdemeanors  in  church,  as  well  as  some  other 
offences,   were  sometimes  punished  by  confinement   in   the  stocks. 
These  stood  on  the  green,  south  of  the  church.     They  consisted  of 
two  thick,  oaken  planks  set  on  edge,  one  above  the  other,  between  two 
posts,  which  in  turn  were  set  in  foot-pieces  and   firmly  braced.     The 
upper  timber  could  be  raised  or  lowered.     In  the  upper  edge  of  one 
and  the  lower  edge  of  the  other,  half-circles  were  cut,  which  formed 
when  brought  together  round  holes  of  the  size  to  hold  a  man's  leg 
just  above  the  ankle.     The  unfortunate  offender  was   made   to   sit 
down  on   the  ground,  and  place  his  legs  in   the  lower  notches,  the 
upper  plank  was  then  let  down  upon  them,  and  locked  fast  by  the  con- 
stable, and  he  was  left  to  meditate  on  his  misdeeds,  or  to  be  jeered 
at  by  the   mocking  crowd  around  him.     This  punishment  fell   into 
disuse  after  some  years,  and  the  stocks  were  thrown  aside  on  the  lot 
across  the  street.     It  is  said  that  the  last  use  that  was  ever  made  of 


332  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

them  was  when  some  graceless  boys  met  a  farmer  who  had  come  to 
market,  and  was  rather  the  worse  for  liquor.  Seeing  a  chance  for 
sport  they  pounced  upon  him,  and  dragging  out  the  old  stocks,  fast- 
ened him  into  them,  of  course  to  his  great  rage  and  mortification 
when  he  became  sober.  The  next  morning  he  reappeared  in  the 
village  with  a  yoke  of  oxen,  and  a  chain  which  he  fastened  to 
the  stocks,  and  hauled  them  off,  and  that  was  the  last  that  was  seen 
of  them. 

Profanity  was  punishable  by  the  laws  of  the  Commonwealth  with 
fine  or  imprisonment.     There  lie  before  me  two  writs  issued  for  this 

offence.     On   Sept.    lo,   1789  B was  convicted,  before  Judge 

Thacher,  of  uttering  "one  prophane  oath,"  and  was  sentenced  to  pay 
a  fine  of  four  shillings.  This  he  refused  to  do,  and  was  accordingly 
committed  to  jail  for  five  days,  and  ordered  to  pay  one  shillmg  for 
the  writ  and  constable's  fees.  Mr.  B.  does  not  seem  to  have  laid 
this  lesson  well  to  heart,  for  he  is  again  "convicted  on  his  own  con- 
fession of  having  been  guilty  of  uttering  one  prophane  oath  on  the 
8th  day  of  Nov.  179 1,  and  is  adjudged  to  pay  a  fine  of  12  shillings  — 
this  being  the  3^^  time  he  has  been  convicted  of  prophane  swaring 
—  and  3*  &  4^  costs."  Again  refusing  to  pay  he  was  sent  to  jail  for  ten 
days,  with  1/4  to  pay  for  writ  and  constable's  fees.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  by  this  time  he  saw  the  error  of  his  ways,  and  amended  them. 

Funerals  were  occasions  for  neighborhood  gatherings.  The  ser- 
vices were  simple,  but  not  always  short.  On  one  such  occasion,  Rev. 
Mr.  Rand  prayed  with  great  fervor  for  one  hour  and  thirty  minutes.  It 
was  long  the  custom  to  place  a  liberal  amount  of  tansy  upon  and 
around  the  coffin,  with  the  view  of  warding  off  any  danger  of  infec- 
tion or  injury  that  might  arise  from  the  presence  of  the  corpse. 
Until  the  time  of  the  temperance  reform,  liquors  were  freely  provided 
at  funerals,  and  minister,  mourners,  and  all  present  were  expected 
to  partake.  This  incident  is  related  of  a  funeral  that  took  place  on 
the  Flaggy  Meadow  road.  The  day  being  very  warm  and  the  road 
to  the  old  cemetery  long,  the  bearers  when  the  procession  reached 
the  village  set  down  the  bier  and  its  burden  before  one  of  the  stores, 
and  proceeded  to  refresh  themselves  with  a  glass  of  grog,  the  mourn- 
ers, meanwhile,  decorously  waiting.  It  was  the  custom  to  have  two 
sets  of  bearers  ;  the  one,  near  the  age  and  station  of  the  deceased ; 
these  walked  beside  the  body  ;  the  other,  who  were  generally  young 
and  strong,  carried  the  coffin  on  a  bier  covered  with  a  heavy,  black- 
cloth  pall.  The  first  hearse  that  was  used  in  town  is  within  the 
memory  of  some  of  us.      At  each  corner  of  this  vehicle  rose  a  slender 


KAKLV    SOCIETY.  333 

post.  Between  the.se,  placed  high  above  the  wheels,  was  an  open 
platform.     On  this  the  coffin  rested,  and  was  covered  by  the  pall. 

There    was    not    lacking   a   tinge   of    superstition    in    those    days. 
Several  persons  in  town  were  reputed,   and  firmly  believed,   to   be 

witches.     Mrs.   H ,  who  lived  in  the  south  part  of  the  town, 

bewitched  the  cows,  and  spoiled  the  butter.  Through  her  influence, 
the  warp  and  the  woof  in  the  loom  of  her  neighbor  snarled  and 
tangled,  and  the  work  of  the  weaver  was  well  nigh  ruined.  When, 
however,  Mrs.  H.  made  her  appearance,  and  got  into  the  loom 
and  put  her  hand  on  the  shuttle,  every  thread  untangled  and  straight- 
ened out  at  once  and  the  work  went  on  as  usual.  In  another  part  of 
the  town  lived  a  worthy  woman,  also  esteemed  to  be  a  witch.  The 
playmates  of  her  children  feared  to  eat  the  hot  biscuit  and  butter  she 
offered  them,  lest  they  should  be  bewitched  by  her.  Another  woman 
was  said  to  be  able  to  turn  herself  into  a  black  cat,  and  in  proof  of 
this  it  is  related  that  one  night  when  a  black  cat  was  prowling  about 
the  house  of  a  neighbor,  something  was  thrown  at  it  which  hurt  its 
head.  The  next  day  the  woman  appeared  with  a  handkerchief 
bound  about  her  forehead,  and  in  answer  to  inquiries  explained  that 
she  had  hurt  her  head.     What  further  proof  could  be  needed  that  she 

and  the  cat  were  identical  ?     Mrs.  S ,  who  lived  not  far  from 

the  Buxton  line,  was  not  blessed  with  so  smooth,  handsome  and 
pleasant  a  face  as  some  ladies  have,  and  perhaps  was  not  so  highly 
polished  in  her  manners.  She  somehow  acquired  the  reputation  of  a 
witch,  and  curious  stories  were  told  of  her  witch  doings,  one  of  which 
we  will  relate.  One  of  her  neighbors,  on  his  way  home  from  the 
village  by  a  cross-cut  through  the  woods,  met  her  near  a  miry  place 
in  the  track.  Suddenly  meeting  a  person  in  such  a  place,  probably 
startled  the  horse  a  little,  and  at  the  same  time  he  stepped  into  the 
deep  mud  and  fell  down,  throwing  his  rider  some  distance  into 
the  mire.  Mrs.  S.,  in  a  kind  manner,  dragged  the  man  out,  and 
laid  him  up  to  dry.  The  horse,  after  floundering  in  the  mud  awhile, 
got  out  and  ran  home,  and  his  rider  went  to  sleep  in  his  comfortable 
place,  where  he  was  found  some  time  after  by  his  friends.  When 
found  and  asked  how  he  came  to  be  in  such  a  plight,  he  said  that  old 
Mrs.  S.  had  bewitched  him ;  that  she  rose  right  up  out  of  that 
mild  hole,  took  him  and  his  horse,  and  poked  them  into  the  mud  and 
then  vanished;  that  he  got  out  somehow,  he  did  not  exactly  know 
how:  but  he  thought  the  devil  had  been  trying  to  carry  him  off.  He 
said  he  had  had  an  awful  fright,  and  he  was  glad  they  had  come,  and 
he   wanted  his  friends   to  keep   Mrs.    S.   and   the  devil   off  of  him 


334  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

till  he  could  get  home  and  read  his  Bible.  And  all  this  the  old  man 
firmly  believed  to  be  true,  but  people  believed  that  the  spirits  he 
found  at  the  village  had  more  to  do  in  the  affair  than  any  witch 
spirits  that  Mrs.  S.  could  conjure  up. 

There  was  a  spirit  of  remarkable  thrift  prevalent  in  most  of  the 
early  New  England  towns.  Especially  were  they  careful  as  to 
the  character  and  standing  of  any  who  proposed  to  come  and  settle 
within  their  limits.  If  it  was  rumored  that  a  new  party  was  coming, 
great  pains  were  taken  to  find  out  some  few  things  about  the  man's 
moral  character,  and  all  things  about  his  financial  status.  If  he 
bought  real  estate  and  paid  for  it  or  if  it  was  learned  that  the  incom- 
ing man  was  a  person  of  property,  well  and  good ;  but  if  he  could 
show  no  property,  he  must  be  a  man  of  rare  moral  virtues  to  be 
acceptable  to  the  town  as  a  resident.  The  fear  was  that  such  an  one 
would  become  a  load  upon  the  charity  of  the  municipality,  and 
increase  the  pauper  bills.  When  it  was  thought  that  there  was  risk 
that  one  might  become  a  town  charge  if  he  came  to  the  town  to  live, 
he  was  respectfully  warned  by  the  town  authorities  not  to  come  any 
nearer,  or  if  he  had  already  come,  he  was  warned  to  leave.  Such  warn- 
ing relieved  the  town  of  all  liability  for  support,  in  case  he  proved  unable 
to  take  care  of  himself.  Here  is  a  sample  of  one  of  these  warnings : 
,  ^ — ^ — -  I  Cumberland  ss.  To  the  Constable  of  the  Town  of  Gorham 
i  .^.^.^^  )     in  s'^  County,  Greeting. 

You  are  in  the  name  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts 
directed  to  Warn,  And  give  notice  unto  Kezia  Whitney  —  Elizabeth 
Parker,  the  Wife  of  John  Parker  Deceas^  and  her  Family  —  together 
with  her  Mother,  the  Widow  Warren,  —  John  Poland  &  Family — 
William  Holmes — Joseph  Wakefield  &  Family  —  Joseph  Young, 
Jun'' — Charles  Caveno  &  Family  —  Gideon  Snow  —  Joshua  Swett 
—  Turff  Thomas — Mary  Goodwin  —  Reuben  Libby  —  &  James 
Brackett,  Who  have  lately  come  into  this  Town,  for  the  purpose  of 
abiding  therein,  not  having  obtained  the  Town's  Consent  therefor; 
That  they   depart   the   limits   thereof  with  their  Children  &   others 

under  their  Care,  (if  such  they  have)  within  fifteen  Days. And 

of  this  Precept  with  your  doings  thereon  you  are  to  make  return  into 
the  office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  Town,  within  Twenty  Days  next  coming, 
that  such  further  proceedings  may  be  had  in  the  premises  as  the  Law 

directs Given  under  our  hands  &  seals  at  Gorham  aforesaid  this 

Thirteenth  Day  of  May,  A.  D.  1791. 

Stephen  Longfellow    ^      Selectmen 
Samuel  Elder  >-  of 

James  Phinney  )        Gorham. 


EARLY    SOCIETY.  335 

Cumberland  ss —  Pursuant  to  the  within  Warrant. 

I  have  Comply'^  with  the  within  Warrant,  and  Notified  &  warned 
all  the  within  named  persons,  to  depart  this  Town,  Except  the  Widow 
Warren  &  she  is  in  Scarborough.  —  Gorham,  June  2'^^.  1791. 

Cary  McLellan,  Constable. 

The  mechanic  arts  or  trades  were  transmitted  from  generation  to 
generation  by  an  older  man,  or  one  well  versed  in  all  the  mysteries 
of  the  craft,  teaching  the  art  to  a  younger  one  till  he  became  an 
accomplished  workman.  Generally  the  lad  was  apprenticed  for  a 
certain  term  of  years.  By  the  terms  of  the  indenture  the  master 
agreed  to  teach  and  the  lad  agreed  to  learn  all  the  various  processes 
of  the  art  or  business.  Among  other  trades  and  lines  of  business  in 
which  boys  were  apprenticed,  was  that  of  agriculture,  as  the  following 
indenture  in  my  possession  will  show  : 

THIS  INDENTURE  WITNESSETH  THAT  David  McDugle  of 
Gorham,  in  the  County  of  Cumberland  And  State  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Bay  hath  put  himself  And  by  these  presents  doth  Voluntarily  & 
of  his  own  free  will  &  accord  and  with  the  Consent  of  his  mother 
Put  and  bind  himself  Apprentice  to  Cary  McLellan  of  Gorham  afore- 
said Gentleman  &  Eunice  his  Wife,  to  learn  the  Art,  Trade  or 
Mistery  of  Husbandry  And  with  him,  the  said  Cary  &  Eunice  his 
wife,  after  the  manner  of  an  Apprentice  to  Serve  from  the  day  of  the 
date  hereof  for  &  during  the  Term  of  Five  years,  four  months  & 

eight  Days  to  be  Completed  &  ended 

During  all  which  term  the  said  Apprentice  his  said  Master  &  Mis- 
tress Faithfully  shall  serve,  their  Secrets  keep,  their  Lawful  Commands 
gladly  every  where  obey.  He  shall  do  no  damage  to  his  said  master 
or  mistress,  nor  see  it  to  be  done  of  others  without  letting  or  giving 
Notice  thereof  to  his  said  Master  or  Mistress.  lie  shall  not  waste 
his  said  Master's  Goods,  nor  lend  them  Unlawfully  to  any.  He 
shall  not  commit  Fornication,  nor  contract  Matrimony  within  the 
said  term.  At  Cards,  Dice,  or  any  other  Unlawful  game  he  shall 
not  play  whereby  his  said  master  or  mistress  may  have  Damage  with 
their  own  goods  or  the  goods  of  others.  He  shall  not  Absent  himself 
by  Day  or  by  Night  from  his  said  master  or,  mistress's  Service  with- 
out their  leave,  nor  haunt  Ale  houses,  Taverns  or  Play  houses  but  in 
all  things  behave  himself  as  a  faithful  Apprentice  Ought  to  do 
towards  his  said  Master  &  mistress  During  the  said  term  of  five  years, 
four  months  And  eight  days  to  be  Completed  &  ended 
And  the  said  CARY  McLELLAN  &  EUNICE  his  Wife  for  them- 
selves Do  hereby  Covenant  &  promise  to  teach  &  instruct  the  said 


336  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Apprentice  or  Cause  him  to  be  taught  &  instructed  to  Read,  to  Write, 
&  to  C3'pher  as  far  as  the  Rule  of  Three  (if  said  Apprentice  be 
Capable  to  learn).  And  to  find  the  said  Apprentice  sufficient 
Cloaths,  meat  &  drink,  washing  and  Lodging  in  Sickness  &  Health 
for  &  during  the  said  term.  And  at  the  Expiration  of  said  Term  to 
give  unto  the  said  Apprentice  two  suits  of  Apparel ;  One  fitting  for 
working  days;  And  the  other  fitting  for  Sabbath  days.  And  also  a 
Cow.     And  a  yoke  of  Steers,  which  shall  then  be  Coming  in  four 

years  old.- IN  TESTIMONY  WHEREOF  the  parties  to  these 

presents  have  hereunto  interchangeably  set  their  hands  &  Seals  the 
Seventh  Day  of  July  ADomini  One  thousand  Seven  hundred  &  Sev- 
enty nine 

Signal  Seald  &  Deliver^'   "^       Cary  McLellan 
in  presence  of  us     !       David  McDugel 
Tho^  Kinaid  f 

Betty  Kneeland  j 

In  the  valuation  of  the  town  of  Corham  for  the  year  1780,  it 
appears  there  were  three  hundred  and  fifty-five  taxable  polls,  and 
twenty-seven  not  taxable,  which  would  make  the  male  population 
over  sixteen  years  of  age  something  near  three  hundred  and  eighty- 
two,  and  allowing  the  females  of  equal  age  to  be  equal  in  numbers, 
we  have  seven  hundred  and  sixty-four  for  the  population  over  sixteen 
years  of  age.  Add  to  the  above,  fifty  per  cent,  for  the  number  of 
those  below  sixteen,  which  is  about  the  usual  ratio,  and  we  have 
eleven  hundred  and  forty-six  as  the  population  of  the  town  in  1780. 

This  year  there  was  returned  by  the  assessors  of  the  town  one 
hundred  and  fifty- seven  houses  valued  at  from  two  dollars  to  two  hun- 
dred dollars.  The  house  of  Hugh  McLellan  was  valued  at  two 
hundred  dollars  ;  the  same  house  is  now  standing,  the  brick  house 
above  the  Academv  toward  Fort  Hill.  The  house  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Ross,  afterwards  occupied  by  Col.  Tyng,  and  which  was  destroyed 
by  fire  in  1807,  was  also  valued  at  two  hundred  dollars;  Capt.  John 
Stephenson's,  lately  standing,  above  West  Gorham,  at  one  hundred, 
and  William  McLellan's,  one  hundred  and  thirty  dollars.  There 
were  also  one  hundred  and  thirty  barns,  valued  at  from  three  to  fifty 
dollars.  Stephen  Longfellow  appears  to  have  had  the  best ;  his  is 
put  at  fifty  dollars:  the  next  are  those  belonging  to  Hugh  and 
William  McLellan,  these  are  put  at  thirty-five  dollars  each. 

It  appears  that  our  ancestors  t^hought  well  of  good  drink,  for  we 
find  they  manufactured  two  barrels  of  cider  to  each  ton  of  hay  cut  on 
their  farms.      It  stands  thus  on  the  valuation  ;  "  Tons  of  hay  cut, 


SOME    FACTS    FOR    THE    YEAR    1780. 


SSI 


r, 

c   2 
c  - 


c  f. 


g'^. 


338  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

1,103; — Barrels  of  cider  made,  2,225,"  —  two  barrels  of  cider  to 
each  person,  young  and  old,  in  the  town. 

The  usual  production  of  grain,  of  all  kinds,  in  the  town  was  about 
eleven  thousand,  three  hundred  and  seventy-one  bushels  yearly  ;  and 
there  was  on  hand  when  this  valuation  was  taken  about  one  thousand 
bushels.  This  was  in  June,  from  which  it  appears  that  with  a  mod- 
erate chance  for  a  good  harvest  there  was  no  great  danger  of  a 
famine,  particularly  as,  from  the  usual  manner  in  which  valuations 
are  given  in  to  the  assessors,  we  may  suppose  this  was  no  over 
estimate. 

The  live  stock  on  hand  amounted  to  one  hundred  and  fifty-five 
horses  over  two  years  old,  two  hundred  and  fifty-one  oxen,  five  hun- 
dred and  ninety-five  cows,  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  swine  over 
six  months  old,  and  twelve  hundred  and  fourteen  sheep  over  one 
year  old.  About  one  hundred  and  seventy-three  families  kept  swine, 
each  family  owning  from  one  to  six.  Cows  were  kept  by  two  hundred 
and  thirteen  persons  ;  the  greatest  number  kept  by  any  one  was  by 
William  McLellan,  fifteen.  Simon  Huston  kept  twelve ;  Hugh 
McLellan,  nine  ;  George  Thomes,  eight ;  Stephen  Longfellow  and 
Robert  McPonald,  seven  each.  It  does  not  appear  that  sheep  were 
kept  in  large  flocks  in  Gorham  :  there  were  only  four  flocks  of  thirty 
and  upwards;  Simon  Huston  had  fifty,  and  Ebenezer  Hall,  Hugh 
McLellan  and  Jedediah  Cobb  had  thirty  each.  The  balance  was  in 
small  flocks,  —  nearly  all  owning  a  few  —  from  four  to  twenty-five. 

Such  a  thing  as  a  chaise  or  pleasure  carriage  was  hardly  known  in 
the  country  at  this  time.  In  the  valuation  book  there  is  no  column 
for  the  value  of  chaises,  but  they  were  taxable  by  law  :  the  bushels 
of  grain  on  hand  and  the  value  of  chaises  were  entered  in  the  same 
column,  and  against  the  name  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Ross,  or  as  she  was 
at  the  time  more  commonly  called,  Madam  Ross,  there  is  the  entry 
ninety-nine  in  figures,  with  no  explanation,  and  as  that  is  more  than 
double  the  number  that  was  returned  by  any  person  in  town  of 
bushels  of  grain  on  hand,  the  probability  is  that  this  was  for  a  chaise, 
and  if  this  is  so,  it  is  the  first  one  in  town  of  which  we  have  any 
account. 

In  the  following  list  of  the  population  of  Gorham,  the  number  of 
inhabitants  corresponding  with  the  first  four  dates  are  estimated,  as 
may  be  found  expressed  more  fully  elsewhere  : 


SOME    FACTS    FOR    THE    VEAR    1780. 


339 


POPULATION    OF    THE    TOWN    OF    GORHAM. 

Gorh 


am  in  1763 

had 

a  population  of  432. 

"  '772 

" 

"  588 

"  1775 

"  852. 

"  1780 

"     "     "  1 1 46. 

"  1790 

"  2244. 

"  1800 

"  2503. 

"  1810 

"  2632. 

"  1820 

"  2800. 

"  1S30 

"  2988. 

"  1840 

"  3002. 

"  1850 

"  3086. 

"  i860 

"  3252- 

"  1870 

"  335'- 

"  1880 

"  3233- 

"  1890 

"  2888. 

"  1900 

"  2540. 

CHAPTER    XX. 

CIVIL    WAR    OF    1861-65,   AND    THE    SOLDIERS'    MONUMENT. 

The  bombardment  of  Sumter,  Apr.  12,  1861,  found  the  State  of 
Maine  as  totally  unprepared  to  furnish  troops  to  aid  in  crushing  the 
Rebellion  as  can  well  be  imagined.  The  militia  of  the  State  com- 
prised an  enrolled  but  unarmed  force  of  about  sixty  thousand  men, 
of  whom  only  about  twelve  hundred  were  in  any  condition  for  use  in 
an  emergency  arising  within  the  limits  of  the  State ;  and  their  uni- 
forms, equipments  and  camp  equipage  were  totally  unfit  for  use  in 
the  field. 

April  15th,  President  Lincoln  called  upon  Maine  to  furnish  one 
regiment  of  infantry,  for  a  three  months'  service.  Our  State  Legis- 
lature, however,  called  together  at  an  extra  session,  realized  that  if 
the  war  should  last  longer  than  at  first  anticipated,  the  Government 
would  labor  under  a  great  disadvantage  in  having  only  three  months 
men  under  arms,  and  resolved  to  furnish,  as  soon  as  it  possibly 
could,  ten  regiments,  fully  armed  and  equipped,  and  enlisted  to  serve 
for  two  years.  To  each  man  thus  enlisting,  was  allowed  a  bounty  of 
two  months  pay,  provided  he  should  be  mustered  into  the  service 
of  the  United  States.  Maine's  "  First  Regiment  "  was  mustered  in 
for  three  months,  but  the  other  regiments  for  three  years. 

At  a  town  meeting,  held  in  Gorham  on  the  29th  of  April,  1861, 
the  following  resolves  were  passed  unanimously  :  — 

"  Resolved,  That  as  citizens  of  Gorham,  in  town  meeting  legally 
assembled,  we  cordially  approve  of  the  action  of  the  Governor  and 
Legislature  of  this  State  in  promptly  responding  to  the  call  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States  for  men  and  means  to  defend 
the  Government  and  honor  of  the  Countr}^ 

"  Resolved,  That  we  will  cheerfully  sustain  our  proportion  of  all 
the  expenses  necessarily  growing  out  of  this  fearful  emergency  in  our 
country's  affairs,  not  as  a  burden  imposed,  but  as  a  willing  sacrifice." 

There  were  six  resolutions  passed,  and  it  was  then 

"  Voted.  That  by  the  power  and  authority  given  by  an  Act  of  the 
Legislature,  passed  at  its  late  extra  session,  the  town  of  Gorham  2vill 
and  does  hereby  raise- the  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars,  for  the  pur- 
poses contemplated  in  the  sixth  section  of  said  Act :  and  that  the 
Hon.  Josiah  Pierce,  Col.  Hugh  D.  McLellan  and  Joseph  W.  Parker, 
with  the  selectmen,  be  a  committee  to  appropriate  the  sum  as  the 


CIVIL    WAR.  341 

exigences  of  the  case  may  require ;  and  that  the  selectmen  be,  and 
hereby  are,  authorized  to  draw  their  orders  on  the  Treasurer  accord- 
ingly." 

At  a  meeting  held  on  the  8th  day  of  May,  the  selectmen  were 
withdrawn  from  this  committee,  and  Freeman  Harding,  Merrill  T. 
Files  and  Thomas  J.  Hasty  were  chosen  members  in  their  places. 
The  duties  of  this  committee  were  to  distribute  support  to  the  famil- 
ies of  the  Gorham  companies  of  Volunteers,  who  were  absent  in  the 
service  of  their  country. 

During  the  war  Gorham  contributed  for  the  aid  of  the  soldiers, 
money,  hospital  stores,  etc.,  to  the  value  of  about  four  thousand,  four 
hundred  dollars. 

Two  companies,  belonging  to  the  Fifth  and  Ninth  regiments,  were 
enlisted  in  Gorham,  and  were  composed  of  men  from  Gorham  and 
other  Maine  towns.  The  first  man  to  enlist  in  Gorham  was  John  C. 
Summersides  ;  Edward  B.  Phinney  and  Theodore  Shackford  being 
the  second  and  third,  respectively.  Co.  A.,  5  th  regiment,  marched 
from  Gorham  in  June,  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Josiah  Heald, 
for  Portland,  where  the  regiment  was  organized  and  mustered  into 
the  service  of  the  United  States  on  the  24th  of  that  month,  leaving 
Portland  for  Washington  on  the  26th.  Col.  Mark  H.  Dunnell 
of  Portland  organized,  and  at  this  time  commanded  the  regiment.  Col. 
Edward  A.  Scamman,  who  commanded  the  Fifth  from  Nov.  i,  1862, 
to  Jan.  8,  1863,  was  a  Gorham  man  by  birth.  Our  townsman  Henry 
R.  Millett,  enlisted  in  Co.  A.  as  a  private.  On  the  organization  of 
the  regiment  he  was  appointed  ist  Sergeant.  July  12,  1861,  he  was 
promoted  to  2d  Lieut.,  and  in  the  following  August  to  Captain,  from 
which  rank  he  rose  to  Major,  and  on  Jan.  8,  1863,  was  commissioned 
Lieut.  Col.  of  the  regiment.  Col.  Millett  served  with  honor  and  dis- 
tinction, as  a  brave  soldier  and  a  good  officer.  He  was  wounded  at 
Rappahannock  Station  in  Nov.,  1863,  and  at  Cold  Harbor  on  the 
4th  of  June,  1864.  John  C.  Summersides,  who  also  enlisted  as  a  pri- 
vate in  the  same  company,  returned  home  with  the  rank  of  Captain. 

This  regiment  saw  much  severe  fighting,  and  its  record  is  one  of 
which  its  former  members  may  justly  feel  proud.  It  was  engaged 
in  the  battles  of  Bull  Run,  Malvern  Hill,  Gaines'  Mill,  Charles  City 
Cross  Roads,  Crampton  Pass,  Antietam,  Fredericksburg,  second 
Fredericksburg,  Gettysburg,  Rappahannock  Station,  the  Battle  of 
the  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania  Court  House  and  Cold  Harbor,  beside 
a  number  of  smaller  fights,  including  West  Point  and  Salem  Hights. 
In  the  fight  at  Rappahannock  Station  four  Rebel  battle  flags  were 


842  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

captured  by  four  members  of  this  regiment ;  Corporal  Theodore 
Shackford  capturing  the  stand  of  colors  belonging  to  the  Fifty- 
fourth  North  Carolina  regiment.  After  three  years  of  service  the 
Fifth  Maine  was  mustered  out  at  Portland  on  the  27th  of  July,  1864. 

Capt.  Colman  Harding  enlisted  a  company  and  Sept.  18,  1861, 
with  his  company,  K,  of  the  Ninth  Regiment,  left  Gorham  for 
Augusta,  where  the  regiment  rendezvoused.  On  its  organization, 
which  took  place  on  the  21st,  Capt.  Harding  was  elected  Lieut.  Col., 
and  Lieut.  Thomas  E.  Wentworth  was  chosen  to  succeed  him  as 
Captain.  The  regiment  moved  from  Augusta  on  the  24th,  and  arrived 
at  Washington  two  days  later.  November  7th  it  was  landed  at  Hilton 
Head,  So.  Carolina,  where  it  took  part  in  the  taking  and  occupying 
of  that  place.  In  July,  1863,  the  regiment  went  up  Folly  river,  under 
fire  from  the  enemy's  batteries,  and  landed  on  Morris  Island,  where 
it  charged  and  carried  the  rifle  pits,  capturing  the  colors  of  the  21st 
S.  Carolina  regiment.  The  Ninth  was  one  of  the  regiments  that 
assaulted  Fort  Wagner  on  the  nth  and  i8th  of  July  and  the  6th  of 
September.  It  was  in  the  assault  of  the  i8th  that  Capt.  Chester  B. 
Shaw,  who  had  succeeded  Capt.  Wentworth  in  the  command  of  K 
company,  was  killed  at  the  head  of  his  men.  After  he  was  wounded 
and  unable  to  do  anything  for  himself,  he  was  heard  urging  his  men 
not  to  wait  for  him,  but  to  go  forward.  This  regiment  was  also 
engaged  with  the  enemy  at  Walthal  Junction,  Drury's  Bluff,  Bermuda 
Hundred,  Cold  Harbor,  Petersburg,  Deep  Bottom,  and  in  the  assavilt 
upon  Fort  Gilmore.  It  was  mustered  out  at  Raleigh,  N.  C,  July  13, 
1865. 

In  1864  Col.  Hugh  D.  McLellan  was  appointed,  by  the  Governor 
and  Council  of  Maine,  one  of  the  Commissioners  to  take  the  soldiers' 
votes  in  the  Presidential  and  State  elections  of  that  year,  and  he  was 
also  instructed  to  visit  such  hospitals  in  the  South  as  he  might  be 
able  to,  with  a  view  to  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  Maine 
soldiers,  and  the  collection  of  information  which  might  result  to  their 
benefit. 

GORHAM    MEN    IN    THE    ARMY, 

First  Maine  Infantry,  mustered  in.  May  3,  1861  ;  mustered  out, 
Aug.  5,  1 86 1. 


Co. 

Co, 

Files,  Wm.  H.  P. 

D. 

Paine,  Chas.  H. 

B. 

Hasty,  William 

" 

Robie,  Lincoln 

" 

Knowlton,  Charles  T. 

C. 

Swett,  George  W. 

A. 

Mosher,  Marshall  M. 

" 

CIVIL    WAR. 


343 


Third  Infantry,  mustered  in,  June  4,  1861  ;  mustered  out,  June  28, 
1864. 


Bradbury,  Charles  H. 
Brown,  John 
Clark,  Henry 
Clark,  John 
Clay,  John 
Cole,  Charles 
Davis,  Charles 
Fadden,  James  L. 
Foster,  Charles  F. 
Grant,  Freeman 
Hannessey,  John 


K,  Sergeant  in  U.  S.  V.  R.  Corps. 
E. 


K. 

K. 
A. 
F. 
H. 


H. 


Harrington,  Martin 
Hughes,  John 
Kane,  Henry 
Meservey,  John 
Niall.  William  T. 
Phillips,  Edward  T. 
Primrose,  John 
Welch,  Martin 


K. 
H. 

F. 
K. 
I. 

H. 
I. 


Fourth  Infantry,  mustered  in,  June  15,  1861  ;  mustered  out,  July  19, 
1864. 

K. 


Dunlevey,  Eugene 
Henderson,  William 
Ricker,  George 


G. 
F. 


Robinson,  Benjamin  F. 
Rooney,  Michael 
Smiley,  James 


E. 


Lt-Colonel. 

A. 
G. 
E. 

Chaplain. 

Quartermaster. 

Captain. 

I  St  Lt,  and  commanding  company 

A. 

1st  Lt. 

" 

2d        " 

" 

Sergt. 

and  acting  2d  Lt. 


Fifth  Infantry,  mustered  in,  June  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out,  July  27, 

1864. 

Henry  R.  Millett 

John  R.  Adams 

John  S    Merrill 

Joi^iah  Heald 

John  C.  Summersides 

Joseph  Wight 

William  Merrill 

Frederick  Speed 

George  D.  Beck 

Richmond  Edwards 

John  L.  Haskell 

Charles  H.  Patrick  "  " 

John  O.  Winship         '  "  " 

Morris  F.  Bumpus  "  Corp. 

Chas.  M  Edwards  "  " 

Edward  S.  Gilman  "  " 

Noah  Ladd  "  " 

Henry  H.  Newell  "  " 

Edward  B.  Phinney  "  " 

George  S.  Reed  "  " 

Theodore  Shackford  "  " 

Chauncey  C.  Shaw  ''  " 

Frank  W.  Smith  "  " 

Augustus  J.  Stackpole  "  " 

Charles  M.  Ward 

William  H.  Boyd  "  Musician. 

David  Smith  "  " 

Daniel  P.  Larry  R^gt-  Band. 

Daniel  M.  Wescott  "  " 

Buck,  Theodore  E.  A. 

Burnell,  James  B.  " 

Cilley,  Oliver  " 

Darling,  George  L.  "  Hamblen,  Arthur  M.  D. 

Duffy,  Peter  "  Harmon,  lames  F.  A. 

Elder,  Alonzo  S. 

Elwell,  Charles  H. 


Farwell,  Walter  H. 
Frink,  Isaac  N. 
Gilbert,  Albert 
Hamblen,  Arthur  M. 
Harmon,  James  F. 
Harmon,  Joseph  D. 
Hall,  Levi 


344  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


Libby,  Cyrus  L. 
Libby,  Tyng  S. 
Lord,  Frank 

A. 
D. 
A. 

Ricker,  Samuel  F. 
Rolfe,  Emery 
Sias,  Horace 

K. 
A. 

Martin,  Marshall 

" 

Smith,  Silas  M. 

" 

Merritt,  Geo.  H. 

" 

Stevens,  John  C. 

C. 

McPhee,  Francis 

" 

Wentworth,  Horatio 

A. 

Plummer,  Robert 

" 

Wescott,  William  F. 

" 

Seventh  Infantry,  mustered  in,  Aug.  21,  1861  ;  mustered  out,  Sept. 

5,  1864. 

Ai  Waterhouse  Ass't  Surgeon. 

John  H.  Fogg  K.         ist  Lt. 

Lacasse,  Chas.  J.  F. 

Eighth  Infantry,  mustered  in,  Sept.  7,  1861  ;  mustered  out,  Jan.  18, 

1866. 

Thomas  C.  Webber  D.         2d  Lt. 

Brown,  Freeman 

Dean,  Charles  D. 

Ninth  Infantry,  mustered  in,  Sept.  22,  1861  ;  mustered  out,  July  13, 

1865. 

Colman  Harding  Lt. -Colonel. 

Thomas  E.  Wentworth        K.         Captain. 

Chester  B.  Shaw  "  " 

William  H.  Johnson  "  Sergt. 

Frank  B.  Libby 

William  W.  Lowe  "  " 

Albert  Graff  am 

George  W,  Johnson 

William  P.  Sturgis 

Mark  D.  Swett 

Edwin  R.  Smith 

Bell.  William 

Cannell,  Albert 

Cannell,  Heman 

Cannell,  Lot 

Devine,  Alphonso 

Harmon,  Joseph  A. 

Hasty,  Thomas  J. 

O'Brian,  Frank  B. 

Tenth  Infantry,  mustered  in,  Oct.  4,  186 1  ;  mustered  out.  May  8, 

1863. 

Mains,  Solomon  G.  of  Windham  (Gorham  Quota). 

Moulton,  Matthias  I. 

Wheeler,  William  H.  U.      " 

Eleventh  Infantry,  mustered  in,  Nov.  12,  1861  ;  mustered  out,  Feb. 

2,  1866. 

Fitch,  Albert  K.  Williams,  Charles  F. 

Swett,  George  W.  F. 

Twelfth  Infantry,  mustered  in,  Nov.  20,  1861  ;  mustered  out,  Dec. 

7,  1864. 

Joseph  Colby  Chaplain. 

Daniel  M.  Pliillips  H.         Captain. 


E. 
K. 

Corp. 
Musician. 

Pike,  William  Q. 

K. 

Scott,  John 

B. 

K. 

.    Smith.  Edward 
Smith,  James 

14 

C. 

Sturgis,  William  H. 

K. 

K. 

Trip,  Moses  B. 

" 

G. 

Wright,  John  A. 

E. 

345 


Stephen  M.  Eaton 
Horace  Wilson 
James  K.  P.  Wilson 
Mahlon  H.  Parker, 
Daniel  L.  Roberts 
Marshall  C.  Sturgis 
Chapman,  Rufus  G. 
Colby,  Joseph,  Jr. 
Eaton,  Charles  P. 
Lombard,  Blanchard  M. 

Thirteenth  Infantry,  mustered  in,  Dec.  31,   1861  ;  mustered  out, 

Jan.  6,  1865. 

Seth  C.  Gordon  Ass't  Surgeon. 

Frederick  Speed  Adjt.     Prom.  capt.  and  asst.  adjt.  gen.  of  vols. 

John  P.  Bailey  E.         Wagoner. 

Bangs,  Edwin  G.  G.  Libby,  William  F.  F. 

Gilbert,  Lafayette  Plummer,  Robert  E. 


CIVIL 

WAR. 

K. 
L 

ist  Lt, 
2d  Lt. 

Prom.  capt.  in  signal  corj 

I. 
C. 

K. 

Sergt. 
Corp. 

C. 

" 

K. 
B. 

Mayberry,  Randall  F.          G. 
Rice,  Arthur                          K. 

K. 

Smith,  James  A.                   K. 

B. 

Whitney,  Gershom  S.            I. 

Fourteenth  Infantry,  mustered  in,  Dec.  31,  1861 
Jan.  13,  1865. 
Croak,  John  G.  Rich,  Thomas  H. 


mustered  out. 


Fifteenth  Infantry,  mustered  in,  Jan.  20,  1862  ;   mustered  out,  July 
5,  1866. 
Daniel  P.  Rolfe  D.         Sergt. 


Joseph  P.  Martin 
Gibbons,  Patrick 


Corp. 


Sixteenth  Infantry,  mustered  in,  Aug.  14,  1862  ;  mustered  out  June 
4,  1865. 


Joseph  B.  Ba.xter 

Ass't  Surgeon. 

Thomas  E.  Wentworth 

F. 

Captain. 

Oliver  H.  Lowell 

D. 

"         of  Windham  (Gorham 

Quota). 

George  W.  Edwards 

B. 

ist  Lt. 

John  McPhee 

F. 

Sergt. 

William  Cannell 

" 

Corp. 

John  F,  Harding 

" 

" 

Benjamin  F.  Metcalf 

" 

" 

James  S.  Thomas 

G. 

Musician 

Andrews,  Abram  S. 

F. 

Richardson,  Joseph 

F. 

Blair,  Samuel  E. 

" 

Smith,  David 

" 

Green,  William  F. 

" 

Smith,  Francis  L. 

" 

Harding,  George  B. 

" 

Ward,  William  W. 

" 

Johnson,  Albion 

" 

Whitney,  Alonzo  M. 

" 

Paul,  Frank 

Jordan,  Granville  B. 

F. 

Wilson,  James 

Seventeenth  Infantry,  mustered  in,  Aug.  18,  1862  ;  mustered  out, 

June  4,  1865. 

Almon  L.  Fogg 
Cyrus  xM.  Hall 
Benjamin  F.  Bond 
Alpheus  C.  Parkhurst 
Albion  P.  Stiles 


H. 

Captain, 

B. 

Sergt. 

H. 

Corp. 

L 

" 

H. 

" 

346 


HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


I. 

Irish,  Melville 

I. 

K. 

Lowe,  John 

A. 

I. 

McDonald,  James  G. 

" 

Powers,  William 

I. 

K. 

Rand,  Freedom  D. 

H. 

" 

Richardson,  Isaac 

G 

H. 

Roberts,  John  H. 

I. 

Smith,  Silas  M. 

H. 

H. 

Strout,  William  E. 
White,  Charles  M. 

I. 

D. 

Winter,  Charles 

H. 

1862  ;    mustered  out, 


Allen,  Levi  D. 
Brown,  Freeman 
Brown,  James  B. 
Brown,  Joseph  M. 
Fadden,  James  L. 
Foster,  Charles  F. 
Hanson,  William 
Harris,  Charles  S. 
Haskell,  James  E. 
Hicks,  Ephraim 
Hughes,  John 

Nineteenth  Infantr}^  mustered  in,  Aug.  25,  1862  ;  mustered  out, 
May  31,  1865. 
Whalen,  Edwin  A. 

Twentieth  Infantry,  mustered   in,  Aug.   29, 

July  16,  1865. 

Lewis  W.  Pendleton, 
Bacon,  Isaac  E. 
Cannell,  Heman 
Cannell,  Samuel  A. 
Cole,  William  H. 
Dunn,  Alpha  T. 
Dunn,  William  F. 
Gorman,  Thomas 
Harding,  Edwin  S. 
Harding,  Frank  C. 
Harding,  George  B. 
Harding,  Walter 
Hivert,  William  A. 
Libby,  Lewis 
Lombard,  James 

Twenty-Fifth  Infantry,  mustered  in,  Sept.  29,  1862 

July  10,  1863. 

Thomas  W.  Harris 
Asa  C.  Palmer 
George  A.  Hunt 
William  W.  Colley 
Samuel  Dingley 
Ellas  R.  Howard 
Joseph  S.  K.  Swett 
Elisha  Douglass 
Joseph  Files,  Jr. 
Enos  B.  Hale 
Edward  Harding 
Ivory  Phillips 
Carlyle  W.  Shaw 
James  Phinney,  2d, 
Baker,  Andrew 
Billings,  Horatio  S. 
Blake,  Charles  H. 
Bragdon,  William  H. 
Cannell,  Barnabas 
Cannell,  John  J. 
Copp,  John  F. 
Davis,  Daniel  W. 
Douglass,  Edward  K. 


Hospital  Steward. 

Patrick,  Charles  P. 

Patrick,  Henry  C. 

D. 

Robinson,  Otis  S. 

A. 

Rounds,  Robert  B. 
Sanford,  Nathan  J. 
Sears,  James  L. 

F. 

Smith,  Thomas 
Spear,  William 

F. 

Thompson,  Henry 

C 

A. 

Usher,  Sidney  B. 
Webb,  Eli 
Whitney,  Frank  R. 

D. 

Wood,  Warren  H. 

mustered  out, 


F. 
K. 

Captain. 
2d  Lt. 

F. 
K. 

Sergt. 

F. 

" 

F. 

K. 

Sergt. 
Corp. 

F. 

u 

K. 

" 

F. 

" 

K. 

Wagoner. 

Files,  Albion  P. 
Gilman,  John  F. 

K. 

" 

Hale,  Washington 

F. 

F. 

Hanson,  Theodore  H. 
Johnson,  Daniel 

K. 

K. 

Kemp,  Charles  E. 
Libby,  Alphonso  E. 
Libby,  Asa 
Libby,  Stephen  P. 

F. 

K. 
F. 

CIVIL    WAR. 


347 


Marr,  William  W. 
Parker,  John  M.,  Jr. 
Phinney,  Frank 
Spinney,  John  D. 
Twombly,  Wilson  M. 


K.  Tyler,  James  E.  K. 

F.  Wallace,  John  C.  " 

K.  Ward,  Isaac  F. 

"  Warren,  Henry  A.  K. 

F.  Whitney,  Ai  E.  " 

Twenty-Ninth  Infantry,  mustered  in,  Dec.  17,  1863  ;  mustered  out, 

June  21,  1866. 

Sergt.        of  Greene  (Gorham  quota). 
Corp.  "   Lisbon  "  " 

Musician,  "   Peru  "  " 

Wagoner,  "  Greene  "  " 


I. 


Josiah  H.  Mower 
James  P.  Sutherland 
Daniel  D.  Delano 
Henry  vSanborn 
Carter,  Dennis  F. 
Chadbourne,  H.  A.,  Jr 
Day,  Albert  F. 
Day,  George  L. 
Donahue,  Jeremiah 
Dunnell,  William 
Knox,  John  H. 
Lyon,  Hugh 
McMann,  Michael 
Moulton,  Matthias 
Mower,  Albion  P. 
Parmenter,  Orrin 
Pierce,  Edwin  D. 
Robinson,  Levi 
Warren,  James  G. 
Whitman,  Harrison  F. 
Young,  Amos 

Thirtieth  Infantry,  mustered  in,  Jan.  11,  1864;  mustered  out,  Aug. 

20,  1865. 

Sergt. 


C. 

L 

of  Fryeburg  (Gorham  quota), 

K. 

G. 

of  Augusta  (Gorham  quota). 

I. 

"  Greene            "             " 

G. 

"  Garland           "             " 

L 

"   Lewiston         "             " 

F. 

B. 

I. 

"  Greene  (Gorham  quota) 

" 

"   Jackson         "              " 

E. 

"  Saco              "             " 

I. 

"   Lisbon           "              " 

B. 

L 

of  Mexico  (Gorham  quota). 

" 

"  Skowhegan  "             " 

c. 

K. 


of  Waterboro  (Gorham  quota), 
of  Limington  (Gorham  quota). 


Benjamin  F.  Libby 

George  W.  Swett 

Joseph  S.  K.  Swett  "  " 

John  P.  Bailey  B.         Wagoner. 

Buck,  Theodore  E.  I. 

Cram,  Charles  G. 

Gilpatrick,  William 

Hale,  Washington 

Kelley,  William 

Libby.  Stephen  P. 

Libby,  William  F. 

Quigley,  Michael 

Rounds,  William  H. 

Wallace,  John  C. 

Wentworth,  Royal  W 

Wiswell,  Luther,  Jr.  K.  of  Windham  (Gorham  quota). 

Thirty- First  Infantry,  mustered  in,  April,  1864;  mustered  out,  July 

15,  1865. 

F.  Sergt. 
C.  Corp. 
H.  Small,  Benjamin  K. 


B. 
D. 
K. 
I. 
D. 
K. 


Horatio  F.  Smith 
Marshall  Martin 
Elder,  George  A. 
Files,  William  H.  P 


Thirty-Second  Infantry,  mustered  in,  April,  1864;  transferred  to, 
and  consolidated  with  the  Thirty- First  regiment,  Dec.  12,  1864. 
Joseph  Files,  Jr.  C.         Sergt. 


Files,  William  H. 
Martin,  Marshall 


P. 


Smith,  William  H. 


H. 


348 


HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


Joel  Wilson 

F. 

Thomas  C.  Webber 

I. 

Blake,  Horace  P. 

E. 

Brackett,  Hiram  E. 

A. 

Cannell,  John  J. 

F. 

Dresser,  Edward  E. 

E. 

(lilman,  Fairfield  J. 

" 

Johnson,  Albert  H. 

F. 

Kellogg,  Charles  F. 

L. 

Richardson,  Amos 

E. 

Richardson,  William  A. 

" 

Small,  Joseph 

B. 

Warren,  Benjamin 

E. 

Wilson,  Horace 

F. 

First  Maine  Cavalry,  mustered  in,  Oct.  31,  1861  ;  mustered  out, 
Aug.  I,  1865. 

Captain. 

of  Portland  (Gorham  quota). 


of  Denmark  (Gorham  quota) 
"  Parsonsfield      "  " 


of  Greenbush  (Gorham  quota). 

"  Windham  "  " 

"  Denmark  "  " 

Second  Cavalr)^,  mustered  in,  Jan.  12,  1864;  mustered  out,  Dec. 
6,  1865. 

Fred  A.  Fuller 
John  P.  Jordan 
Joseph  W.  Lee 
George  M.  Pattingill 
Thomas  Connelly 
Shirley  Harmon,  Jr. 
Isaac  Mills 
Brown,  Charles 
Hunker,  Burton 
Cloudman,  Edwin  H. 
Dodge,  John 
Eastman,  Frank  H. 
Fisher,  William 
Freeman,  James  E. 
Gilbert,  Emery 
Haskell,  Nathaniel  B. 
Johnson,  Edwin  S. 
Lindsey,  Charles  A. 
Lord,  John  A. 
Morrison,  Ellis 
Murray,  Patrick 
Patten,  Alphonso 
Peacock,  Edward,  Jr. 
Plummer,  Russell  C. 
Reeves,  George  M. 
Small,  Francis  H. 

First  Maine  Heavy  Artillery,  mustered  in,  Aug.  21,  1862  ;  mustered 
out,  Sept.  1 1,  1865. 

Paul,  Frank  G.  Whalen,  Edwin  A. 

Richardson,  Isaac,  Jr.  " 

First    Battery   Mounted    Artillery,    mustered   in,    Dec.    18,    1861  ; 
mustered  out,  July  15,  1865, 
McCarty,  Thomas  Spaulding,  William  M. 

Second  Batter)^  mustered  in,  Nov.  30,  1861  ;  mustered  out,  June 
16,  1865. 
Stevens,  John  Marshall. 


G. 
G. 

Sergt. 

of  Bangor  (Gorham  quota). 

D. 

Sergt. 

of  Calais  (Gorham  quota). 
"   Pembroke  "             " 

D. 

M. 

Corp. 

"         "             "             " 

G. 
D. 

'* 

of  Bangor  (Gorham  quota). 
"  Pembroke     "             " 

G. 
B. 

"  Bangor          "             " 

G. 

of  Oldtown  (Gorham  quota). 
"  Bangor             "             " 

D. 

"  Charlotte         "             " 

B. 

G. 

Bath  quota. 

of  Bangor  (Gorham  quota). 

"  Medford       "             " 

B. 

D. 

"   Perry  (Gorham  quota). 
"  Prescott     "             " 

G. 
I. 

"  Bangor       "             " 
"  Gardiner    "              "■ 

B. 

G. 
D. 

Lebanon  quota. 

CIVIL    WAR.  849 

Fourth   Battery,  mustered  in,  Dec.  21,  1861  ;  mustered  out,  June 
17,  1865. 
Bragdon,  William  H. 

Fifth  Batter)',  mustered  in,  Dec.  4,   1861  ;  mustered  out,  July  6, 

1865. 

Edward  N.  Whittier  ist  Lt.  and  brevet  captain. 

Charles  O.  Hunt,  "     "    and  brevet  captain. 

George  W.  Whittier  Quartermaster  Sergt. 
Hunt,  Henry  H. 

Sixth  Battery,  mustered  in,  Jan.  i,  1862;  mustered  out,  June   17, 

1865. 

Joseph  W.  Burke  ist  Lt.  of  Lee. 

John  G.  Deane  "     "     "    Portland. 
Moulton,  Charles  J.  Waters,  Reuel  W. 

Riggs,  Charles  F. 

First   Maine    Regiment  Veteran  Volunteers,  organized    Sept.  20, 
1864;  mustered  out,  June  28,  1865. 


Ai  Waterhouse 

Ass't  Surgeon. 

James  F.  Harmon 

A. 

Sergt. 

George  L.  Darling 

" 

Corp. 

Francis,  Joseph 

F. 

Lacasse,  Charles  J. 

F. 

Gilbert,  Albert 

A. 

Libby,  Tyng  S. 

B, 

The    following   Gorham    men   also    enlisted,   but  were    placed    in 

unassigned  companies,  and  owing  to  the  close  of  hostilities  not  sent 

to  the  front. 

Bangs,  Charles  E.  29th  company.  Parker,  Winfield  S.  29th  company. 

Clement,  William  F.  29th         "  Shaw,  Carlyle  W.  29th 

Nims,  Edward  A.  26th         "  Shaw,  Clinton  D.  W.  29th         " 

Parker,  John  M.,  Jr.  28th         "  Turner,  Samuel  G.  28th         " 

Gorham  also  furnished  the  following  men  who  served  in  other  than 

the  State  of  Maine  organizations. 

Adams,  A.  Egerton  Captain  in  R.  I.  Battery,  and  Capt.  of  Troop  L., 

ist  N.  Y.  Mounted  Rifles. 

Adams,  John  R.  Chaplain  of  121st.  N.  Y.  Regt. 

Blake,  Frank  H.  nth  U.  S.  Infantry. 

Bradbury,  Charles  H.  Sergeant  in  U.  S.  V.  R.  Corps. 

Cannell,  Marshall  Gen.  Butler's  Body  Guard. 

Gary,  William  H.  13th  Mass.  Regt. 

Cary,  Samuel  E.  13th  Mass.  Regt. 

Coonley,  George  W.  ist  D.  C.  Cavalry. 

Conley,  Jamt-s  B.  U.  S.  Navy. 

Davis,  Daniel  W.  California  Cavalry. 

Day,  James  H.  Mass.  Regt. 

Douglass,  Orman  L.  California  Regt. 

Dyer,  Charles  F.  Mass.  Regt. 

Estes,  Albert  S.  13th  Mass.  Regt. 

Estes,  Oliver  Dana  13th  Mass.  kegt. 

Farr,  TelHs  U.  S.  Colored  Troops. 

Gordon  Seth  C.  Surgeon  of  ist  La.  Infantry. 

Harding,  Josiah  104th  Illinois  Infantry. 


350 


HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


Howe,  Warren 
Jackson,  Eliphalet  W. 
Johnson,  Albert  H. 
Johnson,  John 
Mann,  James 
McLellan,  Actor  P. 
McLellan,  Josiah  T. 
McPhee,  Francis 
Merritt,  George  H. 
Meservey,  John 
Parkhurst,  Alpheus  C. 
Patrick,  Albert 
Penfield,  Charles 
Phillips,  James  L. 
Potter,  George  F. 
Richardson,  Isaac,  Jr. 
Robie,  Frederick 
Sanford,  John  H.  T. 
Sawyer,  John 
Stackpole,  Theodore,  Jr. 
Twombly,  Wilson  M. 
Waterhouse,  Ai 
Waterhouse,  Horace  F. 
Waterhouse,  Thomas 
Waterman,  Charles  F. 
Waters,  William  G. 
Webber,  Thomas  C. 
Winship,  John  O. 
Winters,  William  G. 
Wormwood,  Samuel  P. 


U.  S.  Army. 

Chaplain  in  U.  S.  Army. 

U.  S.  Navy. 

U.  S.  Navy. 

Major  and  Paymaster  in  U.  S.  Army. 

8th  Minn.  Regt. 

I  St  California  Cavalry. 

U.  S.  Navy. 

U.  S.  Navy. 

U.  S.  Navy. 

17th  U.  S.  Infantry. 

43d  Mass.  Regt. 

Lieutenant  in  U.  S.  Navy. 

Mass.  Regt. 

14th  R.  I.  Heavy  Artillery  (Col.). 

2d  U.  S.  Sharpshooters. 

Lt.  Col.  and  Paymaster  in  U.  S.  Army. 

33d  Mass.  Regt. 

1st  Army  Corps,  (Hancock's). 

N.  Y.  Regt. 

29th  Mass.  Battery,  Light  Artillery. 

Surgeon  of  43d  U.  S.  Colored  Troops. 

Mass.  Regt. 

Mass.  Regt. 

7th  Conn.  Regt. 

Captain  in  Mass.  Regt. 

Captain  in  ist  D.  C.  Cavalry. 

Sergeant  in  Conn.  Infantry. 

Mass.  Regt. 

R.  I.  Regt. 


The  Conscription  in  Gorham,  July  17,  1863. 


John  Chester, 
Thomas  Irish, 
William  H.  P.  Files, 
Lendall  B.  Lowell, 
Warren  H.  Wood, 
Lewis  McLellan, 
William  H.  Shackford, 
Horace  A.  Cloudman, 
James  L.  Hall, 
George  Patrick, 
Robert  Rounds, 
Benjamin  L.  Harmon, 
Christopher  C.  Plummer, 
Lorenzo  D.  Thompson, 
John  M.  Elden, 
Frank  Crockett, 
Charles  B.  Cotton, 
Alexander  Allen, 
Augustus  Milliken, 
Charles  L.  Beck, 
Winfield  S.  Libby, 
William  T.  Skillings, 
Joseph  F.  Shackford, 
Albert  Johnson, 


Daniel  Mosher, 
Edward  Crockett, 
Isaac  McLellan, 
Toppan  Robie,  Jr., 
Albion  P.  Libby, 
John  O.  Winship, 
George  D.  Robinson, 
Ivory  Libby, 
Henry  H.  Hunt, 
Matthew  Johnson, 
David  Patrick, 
David  E.  Sawyer, 
Daniel  D.  Plummer, 
Charles  B.  Fogg, 
Francis  Paine, 
Charles  Kellogg, 
Levi  Hamblen, 
Moses  B.  Dame, 
Charles  Elwell. 
Moses  D.  Purinton, 
George  F.  Phinney, 
Alvan  F.  Emery, 
John  M.  Allen, 
Sylvanus  Tuttle, 
John  W.  Files, 

Of  the  above  men,  one  enlisted,  twenty-six  furnished  substitutes, 
one  paid  commutation,  and  the  remainder  were  exempted. 


Edward  S.  Morse, 
Archelaus  L.  Hamblen, 
Fred  A.  Morse, 
Rufus  A.  Fogg, 
Kimball  Eastman, 
Richard  Willis, 
Wilham  McLellan, 
Melville  C.  1  eighton, 
Daniel  W.  Greene, 
Seward  Wescott, 
Mark  F.  Fogg, 
William  W.  Webb, 
Robert  P.  Jewett, 
John  H.  Fogg, 
Frank  P.  Frost, 
John  Johnson, 
James  M.  Brown, 
David  Files, 
Edmund  Greene, 
Augustus  Sweetsir, 
Silas  M.  Smith, 
Lewis  Lombard, 
Benjamin  T.  Metcalf, 
Charles  E.  Bangs. 


CIVIL    WAR. 


351 


Drafted,  reported  and  furnished  substitutes,  for  the  army. 


NAME    OF    PRINCIPAL. 

Allen,  Alexander 
Bangs,  Charles  E. 
Crockett,  Frank 
Fogg,  Charles  B. 
Fogg,  Mark  F. 
Fogg,  Rufus  A. 
Hamblen,  Archelaus  L. 
Irish,  Thomas 
Johnson,  Albert, 
Johnson,  John 
Johnson,  Matthew 
Libby,  Albion  P. 
Libby,  Ivory 
McLellan,  Isaac 
McLellan,  Lewis 
McLellan,  William 
Paine,  Francis 
Plummer,  Daniel  D. 
Purinton,  Moses  D. 
Robie,  Toppan,  Jr. 
Sawyer,  David  E. 
Shackford,  Joseph  F. 
Shackford.  William  H. 
Skillings,  William  T. 
Wescott,  Seward 
Willis,  Richard 


NAME    OK    SUBSTITUTE. 

Charles  F.  Foster 
James  Wilson 
John  Hennessey 
John  Meservey 
Charles  S.  Harris 
Charles  Davis 
James  Smiley 
James  L.  Fadden 
John  Johnson 
Charles  Cole 
William  T.  Nial 
Freeman  Grant 
William  Bell 
Michael  Rooney 
Eugene  Dunlevy 
John  Clark 
William  Henderson 
Henry  Kane 
Edward  T.  Phillips 
George  Ricker 
Edward  Whalen 
Henry  Clark 
John  Primrose 
John  Brown 
John  Clay 
Martin  Harrington 


RESIDENCE    OF  SUBSTITUTE- 

Portland 

Portland 

Turner 
Biddeford 

Portland 
Portland 


New  York 
Portland 

Boston 
Portland 


Drafted  and  furnished  substitutes,  for  the  navy. 


Chase,  Albion  K.  P. 
Elder,  Randal  J. 
Hinkley,  Stephen,  Jr. 
Johnson,  Charles 
Johnson, Isaac  L. 
Libby,  Benjamin  I. 
Parkhurst,  Leonard  W 
Waterman,  John  A. 
Watson,  Oliver  C. 


David  Stephenson. 
James  Graham. 
George  Tucker. 
John  C.  F.  West. 
Charles  Forest. 
John  Burnes. 
John  Andrews. 
Edward  Newman. 
James  Smith. 


Other  substitutes  furnished  by  Gorham  men. 


NAME    OF  SUBSTITUTE. 

Devine,  Alphonso 
Fitch,  Albert 
Francis,  Joseph 
Martin,  John 
McCarty,  Thomas 
O'Brian,  Frank 
Runnells,  Perley 
Scott,  John 
Smith,  Edmund 
Smith,  James 
Smith,  James 
Welch,  Martin 

Recruits  mustered  in  by  Provo.st  Marshall. 


NAME     OF     PRINCIP.\L. 


NAME.        • 

Bacon, Isaac  E. 
Blake,  Horace  P. 


D.VTE   OF    MUSTER. 

Apr.     5,  1865, 
Dec.  10,  1863, 


Clarence  E.  Buck. 
Lorenzo  D.  Files. 
Almon  L.  Files. 
Chas.  K.  Hinkley. 
William  H.  Johnson. 
Daniel  Wescott. 
Michael  G.  Hayden. 
Josiah  B.  Webb. 
Cyrus  B.  Clay. 
Chas.  E.  Wescott. 
Jonathan  S.  Whitney. 
Octavus  F.  Milliken. 


REGIMENT. 


20th  Infantry. 
1st  Cavalry. 


352 


HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


Bragdon,  William  H. 
Cannell,  Albert 
Cannell,  Heman 
Cannell,  John  J. 
Cannell,  Samuel  A. 
Carter,  Dennis  F. 
Cloudman,  Edwin  H. 
Cole,  William  H. 
Coonley,  George  W. 
Grain,  Charles  G. 
Dresser,  Edward 
Dunn,  Alpha  T. 
Dunn,  W^illiam  F. 
Freeman,  James  E. 
Gibbons,  Patrick 
Oilman,  Fairfield  J. 
Gorman,  Thomas 
Harding,  Edwin  S. 
Harding,  Frank  C. 
Harding,  George  B. 
Harding,  Walter 
Hivert,  William  A. 
Libby,  Lewis, 
Libby,  Stephen  P. 
Lombard,  James 
Lord,  John  A. 
Low,  John 

McDonald,  James  G. 
McMann,  Michael 
Moulton,  Charles  J. 
Nimes,  Edward  A. 
Parker,  John  M.,  Jr. 
Patrick,  Charles  P. 
Patrick,  Henry  C. 
Pierce,  Edwin  D. 
Plummer,  Russell  C. 
Potter,  George  F. 
Quigley,  Michael 
Richardson,  Amos 
Richardson,  William  A. 
Robinson,  Otis  S. 
Rounds,  Robert  B. 
Sanford,  Nathan  J. 
Sawyer,  John 
Sears,  James  S. 
Small,  Francis  H. 
Smith,  Thomas 
Spear,  William 
Thompson,  Henry 
Turner,  .Samuel  G. 
Usher,  Sidney  B. 
Warren,  Benjamin 
Webb,  Eli 

Wentworth,  Royal  W. 
Whitney,  Frank  R. 
Whitney,  Gershom  S. 
Wilson,  Horace 
Wilson,  James  K.  P. 
Wood,  Warren  H. 


)ATE    OF    MUSTER. 

REGIMENT. 

Oct.      6, 

864, 

4th  Battery. 

Mar.   29, 

1865, 

20th  Infantry. 

Mar.  29, 

[865, 

"           " 

Sept.  30, 

864, 

ist  Cavalry. 

Feb.   14, 

865, 

20th  Infantry. 

Feb.     7, 

865, 

29th  Infantry. 

Sept.  30, 

1864, 

2d  Cavalry. 

Mar.  13, 

1865, 

20th  Infantry. 

Feb.   19,  ] 

864, 

ist  D    C.  Cavalry. 

Sept.  26, 

1864, 

30th  Infantry. 

Dec.   10, 

863, 

ist  Cavalry. 

Apr.     5, 

865, 

20th  Infanti"y. 

Apr.      5, 

1865, 

" 

Sept.  30, 

1865, 

2d  Cavalry. 

Apr.   ir. 

865, 

I  5th  Infantry. 

Dec.   10, 

[863, 

1st  Cavalry. 

Oct.      8, 

1864, 

20th  Infantry. 

Mar.  25, 

1865, 

Mar.  29, 

1865, 

"           " 

Feb.     3. 

865, 

"           " 

Mar.   25, 

1865, 

"           " 

Mar.  31, 

1865, 

"           " 

Mar.     2, 

1865, 

"           " 

Mar.  31, 

1865, 

30th  Infantry. 

Mar.  25, 

1865, 

20th  Infantry. 

Sept.  30, 

1864, 

2d  Cavalry. 

Dec.     I, 

[863, 

17th  Infantry. 

Apr.   1 1 . 

865, 

"          " 

Feb.     6, 

865, 

29th  Infantry. 

Sept.  28, 

1864, 

6th  Battery. 

Mar.  24, 

1865, 

26th  Unassigned  Infantry 

Mar.  28, 

1865, 

28th  Infantry. 

Apr.   II, 

[865, 

20th  Infantry. 

Apr.     5, 

865, 

•' 

Feb.  23, 

865, 

29th  Infantry. 

Sept.  30, 

1864, 

2d  Cavalry. 

Oct.     ID, 

1864, 

14th  R.  I.H.  Art.  (Col.) 

Oct.      7, 

1864, 

30th  Infantiy. 

Dec.   ID, 

1863, 

ist  Cavalry. 

Dec.   10, 

1863, 

"           " 

Apr.  11, 

1865, 

20th  Infantry. 

Mar.  29, 

1865, 

"           " 

Apr.  II, 

1865, 

" 

Feb.  23, 

r865. 

1st  Army  Corps(Hancock' 

Apr.   II, 

,865, 

20th  Infantry. 

Sept.  30, 

1S64, 

2d  Cavalry. 

Oct.      4, 

1864, 

20th  Infantry. 

Oct.      4, 

1864, 

"           " 

Mar.   14, 

1865, 

" 

Mar.  28, 

1865, 

28th  Unassigned  Infantry 

Mar.  31, 

1865, 

2oth  Infantry. 

Dec.   10, 

.863, 

ist  Cavalry. 

Mar.  29, 

[865, 

20th  Infantry. 

Feb.     7, 

865, 

30th  Infantry. 

Mar.   25, 

1865, 

20th  Infantry. 

Mar.     7, 

[865, 

i8th  Unassigned  Infantry 

Sept.  26, 

1864, 

ist  Cavalry. 

Mar.   13, 

1865, 

i8th  Unassigned  Infantry 

Apr.     5, 

1865, 

20th  Infantry. 

THE    soldiers'    MONUMENT.  353 

Early  in  October,  1865,  Hon.  Toppan  Robie  sent  to  several  prom- 
inent citizens  of  Gorham  a  letter,  offering  to  have  erected,  at  his  own 
expense,  a  suitable  monument ;  to  be  in  commemoration  of  those 
who  had  perished  in  battle,  or  died  of  wounds,  in  the  Civil  War  ;  to 
be  placed  in  front  of  the  Town  House.  As  a  result  of  this,  a  town 
meeting  was  held  on  the  8th  of  November,  at  which  the  town  accepted 
the  proposition,  and  presented  their  thanks  to  Mr.  Robie. 

This  monument  was  dedicated,  with  appropriate  exercises,  Oct. 
18,  1866.      On  it  are  the  following  inscriptions  :  — 

Captain  Almon  L.  Fogg,  17th  Maine  Regiment,  mortally  wounded  at  Gettys- 
burg, Pa.,  July  3d,  1S63,  died  July  4th,  aged  24. 

Captain  Oliver  H.  Lowell,  i6th  Maine  Regiment,  mortally  wounded  at  Gettys- 
burg, Pa.,  July  1st,  1863,  died  July  2,  1S63.  aged  ;^2- 

Captain  Daniel  M.  Phillips,  12th  Maine  Regiment,  killed  at  Winchester,  Va., 
Sept.  19,  1864,  aged  28. 

Captain  Chester  B.  Shaw,  9th  Maine  Regiment,  killed  at  Fort  Wagner,  S.  C, 
July  iS,  1S63,  aged  25. 

Lieutenant  George  W.  Edwards,  i6th  Maine  Regiment,  killed  at  Fredericks- 
burg, Va..  Dec.  13,  1862,  aged  22. 

Sergeant  Joseph  Files,  Jr.,  32d  Maine  Regiment,  killed  at  Spottsylvania,  Va., 
May  12,  1864,  aged  30. 

Sergeant  John  McPhee,  i6th  Maine  Regiment,  killed  at  Petersburg,  Va.,  Apr. 

2,  1865,  aged  35. 

Sergeant  Charles  H.  Patrick,  5th  Maine  Regiment,  died  at  Washington,  D.  C, 

July  3,  1S64,  aged  28. 
Sergeant  Horatio  F.  Smith,  31st  Maine  Regiment,  died  at  Gorham,  Aug.  28, 

1864,  aged  19. 
Corporal  William  Cannell,  Jr.,  i6th  Maine  Regiment,  killed  at  Gettysburg,  Pa., 

July  I,  1863,  aged  30. 
CoqDoral  Shirley  Harmon,  Jr.,  2d  Maine  Cavalry,  died  at  Gorham,  Oct.  28, 1864, 

aged  18. 
Corporal  Benjamin  F.  Metcalf,  i6th  Maine  Regiment,  died  at  Gorham,  June  24, 

1863,  aged  20. 
Corporal  Henry  H.  Newell,  5th  Maine  Regiment,  died  at  Alexandria,  Va.,  Nov. 

28,  1 861,  aged  21. 
Corporal  Mahlon  H.  Parker,  1 2th  Maine  Regiment,  killed  at  Port  Hudson,  La., 

May  31,  1863,  aged  22. 
Sergeant  Cyrus  M.  Hall,  17th  Maine  Regiment,  killed  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July 

3,  1863,  aged  22. 

.Sergeant   Wm.  H.  Johnson,  9th   Maine   Regiment,  died  at  Gorham,  Feb.   15, 

1866,  aged  44. 
Corporal  Morris  F.  Bumpus,  5th  Maine   Regiment,  wounded  at  Spottsylvania, 

Va.,  May  10,  died  May  12,  1864,  aged  29. 
Corporal   John  F.  Harding,  i6th  Maine   Regiment,  wounded  at  Hatcher's  Run, 

Va.,  Feb.  5,  died  Feb.  21,  1865,  aged  22. 
Corporal  Daniel  L.  Roberts,  12th  Maine  Regiment,  died  at   Ship   Island,  Miss., 

May  15,  1862,  aged  25. 
Corporal  George  S.  Reed,  5th  Maine  Regiment,  died  at  Westl^rook,  Me.,  Apr. 

27,  1864,  aged  48. 
Corporal  Charles  M.  Ward,  5th  Maine  Regiment,  killed  at  Spottsylvania,  Va., 

May  12,  1864,  aged  23. 
Abram  S.  Andrews,   i6th  Maine  Regiment,  died  in   Libby  Prison,  Richmond, 

Va.,  Nov.  2,  1863,  aged  21. 
James  B.  Brown,  17th  Maine   Regiment,  died  at  Fredericksburg,  Md.,  Aug.  i, 
1863,  aged  21. 


354  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Freeman  Brown.  17th  Maine  Regiment,  died  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  Apr.  21,  1865, 

aged  34. 
Franklin  H.  Blake,  nth  U.  S.  Infantry,  wounded  at  Spottsylvania,  Va.,  May  8, 

died  May  9.  1864,  aged  20. 
Geo.  W.  Coonley,  Baker's  D.  C.  Cavalry,  died  at  Augusta,  Me.,  Mar.  i,  1864, 

aged  18. 
William  F.  Dunn,  20th  Maine  Regiment,  died  at  Cape  Elizabeth,  Me.,  Apr.  14, 

1865,  aged  19. 
Peter  Duffey,  5th  Maine   Regiment,  killed  at  Petersburg,  Va.,  June  20,   1864, 

aged  22. 
Ormond  L.  Douglass,  ist  California  Cavalry,  killed  at   Fort  Laramie,  Kansas, 

Oct.,  1864,  aged  23. 
Alonzo  S.  Elder,  5th  Maine  Regiment,  wounde'd  at  Rappahannock,  Va.,  Nov. 

8,  died  Nov.  10,  1863,  aged  23, 
Albert  S.  Estes,  13th  Mass.  Regiment,  killed  at  Manassas,  Va.,  Aug.  29,  1862, 

aged  25. 
Ephraim  Hicks,  17th  Maine  Regiment,  killed  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  2,  1863, 

aged  21. 
James  E.  Haskell,  17th  Maine   Regiment,  killed  at  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  Dec. 

13,  1S62,  aged  20. 
Joseph  D.  Harmon,  5th  Maine  Regiment,  killed  at  Gaines  Mill,  Va.,  June  27, 

1862,  aged  22. 

Lewis  Libby,  20th  Maine  Regiment,  died  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  July  7,   1865, 

aged  20. 
Solomon  Mains,   loth  Maine  Regiment,  wounded  at  Antietam,  Md.,  Sept.  17, 

died  Sept.  18,  1862,  aged  37. 
Geo.  H.  Merrett,  5th   Maine  Regiment,  killed  at  St.   Charles,  Ark.,  June   13, 

1S62,  aged  22. 
William  Powers,   17th  Maine  Regiment,  died  at   Washington,  D.  C,  Jan.  11, 

1863,  aged  20. 

Chas.  F.  Riggs,  6th  Maine  Battery,  killed  at  Petersburg,  Va.,  Dec.  5,  1864,  aged 

24. 
John  H.  Roberts,  17th  Maine  Regiment,  wounded  at  Spottsylvania,  Va.,  May 

12,  died  Aug.  15,  1864,  aged  45. 

Emery  Rolfe,  5th  Maine  Regiment,  died  at  Governor's  Island,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  2, 

1862,  aged  20. 
Freedom  D.  Rand,   17th  Maine  Regiment,  wounded  at  the  Wilderness,  Va., 

May  6,  died  May  7,  1864,  aged  23. 
Joseph  Small,  ist  Maine  Cavalry,  wounded  and  prisoner,  Aug.,  1864,  died  in 

Rebel  prison,  aged  20. 
Francis  H.  Small,  2d  Maine    Cavalry,  died  at   Barancas,  Fla.,  Sept.  5,  1865, 

aged  21. 
William  M.  Spaulding,   ist  Maine  Battery,  died  at  New  Orleans,  La.,  July  5, 

1864,  aged  45. 

James  A.  vSmith,  12th  Maine  Regiment,  died  at  New  Orleans,  La.,  May  27, 

1862,  aged  19. 

William  H.  Smith,  32d  Maine  Regiment,  died  at  New  Haven,  Conn.,  Sept.  19, 

1864,  aged  32. 

John  M.  Stevens,  2d  Maine  Battery,  died  at   Baltimore,  Md.,  Jan.  4,  1865,  aged 

21. 
Silas  M.  Smith,   17th  Maine  Regiment,  died  at  Washington,  D.  C,  May  24, 

1865,  aged  29. 

Moses  B.  Tripp,  9th  Maine  Regiment,  died  at  Fernandina,  Fla.,  Aug.  6,  1862, 

aged  2:^. 
William   \V.   Ward,   i6th  Maine  Regiment,  died  at    Annapolis,  Md.,  Oct.  20, 

1863,  aged  19. 

Chas.  F.  Waterman,  7th    Connecticut    Regiment,  died  at  Fort   Pulaski,  Ga., 

June  5,  1862,  aged  18. 
Alonzo  M.  Whitney,  i6th  Maine  Regiment,  killed  at  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  Dec. 

13,  1862,  aged  18. 


THE    soldiers'    MONUMENT.  355 

G.  Sumner  Whitney,  12th  Maine  Regiment,  died  at  Savannah,  Ga.,  May   11, 

1865,  aged  20. 
Charles  Williams,  nth  Maine  Regiment,  died  at  Meredan  Hill,  IJ.  C,  Apr.  10, 

1S62,  aged  41. 
Chas.  H.  Paine,  ist  Maine  Regiment,  died  at  Gorham,  May  25,  1866,  aged  24. 
Reverend   John    R.   Adams,  D.   D.,   died  April   25,    1866,  aged  64,  of  disease 

resulting  from  devoted   service  during  the  rebellion  as  Chaplain  of  the  5th 

Maine,  and  121st  New  York  Regiments. 

In  our  late  war  with  Spain  the  following  enlisted  from  Gorham  : 

First  Maine  Infantry. 
Libby,  Henry. 

Battery  E,  2d  U.  S.  Artillery. 

Bolton,  Ralph.  Harding,  George. 

Fifield,  Claud.  Perkins,  James. 

Hanscomb,  Walter  G. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

NAILS CLOCKS  VELOCIPEDE  ORGANS  BUTTON-HOLE     MACHINE 

MECHANICAL    INVENTIONS CARPET    WEAVING TANNERIES 

OTHER  MANUFACTURES. 

After  Eliphalet  Watson  left  his  farm,  somewhere  about  the  year 
1805,  the  buildings  were  occupied  by  a  Mr.  Sleeper,  who  was  a  nail 
maker.  His  business  was  the  manufacturing  of  wrought  nails  for 
building  purposes,  and  it  is  probable  that  here  was  about  the  last 
place  where  the  business  was  carried  on  in  this  part  of  the  country. 
Cut  nails  had  begun  to  come  into  fashion,  and  the  manufacturing  of 
them  was  commenced  by  Mr.  Valentine  at  Saccarappa  at  this  time, 
or  soon  after.  The  making  of  wrought  iron  nails  was  a  laborious 
business,  taken  from  the  commencement.  Iron  did  not  then  come  in 
a  size  and  shape  adapted  to  the  manufacture  of  any  article  the  smith 
might  wish  to  make.  Nail  rods  were  not  known.  When  small  iron 
for  light  work  was  required,  it  had  to  be  spilt  out  by  hand  with  a 
cold-chisel  from  large  bars  of  Russia  and  Swedish  iron.  The  work  of 
reducing  a  large  bar  of  Russia  iron  to  shingle-nails  by  hand-labor, 
and  in  sufficient  quantities  for  building  houses  is  hard  to  think  of  at 
this  day. 

About  the  year  1808  Mr.  Samuel  Edwards  came  here  from  Ashby, 
Mass.,  and  for  many  years  carried  on  the  manufacture  of  wooden 
clocks  in  this  village.  His  clocks  were  excellent  timekeepers,  though 
now  out  of  date.  Afterwards  Mr.  Edwards  moved  to  Portland,  and 
went  into  the  iron-foundry  business. 

About  the  year  1820  an  attempt  was  made  to  manufacture  a 
velocipede  in  Gorham.  The  idea  was  suggested  by  a  rough  wood- 
cut in  an  English  magazine  which  had  come  into  the  possession  of 
some  one  in  the  village.  A  number  of  men  subscribed  small  sums 
toward  defraying  the  expense,  and  Mason  Frost  and  George  Hight 
undertook  its  construction  ;  their  only  guide  being  the  picture  and  its 
description  in  the  book.  The  machine  was  built  in  the  shop  after- 
wards owned  by  Capt.  Bailey,  and  which  at  that  time  stood  close  to 
the  street,  but  was  moved  back  about  1840  to  its  present  location  in 
Alfred  Bailey's  yard.      Mason  Frost,  who  was  a  carriage  maker,  got 


MECHANICAL    INVENTIONS.  357 

out  the  frame  and  wheels,  while  George   Hight  undertook  the  iron 
work. 

The  machine  consisted  of  a  stout  piece  of  white  oak,  supported  at 
each  end  by  a  sturdy  oak  wheel.  The  rider  sat  astride  of  this  back- 
bone, and  propelled  the  vehicle  by  striking  his  toes  against  the 
ground.  There  were  no  pedals  or  other  machinery  to  it.  It  was 
steered  by  an  iron  bridle,  attached  to  the  forward  wheel ;  and,  as 
represented,  was  able  to  go  up  hill  as  fast  as  an  active  man  could 
walk,  while  it  could  speed  down  a  moderate  slope  at  the  rate  of  about 
ten  miles  an  hour,  and  on  level  ground  nearly  as  fast.  At  last  the 
thing  was  completed,  and  a  trial  was  made  of  it  in  the  presence  of 
a  throng  of  interested  spectators,  but  no  one  could  do  much  with  it, 
excepting  to  amuse  the  crowd.  At  this  time  there  was  no  saddle  or 
seat  on  it,  but  one  was  afterwards  added.  Frost  was  the  only  one 
able  to  make  any  headway  at  all  on  level  ground,  and  he  but  little, 
while  as  to  riding  up  hill,  it  was  7io  go.  The  velocipede  was  finally 
stowed  away  in  some  corner,  and  the  experiment  abandoned. 

The  first  organs  made  in  the  State  of  Maine  were  made  in  Gorham, 
about  theyear  1825,  by  Mr.  Calvin  P^dwards.  He  was  a  very  ingenious 
man.  Afterwards,  he  moved  to  Portland  where  he  in  company  with 
his  son  and  William  Twombly  manufactured  pianos  quite  extensively. 

Though  the  machine  for  working  button-holes  was  not  really 
invented  in  Gorham,  the  first  one  was  made  here.  A  Mr.  Humphrey 
came  here  to  Elden  Gamman,  bringing  patterns  and  drawings ; 
Mr.  Gamman  being  one  of  the  best  machinists  in  the  country.  They 
went  to  work  together,  made,  and  set  up  the  first  machine  of  the  kind 
ever  made  in  this  part  of  the  country.  Humphrey  took  out  a  patent, 
and  in  Boston  sold  a  half-interest  for  seventy-five  thousand  dollars ; 
created  a  stock  company  for  its  manufacture,  and  was  made  president 
and  managing  agent  at  a  handsome  salary. 

About  the  year  1826  Mr.  Edmund  Gamman  of  Gorham  invented  a 
machine  for  cutting  brads  with  a  head.  This  machine  he  disposed 
of  to  a  Mr.  Noyes,  at  Little  Falls,  as  a  kind  of  partner,  to  procure  a 
patent  on  the  same.  Mr.  Noyes  after  procuring  the  patent  sold  it, 
and  Mr.  Gamman  never  received  one  cent  for  his  interest.  It  was  a 
great  machine  for  the  time,  though  improvements  have  since  been 
made. 

Edward  Brown  about  the  year  1846  owned  and  carried  on  the  saw 
and  grist  mill  above  Fort   Hill,  situated  on  Little   River.     He  first 


358  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

originated  the  idea  of  a  mowing  machine.  He  was  a  very  ingenious 
man,  but  poor,  and  destitute  of  a  mechanical  education,  and  with  a 
lack  of  proper  tools.  At  that  time  there  was  no  such  thing  talked  of 
as  a  mowing  machine.  Still,  Mr.  Brown  went  to  work  to  get  up  one. 
Most  of  his  gearing  was  of  wood.  His  iron  work  was  done  by  a 
common  country  blacksmith,  and  did  not  work  kindly.  His  knives 
were  in  shape  somewhat  like  those  in  present  use,  only  longer  and 
more  pointed.  The  principle  of  their  working  was  precisely  like  that 
of  the  present  day.  Mr.  Brown's  situation  did  not  allow  of  his 
devoting  much  of  his  time  to  the  machine,  consequently  its  progress 
was  slow.  One  day  when  he  was  from  home,  a  stranger  called  and 
requested  of  Mr.  Brown's  brother  the  favor  of  examining  a  curious 
machine  he  understood  they  were  making.  He  was  allowed  to 
examine  it,  and  it  was  noticed  that  he  was  very  particular  in  his 
examination,  and  even  measured  a  number  of  the  parts  before  taking 
his  leave.  Two  years  after  Brown  commenced  his,  a  machine  came  out 
in  Massachusetts,  precisely  like  his  in  principle,  so  much  so  that  it 
was  evident  that  his  was  taken  as  a  pattern  on  which  to  work  and 
improve.  This  machine  was  patented.  But  to  Edward  Brown,  then 
of  Gorham,  really  belongs  the  honor  of  being  the  inventor  of  the 
mowing  machine. 

About  the  year  1827  Hugh  Gilroy  came  to  Gorham  with  his 
family.  He  was  from  the  North  of  Ireland:  a  weaver  by  trade.  He 
fitted  up  a  small  shop  at  West  Gorham,  opposite  the  house  of  the 
Rev.  James  Lewis,  and  commenced  weaving  ingrain  carpeting, 
damask  table-covers  and  bedspreads.  It  was  quite  a  curiosity  at  that 
time.  This  was  the  first  ingrain  carpet  weaving  that  was  done  in  the 
State  of  Maine.  At  the  time  there  was  a  small  establishment  of  this 
kind  at  Dover,  N.  H.  The  manufacture  of  carpet  warp  and  filling 
was  in  its  infancy  in  New  England.  Gilroy's  carpets  were  woven 
from  materials  of  domestic  manufacture,  furnished  by  those  ordering 
the  goods,  and  woven  to  order.  The  story  is  told  of  a  certain 
Gorham  woman  who  hired  Mr.  Gilroy  to  weave  her  a  carpet,  he 
finding  the  warp  and  she  the  yarn  for  the  filling.  When  she  received 
the  carpet,  it  seemed  to  her  that  Mr.  G.  had  cheated  her  and  not  used 
all  her  yarn.  So  she  went  to  work  and  ravelled  the  entire  carpet,  to 
get  out  the  filling  and  weigh  it ;  only  to  find  that  her  yarn  was  all 
there,  and  that  she  had  lost  her  carpet. 

Mr.  Gilroy's  situation  at  West  Gorham  not  being  to  his  liking,  he 
built  a  building  on   the    Flaggy   Meadow   road,  opposite  the  house 


CARPET  WEAVING.  359 

formerly  occupied  by  Mr.  Seth  Hersey,  where  he  somewhat  enlarged 
his  business.  From  there  he  moved  his  building  to  Gorham  village, 
on  to  what  is  now  called  Water  St.  Being  poor  and  not  able  to  keep 
up  with  the  improvements  of  the  times  in  machinery,  and  not  meeting 
with  the  success  he  expected,  he  sold  out  his  factor}'  to  John 
Parington,  about  the  year  1832.  Mr.  Gilroy's  son  Patrick  tells  me 
(1875)  that  his  father  hardly  had  a  settled  residence  after  he  left  this 
town.  He  was  an  ingenious  man,  and  got  up  many  patents  and 
improvements  in  machinery  for  weaving,  some  of  which  he  sold  for 
large  sums  ;  but  was  always  poor.  In  attempting  to  cross  the  Niagara 
River  into  Canada,  about  the  year  1847,  he  lost  control  of  his  boat, 
was  caught  in  the  current,  and  carried  over  the  Falls.  His  body  was 
found,  much  mutilated,  below  the  Falls,  and  buried  on  the  American 
side.  When  he  left  Gorham  he  had  a  wife,  four  sons  and  three 
daughters  —  to-day  his  son  says,  "  I  have  neither  father  nor  mother, 
sister  nor  brother.  My  wife  and  my  three  children  are  dead.  I 
have  not  a  relative  on  the  face  of  the  earth  that  I  know  of ;  certainly 
none  in  America,  and  I  am  sixty-six  years  old." 

Mr.  Parington  made  some  improvement  in  the  machinery.  He 
carried  on  the  business  but  a  short  time  ;  his  health  failing,  he  sold 
out,  to  Gen.  James  Irish  and  his  son  Isaac  Irish  about  the  year  1835. 
They  built  a  large  building  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  into 
which  they  put  the  best  machinery  of  the  day,  most  of  which  was 
made  by  Elden  Gamman  of  Gorham.  Mr.  Parington  dying  in  1836, 
the  company  employed  Robert  Lowrey,  an  experienced  carpet  weaver, 
as  their  foreman.  Lowrey  was  from  Ireland,  and  had  worked  at  the 
business  several  years  in  Lowell,  Mass.  He  did  not  remain  with 
them  long.  He  finally  purchased  the  Gilroy  factory,  and  went  into 
business  by  himself.  His  house  and  factory  were  destroyed  by  fire 
in  1844. 

The  new  factory  went  into  the  hands  of  Messrs.  Emery  and 
Jameson,  and  finally  to  Daniel  C.  Emery,  Esq.,  who  ran  it  awhile. 
The  busines  becoming  poor,  the  building  was  cleared  out,  and  made 
into  dwelling  houses. 

David  H.  McKenney  opened  a  factory  at  the  junction  of  the  two 
Portland  roads,  where  he  manufactured  carpets  for  a  few  years. 
The  late  Dea.  Marshall  Irish  owned  and  ran  a  small  factory  a  few 
years  since,  where  he  made  a  good  article  at  a  fair  price. 

There  has  been  a  large  amount  of  carpeting  manufactured  in 
Gorham,  since  the  business  was  first  started  in  1827  ;  but  the 
business  from  various  reasons  as  a  whole  has  not  been  a  success. 


360  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

P'or  some  years  after  the  settlement  of  the  town  it  was  the  custom 
for  almost  every  house-holder  each  fall  to  kill  a  "  beef  creature,"  and 
have  the  skin  tanned  to  make  shoes  for  his  family. 

Probably  the  first  tanners  in  Gorham  were  William  Cotton  and  his 
brother  John.  Their  father,  Dea.  William  Cotton  of  Falmouth,  was  a 
tanner,  and  it  seems  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  sons  learned 
their  trade  of  him.  William  Cotton  lived  above  Fort  Hill  on  the 
thirty  acre  lot  65,  on  the  back  end  of  which  he  had  his  tan-yard, 
where  he  tanned  the  cowhides  and  calf  skins  of  his  neighbors.  This 
yard  has  entirely  disappeared.  The  entrance  to  it  was  by  a  tw'o-rod 
road  (now  discontinued)  running  west  from  the  Fort  Hill  road, 
between  lots  65  and  121. 

In  a  Gorham  tax  bill  for  1792  we  find  the  names  ''Hunt  the 
tanner,''  and  "  Clark,  tanner."  As  this  is  the  first  mention  of  either 
man's  name,  the  probability  is  that  they  both  came  to  town  about 
this  time. 

Capt.  Oliver  Hunt  in  1794  purchased  the  thirty  acre  lot  18  on 
South  St.  His  tan  yard  and  buildings  were  at  the  western  end  of 
where  the  present  railroad  bridge  now  is,  and  when  the  railroad  was 
built  and  the  cut  made  all  traces  of  his  yard  disappeared.  Capt. 
Hunt  had  here  a  mill  to  grind  his  bark.  This  consisted  of  an 
upright  round  stone  standing  on  its  edge,  revolving  on  an  axle,  and 
slowly  crushing  the  bark  beneath  it  as  it  was  drawn  around  by  an  old 
horse.  Although  doing  a  good  business,  Capt.  Hunt's  yard  was  but 
a  small  affair  compared  to  one  of  our  modern  yards. 

Previous  to  the  year  1805  Joseph  Cressey,  who  lived  on  the  thirty 
acre  lot  53,  carried  on  the  tanner's  business  near  his  house,  and  here 
the  remains  of  his  old  tan  pits  are  still  to  be  seen. 

Moses  Clark  had  his  establishment  where  the  Hinkley  tannery 
is  now  located,  where  with  his  son,  John  R.  Clark,  he  carried  on  the 
business  until  his  death  in  1824.  About  that  time  Gen.  James  Irish 
hired  this  tannery,  and  ran  it  for  a  few  years.  In  1833  Stephen 
Hinkley  purchased  the  yards  and  building  of  the  Clark  heirs. 

In  the  year  1828  Gen.  Irish  built  a  large  building  for  a  tannery 
on  the  spot  where  the  corn  shop  lately  stood,  and  sank  a  number  of 
tan  pits.  Into  this  building  he  put  two  bark  mills,  a  grindstone, 
a  fulling  mill,  a  circular  saw,  a  turning  lathe,  a  polishing  machine,  a 
double  carding  machine,  a  picker,  a  shearing  machine,  and  starch 
making  machine,  consisting  of  a  grater,  a  washer  and  ten  stirrers. 
Gen.  Irish  then  constructed  artificial  ponds,  supplying  a  column  of 
water  three  inches  by  five  in  size,  which  falling  on  a  wheel  twenty- 


TANNERIES.  361 

five  feet  in  diameter  drove  his  machinery.  This  estabb'shment  was 
afterwards  converted  into  a  corn  packing  factory,  and  was  destroyed 
by  fire  in  187 1. 

There  was  a  tan  yard  on  the  east  side  of  School  St.,  just  north  of 
the  house  now  occupied  by  Mrs.  Martha  Harmon.  Here  the  tanning 
business  was  carried  on  by  John  Wilson  and  William  Hasty.  The 
remains  of  this  yard  were  to  be  seen  until  very  lately. 

Humphrey  Pike  came  from  Scarborough  to  Gorham  about  1828. 
Here,  he  lived  some  rods  east  of  the  Chas.  Moulton  place,  on  the 
rising  ground  west  of  the  river.  He  was  a  tanner,  and  had  his  tan 
pits  on  the  flat  ground  near  the  river.  House  and  tan  pits  have  long 
since  disappeared. 

Among  other  branches  of  business  that  were  once  carried  on  quite 
extensively  in  Gorham  were  coopering,  soap  making,  the  manufactur- 
ing of  pottery,  the  making  of  hats,  tinware  manufacturing,  cabinet 
making,  tool  making,  and  the  manufacturing  of  cotton  shirting  and 
sheeting  at  Little  Falls. 

The  making  of  barrel  and  hogshead  shooks  for  shipment  to  the 
West  Indies  was  at  one  time  a  large  business  at  the  village  and  gave 
employment  to  many  men.  At  one  time  there  were  ten  cooper-shops 
scattered  about  the  village.  The  first  hatter  in  town  was  John 
Dickey.  John  Darling  and  Joseph  Hunt  made  hats  here  for  many 
years,  while  Hezekiah  Brown  carried  on  their  manufacture  at  West 
Gorham.  George  Hight  made  curriers'  knives,  hoes  and  garden 
tools.  Elden  Gamman,  in  his  machine  shop,  manufactured  lathes, 
planing  machines,  etc.,  and  was  a  workman   of  rare  skill  and  ability. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

FIRE    INSURANCE    COMPANIES SECRET    SOCIETIES. 

The  first  insurance  company  organized  in  Gorham  was  the  Maine 
Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company,  which  was  incorporated  in  1828. 
Its  first  president  was  Capt.  Toppan  Robie,  and  its  first  secretary, 
Jacob  S.  Smith,  Esq.  This  company  about  1844  or  '45  built  and 
used  as  its  offices  the  brick  building,  now  occupied  by  the  Gorham 
Saving's  Bank,  and  also  used  by  John  A.  Waterman,  Esq.  for  his  law 
office.  The  old  wooden  building,  which  occupied  this  location  and 
was  removed  to  make  room  for  the  new  one,  now  stands  between 
Hinkley's  tannery  and  the  old  Rust  house.  It  was  once  a  tin-shop, 
later  used  by  James  Swett  for  a  shoe-shop  :  afterwards  Sarah  and 
Abbie  McLellan  traded  in  it,  and  at  one  time  Susan  King  kept  a  lit- 
tle store  there. 

The  Farmers'  and  Mechanics'  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company 
was  incorporated  by  the  Legislature,  Feb.  25,  1839,  with  the  follow- 
ing members:  —  Stephen  Webb,  Jr.,  Josiah  Pierce,  Chas.  Hunt, 
Seward  Merrill,  Rufus  Morrill,  Jonathan  Hanson,  William  Silla, 
Daniel  C.  Emery,  Saul  C.  Higgins,  Daniel  Clarke,  Robert  Johnson, 
Jr.,  Joseph  Hamblin  and  Joshua  Moulton.  At  the  time  that  the  old 
Longfellow  store  was  burned  in  1845,  this  company  had  its  office  in 
the  upper  story.  Dr.  S.  W.  Baker  was  then  its  secretary.  After- 
wards the  company  had  its  office  in  Daniel  C.  Emery's  office.  Josiah 
Pierce,  Esq.  was  for  many  years  its  secretary. 

In  1861  there  was  incorporated  what  was  known  as  "The  Gorham 
Farmers'  Club."  This  company  was  organized  for  the  purpose  of 
insuring  the  property  of  farmers  against  loss  by  fire. 

The  first  effort  toward  forming  a  Lodge  of  Masons  in  Gorham,  was 
made  in  18 15,  when  Rev.  Reuben  Nason,  Col.  Samuel  Stephenson, 
Capt.  James  Codman,  Seth  Webb,  Esq.,  Lieut.  Timothy  Bacon  and 
Daniel  Hunt  of  Gorham,  together  with  James  Woodman  of  Buxton, 
Benjamin  Poland  of  Standish,  Archelaus  Lewis  and  Nathaniel  Par- 
tridge of  Westbrook,  met  at  Mr.  Nason's  house,  and  after  agreeing  to 
petition  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Mass.,  for  a  charter,  chose  Mr.  Nason 
to  draw  up  such  a  paper.  Nothing  further  was  done  in  this  direc- 
tion   until    Nov.,    1 82 1,    when    Reuben   Nason,    Samuel    Stephenson, 


SECRET    SOCIETIES.  368 

James  Codman,  Seth  Webb,  Daniel  Hunt,  Nathaniel  Partridge, 
Daniel  Thompson,  George  Small,  Henry  Babb,  John  Warren, 
Nathaniel  Warren  and  John  Dixby  met  at  the  house  of  Capt.  Daniel 
Hunt.  They  there  organized  themselves  into  a  Lodge,  of  which  they 
chose  Reuben  Nason,  Master ;  Daniel  Thompson,  Sr.  Warden,  and 
Samuel  Stephenson,  Jr.  Warden,  and  agreed  to  procure  Stephen 
Foster  of  Portland  to  deliver  some  Masonic  Lectures.  A  petition  for 
a  charter  was  drawn  up,  and  signed  by  Reuben  Nason,  Daniel 
Thompson,  Samuel  Stephenson,  James  Codman,  Daniel  Hunt,  James 
Haskell,  Seth  Webb,  Archelaus  Lewi.s,  Nathaniel  Partridge,  Benja- 
min Poland,  Simon  Cutter,  Nathaniel  Warren,  Joshua  Berry,  Aaron 
\A'inslow,  Timothy  Bacon,  Rufus  Rich,  Henry  Babb,  Geo.  Small, 
Lewis  Pease,  John  Bixby,  Levi  Towle,  Luther  Fitch  and  John  War- 
ren, to  be  presented  by  Mr.  Nason  to  the  next  session  of  the  Grand 
.Lodge. 

The  Charter  of  Harmony  Lodge,  No.  38,  was  granted  Jan.  22, 
1822,  signed  by  Simon  Greenleaf,  Grand  Master.  The  new  Lodge 
held  its  first  meeting,  Feb.  i,  1822,  at  the  house  of  Capt.  Daniel 
Hunt,  and  chose  Rev.  Reuben  Nason,  Master;  Capt.  Daniel  Thomp- 
son, Sr.  Warden;  Col.  Samuel  Stephenson,  Jr.  Warden,  and  Seth 
Webb,  Esq.,  Sec.  The  trustees  of  Gorham  Academy  having  decided 
to  finish  the  hall  of  the  Academy,  Harmony  Lodge  hired  the  use  of 
it,  for  their  meetings,  at  thirty  dollars  a  year. 

In  January,  1823,  the  State  Legislature  incorporated  Harmony 
Lodge,  and  on  the  fifth  of  the  following  September  it  was  consecrated 
and  installed  by  the  Grand  Lodge  under  Simon  Greenleaf.  The 
public  exercises  were  held  in  the  Congregational  church  and  were 
attended  by  a  large  number  of  people. 

At  the  time  of  the  Morgan  excitement,  about  1830,  the  Gorham 
Lodge  suspended  its  meetings,  returned  its  Charter  to  the  Grand 
Lodge,  and  ceased  all  operations  until  1849,  when  the  Lodge  obtained 
its  Charter  and  jewels,  and  proceeded  to  reorganize  with  Josiah  Pierce, 
Esq.,  as  Master.  Since  that  time  to  the  present.  Harmony  Lodge 
has  continued  to  thrive  and  prosper.  For  many  years  the  hall  used 
by  the  Lodge  for  its  meetings  was  the  one  owned  by  Daniel  C. 
Emer}%  but  in  1875  land  was  purchased  on  the  cornerof  Main  and 
School  Sts.,  and  the  present  fine  Masonic  block  erected. 

Among  the  Worthy  Masters  of  Harmony  Lodge  have  been  the 
following:  —  Reuben  Nason,  Samuel  Stephenson,  Josiah  Pierce, 
George  L.  Darling,  William  Silla,  William  Burton,  Merrill  Thomas, 
Thomas    J.   Hasty,  Jonathan  L  Stevens,  Daniel  C.  Emery,  George 


864  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Goold,  George  W.  Lowell,  John  G.  Watson,  George  W.  Butler,  Eli 
Morton,  Henry  R.  Millett,  Kimball  Eastman,  William  Hasty,  John 
A.  Hinkley,  William  H.  Usher,  William  P.  Watson,  Fred  W.  Hard- 
ing, John  W.  Jordan,  Arthur  H.  Stanwood,  Theodore  Shackford, 
Cornelius  N.  Hayes,  Charles  H.  Ridlon,  Everett  P.  Hanson,  Moses 
E.  Little  and  Charles  E.  Cobb. 

Gorham  Grange  was  chartered  Nov.  2,  1874,  with  the  following 
as  members  :  —  William  Wescott,  2d.,  Edward  D.  Horton,  Eli  Morton, 
Zebulon  Whitney,  Mark  Mosher,  Charles  A.  Brackett,  Rufus  A.  Fogg, 
Benjamin  Waterhouse,  James  G.  Larrabee,  Gardner  M.  Parker, 
Charles  W.  Deering,  Reuben  Lowell,  William  E.  Files,  Charles  F. 
Merrill,  Charles  Johnson,  Matthew  Johnson,  George  W.  Sanborn, 
Hubbard  Wilson,  Charles  Horton,  Richard  Willis,  Martha  A.  Wescott, 
Lois  H.  Horton,  Sarah  M.  Parker,  Mary  J.  Fogg,  Elizabeth  Larrabee, 
Rose  A.  Johnson,  Martha  Johnson,  Julia  Files,  Mrs.  Eli  Morton, 
Mrs.  Charles  A.  Brackett. 

The  Grange  was  organized  with  the  following  officers  :  — 

Master,  William  Wescott.  Secretary,  G.  M.  Parker. 

Overseer,  Edward  D.  Horton.  Gate  Keeper,  Reuben  Lowell. 

Lecturer,  Chas.  W.  Ueering.  Ceres,  Mrs.  M.  A.  Wescott. 

Steward,  Chas.  A.  Brackett.  Pomona,  Mrs.  G.  M.  Parker. 

Asst.  Steward,  Chas.  F.  Merrill.  Flora,  Mrs.  Martha  A.  Johnson. 

Chaplain,  Eli  Morton.  Lady  Asst.  Steward,  Lois  H.  Horton. 
Treasurer,  Chas.  Johnson. 

Dirigo  Lodge,  No.  21,  Knights  of  Pythias,  which   is  the  Gorham 

Lodge,  was  organized  Aug.  29,  1879,  with  thirty-six  charter  members 

—  the  largest  charter  membership  of  any  Lodge  organized  up  to  that 

time.     The  first  officers  of  the  new  Lodge  were  : 

P.  C.      Stephen  P.  Libby.      ■ 

C.  C.     Herbert  G.  Files. 

V.  C.     Stephen  W.  Carle. 

P.     Samuel  Garland. 

M.  of  F.     Fred  D.  Irish. 

M.  of  E.     Wm.  F.  Chadbourne. 

K.  of  R.  &  S.     Chas.  W.  Harding. 

M.  at  A.     Henry  L.  Morrill. 

I.  G.     Calvin  Russell. 

O.  G.     James  C.  Alexander. 

Trustees.     Stephen  Hinkley,  Sumner  C.  Bolton,  Kimball  Eastman. 

Representatives  to  Grand  Lodge.    John  C.  Summersides,  Stephen  P.  Libby. 

The  Knights  of  Pythias  are  not  a  charitable,  but  a  beneficial 
organization.  The  Society  agrees  to  pay  a  certain  amount  per  week 
in  case  of  sickness  of  a  member,  watchers  are  provided  for  sick  mem- 
bers if  necessary,  and  a  funeral  benefit  is  paid  in  case  of  death. 
Special  benefits  are  allowed  to  members  who  are  poor,  and  to  widows 


SOCIETIES. 


365 


and    orphans   of   deceased   members.     All  expenses   are   met  by   a 
membership  fee  and  yearly  dues. 

Dirigo  Lodge  since  its  organization  has  paid  out  for  sick  and 
funeral  benefits,  watching  and  donations,  fifty-five  hundred  dollars. 
Aid  has  also  been  rendered  to  members  of  other  Lodges  to  a  large 
amount.  The  present  membership  is  one  hundred.  Twenty  mem- 
bers have  died  since  the  Lodge  was  organized. 

Gorham  Lodge,  No.  98,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  was 
chartered  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Maine.  This  Lodge  was  instituted 
Jan.  15,  1883.  with  all  the  powers  and  privileges  of  a  subordinate 
lodge.     Its  Charter  Members  were  :  — 

Levi  H.  Bean,  W.  H.  H.  Bryant,  Charles  F.  Clement,  Joseph  H. 
Coburn,  Herbert  G.  Files,  William  Hasty.. Walter  Harding,  Charles 
H.  Lowell,  L.  R.  Morrell,  Gardner  M.  Parker,  John  G.  Watson, 
William  P.  Watson,  William  H.  Lusher. 

The  Gorham  Post  —  John  R.  Adams  Post  No.  loi  — of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  belonging  to  the  Department  of  Maine,  was 
organized  June  16,  1884. 


CHARTER    MEMBERS. 

RANK    IN    ARMY. 

Lieut.  Col.,  5th.  Maine. 


NAME. 

'Henry  R.  Millett,  Commander. 

Colman  Harding,  S.  V.  " 

ijohn  C.  Summersides,  J.  V.  Com. 

'George  F.  Small,  Officer  of  the  Day 

Frank  C.  Harding,       "        "     "    Guard.  Private, 

Josiah  T.  McLellan,  Quarter  Master 


Joseph  Colby, 


Chaplain. 


'Theodore  Shackford,  Adjt. 
Albert  W.  Lincoln,       .Surgeon. 
'Stephen  P.  Libby,        Sergt.  Major. 
'George  L.  Day,  Q.  M.  Sergt. 

Elisha  Douglass. 
Andrew  Kane. 

James  S.  Thomas. 

Thomas  M.  McDonough. 

John  D.  Spinney. 

N.  A.  Burnell. 

John  Houston. 

H.  S.  Billings. 

Frank  E.  Demerritt. 


9th. 
1st  Lieut.,'    5th.      " 
ist  vSergt.,   17th.      " 

20th.        " 

"  1st.    Cal. 

3,  ]S97.) 
Chaplain,    12th.  Maine 

18930 
Corpl.,  5th.       " 

Private,       28th. 

25th.       " 

29th. 

25th. 

I2th. 


Corpl., 
Private, 
1893-) 


Cav.     (Died  May 
Died  Sept.  6, 


Card. 
(Died  Mar.  13, 


Navy. 
Private, 
Corpl., 
Private, 


1 6th. 

25th. 
27th. 
27th. 

2ah. 


'Edward  Harding. 
Henry  E.  Sweetsir. 
A.  K.  P.  Marston. 
'Walter  Harding. 


Corpl., 

JOINED    SINCE    ORGANIZ.\TION. 

Private,     25th.  Maine. 

31st.      " 
"  2oth.      " 


I  St.  N.  H.  Batterv. 


Card. 


Card. 
Card. 


1  Past  Commanders  of  John  R.  Adams  I'ost  No.  101,  G.  A.  R. 


366 


HISTORY    OF    GOkHAM. 


Levi  S.  Pierce. 
Albert  Patrick. 
William  Plasty. 
Hiram  Berry. 
Geo.  W.  Pillsbury. 
Stillman  Plall. 
'Marshall  C.  Sturgis. 
Lorenzo  E.  Ridlon. 
Joseph  B.  Planson. 
George  B.  Gustin. 
John  C.  Wallace. 
John  W.  Sanborn. 
Daniel  W.  Davis. 
Geo.  E.  Bartlett. 
iB.  F.  Whitney. 
Samuel  C.  Hoyt. 
iM.  C.  Burnell. 
William  E.  Strout. 
Nathan  Lane,  Jr. 
I  2Frederick  Robie. 
'Henry  W.  Hale. 

Geo.  M.  Floyd. 
Lendall  A.  Libby. 
Actor  T.  McLellan. 
L.  H.  Winslow. 
Joseph  James. 
'William  Merrill. 
George  H.  Motley. 


(Died  Nov.  3,  1887  ) 
(Died  Mar.  26,  1889.) 

(Died  June  30,  1900.) 
(Died  June  16,  1899.) 


ist.  Lieut.,  51st.  U.  S.  C.  Infantry 
Private,       43d.  Mass. 

"  1st.  Maine. 

•I2th.       " 
Sergt.,        1 2th.       " 
Private,     Battery. 
Corpl.,       1 2th.  Maine 
Private,      12th.       " 

"  30th.      " 

Private,    9th.  Me. 

30th.    " 

5th.    " 

"        25th.     ■' 
Musician,  3d.  Me.,  also  30th.  Me. 
ist.  Lieut.,  loth.  Me. 
Private,  9th.  Me. 
Signal  Corps,  9th.  Me. 
Private,  17th.  Me. 

"  9th.     " 

Paymaster,  U.  S.  V.  1861-1865. 
Q.  M.  Sergt.,  2d.   Mass.   Cav.   (Died  Aug.   21, 

1897.) 
Private,  30th.  Me. 

"         31st.     "     Card.      (Died  July  19,  1899). 

"  8th.  Minn. 

"         1 2th.  Me. 

4th.  N.  H.  (Died  May  6,  1893). 
ist.  Lieut.,  5th.  Me. 
Private,  Unasigned  Infantry. 


On  Decoration  Day,  1884,  Mrs.  Sarah  E.  Holden,  in  memory  of 
her  adopted  brother  Joseph  D.  Harmon,  presented  the  John  R. 
Adams  Post  with  a  beautiful  silk  banner  having  the  name  of  the  Post 
inscribed  upon  it.  The  ceremony  took  place  in  the  square  in  front 
of  the  store  of  F.  H.  Emery.  The  presentation  speech  was  made  by 
Judge  John  A.  Waterman,  to  which  Col.  Henry  R.  Millett  responded 
for  the  Post,  and  handed  the  colors  to  the  color  bearer,  Horatio  S. 
Billings.  Subsequently,  a  vote  of  thanks  was  extended  to  Mrs. 
Holden,  and  she  was  elected  an  honorary  member  of  the  Post. 

John  R.  Adams  Relief  Corps,  auxiliary  to  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic,  was  organized  Oct.  24,  1888,  with  twenty-five  Charter 
Members.     Mrs.  M.  Antoinette  Millett  was  its  first  president. 

It  is  a  charitable  organization,  and  has  done  much  along  the  line 
of  its  special  work,  which  is  "To  assist  such  Union  A^eterans  as  need 
their  help  and  protection,  and  to  extend  needful  aid  to  their  widows 
and  orphans." 

The  Corps  has  been  honored  from  time  to  time  by  the  election  of 
its  members  to  Department  oflices.  In  the  year  1895  Mrs.  M. 
Antoinette    Millett    was    elected    to   the   ofiice   of   president   of  the 


Past  ("ommanders  of  John  R.  Adams  Post. 
Past  Department  Commander,  G.  A.  R.  1899. 


SOCIETIES. 


367 


Department  of  Maine,  with  Mrs.  Jennie  L.  Day  as  secretary,  and 
Miss  Rose  B.  Burnell  as  treasurer.  Occasionally  there  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Corps  on  the  Department  executive  board,  and  at  the 
present  time  (1901)  the  Corps  is  honored  by  having  as  National 
patriotic  instructor,  Mrs.  Jennie  L.  Day.  Mrs.  Rose  B.  Graham  is 
for  the  second  time  Department  treasurer,  and  Miss  Jennie  P.  Whit- 
ney is  Department  patriotic  instructor. 

The  Thomas  E.  Wentworth  Camp,  of  the  Sons  of  the  Veterans, 
was  organized  in  1893,  with  between  twenty  and  thirty  members. 
George  R.  Spinney  was  elected  captain,  and  served  for  two  years. 
William  McDonough,  George  Wentworth  and  Charles  Farr,  have 
succeeded  him  in  this  office. 

The  object  of  this  association  is,  among  other  things,  to  keep  alive 
an  interest  in  the  Veterans  of  the  Civil  War.  They  have  a  military 
organization  and  drill.  On  Decoration  Day  they  act  as  escort  to  the 
G.  A.  R.  and  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps. 

Pine  Tree  Chapter,  No.  27,  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  was  insti- 
tuted March  12,  1895,  and  worked  under  a  dispensation  until 
September  12,  1895,  when  a  Charter  was  granted  by  the  General 
Chapter. 

CHARTER    MEMBERS. 


Mrs. 


Miss 
Mrs. 


Miss 
Mrs. 


Addie  J.  Andrews. 
Hannah  J.  Bickford. 
Maria  A.  Brown. 
Rose  B.  Burnell. 
Mary  L.  Cobb. 
Eliza  J.  Cobum. 
Jennie  M.  Colby. 
Percie  W.  Hanson. 
Emma  P.  Harding. 
Ruth  E.  Harding. 
Rose  C.  Johnson. 
Gertrude  M.  Lermond. 
M.  Antoinette  Millett. 
Ellen  H.  Paine. 
Alice  S.  Ridlon. 
Mary  C.  Scott. 
Sarah  B.  Shackford. 
Annie  A.  Straw. 
Sarah  B.  Usher. 
Mary  L.  Wentworth. 
Frances  Whitney. 


Mr.  Llewellyn  W.  Brown. 

"    Charles  E.  Cobb. 

"     Joseph  Coburn. 

"    Everett  P.  Hanson. 

"    Edward  Harding. 

"    Fred  W.  Harding. 

"     Walter  Harding. 

"    Cornelius  N.  Hayes. 

"     Leonard  J.  Lermond. 

"     Henry  R.  Millett. 
Dr.  Charles  H.  Ridlon. 
Mr.  Theodore  Shackford. 
Dr.  O'Neil  W.  R.  Straw. 
Mr.  George  H.  Wentworth. 

"     Benjamin  F.  Whitney. 


CHAPTER  -XXIII. 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATIONS. 


In  the  month  of  May,  1736,  Capt.  John  Phinney  and  his  son 
Edmund  entered  the  wilderness  and  commenced  the  settlement  of 
what  is  now  the  town  of  Gorham.  Twice  has  this  event  been  cele- 
brated by  the  town  ;  once,  on  the  26th  of  May,  1836,  and  again,  on 
the  26th  of  May,  1886.  On  the  second  occasion  the  anniversary 
was  observed  under  the  auspices  of  the  town,  but  in  1836  the  affair 
was  the  result  of  the  personal  efforts  of  a  few  men,  who  thought  it 
proper  that  the  day  should  be  fittingly  noticed.  The  arrangements 
were  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  committee,  which  committee  consisted 
of  Gen.  James  Irish,  Col.  Samuel  Stephenson,  Capt.  Toppan  Robie, 
Joseph  M.  Gerrish,  Esq.  and  Caleb  Hodgdon,  Esq.  These  gentle- 
men selected  Josiah  Pierce,  Esq.  to  deliver  an  oration  which  was  to 
be  the  principal  event  of  the  occasion. 

The  day  opened  at  sunrise  with  the  firing  of  cannon  in  front  of 
the  "Gorham  House,"  which  had  formerly  been  the  residence 
of  Judge  Josiah  Thacher,  but  was  at  this  time  a  hotel.  Isaac  Phin- 
ney served  as  chief  gunner,  assisted  by  Isaac  Libby,  and  reinforced 
later  by  Thomas  Patrick.  Enough  time  was  allowed  between  the 
shots,  as  might  be  necessary  to  permit  the  gunners  to  partake  of 
"  refreshments." 

The  Chief  Marshall  of  the  day  was  Gen.  Wendell  P.  Smith,  under 
whose  direction  the  procession  formed  in  the  main  street  in  front  of 
the  residence  of  Gen.  Irish.  At  its  head  was  the  Portland  Military 
Band,  then  followed  the  Gorham  Light  Infantry  under  the  command 
of  Capt.  James  Whitney,  and  next  the  procession  proper,  made  up  of 
citizens,  of  whom  a  great  part  were  old  soldiers,  many  having  served 
under  Washington,  and  others  of  them  both  in  the  Revolution  and 
the  War  of  181 2.  A  great  crowd  of  people  had  been  gathering  since 
early  in  the  morning  in  the  open  space  at  the  head  of  the  street,  in 
front  of  the  tavern,  which  has  since  been  the  store  of  R.  G.  Harding. 
The  procession,  having  been  formed,  marched  to  the  Congregational 
Church,  where  Mr.  Pierce  delivered  an  able  historical  address.  After 
the  exercises  in  the  church  were  concluded,  the  company  adjourned 
to  the  room  below,  where  a  superb  dinner  was  served  to  the  military 


JOSIAH   PIKRCK. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATIONS.  369 

and  the  invited  guests.  After  dinner  the  procession  re-formed  and 
marched  to  Fort  Hill,  where  they  examined  the  site  of  the  old  fort,  a 
few  timbers  of  which  were  then  still  to  be  seen.  When  returning, 
they  were  set  upon  by  a  band  of  Indians  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  near 
where  in  former  times  the  savages  had  killed  Bryant,  and  a  lively  skir- 
mish ensued  in  which  the  Indians  were  finally  repulsed.  They,  however, 
in  no  wise  discouraged,  hung  upon  the  skirts  of  the  procession,  and 
when  entering  the  village  made  a  determined  assault  upon  the  whites. 
After  the  rush,  a  wild  hand  to  hand  fight  ensued  in  which  knifes  and 
tomahawks  Hashed  and  muskets  cracked.  At  length  the  savages 
were  mastered  and  carried  prisoners  to  headquarters,  where  their 
chief  humbly  sued  for  peace,  which  was  granted  on  condition  that 
there  should  be  no  more  hostilities.  This  fight  was  greatly  enjoyed 
by  the  spectators,  among  whom  the  small  boy  was  very  much  in 
evidence. 

The  following  account  of  the  celebration  was  published  in  one  of 
the  Portland  papers,  printed  about  the  middle  of  the  month  following 
the  affair. 

"CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY. 

"  A  large  number  of  the  citizens  of  Gorham,  together  with  many  citizens  from 
adjoining  towns,  celebrated  the  first  centennial  anniversary  of  the  settlement  of 
the  town,  at  Gorham  Village,  on  Thursday  last,  the  26th  inst.,  agreeable  to  previ- 
ous arrangement. 

"  The  procession  was  formed  in  front  of  Gen.  James  Irish's  house,  under  the 
direction  of  Gen.  Wendell  P.  Smith,  Chief  Marshall,  assisted  by  the  following 
Deputy  Marshalls,  viz..  Col.  Edward  T.  Smith,  Maj.  Samuel  T.  Baker,  Capt. 
Simeon  C.  Clement,  Capt.  Benjamin  Mosher,  Jr.,  Capt.  Charles  F.  March,  Capt. 
James  Whitney,  Capt.  William  B.  Freeman,  Capt.  Charles  Harding,  Capt.  Chris- 
topher Way,  Lieut.  Francis  O.  Irish  and  Lieut.  Charles  Paine.  The  procession 
was  then  escorted  by  the  Gorham  Light  Infantry  under  command  of  Capt.  James 
Whitney,  and  the  Military  Band,  to  the  First  Parish  Meeting-house,  where  the 
services  were  performed  in  the  following  order:  Reading  of  the  Scriptures,  Vol- 
untary by  the  Choir  and  Band,  Prayer  by  the  chaplain.  Rev.  Thaddeus  Pomeroy, 
Hymn,  Address  by  Hon.  Josiah  Pierce,  Anthem,  Benediction. 

"  Of  the  abilities  and  extensive  acquirements  of  the  orator,  nothing  need  be 
said  of  one  who  is  so  well  known  to  the  public.  All  concur  in  the  opinion  that 
the  address  was  just  such  an  one  as  was  wanted,  admirably  adapted  to  the  occa- 
sion. The  enumeration  of  the  most  important  events  that  have  transpired  in 
town  for  an  hundred  years,  the  patriotism  of  our  ancestors,  and  the  happy  manner 
in  which  their  privations  and  sufferings,  while  realizing  the  horrors  of  that  system 
of  warfare  which  directs  the  weapon  of  the  ruthless  savage  against  the  breast  of 
the  defenceless  victim,  were  contrasted  with  the  blessings  of  peace,  liberty  and 
plenty  which  we  enjoy,  could  not  fail  to  satisfy  the  highest  desire  of  all  concerned, 
and  to  kindle  a  glow  of  gratitude  in  every  bosom  for  the  innumerable  blessings  of 


370  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

which  we  are  the  happy  recipients.  The  services  being  concluded,  the  procession 
was  re-formed  and  escorted  througli  the  principal  streets  of  the  village,  after 
which  they  were  amply  provided  for  at  the  two  public  hotels  in  the  village. 

"  To  add  to  the  interest  of  the  occasion,  a  company  of  Indians,  commanded  by 
their  celebrated  chief,  in  person,  appeared  in  imitation  of  the  Aborigines  of  Nar- 
raganset,  No.  7,  armed  with  muskets,  tomahawks,  scalping  knives,  etc.,  and 
presented  themselves  in  all  parts  of  the  village,  performing  their  feats  in  true 
Indian  style.  They  then  seemed  to  show  a  spirit  of  fight,  by  firing  from  behind 
fences  and  old  buildings,  till  at  length  they  attacked  a  company  of  light  infantry 
that  had  just  returned,  with  the  military  band,  from  a  visit  to  the  old  Fort 
ground,  which  resulted  in  a  "  bloody  fight,"  and  they  were  captured  and  conveyed 
to  headquarters,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  their  distinguished  chief,  where  they 
were  treated  as  prisoners  of  war ;  but  on  their  promising  no  further  hostilities, 
they  were  set  at  liberty.  This  added  greatly  to  the  amusement  and  satisfaction 
of  the  beholders.  And  thus  the  day  was  passed  off  with  perfect  good  feeling  and 
unanimity,  and  '  no  one  killed  and  no  one  hurt.' 

GoRHAM,  May  27th,  1836." 

Immediately  after  the  exercises,  the  committee  requested  of  Mr. 
Pierce  a  copy  of  his  address  for  publication,  which  he  furnished  ;  and 
soon  after,  the  town  voted  to  have  it  printed  and  a  copy  given  to  each 
family  in  the  town.  In  the  front  of  the  pamphlet,  as  published, 
there  is  the  following  :  — 

The  Committee  of  Arrangements  tender  their  thanks  to  the  Hon.  Josiah  Pierce 
for  the  truly  able  and  appropriate  Address  delivered  before  the  Citizens  of  Gor- 
ham,  this  day,  and  request  a  copy  of  the  same  for  the  press. 

James  Irish, 
Samuel  Stephenson, 
TopPAN  Robie, 
Joseph  M.  Gerrish, 
Caleb  Hodgdon. 
Gorham,  May  26th,  1836. 

Gorham,  May  27th,  1836. 
Gentlemen, —  I  am  gratified  to  learn,  that  the  Address,  I  had  the  honor  to 
deliver  in  commemoration  of  the  first  settlement  of  this  town,  was  acceptable 
to  my  fellow  citizens,  and  I  cheerfully  furnish  a  copy  for  publication. 
To  Messrs. 

James  Irish, 
Samuel  Stephenson, 
Toppan  Robie, 
Joseph  M.  Gerrish, 

Caleb  Hodgdon.  I  am  Gentlemen  with  true  regard 

Your  Ob't  Servant, 

Josl\h  Pierce. 

The  question  of  observing  the  one  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  the  settlement  of  the  town  was  committed,  at  a  town  meeting  held 
in  June,  1885,  to  a  committee  consisting  of  Frederick  Robie,  John  A. 
Waterman,  Joseph  W.  Parker,  Wm.  L.  Larrabee,  Samuel  R.  Clement, 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATIONS.  371 

Stephen  Wescott,  Otis  Purinton,  Charles  W.  Deering,  Stephen  Hink- 
ley,  George  B.  Emery,  Mark  Mosher,  and  Stephen  L.  Stephenson. 
In  March  of  the  following  year  the  town  voted  to  celebrate  the  day 
in  a  suitable  manner,  and  authorized  the  above-named  committee  to 
proceed  and  act  in  the  matter.  In  addition  to  five  hundred  dollars 
voted  by  the  town,  over  six  hundred  dollars  was  raised  by  private 
subscription.  Of  the  above-mentioned  committee  Gov.  Robie  was 
elected  chairman,  and  Stephen  Hinkley,  Esq.,  secretary,  and  sub- 
committees were  appointed  to  attend  to  the  various  features  of  the 
day's  celebration.  Notice  was  given  in  all  the  leading  papers  of  New 
England,  and  a  general  invitation  was  extended  to  all  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  Gorham,  and  former  residents,  to  participate  in  the 
exercises. 

The  morning  of  the  day,  Wednesday,  May  26,  1886,  dawned 
pleasantly,  and  the  rising  sun  was  greeted  by  a  salute  of  one  hundred 
and  *fifty  guns  on  Fort  Hill  and  by  the  ringing  of  all  the  bells  in 
town.  Nearly  ever}-  building  on  the  line  of  march  of  the  procession 
was  decorated  and  places  of  historic  interest,  old  homes,  etc.,  were 
marked  with  appropriate  notices.  The  procession  was  formed  on 
South  St.,  right  resting  on  Main  St.,  at  9.20  a.  m..  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Chief  Marshall,  Col.  H.  R.  Millett,  and  his  aids,  Messrs. 
Harding,  Watson,  Hinkley,  Feeney,  and  Pratt,  and  marched  through 
the  principal  streets  of  the  village  to  a  vast  tent,  which  had  been 
placed  in  Gov.  Robie's  field,  near  the  Portland  and  Rochester 
-Station,  and  in  which  the  exercises  of  the  forenoon  and  afternoon 
were  held. 

The  exercises  in  the  tent  opened  with  an  "  Anniversary  March," 
composed  by  Charles  R.  Cressey  of  Gorham,  which  was  rendered  by 
Chandler's  Band  of  Portland.  After  the  calling  of  the  audience 
to  order  by  Gov.  Robie,  president  of  the  day,  and  the  offering  of 
prayer  by  Rev.  Henrj-  S.  Huntington,  Keller's  "  American  Hymn  " 
was  sung  by  a  Gorham  chorus  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  voices  led 
by  Mr.  W.  L.  Fitch.  Reading  of  the  Scriptures  by  Rev.  F.  A. 
Bragdon  then  followed,  after  which  Gov.  Robie  delivered  an  eloquent 
and  interesting  Address  of  Welcome,  sununing  up  the  past  briefly, 
welcoming  each  and  all  present,  and  expressing  the  hope  and  belief 
that  the  future  might  be  even  more  glorious  than  the  past.  At  the 
conclusion  of  this  an  Ode,  composed  for  the  occasion  by  Mrs.  Jennie 
Bodge  Johnson,  was  sung  by  the  chorus,  and  the  morning  exercises 
closed  with  the  benediction  by  Rev.  L.  Z.  Ferris  of  Rockland,  Mass. 

The  assembly  in  the  tent  was  again   called  to  order  by  Gov.  Robie 


372  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  after  a  selection  by  the  band, 
prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  Dr.  Prentiss  of  New  York,  and  "  Green 
be  your  Fame  "  sung  by  the  chorus.  The  orator  of  the  day,  Rev. 
Elijah  Kellogg  of  Harpswell,  was  then  introduced.  Mr.  Kellogg 
related  many  interesting  events  incident  to  the  early  and  later  history 
of  the  town,  and  paid  earnest  and  eloquent  tribute  to  those  who 
helped  lay  the  foundations  of  the  privileges  which  we  now  enjoy. 
After  the  address  an  original  hymn  by  Professor  H.  L.  Chapman  of 
Bowdoin  College  was  sung  and  a  number  of  short  addresses  relating 
to  the  history  of  the  town  were  given  as  follows:  "The  Lawyers  of 
Gorham,''  by  Judge  John  A.  Waterman  ;  "  The  Schools  of  '  Auld 
Lang  Syne,'  "  by  Geo.  B.  Emery,  Esq.  ;  "  The  Business  Men  of  Gor- 
ham," by  Edward  Gould,  Esq.  of  Portland;  "The  Clergymen  of 
Gorham,"  by  Rev.  Dr.  Edward  Robie  of  Greenland,  N.  H. ;  "The 
Physicians  of  Gorham,"  by  Dr.  H.  H.  Hunt  of  Portland;  "The 
Ladies  of  Gorham,"  by  Rev.  Dr.  Geo.  Lewis  of  So.  BerA'ick ; 
"Agriculture  in  Gorham,"  by  Chas.  W.  Deering,  Esq.  The  singing 
of  "  America  "  by  the  chorus,  and  the  benediction  by  Rev.  Dr.  Robie 
closed  the  afternoon  exercises  at  the  tent. 

Another  feature  worthy  of  mention  was  the  sham  fight  between  a 
a  band  of  Indians  led  by  their  chief,  Presumpsaukett,  (G.  D.  Weeks), 
and  the  G.  A.  R.  Posts  of  Gorham  and  Standish.  After  a  fierce 
conflict,  in  which  the  Indians  were  at  first  victorious,  they  were 
driven  from  the  field  and  all  either  killed  or  taken  prisoners.  At 
sunset  salutes  were  again  fired  and  all  the  bells  rung,  and  in  the 
'evening  a  reception  was  tendered  to  all  by  the  ladies  of  Gorham  in 
the  Academy  hall,  while  relics  of  historical  interest  were  exhibited 
in  the  room  below.  Rev.  Dr.  Prentiss  delivered  a  very  interesting 
address  on  "  Recollections  of  Gorham  Fifty  Years  Ago."  A  poem 
by  Miss  S.  E.  Perry  was  then  read ;  remarks  made  by  Mr.  Dana 
Estes  of  Boston,  and  by  Prof.  Lucian  Hunt,  which  with  the  reading 
of  letters  of  regret  from  various  absentees  closed  the  celebration,. a 
day  long  to  be  remembered  by  Gorham  people. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


LISTS    OF    TOWN    OFFICERS,    ETC. 


TOWN    ( 

:lerks. 

FROM 

TO 

FROM 

TO 

1764 

1770, 

Amos  Whitney. 

1S46 

1849, 

1770 

1772, 

Wentworth  Stuart. 

1849 

1852, 

1772 

1773. 

Amos  Whitney. 

1852 

1854, 

1773 

1776, 

William  Goiham. 

1854 

1855' 

1776 

1778, 

Caleb  Chase. 

1855 

1858, 

1778 

1804, 

Austin  Alden. 

1858 

1861, 

1804 

1815, 

Josiah  Alden. 

I86I 

1864, 

1815 

1833- 

William  H.  Foster. 

IS64 

1867, 

1833 

1837, 

William  B.  Harding 

IS67 

I  87  I, 

1837 

1839, 

Eben  Freble. 

I87I 

1878, 

1839 

1842, 

Russell  Linnell. 

1878 

1879, 

1S42 

1843, 

Charles  C.  Bangs. 

1S79 

18S1, 

1843 

1845, 

Eben  Preble,  who  died  in 

IS8I 

1882, 

1844.     John  Wingate 

1882 

1888, 

finished  term. 

1888 

1902, 

T845 

1846, 

Russell  Linnell. 

TOWN    TREASURERS. 

FROM 

TO 

FROM 

TO 

1764 

1772, 

Edmund  Phinney. 

1839 

1842, 

1772 

1774. 

Caleb  Chase. 

1842 

1844, 

1774 

1775' 

James  Gilkey. 

,844 

1845- 

1775 

1779. 

Caleb  Chase. 

1S45 

1847, 

1779 

1803, 

Samuel  Whitmore. 

1847 

1849, 

1803 

1816, 

Josiah  Alden. 

1849 

i853> 

1816 

1823, 

Toppan  Kobie. 

1853 

1854, 

1823 

1827, 

David  Harding,  3d. 

died 

1854 

1855 

in  '26.    Toppan  Robie 

1855 

1859, 

finished  term. 

1859 

1S62, 

1827 

1830, 

John  P'arnham. 

1S62 

1865 

1S3O 

1830 

Nathaniel  Phinney. 

1865 

1898 

1830- 

1832, 

Daniel  Baker. 

1832 

1837, 

Thomas  S.  Robie. 

1837 

1839 

Daniel  C.  Emery. 

1898 
1902 

1902 

SELECTMEN 

William  B.  Harding, 
John  Wingate. 
William  B.  Plarding. 
James  W.  Davis. 
Samuel  F.  Bacon. 
Eben  W.  Nevens. 
M.  G.  Hayden. 
Charles  H.  Paine. 
John  C.  Summersides. 
John  C.  Card. 
David  F.  Watson. 
John  C.  Card. 
Stephen  W.  Carle. 
William  H.  Usher. 
John  C.  Summersides. 


Toppan  Robie. 

Charles  Hunt. 

Toppan  Robie. 

Josiah  Pierce. 

Jacob  C.  Baker. 

Joseph  Ridlon. 

Samuel  W.  Lord. 

Joseph  Kidlon. 

Stephen  Hinkley. 

Joseph  Ridlon. 

vSamuel  W.  Lord. 

Stephen  Hinkley  ;  died  in 
189S.  John  A.  Water- 
man finished  the  term. 

John  A.  Waterman. 

Frank  A.  Ridlon. 


1764 
1765 
1766 
1767 
1768 
1769 
1770 
1771 
1772 
1773 
1774 


Benjamin  Skillings,  Amos  Whitney,  Joseph  Weston. 
Benjamin  Skillings,  Amos  Whitney,  Bryant  Morton. 
Benjamin  Skillings,  Amos  Whitney,  Edmund  Phinney. 
Benjamin  Skillings,  Amos  Whitney,  FIdmund  Phinney. 
Hugh  McLellan,  Edmund  Phinney,  Joseph  Cates. 
Edmund  Phinney,  Amos  Whitney,  James  Gilkey. 
Edmund  Phinney,  James  Gilkey,  Barnabas  Bangs. 

Solomon  Lombard,  Edmund  Phinney,  Nathan  Whitney. 
Edmund  Phinney,  James  Gilkey,  Samuel  Whitmore. 
Benjamin  Skillings,  Nathan  Whitney,  Prince  Davis. 


374  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

[775  Edmund  Phinney,  Prince  Davis,  William  McLellan. 

1776  William  Gorham,  Prince  Davis,  James  Phinney. 

1777  lames  Phinney,  Andrew  Crockett,  Samuel  Harding. 
t778  '    - 

1779  James  Phinney,  James  Gilkey,  Andrew  Crockett. 

1780  James  Gilkey,  Andrew  Crockett,  William  Cotton. 

[781  Pldmund  Phinney,  William  Gorham,  Stephen  Longfellow,  Jr. 

[782  Edmund  Phinney,  Stephen  Longfellow,  Jr.,  William  McLellan. 

[783  James  Phinney,  Prince  Davis,  William  McLellan. 

[784  James  Phinney,  Stephen  Longfellow,  Jr.,  Austin  Alden. 

[785  Stephen  Longfellow,  Jr.,  James  Phinney,  Cary  McLellan. 

[786  Stephen  Longfellow,  Jr.,  James  Phinney,  Austin  Alden. 

[787  Stephen  Longfellow,  Jr.,  Austin  Alden,  Decker  Phinney. 

"8  Austin  Alden,  Decker  Phinney,  Nathaniel  Frost. 

[789  Stephen  I^ongfellow,  Jr.,  Samuel  Elder,  James  Phinney. 
[790 
1791 

[792  Stephen  Longfellow,  Jr.,  James  Phinney,  Decker  Phinney. 

[793  "  "  "       " 

1794  Stephen  l^ongfellow,  Jr.,  Decker  Phinney,  Josiah  Alden. 

1795 

1796  Lothrop  Lewis,  Decker  Phinney,  Josiah  Alden. 

[797 

[798 

[799  Lothrop  Lewis,  Samuel  Warren,  Josiah  Alden. 

1800  Lothrop  Lewis,  Samuel  Prentiss,  Samuel  Warren. 

[801  Lothrop  Lewis,  Samuel  Warren,  Decker  Phinney. 

1802 

US03 

(804  "  "  "  "         .    " 

1805  Lothrop  Lewis,  Samuel  Warren,  Edmund  Phinney,  Jr. 

[806 

1807 

[808     "      "      "      "      "       "     " 

[809 

[810 

[8ri  Lothrop  Lewis,  Edmund  Phinney,  Jr.,  Thomas  McLellan. 

[812  Lothrop  Lewis,  Edmund  Phinney,  Jr.,  David  Harding,  Jr. 
,313 

1814 

[815  Toppan  Robie,  William  McLellan,  Samuel  Warren. 

18 16  Lothrop  Lewis,  William  McLellan.  Toppan  Robie. 

t8i7 

>i8  Toppan  Robie,  David  Harding,  Jr.,  Edmund  Wescott. 

[819  David  Hardiiig,  Jr.,  Toppan  Robie,  Matthew  Johnson. 

?20  Lothrop  Lewis,  James  Irish,  William  Cobb. 

1821  Lothrop  Lewis,  William  Cobb,  Nathaniel  Phinney. 

[822  Lothrop  Lewis,  Nathaniel  Phinney,  Seward  Menill. 

[823  Nathaniel  Phinney,  Toppan  Robie,  Simon  Elder. 

[824  Seth  Webb,  Toppan  Robie,  Simon  Elder. 

[825  Edmund  Mann,  David  Harding,  Jr.,  Simon  Elder. 

[826  Edmund  Mann,  Seward  Merrill,  Seth  Webb. 

[827  Edmund  Mann,  Seward  Merrill,  Samuel  Staples,  Jr., 

8  Edmund  Mann,  Seward  Merrill,  I^evi  Hall. 

1829  Edmund  Mann,  Seward  Merrill,  James  Irish. 

1830  Edmund  Mann,  Joseph  Hamblen,  3d.,  Benjamin  Skillings. 
[831  Edmund  Mann,  Clark  Swett,  Robert  Johnson,  3d. 

2  Seward  Merrill,  William  Silla,  Robert  Johnson,  3d. 

[833  Seward  Merrill,  William  Silla,  Daniel  C.  Emery. 

1834  Edmund  Mann,  William  Silla,  Toppan  Robie. 

[835  Edmund  Mann,  William  Silla,  Daniel  C.  Emery. 


TOWN    OFFICERS,    ETC.  375 

836  Daniel  C.  Emery,  Toppan  Robie,  Benjamin  Skillings. 

837  Benjamin  Skillings,  Josiah  Swett,  Jr.,  Josiah  Pierce. 

838  Josiah  Pierce,  Joshua  L.  Swett,  William  E.  Files. 

839  Benjamin  Skillings,  Simon  Elder,  Charles  O.  Libby. 
S40 

841  Edward  Scamman,  John  Sturgis,  Charles  O.  Libby. 

842  Hugh  D.  McLellan,  Simeon  C.  Clement,  Joseph  W.  Parker. 

843  Hugh  I).  McLellan,  Jacob  H.  Clement,  Joseph  W.  Parker. 

844  Edward  Scamman,  Daniel  C  Emery,  Jonathan  Hanson. 

845  Jonathan  Hanson,  John  Sturgis,  Edward  Scamman. 

846  John  Wingate,  William  Warren,  Robert  Johnson,  3d. 

847  John  Wingate,  William  Warren,  Daniel  C.  Emery. 

848  Daniel  C.  Emery,  Merrill  Thomas,  Joseph  M.  Plummer. 

849  Merrill  Thomas,  Charles  Paine,  Joseph  \L  Plummer. 

850  "         "  "        ';         "      " 

851  Merrill  Thomas,  Charles  Paine,  Daniel  Hall. 

852  Merrill  Thomas,  Charles  Paine,  Freeman  Harding. 

853  Freeman  Harding,  William  Merrill,  Jr.,  Theophilus  Dame. 

854  Edward  Scamman,  Daniel  C.  Libby,  Joshua  E.  Hall. 

855  Edward  Scamman,  Joshua  E.  Hall,  James  Phinney,  Jr. 

856  James  Phinney,  Jr.,  Charles  Moulton,  Zebulon  Whitney. 

857  "  ' 

858  Marshal]  Irish,  Merrill  T.  Files,  William  Burton. 

859  Merrill  T.  Files,  William  Burton,  Isaac  E.  McLellan. 

860  Isaac  E.  McLellan,  Samuel  S.  Waterhouse,  Edwin  Coburn. 

861  "      '• 

862  Edwin  Coburn,  Samuel  S.  Waterhouse,  Moses  Fogg. 

863  Joshua  E.  Hall,  Benjamin  A.  Watson,  George  Chadbourn. 

864  Joseph  W.  Parker,  Benjamin  A.  Watson,  George  Chadbourn. 

865  Joseph  W.  Parker,  James  Phinney,  Edw^ard  Files,  3d. 

866  James  Phinney,  Edward  Files,  3d.,  Charles  Johnson. 

867  James  Phinney,  Charles  Johnson,  Joel  Wilson. 

868  Joel  Wilson,  A.  G.  Bradbury,  Solomon  B.  Cloudman. 

869  "  "        "    " 

870  Solomon  B.  Cloudman,  Samuel  F.  Bacon,  Lewis  Libby. 

871  Samuel  F.  Bacon,  Lewis  Libby,  Samuel  S.  Waterhouse. 

872  "        "         "  "  '■  "        " 

873  Samuel  P.  Bacon,  Mark  Mosher,  Zebulon  Whitney. 

874  Mark  Mosher,  Zebulon  Whitney,  John  S.  Leavitt. 

875  John  S.  Leavitt,  Joseph  Ridlon,  Kimball  Eastman. 

876  Joseph  Ridlon,  Jeremiah  Parker,  William  L.  Larrabee. 

877  ..  "  "  "  "  .  "         " 

878  Kimball  Eastman,  Roscoe  G.  Harding,  Jeremiah  Parker. 

879  Samuel  F.  Bacon,  Charles  W.  Deering,  Henry  Mayberry. 

880  "        "         "  "        "  "  "  " 
881 

882  Samuel  F.  Bacon,  Rufus  A.  Fogg,  William  Buxton. 

883  William  Buxton,  Rufus  A.  Fogg,  George  W.  Lowell. 

884  John  S.  Leavitt,  Charles  E.  Jordan,  Harvey  W.  Murch. 

885  Lewis  McLellan,  Charles  E.  Jordan,  Isaac  L.  Johnson. 

886  "        "         ■'  '•  "  "       " 

887  John  S.  Leavitt,  Isaac  L.  Johnson,  George  P.  Plaisted. 

888  Frederick  D.  Scamman,  John  S.  Leavitt,  George  P.  Plaisted. 

889  Frederick  D.  Scamman,  George  P.  Plaisted,  William  Buxton. 

890  Frederick  D.  Scamman,  Charles  E.  Jordan,  Edward  H.  F.  Smith. 

891  Frederick  D.  Scamman,  Lewis  L.  Files,  Elbridge  M.  Wilson. 
892 

893  Elbridge  M.  Wilson,  Lewis  L.  Files,  Lewis  McLellan. 

894  "         "         "  "       "        " 

895  Lewis  McLellan,  Carlyle  W.  Shaw,  George  R.  Spinney. 

896  Edward  H.  F.  Smith,  Carlyle  W.  Shaw,  George  R.  Spinney. 


376 


HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


1597  Lewis  McLellan,  Frederick  D.  Scammon,  Charles  S.  Purinton. 

1598  " 

1899  Cliarles  S.  Purinton,  Frederick  D.  Scamman,  Fred  A.  Giddings. 

[900  Fred  A.  Giddings,  Charles  S.  Purinton,  Frank  I.  Whitney. 

1901  "      "           "                  "       "          "              "      "         " 

DELEGATES    TO   THE    PROVINCIAL    CONGRESS. 

1774  Solomon  Lombard. 

1775  Bryant  Morton. 
1776 

1777     Edmund  Phinney. 

1779     Solomon  Lombard,  to  form  the  State  Constitution. 

JUSTICES    OF    THE    COURT    OF    GENERAL    SESSIONS    OF    THE    PEACE. 

1762,     Solomon  Lombard. 
1774,     William  Gorham. 
1780-83,     Edmund  Phinney. 
1785,     Josiah  Thacher. 
1795,     George  Lewis. 
1802,     Lothrop  Lewis. 

ASSOCIATE    JUSTICES    OF   THE    COURT   OF    SESSIONS. 


FROM      TO 


1814 
1828 


1S2O, 
18.30, 


Lothrop  Lewis. 
James  Irish. 


JUDGES    OF   THE    COURT    OF    COMMON    PLEAS. 


1776  1781,  Solomon  Lombard. 

1784  1799,  Josiah  Thacher. 

1789  1804,  William  Gorham. 

1798  1811,  Stephen  Longfellow. 


JUDGES  OF  PROBATE. 


FROM    TO 


1782     1805,     William  Gorham. 

1846     1856,     Josiah  Pierce. 

1863     1876,     John  A.  Waterman. 


OTHER    STATE   AND    COUNTY    OFFICIALS. 

Frederick  Robie,  Governor  of  Maine,  1882  to  1886. 
Edmund  Mann,     member  of  Gov.  Dunlap's  Executive  Council,  1834. 
Toppan  Robie,  "         "       "     Kent's  "  "  1840. 

Dominicus  Jordan,     "         "       "     Fairfield's         "  "  1843. 

Dominicus  Jordan,     "         "       "     Kavenough's   "  " 

Frederick  Robie,        "         "       "     Washburn's     "  "  1861. 

"  "  "         "       "     Davis's  "  "  i88o. 

"  "  "         "       "     Plaisted's  "  "  1881  and  '82. 

William  Tyng,        Sheriff  of  Cumberland  County,  from  1768  to  1775. 
Wendall  P.  Smith,      "       "  "  "  "       1845  "   1854. 

Daniel  C.  Emery,        "       "  "  "  in      1856. 

Edmund  Mann,       County  Commissioner  in  1831,  '32,  ^^;^  and  '35. 
Jeremiah  Parker,  "  "  "    i860,  '61  and  '62. 

Roscoe  G.  Harding    "  "  "   1S88,  (appointed  by  the  Governor.) 

George  P.  Plaisted.     "  "  "   1901. 


TOWN    OFFICERS,    ETC.  377 

John  A.  Waterman,  County  Treasurer,  from  1857  to  1859. 
James  Mann,  "  "  "      1862  "   1863. 

Roscoe  G.  Harding,       "  "  "     1875  "   1877. 

Lewis  Mcl.ellan,  "  "  "     1877  "   1880. 

Edward  P.  Weston,  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools,  i860,  '61  and  '62. 

SENATORS    IN    THE    GENERAL    COURT    OK    MASSACHUSETTS. 

Josiah  Thacher,  1785. 
Stephen  r.ongfellow,  1794. 
Lothrop  Lewis,  180S  and  181 5. 
James  Irish,  18 19. 

SE.NATORS    IN    THE    LEGISLATURE    OF    MAINE. 

Josiah  Pierce,  1834,  '35  and  '36.     President  of  the  Senate  in  1835  and  '36. 
Charles  Hunt,  1843  ^^^  '44- 
James  Mann,  1851       "    '53. 
Frederick  Robie,  1867  and  '68. 
Edward  Harding,  1888-9. 

REPRESENTATIVES   AT   THE    GENERAL    COURT    OF    MASSACHUSETTS. 

1765  Solomon  Lombard. 

1766  None. 

1767  Solomon  Lombard. 
1768 

1769 

1770  None. 

1771 

1772 

1773  Wentworth  Stuart. 

1774  None. 

1775  Bryant  Morton. 

1776  Caleb  Chase. 

1777  Bryant  Morton. 

1778  Edmund  Phinney. 
1779 

1780  Solomon  Lombard. 

1781  None. 

1782  Stephen  Longfellow,  Jr. 

1783  Josiah  Thacher. 
1784 

1785    " 

1786 

1787 

1788  Edmund  Phinney. 

1789  Josiah  Thacher. 
1790 

1791 

1792  Stephen  Longfellow  and  Josiah  Thacher. 

^793  Stephen  Longfellow. 

1794 

1795  Josiah  Thacher. 

1796  Stephen  Longfellow. 
'797  Jo.-;iah  Thacher. 
1798  Stephen  Longfellow. 
1799 

1800 


378  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

I  So  I  Lothrop  Lewis. 
1802 

1803  "  "         (Chosen  unanimously.) 

1804  "  " 
1805 

1806  u                   - 

1807 

1808  Lothrop  Lewis  and  David  Harding,  Jr. 

1809  David  Harding,  Jr.,  and  Dudley  J'olsom. 

1810  Lothrop  Lewis,  David  Harding,  Jr.,  and  Dudley  Folsom. 

1811  "  "           "               

1812  "  "           "               "           "      '■ 

1813  James  Codman,  David  Harding,  Jr.,  and  Toppan  Robie. 

1814  "  "             "              "           "      " 

1815         .   "  "      " 

1816  Samuel  Stephenson,  David  Harding,  Jr.,  and  Toppan  Robie. 

1817  David  Harding,  Jr. 
1818 

1819  Lothrop  Lewis,  Toppan  Robie  and  Joseph  Adams. 

REPRESENTATIVES   TO   THE    LEGISLATURE    OF    MAINE. 

1820  James  Irish,  David  Harding,  Jr.  and  Toppan  Robie. 

1821  "  "           "             "           "     "             "       _     " 

1822  Lothrop  Lewis. 

1823  Seward  Merrill. 
1824 

1825  Samuel  Stephenson. 

1826  Clark  Dyer. 

1827  "         " 
1828 

1829  Edward  Mann. 

1830 

[831  Joseph  Hamblen,  3d. 

1832  Josiah  Pierce. 

1833 

1834  William  E.  Files. 

1835  "         "      " 

1836  Charles  Hunt. 
1837 

183S  Caleb  Hodgdon. 
1839 

1840  Robert  Johnson,  Jr. 

1 841  Robert  Motley. 

1842  Jeremiah  Parker. 

1843  Daniel  C.  Emery. 

1844 

1845  Teremiah  Parker. 

1846  Hugh  D.  McLellan. 

1847  "        "  "            Speaker  of  the  House  in  1847  and  1848. 
1848 

1849  James  Mann. 
1850 

1 85 1  Jonathan  Hanson. 

1852  No  election,  as  the  summer  sessions  were  changed  to  winter  ones. 

1853  Charles  Paine. 
1854 

1855  Jacob  C.  Baker. 
1856 

1857  Joshua  E.  Hall. 

1858  "       " 


TOWN    OFFICERS,    ETC.  379 

1859  Frederick  Robie. 

i860  "  " 

1861  James  Phinney. 

1862 

1863  Joseph  W.  Parker. 

1864 

1865  Edward  P.  Weston. 

1866  Benjamin  R.  Sturgis. 

1867  Albion  P.  Files. 

1868  "        "       " 

1869  James  M.  Buzzell. 

1870  Roscoe  G.  Harding. 

1 87 1  Frederick  Robie. 

1872  "  "  Speaker  of  the  House  in  1872  and  1876. 

1873  Merrill  T.  Files. 

1874  "        "        " 

1875  Kimball  Eastman. 

1876  Frederick  Robie. 
1877 

1878 

1879  William  Guptill. 

1880  Elias  S.  Goff. 

1881  Alpheus  Boothby. 
1883  Stephen  Hinkley. 
1885  Edward  Harding. 
1887 

1889  Frederick  Robie. 

1 89 1  C.  Eugene  Wescott. 

1893  "         " 

1895  Henry  R.  Millett. 

1897  Elbridge  M.  Wilson.  • 

1899 

1901  Charles  S.  Purinton. 

VOTES    IN    GORHAM    FOR    GOVERNOR    OF'    M.VSSACHUSETTS. 

1780  John  Hancock,  55  ;  James  Bowdoin,  2. 

1781  John  Hancock,  26. 

1782  John  Hancock,  15. 

1783  John  Hancock,  33 ;   Benjamin  Lincoln,  20;  James  Bowdoin,  i. 

1784  John  Hancock,  44. 

1785  Thomas  Gushing,  53;   Benjamin  Lincoln,  i. 

1786  James  Bowdoin,  27;  Thomas  Gushing,  19. 

1787  John  Hancock,  103;  James  Bowdoin,  6. 

1788  John  Hancock,  94. 

1789  John  Hancock,  116. 

1790  John  Hancock,  90. 

1 791  John  Hancock,  98. 

1792  John  Hancock,  81. 

1793  John  Hancock,  87. 

1794  Samuel  Adams,  92;  William  Gushing,  3;  Elbridge  Gerry,  i. 

1795  Samuel  Adams,  85  ;  F^lbridge  Gerry,  4  ;  William  Gushing,  i. 

1796  Samuel  Adams,  88;   Increase  Sumner,  14;  Elbridge  Gerry,  6. 

1797  Moses  Gill,  48;  Increase  Sumner,  20;  Elbridge  Gerry,  i. 

1798  Increase  Sumner,  81  ;  Moses  Gill,  i. 

1799  Increase  Sumner,  89;  Moses  Gill,  i. 

1800  Caleb  Strong,  46;  Moses  Gill,  41 ;  Elbridge  Gerry,  41. 

1801  Caleb  Strong,  102  ;  Elbridge  Gerry,  41  ;  Gary  McLellan,  i. 

1802  Caleb  Strong,  105;  Elbridge  Gerry,  27  ;  Nathaniel  Frost,  Jr.,  i. 

1803  Caleb  Strong,  137. 


380  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

1804  Caleb  Strong,   162;  James  Sullivan,  63;  Edward  H.   Robbins,  3;    Nath' 

Gould,  2. 

1805  Caleb  Strong,  164;  James  Sullivan,  90. 

1806  Caleb  Strong,  194;  James  Sullivan,  99. 
1S07  Caleb  Strong,  158;  James  Sullivan,  126. 

1808  Christopher  Gore,  257;  James  Sullivan,  58. 

1809  Christopher  Gore,  230;  Levi  Lincoln,  90. 
iSio  Christopher  Gore,  244;  Elbridge  Gerry,  114. 

181 1  Christopher  Gore,  176;  Elbridge  Gerry,  99. 

1812  Caleb  Strong,  284;   Elbridge  Gerry,  115. 

18 1 3  Caleb  Strong,  291 ;  Joseph  B.  Vatnum,  88. 

1814  Caleb  Strong,  311;  Samuel  Dexter,  92. 

1815  Caleb  Strong,  259;  Samuel  Dexter,  139. 

1816  John  Brooks,  257;  Samuel  Dexter,  112. 

1817  John  Brooks,  203;   Henry  Dearborn,  79. 

1818  John  Brooks,  173;  Benjamin  Crowningshield,  99. 

1819  John  Brooks,  191;  B.  W.  Crowningshield,  116. 

VOTES    IN    GORHAM    FOR    GOVERNOR    OF    MAINE. 

[820  William  King,  223  ;  Scattering,  10. 

[821  Ezekiel  Whitman,  138;  Albion  K.  Paris,  92. 

[822  Ezekiel  Whitman,  87;  Albion  K.  Paris,  71. 

3  Albion  K.  Paris,  108. 

1824  Albion  K.  Paris,  129. 

1825  Albion  K.  Paris,  137;  Enoch  Lincoln,  11. 
26  Enoch  Lincoln,  275;  Scattering,  i. 

[827  Enoch  Lincoln,  135. 

8  Enoch  Lincoln,  357;  Scattering,  16. 

[829  Samuel  E.  Smith,  21S;  Jonathan  G.  Hunton,  211. 

[830  Jonathan  G.  Hunton,  283;   Samuel  E.  Smith,  269. 

[83!  Samuel  E.  Smith,  256;  Daniel  Goodenow,  254. 

1832  Samuel  E.  Smith,  279;  Daniel  Goodenow,  272. 

[833  Robert  P.  Dunlap,  257;  Daniel  Goodenow,  256. 

34  Robert  P.  Dunlap,  298;   Peleg  Sprague,  281. 

[835  Robert  P.  Dunlap,  252;  William  King,  200. 

(836  Robert  P.  Dunlap,  256;    Edward  Kent,  201. 

[837  Edward  Kent,  291  ;  Gorham  Parks,  268. 

8  Edward  Kent,  343;  John  Fairfield,  297. 

[839  Edward  Kent,  308;  John  Fairfield,  308. 

[840  Edward  Kent,  356;  John  Fairfield,  287. 

[841  Edward  Kent, ;   John  Fairfield,  285. 

[842  John  Fairfield,  276;  Edward  Robinson,  240. 

[843  Hugh  J.  Anderson,  238;  Edward  Robinson,  129;  James  Appleton,  31. 

[844  Hugh  J.  Anderson,  298;  Edward  Robinson,  272. 

[845  Hugh  J.  Anderson,  214;  Freeman  H.  Morse,  146;  Samuel  Fessenden,  42. 

1846  John  W.  Dana,  225;  David  Bronson,  166;  Samuel  Fessenden,  60. 

[847  John  W.  Dana,  167;  David  Bronson,  loS;  Samuel  Fessenden,  27. 

8  John  W.  Dana,  222;  E.  L.  Hamlin,  164;    Samuel  Fessenden,  124. 

[849  John  Hubbard,  228;  E.  L.  Hamlin,  140 ;  G.  F.  Talbott,  104. 

1850  John  Hubbard,  238;   William  G.  Crosby,  204;  G.  F.  Talbott,  86. 

[851  No  election. 

[852  John  Hubbard,  243;  A.  G.  Chandler,  168;  William  G.  Crosby,  150. 

[853  Albert    Pillsbury,   190;    William   G.   Crosby,    189;    A.   P.   Morrill,  92 ;  E. 

Holmes,  73. 

[854  A.  P.  Morrill,  255;  A.  K.  Paris,  241  ;  Isaac  Reed,  47. 

[855  A.  P.  Morrill,  339;  Samuel  Wells,  329;  Isaac  Reed,  20. 

[856  Hannibal  Hamlin,  415  ;  Samuel  Wells,  291  ;  George  F.  Patten,  23. 

[857  Lot  M.  Morrill,  366;  Manassah  H.  Smith,  247;  George  F.  Patten,  i. 

8  Lot  M.  Morrill,  383;  Manassah  H.  Smith,  310. 

[859  Lot  M.  Morrill,  383;  Manassah  PL  Smith,  255. 


TOWN    OFFICERS,    ETC.  381 

iS6o  Israel  Washbiirn,  Jr.,  438;  Ephraim  K.  Smart,  315;   Phinehas  Barnes,  5. 

1861  Israel  Washburn,  Jr..  381  ;  John   W.  Dana,  187;  Charles  D.  Jameson,  56. 

1862  Abner  Coburn,  325;   Bion  Bradbury,  242;  Charles  D.  Jameson,  18. 

1863  Samuel  Cony,  408;   Bion  Bradbury,  286. 

1864  Samuel  Cony,  397;  Joseph  Howard,  293. 

1865  Samuel  Cony,  288;  Joseph  Howard,  233. 

1866  Joshua  L.  Chamberlain,  421  ;   Eben  F.  Pillsbury,  264. 

1867  Joshua  L.  Chamberlain,  321  ;   Eben  F.  Pillsbury,  229. 

1868  Joshua  L.  Chamberlain,  459;  Eben  F.  Pillsbury,  323. 

1869  Joshua  L.  Chamberlain,  380;   Franklin  Smith,  291;  Nathan  G.  Hichborn, 

17- 

1S70  Sidney  Perham,  356;   Charles  W.  Roberts,  240. 

1871  Sidney  Perham,  325;   Charles  P.  Kimball,  253. 

1872  Sidney  Perham,  397;  Charles  P.  Kimball,  324. 

1873  Nelson  Dingley,  Jr.,  225;  Joseph  Titcomb,  182. 

1874  Nelson  Dingley,  Jr.,  355;   Joseph  Titcomb,  292. 

1875  Selden  Connor,  424;   Charles  W.  Roberts,  377. 

1876  Selden  Connor,  433;  John  C.  Talbott,  355. 

1877  Selden  Connor,  368;  Joseph  H.  Williams,  316;  James  PI.  Williams,  i. 

1878  Selden  Connor,  367;  Alonzo  Garcelon,  228;  Joseph  L.  Smith,  179. 

1879  Daniel  F.  Davis,  410;  Alonzo  Garcelon,  230;  Joseph  L.  Smith,  186;  S.  D. 

Greenleaf,  13. 

1880  Harris  M.  Plaisted,  442  ;   Daniel  F.  Davis,  417  ;  Joshua  L.  Nye,  8. 

1882     Frederick  Robie,  43S ;  Harris   M.  Plaisted,  403;    Solon  Chase,  7;    W.    H. 

Vinton,  3. 
1884     Frederick  Robie,  477  ;  John  B.  Redman,  353 ;   Wm.  T.  Eustis,  12;   Hosea 

B.  Eaton,  1 1. 

1886     Joseph  R.  Bodwell,  381  ;  Clark  S.  Edwards,  320;  Aaron  Clark,  27. 
1888     Edwin  C.  Burleigh,  424;  Wm.  L.  Putnam,  380 ;  Volney  B.  Gushing,  23. 
1890     Fdwin  C.  Burleigh,  375;   Wm.  P.  Thompson,  283;  Aaron  Clark,  11. 
1892     Henry  B.  Cleaves,  364;  Charles  F.  Johnson,  285;  Timothy  B.  Huzzey,  23; 

Luther  C.  Batenian,  3;   Edgar  F.  Knowlton,  i. 
1894     Henry  B.  Cleaves,  326;  Chas.  F.  Johnson,  226;  Ira  G.  Hersey,   18. 
1896     Llewellyn  Powers,  367;  Melvin  P.  Frank,  143;  Ammi  S.  Ladd,  6;  Luther 

C.  Hateman,  4;   William  Henry  Clifford,  2. 

1898     Llewellyn  Powers,  205;  Samuel  L.  Lord,  141 ;  Ammi  S.  Ladd,  11. 
1900     John  F.  Hill,  279;  Samuel  L.  Lord,  125;  Grant  Rogers,  35. 


GENEALOGY. 


ADAMS. 

Benjamin  Adams  was  the  son  of  John  Adams  of  Fahiiouth.  He 
married  Miriam  (Watson  ?).  They  had  a  son  Benjamin  Watson 
Adams  born  in  Fahnouth,  Mar.  9,  1778.  Mrs.  Adams  died  shortly 
after  the  birth  of  this  child,  and  Mr.  Adams  married,  Nov.  26,  1778, 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  Elizabeth  Frost  of  Gorham.  At 
this  time  he  was  of  Falmouth.  In  1783  he  purchased  of  Silas  Chad- 
bourn  an  acre  and  three-quarters  of  land  in  Gorham,  on  the  north 
side  of  Main  St.,  east  of  Daniel  Whitmore's  land.  This,  with  the 
buildings  thereon,  he  sold  in  1 791,  to  Moses  Clark.  This  is  the  lot  on 
which  the  Hinkley  house  and  tannery  stand.  Mr.  Adams  resided 
in  the  Storer  (S.  B.  Guthrie)  house.  An  addition  has  been  made 
to  it  since  Mr.  Adams's  time.  Mr.  x\dams  died  in  Portland,  in  June, 
1805,  and  his  widow  married,  Jan.  19,  181 1,  Charles  Patrick  of  Gor- 
ham. She  died  at  the  house  of  Benjamin  Mosher,  Mar.  2,  1841, 
aged  90. 

William  Adams  and  his  brother  Stephen  came  from  Wells  about 
1770.  Stephen  settled  in  Buxton,  and  William  in  Gorham.  The 
latter  married,  Dec.  3,  1772,  Susanna  Brown,  probably  a  daughter 
of  Joseph  and  Susanna  Brown.     Children : 

Joseph,  b.  Sept.  21,  1774,  m.  Mercy,  dau.  of  Jonathan  Elwell,  Apr.  12,  1802 
Ch:  Polly,  d.  Dec.  25,  i8i8j  ag.  16;  Susan,  d.  unm.  Mar.  13,  1859,  ag 
55;  Harriet,  d.  Dec.  22,  1818,  ag.  8;  John,  d.  at  the  house  of  Wm.  B 
Freeman,  unm.  Apr.  14,  1873,  ag.  57;  Elizabeth,  d.  y.  Mrs.  Adams,  d 
July  28,  1820,  ag.  42  ;  Mr.  Adams  m.  Dolly,  dau.  of  Nathaniel  Warren 
By  her  he  had  two  sons,  Stephen  and  Warren.  Mr.  Adams  I'd  on  a 
farm  on  the  two-rod  road,  which  then  ran  west  from  the  Fort  Hill  road, 
near  David  Freeman's.      He  moved  to  Hiram. 

William,  b.  Sept.  3,  1776. 

Dorcas,  b.  Feb.  16,  1779. 

John,  b.  Jan.  31,  1780. 

Edmund,  b.  Feb.  4,  1782. 

About  1782  Mr.  Adams  moved  to  Buxton,  where  his  wife  died, 
Dec.  21,  1785.  He  married,  Dec.  13,  1786,  Rebecca,  daughter  of 
Jonathan  Elwell  of  Gorham.  There  was  a  large  family  of  children  by 
this  marriage,  all  born  in  Buxton.  William  Adams  died  Dec.  24, 
1826,  and  his  wife,  Sept.  14,  1840. 


I 

384  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Joshua  Adams  lived  on  the  Flaggy  Meadow  road,  about  opposite 

to  where  the  house  of  the  late  Samuel  Murch  stands.     June  7,  1781, 

he  bought  of  Zephaniah   Harding  one-fourth  of  the  hundred  acre  lot 

62.     This  lot  his  widow  Hannah  sold  in   1792   to  Decker  Phinney, 

and  he,  on  the  same  day  conveyed  it  to  Allen  Davis.     Mr.  Adams 

probably  married  for  his  first  wife,  Feb.  3,  1775,   Hannah,  daughter 

of  Nathaniel  and  Elizabeth  Frost.     He  married,  second,  (pub.  July 

26,  1777.)  Mrs.  Hannah  (Whitney)  Brown,  widow  of  Joseph   Brown, 

and  daughter  of  Isaac  Whitney.     Children  : 

Lucy,  b.  June  25,  1778. 

Joseph  Crosby,  b.  Aug.  10,  17S0. 

^^""^^^    .        \   b.  May  23,  1783. 
Benjamin,     \  j     01    /    j 

James,  b.  June  29,  1787. 

Hannah,  b.  May  2,  1790. 

Joshua  Adams  died  before  1792.  The  family  moved  into  the 
eastern  part  of  the  State.  Some  of  the  descendants  are  now  in 
the  State  of  New  York. 

AKERS. 

The  name  of  Moses  Akers  appears  Feb.  11,  1777,  as  signing  a 
petition  for  a  call  for  a  proprietors'  meeting,  and  this  is  the  only  time 
the  name  of  Akers  appears  on  the  old  records.  Moses  bought  the 
thirty  acre  lot  No.  4  of  Daniel  Mosher,  Nov.  9,  1762.  In  the  year 
1763  and  up  to  1780  he  is  a  tax-payer,  and  no  other  Akers  on  the 
books.  In  an  old  assessment  made  December,  1764,  the  right  No.  4 
is  assessed  to  Daniel  Mosher;  and  in  1765,  when  a  draft  is  made  for 
the  third  division,  being  the  seventy  acre  lots,  No.  4  is  put  down  to 
Moses  Akers,  and  drew  lot  49.  Notwithstanding  all  this,  there  might 
have  been  others  of  the  name  in  town.  In  an  old  diary  of  Mr.  Alden 
are  a  number  of  marriages  not  in  the  regular  town  records.  One  was 
a  Mrs.  Akers  to  Jonathan  Melvin,  May  4,  1773.  They  were  not 
published  in  Gorham,  nor  does  it  appear  by  whom  they  were  married. 
At  that  time  there  was  a  family  of  Melvins  in  town.  There  are  but 
two  families  of  Akers  recorded  in  Gorham,  evidently  father  and  son. 
The  first  is  — 

Moses  Akers,  spoken  of  above,  who  married  in   December,  1753, 

Hannah  B.,  da:ughter  of  Daniel  and  Jenny  Mosher.     Children  : 

Jenny  M.,  b.  Aug.  13,  1756,  m.  James  Brackett  of  Falmouth,  Mar.  17,  1785. 

Daniel  M.,  b   Aug.  17,  1760. 

John,  b.  Aug.  25,  1763,  m.  Eunice  Newbegin,  Nov.  6,  1783. 

Hannah  Barker,  b.  Apr.  25,  1766. 

Rebecca,  b.  Oct.  12,  1768,  m.  Aaron  Hanscom  of  Gorham,  May  10,  1800. 

Susanna  B.,  b.  Oct.  17,  1775. 


GENEALOGY.  385 

Moses  Akers  probably  married  a  second  wife,  Mary  Clark,  Dec.  7, 
1780.  In  his  publishment  to  his  first  wife,  Miss  Mosher,  he  is  named 
as  of  Falmouth.  These  were  the  great-grandparents  of  the  sculptors, 
Charles  and  Paul  Akers. 

(2)  John  Akers,  son  of  Moses,  lived  near  Little  Falls.     His  house 

was  near  where  Mr.  Bragdon  has  since  lived.     Remarried  Funice 

Newbegin.     Her  father  was  a  blacksmith,  and  worked  in  a  shop  that 

was  occupied  by  Morris  Clark  before  him,  and  which  stood  near  the 

corner  made  by  the  Great  Falls  road  and  the  road  to  Little  Falls, 

near    where  Capt.  Joshua  Brackett  lived.     Mr.  Newbegin  moved  to 

Parsonfield.     Children  of  John  and  Eunice  Akers  : 

Hannah,  b.  Sept.  13,  1785,  m. Fitzgerald,  and  2d, Fannegan. 

Thomas,  b.  P^eb.  9,  1787,  m.  Pelina  Gammon,  Sept.  25,  1806. 

Mary,  b.  Oct.  2,  1789,  m.  Massey  Barter. 

Benjamin,  b.  May  13,  1791,  m.  a  Miss  Fry,  and  moved  to  Falmouth. 

Moses,  b.  Feb.  26,  1792,  d.  aged  22  mos. 

John,  b.  Oct.  5,  1798,  d.  young. 

Nancy,  b.  Mar.  2,  1800,  m. Morrill. 

William,  b.  Apr.  20,  1802,  m.  Sally,  dau.  of  Jeremiah  and  Hannah  (Hamblen) 
Jones;    2d,  Jane  Foss ;  I'd  in  Westbrook. 

ALDEN. 

Au.stin  Alden  was  born  in  Mar.shfield,  Mass.,  March  25,  1729.  He 
married,  in  Gorhani,  Nov.  25,  1756,  Salome,  the  daughter  of  Rev. 
Solomon  Lombard  of  Gorham;  Mr.  Lombard  performing  the  cere- 
mony. Mr.  Alden  came  to  Gorham  from  the  town  of  Truro,  Mass., 
about  the  year  1755,  and  settled  on  the  farm  now  owned  and  occu- 
pied by  his  great-great-grandson,  Chas.  G.  Alden.  This  farm,  which 
has  been  held  in  a  direct  line  through  five  generations,  is  situated 
about  one-half  mile  west  of  the  church,  on  the  new  road  to  Standish, 
being  the  thirty  acre  lots,  Nos.  35  and  36.  He  was  in  the  French 
and  Indian  wars  previous  to  the  year  1761  as  a  soldier,  but  where, 
and  what  part  he  performed  we  are  not  able  to  state,  excepting  that 
we  know  he  served  as  Sergeant  in  1757  in  Capt.  Joseph  Woodman's 
company  in  the  Northern  Army.  In  June,  1761,  he  was  drafted, 
under  orders  from  the  Home  Government,  with  others  of  the  colo- 
nists (making  several  companies)  for  the  purpose  of  building  the 
fortifications  at  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia.  He  left  home  on  the  17th  day 
of  June,  1 76 1,  in  company  with  several  others  from  Gorham  as  sol- 
diers in  said  expedition,  and  marched  to  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  where 
they  took  passage  for  Boston,  from  thence  to  Castle  William,  now 
Fort  Independence,  where  they  were  put  on  board  transports  for 
Halifax.      When  they  arrived  there  they  were  divided  into  parties 


386  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

of  artificers,  laborers,  and  for  what  each  was  best  fitted.  As  for  Mr. 
Alden,  being  a  warrant  officer,  or  orderly,  his  place  was  comparatively 
easy  and  pleasant.  As  it  was,  however,  he  suffered  as  much  from 
sickness  and  exposure  as  the  others  did  from  hard  usage.  Such  'usage 
as  these  men  had  to  endure  would  hardly  be  suffered  at  this  day. 
(See  Chapter  VI.)  Record  is  often  made  of  such  and  such  an  one 
being  before  a  court  martial,  and  sentenced  to  from  twenty  to  even 
one  hundred  lashes.  These  men  remained  at  Halifax  till  February', 
1762.     Mr.  Alden  arrived  home  Jan.  4,  1762. 

Mr.  Alden  joined  the  army  of  the  Revolution,  enlisting  at  the  first 
outbreak  of  hostilities  as  a  private  in  Capt.  Wentworth  Stuart's  com- 
pany. He  was  appointed  Second  Lieut,  the  following  year,  in  Capt. 
John  Rice's  company,  in  Col.  Phinney's  i8th  Continental  regiment. 
He  then  joined  as  First  Lieut.  Capt.  Nathan  VVatkins  company.  Col. 
Brewer's  12th  Mass.  regiment,  most  of  which  company  was  raised  in 
Massachusetts.  There  were  but  two  or  three  men  in  it  from  Gorham. 
Mr.  Alden  and  his  company  were  with  the  Northern  Army,  at  and 
about  Albany,  N.  Y.,  in  1777,  and  were  at  the  capture  of  Burgoyne. 
He  was  in  the  army  over  a  year  at  this  time,  but  his  family  and  farm 
requiring  his  time  and  attention,  he  came  home  about  the  latter  part 
of  1777.  He  was  chosen  town  clerk  as  early  as  the  year  1778,  which 
office  he  held  till  1804,  and  his  records  are  among  the  most  correct 
of  any  made  from  that  time  up  to  this  day. 

Mr.  Alden  was  a  large,  powerful  man,  over  six  feet  in  height,  mus- 
cular and  strong,  well  fitted  to  make  a  new  country,  and  make  it  bud 
and  blossom,  and  at  an  early  day  his  farm  showed  that  it  was  in  the 
hands  of  a  master.  To  see  him,  tall,  staid,  and  circumspect  in  all  his 
movements,  one  would  at  once  suppose  him  to  be  of  the  Pilgrim 
stock,  and  such  was  the  case  ;  he  was  a  descendant  of  John  and 
Priscilla  Alden,  who  landed  from  the  ship  Mayflower  at  Plymouth, 
in  December,  1620  ;  being  of  the  fourth  generation  from  the  pilgrim. 
The  Sabbath  was  with  him  a  strictly  religious  day  —  he  never  let  it 
pass  otherwise.  Attendance  on  religious  services  was  with  him  a 
duty  that  he  would  suft'er  nothing  to  interfere  with  :  the  necessity 
must  be  very  great  that  would  cause  any  deviation  from  this  rule. 
He  was  early  made  a  deacon  of  the  Congregational  church  in  Gor- 
ham. Remarkably  correct,  prompt  and  systematic  in  his  affairs,  with 
a  good  education  for  the  times  in  which  he  lived,  he  was  much 
employed  by  the  town  and  by  his  townsmen,  individually,  and  in 
everything  was  found  to  be  an  honest,  straight-forward  man.  To  his 
wife  Mr.  Alden  was  much   devoted.       They  were  well    adapted    to 


GENEALOGY.  387 

each  other.  Both  remarkably  pious,  their  path  was  that  of  unity. 
Mrs.  Alden  was  much  devoted  to  what  she  thought  to  be  her  duty ;  a 
good  and  loving  wife  and  mother,  a  kind  neighbor  and  fast  friend  — 
she  was  a  woman  much  belo\ed  and  respected  by  all  who  knew  her. 

Mr.  Alden's  father,  Jonathan,  came  from  Massachusetts  to  live 
with  his  son,  Nov.  i8,  1766,  and  remained  with  him  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  on  the  loth  day  of  July,  1770,  when  he  was  84  years 
and  4  months  old. 

Children  of  Austin  and  Salome  Alden  : 

Elizabeth,    b.  Oct.  31,  1757,  m.  Jesse  Harding,  Mar.  27,  1777. 

Josiah,  b.  Mar.  31,  1760,  m.   Sar.ah  Robinson,  Feb.  23,  1783. 

Humphrey,  b.  Jan.  21,  1763,  went  to  Mass. 

Anner,  b.  Apr.  14,  1765,  m.  Warren  Nickersonof  New  Plantation,  Nov.  22,  1785. 

Hezekiah,  b.  July  15,  1767,  d.  Nov.  27,  176S. 

Mrs.  Salome  Alden  died  in  Gorham,  May  18,  1780,  at  the  age  of 
45,  and  Mr.  Alden  married,  Nov.  25,  1781,  Hannah  Battles  of  Cape 
Elizabeth.  She  died  May  25,  1784.  It  is  probable  that  Dea.  Alden 
had  been  married  before  coming  to  Gorham,  for  after  recoiding  the 
death  of  his  wife  Hannah  in  his  diary,  he  adds  the  following,  "  This 
is  the  third  bosom  companion  that  I  have  laid  in  the  grave."  Dea. 
Austin  Alden  died  March  23,  1804,  aged  75. 

(2)  Josiah  Alden,  son  of  Austin,  was  elected  town  clerk  of  Gorham 

on  the  decease  of  his  father,  and  was  annually  re-elected  until   18 15. 

He  was  also  town  treasurer  from  1806  to  18  15.      He  married   Sarah 

Robinson  of  Cape  Elizabeth.     Children  : 

Austin,  b.  Nov.  3,  1784,  m.  Anna  Lord,  Apr.  12,  1814  ;  went  to  Pownal. 
Salome,  b.  Nov.  12,  1786,  m.  Solomon  Davis,  p.  Apr.  20,  1805. 
Charles,  b.  Jan.  20,  1789,  m.  Nancy  Quinby,  d.  June  6,  1866;  she,  in  1873. 
Hannah,  b.  Jan.  20,  i79i,m.  Jotham  Sedgley  of  Limerick,  p.  Jan.  18,  1812. 
Nancy,  b.   Feb.   13,    1793,  n^-   Samuel  Parker  of  Buxton,  Jan.   21,    1821  ;  2d, 

Warren  Nickerson  ;  3d,  a  Mr.  Cobb. 
Gardner,  b.  Jan.  13,  1795,  m.  Martha  Chick,  p.  Apr.  25,  1822. 
Lucy,  b.  Apr.  9,  1797,  m.  Samuel  Goodwin  of  Buxton,  p.  Dec.  27,  1823. 

Josiah  Alden  died  Nov.  8,  1834,  aged  75.  Mrs.  Alden  died  Aug. 
21,  1820,  aged  63. 

(3)  Gardner  Alden,  son  of  Josiah,  married  Martha  Chick  of  Ber- 
wick.    Children  : 

Henry,  b.  May  20,  1823,  m.  Rachel  Ann,  dau.  of  George  and  Eunice  (Watts) 
Carll  of  Buxton,  June  18,  1853.  Ch  :  Charles  G.,  b.  Sept.  '.5,  1S54,  m. 
Emma  Larrabee,  Sept.  4,  1881  ;  Mary  E  ,  b.  Nov.  30,  1S55,  teacher  in 
Mass.;  John  F.,  b.  Sept.  3,  1857,  d.  June  29,  1865;  George,  b.  Jan.  21, 
1864,  m.  Ada  Douglass,  Nov.,  1887.  Henry  Alden  d.  Sept.  30,  1871  ; 
Mrs.  Alden  d.  Jan.  31,  1888,  ag.  58. 

Clarissa,  b.  May  20,  1823,  d.  Sept.  13,  1853. 

Gardner  Alden  died  Sept.  8,  1831,  aged  36,  and  his  wife,  Feb.  11, 
1849,  aged  64. 


388  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

ALLEN. 

Samuel   Allen,  who  was  the  son  of  Jacob  Allen  of  Scarborough, 

came  to  Gorham  about   1829.      He  married.  May  6,  1829,  Mary  C, 

daughter  of  William  and  Mehitable  McLellan.     At  that  time  he  lived 

where   Daniel  Baker  now  lives,  but  afterwards  moved  on  to  the  farm 

now  owned  by  his  son  George,  where  he  died  Sept.  21,  1869,  aged 

66.     Mrs.  Allen  died  Nov.  14,  1893,  aged  84.     Children: 

Alexander  McL.  b.  Dec.  15,  1S30,  m.  Mary  W.  McLellan,  June  19,  185S. 

John  McL.,  b.  June  15,  1S33,  m.  Amanda  Small  of  Gorham. 

Almiia  E..  b.  Apr.  7,  1836,  d.  Oct.  3,  1855. 

William  M.,  b.  luly  13,  1839,  m.  M.  Decker;  2d,  Mattie  McKenney;  d.  Feb.  12, 

1896. 
George  B.,  b.  July  8,  1847,  d.  Aug.  7,  1848. 
George  A.,  b.  Jan.  22,  1850,  m.  Eva  Paine. 
Eunice  S.,  b. ,  1854,  d.  Sept.  i.  1856. 

BACON. 

The  family  of  Bacon  came  from  Barnstable,  Mass.,  where  they 
were  numerous.     From  thence  they  came  to  Scarborough  quite  early. 

About  the  year  1768  Nathaniel  Bacon  with  his  wife  Apphia  and  a 

family  of  three  sons  came  to  Gorham.     The  three  sons  were 

Nathaniel,  b.  about  1757,  m.  Betty  Dyer,  May  13,  1782. 
Timothy,  b.  about  1762,  m.  Mary  Irish,  Eeb.  19,  1789. 

Josiah,  b.  Sept.  24,  1766,  m.  Lucy  Hopkins,  Mar.  27,  178S;  2d,  Hannah   Ham- 
blen. 

After  Mr,  and  Mrs.  Bacon  came  here  they  had  a  daughter  born  — 

Martha,  b.  May  15,  1769,  m.  Charles  Hopkins,  Mar.  7,  1793;  ^'^  ^'^  Buxton. 

If  there  were  any  other  members  of  the  family,  we  have  no  record 
of  them.  Mr.  Bacon  first  settled  on  the  seventy  acre  lot  114,  which 
he  purchased  of  David  Gorham.  In  1780  he  sold  the  northeast 
half  of  this  to  Ithiel  Blake. 

(2)  Nathaniel  Bacon,  Jr.,  son  of  Nathaniel,  married  Betty  Dyer  of 

Cape  Elizabeth.     He  lived  on  his  father's  place.     Children  : 

Thomas,  b.  Apr.  21,  1783,  m.  Sally  Burton,  Dec.  i,  1803. 
Polly,  b.  Sept.  5,  1784,  m.  Joseph  Hanscom,  June  3,  1798. 
Nathaniel,  b.  Mar.  18,  1786,  m.  Nicy  Emery,  Nov.  9,  1809. 
Martha,  b.  Mar.  24,  1790,  m.  Samuel  Dyer,  Dec.  i,  1808. 

Betsey,  b. ,  m.  William  Snow,  Jr.,  p.  July  8,  181 5. 

Levi,  b. ,  m. Stevens. 

George,  b. 


Eunice,  b. ,  m.  Hugh  M.  Smith,  Apr.  7,  181 1. 

Mary,  b. ,  m.  Seth  Blake  of  Limington,  Aug.  26,  182 1. 

Fanny,  b. ,  m.  Francis  Young  of  Bridgton,  Mar.  20,  1822. 

Nathaniel   Bacon   died    Nov.  22,  1843,  aged    86    years;  his   wife, 

Mrs.  Betty  Bacon,  died  May  4,  1843,  ^S^d  83. 


GENEALOGY.  389 

(2)  Timothy  Bacon,  son  of  Nathaniel,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary army,  and  enlisted  when  but  sixteen  years  of  age.  He  was 
in  Lieut.  Col.  Sprout's  regiment,  Patterson's  brigade  ;  was  with  Gen. 
Green  in  the  Carolinas,  and  at  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis ;  and 
served  through  the  war.  Mr.  Bacon  held  a  lieutenant's  commission, 
and  served  with  honor,  in  the  War  of  1812.  He  was  an  honorable 
man,  and  one  of  strict  integrity.  In  his  latter  days  he  received  a 
pension  from  the  General  Government,  for  his  services  in  the 
Revolution.  His  home  was  on  the  hundred  acre  lot  86,  near  West 
Gorham.  He  married  Mary,  daughter  of  James  and  Mary  Gorham 
(Phinney)  Irish,  and  granddaughter  of  Capt.  John  Phinney,  the  first 
settler  of  Gorham.     Children  : 

Stephen,  b.  May  19,  1789,  unm. ;  went  to  Georgia. 

Sarah,  b.  Jan.  12,  1791,  m.  James  S.  Thompson,  Oct.  3,  1810;  I'd  in  Athens. 
James,  b.  Jan.  ii,  1793. 

Timothy,  b.  Dec.  31,  1794,  m    Elizabeth  Fogg,  p.  Nov.  30,  1S16. 
Martha,  b.  Dec.  5,  1796,  m.  Ephraim  Silla,  Mar.  19,  1820. 

Nancy,  b.   Jan.  6,  1799,  m.Wm.   Wentworth  of   Athens,  Eeb.   i,   1829;  I'd  in 
Skowhegan. 

John,  b. ,  d.  about  i88i-2,  unm. 

Gardner,  b.  Dec.  14,  1804,  m.  Jane  W.  Plummer;  moved  to  Westbrook. 
Catherine,  b. . 

Lieut.  Bacon  died  Oct.  24,  1849;  Mrs.  Bacon  died  Mar.  6,  1846, 
aged  79. 

(2)  Josiah  Bacon,  son  of  Nathaniel,  lived  in  Gorham  near  the 
Buxton  line,  where  Edmund  Hood  now  lives.  He  married  Lucy 
Hopkins  of  Standish.     Children: 

Apphia,  b.  Aug.  31,  1781),  m.  P.dward   Blake   of   P.rownfield  (2d  wife),  July  20, 

1S18. 
Rebecca,  b.  Aug.  31,  1791,  m.  Edward  Blake  of  Brownfield,  June  30,  1808. 
Fanny,  b.  Apr.  2,  1794,  m.  Amaziah  Goodwin,  Oct.  5,  1820. 
Miriam,  b.  Mar.  2,  i796,m.  Lot  Davis  of  West  Buxton;  2d,  Benj.  McCorrisonof 

Standish. 
Richard,  b.  Jan.  20,  1798,  m.  Lucy  Ayers,  June  28,  1822. 

Josiah,  b. ,  m.  Harriet  Libby,  Nov.  8,  1828;  I'd  in  Bridgton. 

Hannah,  b. ,  m.  Walter  Berry,  Jr.,  of  Standish,  Jan.  24,  1828  ;  d.  in  Saco. 

Lewis,  b.  1804,  d.  Feb.  14,  1821. 

Marshall,  b. ,  m.  Amy  Libby  of  Bridgton,  Dec.  25,  1829;  I'd  in  Bridgton. 

Leonard,  b.  1810,  m.  Elizabeth  Gates,  Nov.  29,  1835;  -^'  Abby  Edgecomb;  3d, 
Amanda ,  and  4th, ;  d.  in  Gorham,  Feb.  26,  1874. 

Mrs.  Lucy  Bacon  died  Mar.  i,  1836,  aged  70,  and  Mr.  Bacon 
married,  Mar.  11,  1838,  Mrs.  Hannah  Hamblen  of  Standish.  He 
died  Dec.  24,  1845. 

(3)  Thomas  Bacon,  son  of  Nathaniel,  Jr.,  married  Sally,  daughter 

of  William  and  Mary  Burton.     Children  : 

Rebecca,  b.  Aug.  20,  1S04,  m.  Daniel   Emery  of  Buxton,  Jan.  25,  1824;  d.  July 
30,  1853. 


890  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

John,  b.  June  26,  1806,  m.  Eunice  Pennell;  d.  in  Windham. 
Caroline,  b.  July  S,  180S,  d.  Mar.,  1812. 

William,  b.  Mar.  i,  181 1,  m  Jane  W.  Marston  of  N.  Yarmouth,  Oct.  12,  1834; 
d.  in  Windham  in  1892. 

Thomas  Bacon  died  Mar.  17,  18 16,  and  his  widow  married,  Aug. 

22,  1822,  Jessee  Cloudman. 

(3)  Nathaniel  Bacon,  son  of  Nathaniel,  Jr.,  married  Nicy  Emery  of 

Buxton.     Children : 

Benjamin  E.,  b.  July  i,  1810,  d.  Oct.  19,  1833. 

Caroline,  b.  Aug.  29,  1812,  d.  Dec.  30,  1S39 

David  F.,  b.  Mar.  29, 181 5,  I'd  in  Stillwater. 

Thomas,  b,  Sept.  16,  181 7,  d.  y.,  owing  to  an  accident. 

Lucinda,  b.  Feb.  6,  1820,  m.  Stillman  Bard  of  Hartford,  Nov.  14,  1842. 

Isaac  E.,  b.  Mar.  14,  1823,  m.  Miriam  H.  Bacon,  1843;  d-  J^^^y  ^6,  1874. 

James   L.,  b.  Apr.  11,  1825,  d.  in    Lowell,  Mass.,  Sept.  9,  1847. 

Mrs.  Nicy   Bacon  died    Feb.  23,  1844,  aged  55,  and  Mr.  Bacon 

married,   Nov.   30,    1845,    ^^''S-    Lucy  (Norton)  Libby,    daughter    of 

Joseph  and  Nancy  (Whitmore)  Norton  of  Standish,  and  widow  of 

Zachariah  Libby.     Mr.  Bacon  sold  his  farm  to  Ithiel,  son  of  Timothy 

Blake,  and  died  at  West  Gorham  with  his  son  Isaac  Sept.  7,  187 1, 

aged  65  years. 

(3)  Timothy  Bacon,  son  of  Timothy,  married  Elizabeth,  daughter 

of  Daniel  and  Eunice  (March)  Fogg.     They  had  one  child: 

Samuel  F.,  b.  about  1817,  m.  Cornelia,  dau.  of  Edmund  Lombard;  was  town 
clerk  for  three  years,  and  selectman  for  eight;  d.  in  Standish,  Dec.  10, 
1883, aged  66. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Bacon  died  before  18 19,  for  after  her  death,  her 
child  Samuel  was  presented  for  baptism,  June  29,  18 19,  by  his  grand- 
parents, Lieut.  Timothy  and  Mary  Bacon;  and  was  brought  up  by 
them.  Timothy  Bacon,  Jr.  moved  to  Calais  and  married  a  second 
wife.      He  died  about  1874. 

(3)  Richard  Bacon,  son  of  Josiah,  married  Lucy  Ayers.     Children  : 

Miriam  H.,  b.  1823,111.  Isaac  E.  Bacon,  1843;  d.  Nov.  18,  1890. 

Josiah,  b. ,  m.  Rebecca  Small ;  I'd  in  Buxton. 

Richard  O.,  b. ,  d.  young. 

M.  Jane,  b.  Feb.  17,  1829,  m.  Melville  C.  Kimball,  Oct.  8,  1854. 
Emeline,  b.  Nov.  23,  1833,  m.  Robert  Gilpatrick  of  N.  H. 
Lucy  A.,  b.  May  17,  1838,  m.  Charles  B.  Harding. 
Elizabeth  A.,  b.  Dec.  9,  1840,  m.  Oneas  Huff  of  Lyman. 
Nancy  S.,  b.  Jan.  7,  1843,  m.  William  Huff  of  Lyman. 

Richard  Bacon  moved  to  Buxton  about   1847   or   1848,  and  died 

there. 

Mrs.  Miriam  Bacon,  a  widow,  came  to  Gorham  from  Barnstable, 
with  her  two  daughters  Miriam  and  Annah.  Her  husband,  Joseph 
Bacon,    was   probably  a   cousin    to    Nathaniel    Bacon   who  came  to 


GENEALOGY.  391 

Gorham  in  1768.  She  was  a  niece  of  Mrs.  John  Phinney,  and  a 
sister  of  Mrs.  Prince  Davis.  They  were  Cohnans,  and  of  a  very 
worthy  family.  Nicholas  Harding  married  the  two  daughters  for  his 
first  and  second  waves.  Mrs.  Bacon  died  at  the  house  of  her  son-in- 
law  Harding,  Jan.  31,  1812,  aged  about  85. 

BAILEY. 

Samuel  Bailey  was  the  son  of  Benjamin  Bailey,  and  was  born  in 
Westbrook,  Feb.  21,  1792,  from  which  town  he  moved  to  Gorham. 
When  he  first  came  here  he  lived  in  a  house  which  stood  just  west 
of  the  King  (now  Stephen  Hinkley)  house.  This  house  was  after- 
wards moved  on  to  the  Fort  Hill  road  above  the  old  seminary,  and  is 
occupied  by  Mrs.  Eli  Clay.  In  May,  1828,  a  few  months  after  coming 
here,  he  bought  the  place  on  High  St.,  where  his  children  now  live. 
Mr.  Bailey  was  a  captain  in  the  Westbrook  militia.  He  was  a  wagon- 
maker  by  trade,  and  carried  on  his  business  in  the  shop  which  stands 
in  the  yard,  near  his  house.  He  married  Jane  Small  by  whom  he  had 
three  children,  the  two  eldest  of  whom  were  born  in  Westbrook,  and 
the  youngest  in  Gorham. 

Jane  Warren,  m.  George  H    Bradbury,  Nov.  4,  1851  ;  d.  Sept.  2,  1885. 
Elizabeth  Valentine,  lives  with  her  brother. 
Alfred  Augustus,  lives  in  Gorham. 

Capt.  Samuel  Bailey  died  June  18,  1859,  aged  67,  and  his  wife 
Jane,  Aug.  8,  1886,  aged  84  years  and  9  mos. 

Alfred  A.  Bailey  has  quite  a  curiosity  above  the  old  seminary,  in 
the  shape  of  an  orchard  numbering  three  hundred  and  sixty-five 
trees,  raised  from  seed  planted  by  himself  in  1862.  He  has  since 
grafted  these  trees,  and  now  has  one  of  the  finest  orchards  in  town. 

BAKER. 

Daniel  Baker  was  a  native  of  Somersworth,  N.  H.      After  coming 

to  Gorham  he  lived  on  Fort  Hill   on   the  farm   afterwards  owned  by 

his  son,  Jacob  C.  Baker.     He  was  at  one  time  town  treasurer.     He 

married   Betsey  Clement,  probably  a   sister   of  Jacob   H.  Clement. 

Their  children  were  : 

Ira  b.  Sept.  23,  1796,  m.  Betsey,  dau.  of  John  Hanscom,  Oct.  23,  1825.  Ch: 
Daniel  H.,  b.  May  16,  1826,  m.  Sarah  M.  Hall,  p.  Nov.  i,  1846;  John  H. 
C,  b.  Aug.  26.  1831,  d.  in  California.  Mrs.  Baker  d.  Apr.  3,  1840,  aged 
•  45,  and  Mr.  B.  m.  Dec.  20,  1842,  Cynthia  Towle,  by  whom  he  had  Frances 
E.,  b.  Feb.  22,  1846,  m.  ist,  John  Wescott,  2d,  Ch'as.  Gallison.  Ira  Baker 
I'd  in  the  south  part  of  the  town  on  the  farm  where  his  son  Dan'l  H. 
Baker  now  Hves.  He  d.  July  8,  1861  ;  his  wife  Cynthia  d.,  Oct.  18,  1884, 
aged  78. 


392  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Sally  C,  b.  May  4,  1800,  d.  Oct.  25,  1820. 

John  C,  b.  Sept.  12,  1804,  m.  Eliza  Roberts  of  Westbrook  ;  I'd  in  Kennebunk. 

Jacob  C,  b.  June  19,  1S08,  m.  Mrs.  Ruth  (Elder)  Bancioft ;  no  ch  ;  d.  P^eb.  3, 

t888. 
Betsey  C.,b.  Aug.  i,  1815,  m.  Almon  L.  Hobson,  Nov.  26,  1840;  d.  in  Portland. 

Daniel  Baker  died  at  his  home  June  9,  1856,  aged  90.  Mrs. 
Baker  died  Aug.  17,  1859,  aged  83. 

Moses  Baker  of  Somersworth,  N.  H.,  twin  brother  to  Daniel  above, 
married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Samuel  Thomes  of  Gorham.  Three  of 
their  daughters  married  and  lived  in  Gorham  —  Christiana, who  married 
Moses  Fogg,  and  lived  on  Fort  Hill,  Mary  Ann,  who  married  The- 
ophilus  Dame  of  West  Gorham,  and  Sarah  C.,  who  married  Jacob 
Hanson  Clement  of  West  Gorham.  Moses  Baker  died  at  the  house 
of  his  son-in-law,  Hanson  Clement,  at  West  Gorham,  Mar.  25,  1847, 
aged  81,  and  his  wife  Sarah  at  the  house  of  her  daughter,  Adeline 
Plummer,  in  Milton,  N.  H.,  Mar.  i,  1853,  aged  71. 

BANGS. 

Barnabas  Bangs  was  the  son  of  Ebenezer  and  Anna  (Sears) 
Bangs,  and  was  born  at  Harwich,  now  Brewster,  Mass.,  Mar.  11, 
1728,  and  came  to  Gorham,  probably  from  Barnstable,  about  1750. 
He  married  at  Falmouth,  Sept.  14,  175  i,  Loruhama  Elwell.  When 
the  Lexington  alarm  was  given  in  April,  1775,  he  started  to  march  to 
Boston.  May  15,  1775,  Mr.  Bangs  enlisted  in  the  Revolutionary 
army,  as  a  private  in  Capt.  Hart  Williams'  company,  Col.  Phinney's 
regiment.  He  is  credited  with  eight  months  honorable  service.  He 
was  also  a  member  of  Capt.  Bryant  Morton's  company,  stationed  at 
Scarboro  and  Cape  Elizabeth.  He  was  one  of  the  selectmen  of 
Gorham  in  1770  and  '71  ;  and  was  a  man  of  considerable  influence 
in  town  affairs.      Children  : 

James,  b.  Sept.   14,   1752,  m.   Deborah  Gates,  p.  July  23,  1774;  2d,  Elizabeth 

Estes. 
Barnabas,  b.  Dec.   i,   1754,  m.  Katherine  Stevens,  Nov.  20,   1777;  2d,  Betty 

Cloudman. 

Emma,  b. 1756,  m.  Jonathan  Holmes;  d.  with  the  Shakers,  Aug.  3,  1804. 

Thomas,  b.  Apr.  17,  1757,  m.  Hannah  Lakeman,  p.  Sept.  20,  1777. 

Anna,  b.  Mar.  14,  1760,  m.  Stephen  Irish,  Apr.  i,  1779. 

Sarah,  b.  July  21,  1762,  m.  Joseph  Brackett,  p.  Mar.  30,  1781. 

Ebenezer,  b.  Oct.  22,  1765,  m.  Polly  Cobb,  Dec.  30,  1787. 

Mehitable,  b.  Oct.  22,  1768,  m.  Jonathan  Parsons,  Mar.  25,  1790. 

Benjamin,  b.  Aug.  6,   1771,  m.   Elizabeth  Rand,  p.  Dec.  21,  1793.    Ch  :  John 

and  Benjamin,  twins,  b.  July  6,  1794;  Sophia,  b.  Feb.  3,  1796. 
Jonathan,  b. ,  m.  Deborah  Andrews  ;  2d,  Mrs.  Rebecca  Babb. 

Barnabas  Bangs  died  in  Gorham,  with  the  Shakers,  Jan.  29,  1808, 
and  his  wife  Loruhama,  Apr.  19,  1795. 


GENEALOGY.  393 

(2)  James  Bangs,  son  of  Barnabas,  was  a  member  of  the  Society 
of  Friends  in  Gorham.  He  lived  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  Ansel 
Stone  place.  He  married  Deborah,  daughter  of  Elder  Joseph  Gates. 
Children  : 

Edmund,  b.  Oct.  21,  1775,  J      These,  with  their  brother  James,  were  drowned 

Thomas,  b.  July  i,  1777,      )      off  Bangs  Island,  about  1822. 

John,  b.  Dec.  1 1,  177S. 

James,  b.  Sept.  30,  1780,  m.  Betsey  Lakeman,  Sept.  10,  1S09. 

Hannah,  b.  Mar.  26,  1782,  m.  John  Hamblen,  Jr.,  p.  Jan.  12,  1804. 

Allen,  b.  Apr.  8,  1784,  was  brought  up  by  his  uncle,  Barnabas,  Jr.;  joined  the 

Shakers;  d.  at  Poland,  Feb.  26,  185S. 
Esther,  b.  May  26,  1786,  m.  Joseph  Hamblen,  Jr.,  p.  Nov.  28,  1807. 

We  have  not  the  date  of  the  death  of  Mrs.  Deborah  Bangs,  but  Mr. 
Bangs  married  Nov.  26,  1789,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Henry  Estes  of 
Berwick.      Children  : 

Robert,  b.  Sept.  15,  1790,  m.  Elizabeth   Huzzey  of  Falmouth,  Jan.  i,  182 1  ;  I'd 

in  Phillips. 
Cyrus,  b.  Apr.  26,  1792,  I'd  in  Dover,  N.  H. 
Solomon,  b.  Sept.  22,  1793,  ^^^^  home  and  not  heard  from. 
Joshua,  b.  Jan.  19,  1795,  ^'^  "^  Gardiner;  left  home  and  never  heard  from. 

Amos,  b. ,  m.  Catherine  Sinclair. 

Mary,  b. ,  m.  James  Torrey,  Jr.,  of  Westbrook,  Nov.  30, 1S20  ;  d.  July  10, 

1853,  aged  56. 
Sarah,  b. ,  m.  Josiah  Knight ;  d.  in  Deering,  aged  about  85. 

After  the  death  of  James  Bangs,  his  widow  married,  Jan.  28,  1807, 
John  Horton. 

(2)  Barnabas  Bangs,  Jr.,  son  of  Barnabas,  took  up  four  hundred 
acres  of  land  in  what  is  now  known  as  the  Shaker  neighborhood. 
He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution.  He  married  Katherine,  daugh- 
ter of  Benjamin  and  Sarah  Stevens.      Children  : 

Sarah,  b.  June  5,  1778,  m.  Nathan  Bangs,  July  15,  1798. 
Susanna,  b.  May  8,  1780,  d.  young. 

George,  b.  Aug.  22,  1782,  d.  with  the  Shakers,  Mar.  29,  1831. 
Ruth,  b.  Aug.,  1786. 

Mr.  Bangs  married  Nov.  i,  1789,  Betty,  daughter  of  Timothy  and 
Katy  Cloudman.      Children  : 

Susanna,    b.  May  19,  1790,  d.  with  the  Shakers,  Mar.  21,  1879. 

Anna,  b.  May  16,  1793,  d.  with  the  Shakers,  May  29,  1827. 

Katherine,  b.  Dec.  27,  1795,  d-  about  1817. 

Mary  Ann,  b.  June  20,  1798. 

Dorcas,  b. ,  d.  with  the  Shakers,  May  28,  1S32. 

Barnabas  Bangs,  Jr.,  with  his  family  joined  the  Shakers  in  Gorham, 
and  made  over  his  property  to  the  Community.  He  became  an 
Elder,  and  when  the  Family  removed  to  Poland,  accompanied  them. 
He  died  May  25,  1838.  Mrs.  Betty  Bangs  died  Nov.  27,  1849, 
aged  82. 


894  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

(2)     Thomas  Bangs,  son  of   Barnabas,  was  a  drummer  in  Capt. 

Hart  Williams'  company,  in  the  Revolutionary  army.     He  married 

Hannah,  daughter  of  William  and   Hannah  Lakeman,  and  together 

with   her,   at  the   same   time   as   his   brother   Barnabas,   joined   the 

Shakers  ;    afterwards    going    with  the   Family  to  Poland,  where  he 

became  an  Elder.     Children  : 

Polly,  b.  Oct.  2,  177S,  m.  Joseph  Bangs,  Apr.  30,  1795. 

William,  b.  Jan.  17,   1781,  was  a  sailor;  d.  unm.  in  a  foreign  port,  of  yellow 

fever. 
Bethiah,  b.  May  25,  1783,  ran  away  from  the  Shakers,  m.  David  Freeman,  July 

14,  1806. 
Josiah,  b.  July  27,  1786,  d.  aged  5  mos. 
Nancy,  b  Nov.  22,   1787,  ran  away  from  the  Shakers,  m.  Capt.  Benj.  Rolfe, 

Oct.  20,  1816. 
Eunice,  b.  Apr.  20,  1790,  I'd  with  the  Shakers  ;  d.  at  Poland,  Aug.  7,  18,47. 
Josiah,  b.  Mar.  8,  1793,  '^'^^  '^  leading  Elder  in  the  Shakers;  d.  Oct.  20,  1877. 
Mehitable,  b.  Mar.  23,  1797. 

Thomas  Bangs  and  his  wife  both  died  with  the  Shakers,  he,  Aug. 
12,  1824,  and  she,  Nov.  i,  1827. 

(2)  Ebenezer  Bangs,  son  of  Barnabas,  married  Polly,  daughter  of 

Jedediah  and  Reliance  Cobb.     Children  : 

Daniel,  b.    Feb.  11,  1790,  d.  young. 

Sylvanus,  b.  June  8,  1793,  m.  Almira  Higgius,   in   Gorham,   May  6,    1817  ;  2d. 

Hannah  E.  Bean  ;  3d,  Mrs.  Rebecca  Kezar  ;  d.  in  Limerick,  Mar.  28,  1879. 
Ruhama,  b.  Feb.  16,  1795,  '^-  Daniel  Bean,  Apr.  29,  1813. 
William  Cobb,  b.  May  29,   1797,   m.   Mary  Ann    Spring;  I'd  in  Brownfield,  d. 

July  31,  1840. 
Elizabeth  C,  b.  Nov.   26,  1799,  m.   Nathaniel   C.    Bean ;  d.  in    Limerick,  July, 

1846. 

Ebenezer  Bangs  died  Jan.  10,  1807,  and  his  widow  married,  Dec. 
10,  1808,  Andrew  Cobb  of  Limington. 

(3)  James    Bangs,    son   of   James,   married   Betsey,  daughter  of 

Josiah  and  Esther  Lakeman.     Children  : 

Louisa,  m.  Obadiah  H.  Whitney  of  Standish,  Feb.  14,  1836;  d.  in  1852. 

James,  ni;  in  Philadelphia;  d.  there. 

Esther  L.,  m.  Col.  Lemuel  Rich  of  Standish,  Dec.  2,  1831. 

Mary  Ann,  m.  Solomon  L.  Libby,  May  21,  1843;  d.  in  1874. 

Elizabeth,  m.  Samuel  E.  Stone,  Nov.  25,  1S41. 

William,  d.  at  sea. 

James  Bangs  lived  on  Bangs  Island,  in  Portland  Harbor,  and  was 

drowned    with  his  brothers,   Thomas  and   Edmund,  when  near  the 

island,  by  the  upsetting  of  a  boat,  about  1822. 

Heman  Bangs,  baptized  at  Harwich,  Mass.,  Apr.  3,  1748,  was  the 
son  of  Joseph  Bangs.  He  came  to  Gorham,  and  married,  Jan.  i, 
1770,  Molly,  the  daughter  of  William  and  Hannah  Wood.  Some 
claim  that  her  name  was  Lakeman.  She  might  possibly  have  been 
a  widow,  but  we  think  not.     Children  : 


GENEALOGY.  395 

Joseph,  b.  Dec.  7,  1770,  m.  Mary  Bangs,  Apr.  30,  1795. 

Mary,  b.  Oct.  i,  1772,  m.  Nathaniel  Phinney,  Apr.  30,  1792. 

Hannah,  b.  Apr.  19,  1775,  m.  WilHani  Whitney  of  Limington,  Oct.  11,  1792. 

Nathan,  b.  Mar.  9,  1777,  m.  Sarah  Bangs,  July  15,  1798;  moved  to  Farmington 

about  181  5  or  1820. 
Heman,  b.  May  9,  1782.  I'd  in  Portland. 

Mrs.  Maiy  Bangs  died  Oct.  i,  1829,  aged  84. 

(2)  Joseph  Bangs,  son  of  Heman,  by  their  records  of  1794  was  a 

member  of  the  Society  of  Friends.     He  married  Mary,  daughter  of 

Thomas    and    Hannah   Bangs.      The  ceremony   was  performed  by 

Edmund  Phinney,  Esq.     Children  : 

Thomas,  b.  Jan.  i,  1797,  d.  unm.,  May,  17,   1832. 

Lemuel,  b,  Oct.  19,  1798,  d.  Feb    19,  1800. 

Lemuel,  b.  May  25,  iSoo,  m.  Sarah  Haley. 

William,  b.  Mar.  28,  1802,  m.  Martha  Preble  of  Portland,  Apr.  17,  1825. 

Josiah,  b.  Feb.  19,  1804,  d.  Oct.  15,  1805. 

Zilpha,  b.  Feb.  26,  1806,  m.  Bryant  Morton,  Dec.  26,  1825. 

Lydia,  b.  Mar.  9,  1808,  m.  Frederick  Gilkey,  p.  Nov.  7,  1829. 

Heman,  b.  Nov.  29,  1809,  d.  Oct.  25,  1810. 

Nathan,  b.  Aug.  5,  181 1,  m.  Statira  Whitney,  p.  Apr.  19,  1835. 

Lucy  A.,  b.  Jan.  9,  1814,  m.  J.  Noyes  Libby,  Apr.  13,  1834.  . 

Bethiah,  b.  May  i,  1816,  m.  Fbenezer  Files,  May  28,  1837  ;  2d,  W^m.  S.  Elder. 

Reuben,      j  ,      .  o  o    i  d.  Apr.  22,   1818. 

c^-,1  ^  b.  Apr.  I,  1818,  •{   ■,    n^  00 

Stillman,     ]  ^        '  '  j  d.  Apr.  24,  1818. 

Reuben  M.,  b.  Aug.  11,  1820,  m.  Elizabeth   M.  Harmon,  p.    Apr.  22,  1849;    d. 

Apr.  26,  1893. 

Joseph  Bangs  died  Mar.  18,  1853.     Mrs.  Polly  Bangs  died  Oct.  5, 

1857,  aged  79. 

(3)  Charles  C.  Bangs,  son  of  Nathan  and  Sarah,  lived  at  Gorham 
village.  He  was  town  clerk  in  1842.  He  married  Emily  A.,  daugh- 
ter of  Ebenezer  and  Elizabeth  Hatch.      Children  : 

Elizabeth  A.,  b.  Apr.  14,  1839,  m.  Dr.  William  Merrill. 
Clarissa,  b.  Nov.  i,  1845,  m.  Wm.  L.  Shedd. 
Alice  B.,  b.  June  22,  1848,  d.  Sept.  5,  1849. 

Charles  C.  Bangs  died  Feb.  17,  1869.  Mrs.  Emily  Bangs  died 
Mar.  23,  1899,  aged  83. 

BARBOUR. 

Joseph  Barbour,  born  in  1776,  was  the  son  of  Joseph  Bean  Bar- 
bour, and  a  descendant  of  John,  who  came  from  Ireland  to  York 
and  afterwards  to  Falmouth.  He  was  for  many  years  a  well  known 
merchant  in  Portland,  from  which  place  he  came  to  Gorham,  prob- 
ably about  1824,  and  lived  on  the  place  once  owned  by  Hart  Williams, 
until  1845,  when  he  moved  to  the  village.  He  married  first,  Lucy 
Potter  of  Kensington,  N.  H.,  by  whom  he  had  : 

Caroline,  b.  about  iSo8,  d.  Sept.  6,  1832,  ag.  24. 

Francis,  b.  about  181  r,  d.  Mar.  r,  1839,  ag.  28;  a  graduate  of  Bowdoin,   1830; 
was  a  poet  and  artist. 


896  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Henry,  bapt.  in  1819,  m.  Harriet  D.  Merrill. 

Andrew,  bapt.  in  1819,  d.  in  Mineral  Point,  Wis.  about  1S44. 

Mrs.  Lucy  Barbour  died  in  18 18,  and  Mr.  Barbour  married  Judith 
Stevens  of  Portland.     Child  : 

Lucy  E.,  b.  May  lo,  1823,  d.  Dec.  14,  18S0. 

Mrs.  Judith  Barbour  died  in  Gorham.  Apr.  18,  1842,  aged  62,  and 
Mr.  Barbour  married,  May  15,  1849,  Mrs.  Agnes  (Archer)  Preble, 
widow  of  Eben  Preble.  She  died  Feb.  25,  1889.  Mr.  Barbour  died 
in  Gorham,  May  30,  1854. 

DR.  JEREMIAH  BARKER. 

Dr.  Barker  was  for  some  time  a  citizen  of  Gorham,  both  in  his  early 
and  latter  days.  He  was  born  in  Scituate,  Mass.,  about  the  year 
1751  ;  was  educated  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cutter,  the  Congregational 
minister  of  that  town,  and  received  a  thorough  classical  education, 
although  he  never  entered  college.  Before  the  Revolutionary  war  he 
went  to  Cambridge,  and  studied  medicine  and  surgery  under  Dr. 
Lincoln  of  that  town,  a  man  then  eminent  in  his  profession.  After 
completing  his  studies  Dr.  Barker  went  into  the  practice  of  medicine 
in  Barnstable,  where  he  married  Miss  Abigail  Gorham,  daughter  of 
David  Gorham,  Esq.,  Oct.  12,  1775.  She  was  the  sister  of  the  Hon. 
Judge  William  Gorham,  of  Gorham,  Me. 

During  the  Revolutionary  struggle  he  joined  the  American  army  as 
a  surgeon  ;  some  times  on  board  of  our  armed  ships.  Dr.  Lincoln 
and  his  pupil,  Dr.  Barker,  were  both  in  the  famous  Bagaduce  expedi- 
tion. Dr.  Barker  was  on  board  one  of  the  ships  that  retreated  up  the 
river.  He  landed  and  made  his  way  home  through  the  woods  with 
others,  undergoing  great  hard.ships.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  his 
brother-in-law,  William  Gorham,  having  settled  in  Gorham,  the  Doctor 
was  induced  to  join  him  in  the  new  town,  which  at  that  time  was  a 
place  of  great  interest  to  the  Gorham  family.  Though  the  Doctor 
while  in  the  army  had  to  administer  to  the  wants  of  the  sick  and 
dying,  still  he  did  not  neglect  the  main  chance  for  his  owai  living, 
and  it  was  said  that  he  accumulated  quite  a  sum  of  money  while  in 
the  service.  We  have  no  record  showing  the  time  of  his  coming  into 
town.  He  owned  an  acre  of  land  in  the  south  corner  of  the  thirty 
acre  lot.  No.  112,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Portland  road,  and 
bounded  east  by  the  Horse  Beef  road  (called  the  Black  Brook  road). 
Here  he  built  a  large  two  story  house.  This  house  was  the  next 
house  westerly  from  that  of  Judge  Gorham,  and  nearly  opposite 
the  house  of  the  late  Rufus  Mosher.     About  the  year  1790,  when  the 


GENEA[,Of;Y.  397 

Doctor  and  his  wife  were  visiting  at  his  brother  Gorham's,  his  house 
took  fire  and  was  consumed.  While  the  house  was  burning,  Dr. 
Barker  remarked  to  his  wife,  that  the  money  they  had  saved  in  the 
war  was  going  up  pretty  fast.  Though  he  lost  his  house,  he  was  not 
discouraged.  He  immediately  rebuilt  on  the  same  spot,  and  around 
the  old  chimney.  After  the  new  house  was  completed,  it  was  found 
that  business  did  not  settle  in  his  part  of  the  town,  as  he  supposed  it 
would,  but  Gorham  corner  took  the  lead,  and  he  was  rather  out  of 
its  range.  This  induced  him  to  sell  out  and  move  to  Portland,  which 
he  did  somewhere  about  the  year  1792.  The  house  was  purchased 
by  Mr.  Gammon,  and  hauled  across  the  fields  to  the  cross  road.  It 
was  afterwards  known  as  the  David  Elder  house. 

Dr.  Barker  was  a  well  known  man  in  his  profession  —  had  a  good 
practice,  and  carried  on  a  large  correspondence  with  the  eminent 
practitioners  in  his  own  country,  among  them  the  celebrated  Dr. 
Rush,  and  Dr.  William  Prentiss  of  Philadelphia,  (the  latter  having 
married  his  wife's  sister),  as  well  as  having  several  correspondents 
among  the  learned  physicians  of  England.  He  was  ingenious  in  his 
profession,  and  a  man  of  deep  thought.  Many  things  which  he 
labored  hard  to  establish,  but  which  were  then  thought  not  practicable, 
have  since  come  in  vogue  and  are  now  believed  to  be  the  true 
principles.  And  we  can  only  conclude  that  he  w^as  a  little  ahead  of 
his  time. 

Dr.  Barker  was  a  strict  observer  of  the  Sabbath,  and  was  early  in 
the  temperance  cause.  Strict  in  doing  his  dut)',  soon  after  his  return 
to  Gorham  from  Portland  he  was  chosen  tithing-man.  One  Sunday 
morning,  when  coming  up  to  meeting,  he  met  a  man  from  the 
country,  his  team  loaded  with  produce,  travelling  toward  Portland. 
He  promptly  ordered  him  to  stop,  and  return  to  the  village,  and  put 
up  till  Monday,  as  he  would  not  be  allowed  to  travel  on  the  Sabbath. 
The  man  remonstrated,  telling  the  Doctor  he  had  no  money  where- 
with to  pay  his  tavern  bill.  This  made  no  difference ;  back  he  had 
to  go.  The  Doctor  carried  him  to  David  Cobb's  tavern  (the  old 
Gary  McLellan  house,  where  R.  G.  Harding  lately  traded).  The 
traveller  notified  Cobb  that  if  he  put  him  up  he  could  receive  nothing, 
as  he  had  nothing  with  which  to  pay.  The  man  staid  till  Monday 
morning,  took  his  team,  and  went  on  to  Portland.  Cobb  made  out 
his  bill  against  the  Doctor  for  keeping  man  and  horse  over  the 
Sabbath,  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents,  then  the  usual  price,  carried  it 
into  the  office  of  J.  S.  Smith,  Esq.,  and  ordered  it  collected.  A 
letter  from  the  lawyer  soon  brought  the  Doctor  to  the  spot.     He  was 


398  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

compelled  to  pay  the  bill,  and  it  was  said  that  he  did  not  meddle 

much  with  Sunday  travel,  after  that.     The  Doctor  was  a  member  of 

the  famous  old  "Sixty-nine"  Society,  in  the  days  of  the  Rev.  Asa 

Rand,  probably  about  the  year   1816,  when  all  the  stores  in  town 

were    forbidden    to    sell    intoxicating    liquors    to   be    drank    on    the 

premises.     (See  Chapter  XVIII.) 

In    1799   Doctor  Barker  bought  land  in  Stroudwater,  and  built  a 

large  two  story  house,  which  is  still  standing.     His  children  were  : 

Jeremiah  C,  b.  about  1778,  lost  at  sea,  Dec.  19,  iSio,  aged  32. 

Mary  G.,  b.  Aug.  20,  17S1,  m.  at  Stroudwater,   Oct.   13,   1800,  Daniel  Johnson 

of  Portland. 
David,  b.  Mar.  7,  1784,  m.  Deborah  Josslyn  of  Pembroke;  was  a  physician;  I'd 

in  Durham  and  Sedgwick  ;  d.  in  Sedgwick. 
Elizabeth,  b.  Jan.  29,  1787,  m.  Rev.  Samuel  Clarke. 
Abigail,  b. ,  m.  John  Johnson  of  Providence,  K.  I.,  May  19,  18 17. 

Mrs.  Abigail  Barker  died  in  Falmouth,  June  29,  1790,  aged  40, 
and  Dr.  Barker  married  Dec.  17,  1790,  Susanna  Garrett,  sister  to 
Mrs.  Judge  Gorham.  She  died  June  3,  1794,  aged  25,  and  he 
married  third,  Eunice  Riggs,  daughter  of  Jeremiah  Riggs  of  Capisic. 
Mrs.  Eunice  Barker  died  Nov.  10,  1799,  aged  29.  July  2,  1802  we 
find  the  Doctor  published  to  Mary  Williams  of  Gorham,  but  can  find 
no  record  of  any  marriage.  Dr.  Barker's  brother-in-law,  William 
Gorham,  died  in  1805,  and  on  the  17th  of  March,  1808,  he  married 
Mrs.  Temperance  Gorham,  Judge  Gorham's  widow,  and  moved  back 
to  Gorham  and  occupied  the  old  Gorham  homestead,  where  he  died 
Oct.  3,  1834,  aged  84.  His  widow  after  his  death  moved  to  Provi- 
dence, R.  I.,  where  she  made  her  home  with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Abby 
Gorham  (Barker)  Johnson,  and  where  she  died  about  the  year  1840. 

BARTLETT. 

Samuel  Bartlett  came  to  Gorham  from  Cambridge,  Mass.     He  was 

the  son  of  Samuel  Bartlett,  Esq.,  Register  of  Probate,  of  Cambridge, 

and  his  sister  Mary  married  Willard  Buttrick,  the  clothier  at  Fort 

Hill.     He  married,  Aug.  21,  1804,  Sally  C,  daughter  of  Capt.  Josiah 

Jenkins.     Children  : 

Benjamin,  b.  Sept.  5,  1814,  went  to  sea,  and  was  lost. 

Willard  B,  b.  May  26,  1817,  was  a  Methodist  minister;  d.  at  Mechanic  Falls, 
June,  1898. 

BAXTER. 

Doctor  Elihu  Baxter  was  born  in  Norwich,  Vt.,  Apr.  10,  1781. 
He  was  the  son  of  Elihu  and  Tryphena  (Taylor)  Baxter.  His  father 
was  one  of  the  first  of  those  patriotic  men  who  responded  to  the  call 


JAMES  PHINNEY  BAXTER 


GENEALOGY.  399 

for  volunteers  to  repel  the  invasion  of  the  British  at  the  beginning  of 
the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  enlisted,  April  4,  1776,  in  Capt.  James 
Osgood's  company,  attached  to  the  regiment  of  Col.  Bedell  of  New 
Hampshire. 

Elihu  Baxter,  Jr.  received  his  medical  education  at  Hanover,  and 
immediately  after  his  graduation  commenced  to  practice  at  Lemington, 
Vt.  Remaining  there  but  a  short  time,  he  moved  to  Alna,  Me.,  then 
to  Wayne,  and  thence  to  Gorham  where  he  remained  till  1831.  In 
that  year  he  removed  to  Orono,  and  for  nine  years  practiced  succes- 
sively there  and  in  Levant  and  China,  in  all  of  which  places  he  was 
considerably  interested  in  real  estate.  Desiring  a  broader  field  for 
the  exercise  of  his  talents,  in  the  spring  of  1840  he  moved  to  Portland, 
where  he  at  once  entered  upon  an  active  practice,  which  he  continued 
to  pursue  through  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  was  married  in 
February,  1806,  to  Clarissa  Sims  of  Lemington,  Vt.,  who  was  drowned 
six  weeks  later  while  crossing  the  ice  on  horseback.  Aug.  17,  1S07 
he  married  Sarah  Cone,  a  descendant  of  Daniel  Cone,  one  of  the 
Puritan  founders  of  East  Haddam,  Conn.  The  children  of  Elihu  and 
Sarah  Baxter  were  : 

Hiram,  b.  Aug.  17,  1808,  was  a  physician  in  (Jrono;  d.  June  28,  1894. 
Hartley  W.,  b.  July  15,  181 1,  d.  in  1840. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Nov.  17,  1813,  m.  Henry  Gooding;  d.  Sept.  20,  1842. 
\Vm.  Henry,  b.  Jan.  14,  1817,  m.  Mary  A.  Jackson,  d.  Aug.  3,  1888. 
Sarah  A.,  b.  Oct.  9,  1820,  m.  Joseph  M.  Barry  of  Worcester;  2d,  Mr.  Raddin. 
James  P.,  b.  Mar.  23,   1831,  m.  Sarah  Lewis;    2d,  Mrs.    Mehitable    (Proctor) 
Perkins. 

Dr.  Baxter  was  a  man  of  splendid  physique,  and  possessed  a  most 
retentive  memory,  and  powers  unimpaired  to  the  time  of  his  death. 
He  died  of  a  sudden  congestion,  Jan.  23,  1863,  aged  82  ;  his  wife 
died  June  27,  1873. 

James  Phinney  Baxter,  the  youngest  son  of  Dr.  Elihu  Baxter,  is  a 
prominent  and  influential  citizen  of  Portland.  He  has  filled  the  office 
of  Mayor  of  that  city  with  much  acceptance.  To  him  the  city  is 
indebted  for  the  beautiful  building  containing  the  Public  Library. 

BECK. 

Thomas  Beck,  Jr.  was  a  sea  captain.  He  came  to  Gorham  from 
Portland  about  the  year  1813,  and  lived  at  what  is  now  called 
Winship's  corner,  in  the  house  now  occupied  by  his  great-grand- 
daughter, Mrs.  Walter  Mayberry.  He  married  Jane  Loring  of 
Gorham,  (pub.  Nov.  19,  1808,)  Nov.  19,  1808.     Children: 

James,  b.  Sept.  24,  1809,  m.  Mary  Crockett,  Nov.  30,  1831 ;  I'd  in  Portland. 
Betsey  J.,  b.  Feb.  19,  181 2,  m.  Geo.  Dam  of  Portland. 


400  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Mary  J.,  b.  Jan.  i,  1814,  m.  John  Sanborn,  Mar.  2,  1831. 

Nancy,  b.  Oct.  18,  1815.  m.  John  Swett  of  Westbrook. 

Harriet,  b.  Feb.  4,  1817,  m.  Wm.  B.  Libby,  Aug.  2,  1837;  2d,  Thos.  Hampson, 

Mar.  12,  1861;   I'd  in  Biddeford. 
Thomas,  b.  Dec.  21,  1818,  went  to  sea;  d.  unm. 

Capt.  Beck  died  Aug.  18,  18 18,  aged  31,  and  his  widow  married 
Geo.  W.  Decker,  July  i,  1827,  by  whom  she  had  one  child,  Lucy  E., 
b.  Oct.  4,  1828,  m.  Alphonso  Dam  of  Cal.  Mr.  Decker  died  May  i, 
1828,  from  an  accidental  explosion  of  powxler.  Mrs.  Decker  died 
Aug.  21,  1868. 

BENSON. 

James  Benson,  who  was  born  in  Devonshire,  England,  in  1772,  and 
landed  in  Boston  in  1800,  was  a  weaver  by  trade.  He  taught  school 
in  Gorham  at  one  time  in  the  Mosher  District.  He  married  Abigail 
Dow  of  Standish,  daughter  of  Capt.  Dow  who  served  for  seven  years 
in  the  Revolutionary  army.  Arthur  M.  Benson,  son  of  James  and 
Abigail  (Dow)  Benson,  w-as  born  in  Limington,  Sept.  21,  182 1,  and 
came  to  Gorham  from  that  place,  Feb.  10,  1839.  He  learned  the 
tanner's  trade  with  Mr.  Hinkley,  and  worked  thirty  years  as  journey- 
man. He  then  formed  a  partnership  with  Seward  Bucknam,  under 
the  firm  name  of  "  Bucknam  and  Benson,"  for  carrying  on  the  cur- 
rier's business.  The  firm  built,  for  a  currier's  shop,  the  house  on 
Water  St.,  lately  occupied  by  Daniel  Carll.  Later  Mr.  Benson  moved 
to  Portland,  where  he  remained  four  years,  in  the  firm  of  J.  S.  Ricker 
and  Co.  He  afterwards  returned  to  Gorham,  and  became  a  member 
of  the  firm  of  Hinkley  and  Co.  He  married,  December  i,  1844, 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Stephen  and  Wealthy  (Sawyer)  Lowell.  Chil- 
dren : 

Sarah  E  ,  b.  Mar.  27,  1847,  n''-  Chas.  Usher,  Jan.  30,  1879. 
Laura  J.,  b.  Oct.  3.  1849,  d.  Oct.  8,  1850. 
Arthur  J.,  b.  Feb.  15,  1858. 

Mary  Benson,  daughter  of  James  an5  Abigail,  born  Nov.  11, 
181 1,  lived  for  many  years  in  Gorham,  and  died  at  her  brother's,  Oct. 
21,  1882.  James  Benson  died  May  10,  1832.  His  wife  Abigail  died 
in  Gorham,  June  9,  1852,  aged  68. 

BERRY. 

Joshua  Berry,  son  of  Obadiah,  and  grandson  of  George  Berr}',  was 
born  in  Ealmouth,  June  8,  1767.  He  came  to  Gorham  from  Poland, 
in  18 19,  when  he  exchanged  his  Poland  property  with  the  Shakers  in 
Gorham  for  that  farm  where  the  Shaker  Family  had  lived,  since 
owned  by  the  late  Nelson  Merrill.     On  this  farm   Mr.  Berry  settled. 


GENEALOGY.  401 

and  made  his  home.     July  28,  1794,  he  married  OHve  Wilson  of  Fal- 
mouth, and  their  children  were  : 

Mary,  b.  Dec.  9,  1794,  m.  William  Burton,  June  11,  1823. 

Ann,  b.  July  24,  1798,  m.  Stephen  H.  Thomes,  Feb.  10,  1839;  2d,  Robert  Files 
in  1851. 

Alfred,  b.  Ian.  iS,  iSoi,  m.  lane  M.  Todd;  was  a  house  builder;  d.  Nov.  10, 
i85t. 

Henrj',  b.  Feb.  7,  1803,  d.  in  Windham,  Mar.  18,  1847. 

Louisa,  b.  Nov.  7,  1804,  m.  Col.  Edward  .\nderson,  Nov.  30,  1830. 

Nath'l  W.,  b.  Dec.  4,  1806,  m.  Lydia,  dau.  of  Edward  and  Olive  Anderson  of 
Windham,  Jan.  15,  1833.  Ch:  Louisa  A.,  b.  June  14,  1835.  d.  unm. 
Jan.  4.  1890;  Robert  P.,  b.  Nov.  5,  1837,  d.  Oct.  7,  1842  ;  Mary  Ann  and 
Frances  H.,  b.  Jan.  11,  1840,  both  d.  y.  ;  Charles  J.,b.  Oct.  22,  1842,  m. 
Sarah  Crockett,  d.  in  1900;  Olive  J.,  b.  Mar.  8,  1846,  m.  Gorham  Nor- 
wood. Mr.  Rerry  I'd  near  Little  Falls;  he  d.  Feb.  17,  1871,  and  his  wife 
d.  Aug.  7,  1891,  ag.  81. 

Emily,  b.  Aug.  20,  1809,  d.  young. 

Robert  P.,  b.  Jan.  14,  18 12,  m.  Mary  Ann   Thurston. 

Mrs.  Olive  Berry  died  in  Portland,  in  i8i5,andMr.  Berry  married. 
Mar.  2,  181 7,  Hannah  VV.  Chipman  of  Falmouth,  who  died  in 
November,  1835,  and  he  married,  Oct.  3,  1838.  Elizabeth  Kelly  of 
Saccarappa.  He  died  in  Windham,  Oct.  15,  1842,  aged  75  :  his 
wife  Elizabeth  died  Aug.  17.  i860. 

BETTIS. 

Jacob  P.  Bettis  came  to  Gorham  from  New  Hampshire  when  quite 
a  young  man.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  had  been  a  school  teacher.  He 
lived  at  White  Rock,  near  where  the  Maine  Central  Railroad  station 
is  now  located,  where  Edmund  Brown  now^  lives.  In  1812  he  was 
Captain  of  a  Gorham  company  of  militia,  belonging  to  Col.  Burbank's 
regiment,  and  marched  to  the  defence  of  Portland  in  18 14.  He 
married,  in  1807,  Hannah,  daughter  of  Capt.  Ephraim  Smith,  by 
whom  he  had  the  following  children  : 

Frances,  b.  June  30,  180S,  d.  .'\pr.  30,  1831. 

Fisher  .Vmes,  b.  Aug.  5,  1813,  m.  Abigail  Rounds  of  Boston,  1837.  Ch  : 
Hannah;  Sarah  J.;  Charles  F. ;  George;  Mary  A.;  and  William,  who 
was  born  in  Portland.  About  1850  Mr.  Bettis  moved  from  Gorham  to 
Saccarappa.  Mrs.  Bettis  d.  Aug.  25,  1862,  ag.  45  ;  and  Mr.  Bettis  m. 
2d,  Margaret,  dau.  of  Joseph  Babb  of  Westbrook.  Ch:  Joseph  A.,  d. 
y.,  and  Lester. 

Chas.  Harding,  b.  May  22,  181 5,  d.  .\pr.  1 1.   1838. 

Capt.  Bettis  died  in  Lynn,  Mass.,  May  10,  1854,  aged  79  ;  his  wife 
died  Nov.  18,  1837,  aged  53. 

BLAIR. 

Peter  Blair  was  a  native  of  Muirhouse,  Scotland,  and  came  over  to 
America  at  the  same  time  with  the  Mcintosh  family.  He  lived  on 
the  farm  next  above  the  place  where  the  late   Reuben   Bangs  lived, 


402  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

toward  Standish.     He  married  Ann  Wood,  (pub.  Feb.  6,  1813).  One 
child  : 

John,  b.  in  Baldwin,  Jan.  26,  1816,   m.  Abigail   M.   Elder,  p.   Sept.  9,  1838;  d. 
Nov.  27,  1848  ;  she,  Aug.  31,  1854. 

Peter  Blair  died  March  6,  1848,  aged  85. 

BLAKE. 

Ithiel,  Nathaniel,  Joseph,  John  and  Benjamin  Blake  were  the  sons 
of  Ithiel  and  Susanna  (?)  (Martin)  Blake.  These  brothers  all  came 
early  to  town.  They  had  sisters  ;  one  of  whom,  Mehitable,  married 
Benjamin  Elwell,  (pub.  Dec.  27,  1788).  Probably  Elizabeth,  who 
married,  Apr.  11,  1776,  Samuel  Larrabee  of  Scarborough,  Lydia, 
who  married  Jeremiah  Rand,  and  perhaps  Polly  who  married  Jonathan 
Whitney  of  Buxton  (pub.  Nov.  24,  1781),  were  also  sisters.  The 
family  is  said  to  have  come  from  Cape  Cod. 

(i)  Ithiel  Blake  was  in  town  before   1770.     He  bought  his  farm 

of  Nathaniel  Bacon.    This  was  the  northeast  half  of  the  seventy  acre 

lot  No.  114.     The  deed  is  dated  June  3,  1780,  and  says  "  the  division 

line  to   be   the   same   as  now  fixed  and  settled ;  said  lot  is  same  on 

which  I  now  live,  and  the  said  Blake  also."     Henry  Carll  lately  lived 

on  the  place.     Ithiel  Blake  married,  July  13,  1769,  Apphia  Higgins. 

She  came  from  Cape  Cod  to  Gorham  with  the  Bacon  family,  when 

she  was  quite  young.      Children  : 

Apphia,  b.  July  23,  1770,  m.  Thomas  Thomas  of  Buxton,  Feb.  4,  1790. 
Betty,  b.  Dec.  15,  1772,  m.  Caleb  P.  Philbrick  of  Standish,  p.  Mar.  26,  1794. 
?viartha,  b.  Feb.  19,  1775,  m.  Samuel  Irish,  July  8,  1792. 
Maiy,  b.  Feb.  14,  1778,  m.  Jonathan  Shaw  of  Standish,  p.  Jan.  i,  iSoo. 
Nathaniel,  b.  Oct.  r,  1780,  m.  Rebecca  Higgins,  Nov.  26,  1801. 

Lydia,  b  ,  m.  (probably)  Samuel  Bryant  of  Saco,  May  18,  1800. 

Freeman,  b.  July  25,  1786,  m.  Mary  Whitney,  p.  Aug.  12,  1803. 
Timothy,  b.  May  26,  17S9,  m.  Susan  Higgins,  Nov.  29,  18 10. 

Fanny,  b. ,  1793,  ^-  ^^^^1  C.  Higgins,  Mar.  25,  1816. 

Israel,  b. ,  m.  Mary  Blake  of  Limington,  p.  Nov.  16,  1822. 

(i)  Nathaniel  Blake  lived  in  what  is  called  the  Blake  neighbor- 
hood, above  West  Gorham,  on  the  Samuel  Stone  farm.  He  was  a 
soldier  in  the  Revolution,  and  received  a  pension  from  Government 
for  his  services.  He  married,  Sept.  25,  1777,  Mary  Fogg  of  Scar- 
boro.      Children : 

Seth,  b.  Apr.  26,  1778,  m.  Abigail  Larrabee,  Aug.  2,  1799. 

Ithiel,  b.  Mar.  6,  1780,  m.  Eunice  Phinney,  Sept.  9,  1802. 

Ruth,  b.  June  2,  1781,  m.  John  B.  Rand,  July  15,  1799. 

Benjamin,  b.  May  31,   1783. 

Elias,  b.  Sept.  7,   1785. 

Molly,  b.  Dec.  5,   1786. 

Leah,  b.  Mar.  23,  1787. 

Ephraim,  b.  June  26,  1789,  m.  Desire  Parker  Higgins,  Dec,  1813. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Feb.  7,  1791,  m.  Elisha  Douglass  of  Limington,  Mar.  3,  1814. 


GENEALOGY.  403 

Mr.  Blake  married  second,  Mar.  7,  1793,  Hannah  Wood.  He  died 
Feb.  28,  1843,  aged  90.  His  \vife  Hannah  died  Feb.  24,  1849,  aged 
90. 

(  i)  Joseph  lihike  lived  at  West  Gorham  on  the  farm  since  owned 
by  Edward  Douglass  and  Chas.  B.  Cotton.  The  buildings  occupied 
by  him  are  now  gone.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war, 
and  received  a  pension  for  his  services.  He  married  Hannah  Hop- 
kins, (pub.  Jan.  6,  1781).  He  and  his  wife  at  that  time  are  recorded 
as  being  both  of  Pearsonstown,  but  they  probably  moved  at  once  to 
Gorham.      Children  : 

Adriel,  b.  Apr.  5,  1782. 

Phebe,  b.  Dec.  7,  1783,  m.  Samuel  Boynton,  Sept.  26,  1804. 

Hannah,  b.  Sept.  3,   17S5,  m.  Joseph   Sturgis. 

Eunice,  b.  Sept.  8,  17S7,  m.  Richard  Paine,  Dec.  19,  1813. 

Lydia,  b.  Aug.  21,  1790,  m.  Thomas  Paine,  Dec.  i,  1808. 

Lucy,  b.  May  9,  1793,  m.  Nathaniel  Phinney,  Jr.,  p.  Aug.  26,  1815. 

Charles,  b.  Nov.  6,  1800,  m.  Rebecca  Moody  of  Limington,  p.  Dec.  27,  1823;  d. 

in  Portland. 
Joseph,  b.  Apr.  15,  1803,  m.  Elizabeth  Moody  of  Limingtcm,  p.  Aug.  6,   1825; 

d.  July  13,  1S35. 

Joseph  Blake  died  Jan.  28,  1840,  aged  83.  His  wife  died  Jan.  27, 
1842,  aged  78. 

(i)  John  Blake  probably  came  to  Gorham  about  1780.  He 
lived  where  John  Dunn  lately  lived,  above  West  Gorham.  He  mar- 
ried Deborah  Tuckerman  of  Boston,  and  their  children,  all  born  in 
Gorham,  but  Sally,  who  was  born  in  Boston,  were  : 

Sally,  b.  Jan.  13,  1782,  m.  Nathan  Hanson,  June  7,  1804. 

Polly,  b.  Feb.  18,  1784,  m.  Ephraim  Libby,  Jan.  26,  1807. 

Daniel,  b.  June  20,  1786,  m.  Thankful  Davis,  Dec.  16,  1813. 

Samuel,  b.  July  31,  1788,  I'd  and  d.  in  Brownfield. 

John,  b.  Nov.  10,  1792,  d.  unm.  July  15,  18 18. 

Thankful,  b.  Nov.  16,  1794,  m.  Peter  White  of  Buxton,  July  27,  1814  ;  I'd  in 
Sebago. 

James  b.  June  7,  1796,  m.  Eliza  Thorn,  May  28,  1829. 

George  W.,b.  Jan.  10,  1798,  m.  Eleanor  Lombard,  dau.  of  Daniel  Murch  of 
Buxton,  and  widow  of  Samuel  Lombard,  Jan.  11,  1825;  I'd  at  West 
Gorham;  d.  in  May,  187 1  ;  Mrs.  Blake  d.  May  22,  1874,  aged  85.  Ch  : 
Geo.  T.,  m.  Eliza  Douglass,  2d,  Martha  Place  of  Saco  ;  Charles  II.,  m. 
Abba  Rand,  Jan.  i,  1859;  Harriet,  m.  Lorenzo  D.  Rand  of  Standish,  p. 
Oct.  6,  1859  ;  Ingalls. 

John  Blake  was  a  Revolutionary  pensioner.  He  died  Mar.  21, 
1826,  aged  66  ;  his  wife  died  June  15,  1S50,  aged  91. 

(i)  Benjamin  Blake's  name  appears  on  a  Gorham  tax  bill  for 
1777.  He  lived  above  West  Gorham  on  the  John  Dunn  farm,  where 
his  brother  John  afterwards  lived.  He  married,  Oct.  20,  1785, 
Phebe,  daughter  of  Jedediah  and  Susan  (Dorsett)  Lombard.  Children  : 


404  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Jedediah,  b.  Mar.  14,  1786. 

Edward,  b.  May  11,1789,  m.  Rebecca  Bacon,  June  30,  1808;  2d,  Apphia  Bacon, 

July  20,  1818.     (Dau's  of  Josiah  Bacon  of  Gorham.) 
John,  b.  Oct.  13,  1 791,  d.  young. 
John,  b.  Mar.  15,  1793. 
Joseph,  b.  June  5,  1795. 
William,  b.  May  23,  1797. 
Sylvanus,  b.  Feb.  13,  1800. 

Benjamin  Blake  exchanged  farms  with  John  Dunn  of  Brownfield, 
and  with  his  family  moved  to  that  town. 

(2)  Timothy  Blake,  son  of  Ithiel,  married  Susan  Higgins,  and 
their  children  were  : 

Miriam  F.,  b.  Jan.  4,  1812,  m.  Mark  Newcomb  of  Harrison,  p.  Apr.  21,  1832. 
Ebenezer  H.,  b.  Dec.  27,  1813,  m.  Mehitable,  dau.  of  Uan'l  Irish,  Oct  30,  1836  ; 

one  son,  Franklin,  b.  Mar.  16,  1844,  was  a  member  of  the   nth  U.  S. 

Infantry,  and  d.  in  the  Civil  War  at  Spottsylvania,  Va.,  May  9,   1864. 

Mrs.  Blake   d.  July  7,  1873,  ^g^d  57,   and   Capt.   Blake   m.    Mrs.   Sarah 

(Bangs)    Putnam;    he    d.   Jan.   2.    1879,   and    his    widow    m.  Frank    A. 

Hamblen. 
Ithiel,  b.  Jan.  30,  1816,  m.  Esther  Files,  Nov.  29,  183S  ;  d.  Sept.  1880. 
Apphia  H.,  b.  May  21,  1818,  m.  William  E.  Files,  Jr.,  Nov.  1837. 
Adeline,  b.  Feb.  21,  1822,  m.  John  Carsley  of  Harrison,  1842. 
Fanny  H.,  b.  Jan.  24,  1824,  m.  Francis  Hamblen  of  Buxton,  p.  Dec.  1845. 

Timothy  Blake  died  at  the  old  homestead,  Jan.  7,  1883,  aged  93. 
Mrs.  Blake  died  Apr.  12,  1862,  aged  73. 

(2)  Daniel  Blake,  son  of  John,  lived  for  many  years  in  Buxton. 
He  spent  the  latter  years  of  his  life  in  Gorham  on  the  farm  once 
owned  by  Lieut.  Ebenezer  Murch.  He  was  in  the  War  of  18 12,  serv- 
ing at  Portland  in  Lieut.  Leighton's  troop  of  cavalry.  He  married 
Thankful  Davis,  daughter  of  John,  of  Buxton,  and  granddaughter  of 
Josiah  Davis  of  Gorham.     She  was  born  Oct.  23,  1792.     Children  : 

Marshall,  b.  Dec.  i,  1S15,  m.  Lydia  Wiggins  of  Boston. 
Sewell,  b.  May  11,  1817,  m.  Eliza  McLellan  of  Newfield. 
Mary,  b.  July  9,  1819,  m.  John  Stokes  of  Oorham. 

Martha,  b.  Mar.  21,  1828,  m.  M.  G.  Hayden  of  Durham,  N.  H.     Mr.  Hayden 
was  a  trader  in  Gorham,  and  town  clerk  from  1861  to  1864. 

Mr.  Blake  died  Aug.  30,  1870,  aged  84. 

BOLTON. 

Mary  McLellan  came  from  the  north  of  Ireland,  and  was  the  sister 
of  Hugh  McLellan  of  Gorham  and  James  McLellan  of  Saco.  She 
married  in  Ireland  a  man  by  the  name  of  Craige,  much  older  than 
herself.  Craige  had  a  son  John  by  a  former  wife.  The  family  left 
Ireland  for  America  somewhere  about  the  year  1729  to  1730,  and 
landed  first  in  Boston,  Mass.  On  the  voyage  over  Craige  died, 
leaving    his    widow  with    two  children,  Jane,  or  Jenny  as  she  was 


GENEALOGY.  405 

called,  and   Hugh,  with  the  son  John  by  his   first  wife.      Hugh   was 
probably  born  about  the  year  1723  ;  Jenny  was  older. 

Thomas  Bolton  came  over  in  the  same  vessel.  He  was  said  to 
have  been  an  old  bachelor,  and  from  the  same  town  as  the  Craiges. 
In  Boston  he  married  the  widow  Craige,  and  soon  after  came  with 
his  family  to  Portland,  where  he  remained  a  while,  and  had  some 
property  ;  he  then  exchanged  his  property  for  lands  in  Windham, 
and  moved  in.  This  was  before  the  year  1747.  The  son,  John 
Craige,  remained  in  Boston,  and  we  lose  sight  of  him.  Hugh  was 
about  six  years  old  when  the  family  left  Ireland.  The  daughter, 
Jenny  Craige,  married  John  Miller  of  Falmouth  (Portland)  Aug.  27, 
1738.  He  was  a  tailor,  and  carried  on  quite  a  business,  and  was  a 
man  of  some  property.  1  do  not  know  of  their  leaving  any  children 
or  descendants.  At  one  time  Hugh  McLellan  was  living  on  a  farm 
at  Back  Cove,  and  was  driven  in  by  fear  of  the  Indians.  He  says  he 
lived  a  while  in  the  house  with  his  niece  Jenny  Miller.  This  was 
before  Hugh  purchased  his  farm  in  Gorham,  in  1738.  Mrs.  Miller 
outlived  her  husband  many  years,  and  died  Nov.  4,  1760. 

Hugh  Craige  married  Elizabeth  Warren  in  Falmouth,  Nov.  11, 
1749,  and  soon  after  purchased  land  in  the  town  of  Windham,  and 
moved  on  to  it.  Of  the  exact  time  we  have  no  date,  but  it  was  in  the 
early  days  of  Windham.  He  owned,  as  early  as  1750,  the  two  home 
lots,  Nos.  50  and  51.  He  was  one  of  the  selectmen  of  the  town  in 
1770  and  1774,  and  on  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  in  1773. 
He  is  said  to  have  been  a  good  citizen,  and  has  many  descendants 
now  living  in  town.  He  died  Mar.  19,  1777,  aged  54,  and  his  wife, 
Elizabeth  Craige,  died  in  18 10,  aged  83. 

We  have  not  the  date  of  Thomas  Bolton  and  Mary  (McLellan) 
Craige's  marriage,  but  after  their  marriage  they  lived  several  years  in 
Falmouth,  where  their  son  William  w-as  born,  Apr.  13,  1731.  They 
also  had  two  daughters,  Martha,  who  married  Richard  Mayberry  of 
Windham,  Feb.  21,  1756,  and  died  at  the  age  of  90,  and  Mary,  who 
was  born  in  1733,  and  married  Robert  Millions  of  Windham  in  1760. 

Thomas  Bolton  settled  in  Windham,  probably  on  what  was  called 
Home  Lot,  No.  52,  for  here  he  had  a  garrison-house  in  the  time  of 
the  Indian  war.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  about  90  years  old. 
His  wife  died  in  Gorham,  aged  89,  about  the  year  1788,  which  was 
soon  after  the  death  of  her  husband.  She  was  buried  in  the  orchard 
opposite  the  McLellan  brick  house,  on  the  road  leading  to  Fort  Hill, 
it  not  being  possible  to  get  her  body  to  Windham  on  account  of  the 
roads,  and  there   being   no  bridge   on   the  river  above  Saccarappa. 


406  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Several  years  after  her  death,  her  body  was  taken  up  by  her  grand- 
sons and  taken  to  Windham,  and  deposited  in  the  old  Anderson 
burying  ground,  by  the  side  of  her  husband.  There  was  a  curious 
story  told  in  relation  to  her  death,  which  is  perhaps  rather  tinctured 
with  superstition,  but  we  will  give  it  as  it  was  told  us.  While  on  a 
visit  to  her  sister-in-law,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  McLellan,  in  Gorham,  they 
were  sitting  and  talking  in  the  southeast  front  room  of  the  brick 
house,  (now  standing)  when  an  old  rooster  came  into  the  front  entry, 
and  commenced  to  crow  most  lustily.  Mrs.  Bolton  immediately  said 
to  Mrs.  McLellan,  "  Elizabeth,  there  will  be  a  death  m  this  house  in 
less  than  a  fortnight.  That  rooster's  crowing  in  the  door  is  a  sure 
sign."  "  Well,"  says  Mrs.  McLellan,  "  we  will  make  the  sign  come 
true,  and  the  old  rooster  shall  be  the  victim,  and  we  will  eat  him  for 
dinner."  Calling  the  old  fellow  up  to  her,  she  caught  him,  and 
wrung  his  neck  in  the  room  where  they  were.  Notwithstanding  this 
sudden  death,  it  appears  not  to  have  been  the  one  predicted  by  the 
rooster.  Mrs.  Bolton  was  taken  next  day  with  a  severe  attack  of 
dysentery,  and  cholera-morbus,  and  died  in  two  days  after,  and  was 
buried  as  I  have  before  said. 

(2)  William  Bolton,  son  of  Thomas,  lived  and  died  on  his  father's 
old  farm.  In  1747,  Aug.  27,  the  Indians  made  an  assault,  and 
attempted  to  capture  him  and  William  Maxlield.  The  family  tradi- 
tion is  that  William  Bolton  was  out  hunting  for  the  cattle  at  the  time. 
Bolton  having  discharged  his  gun  at  the  enemy,  was  rushed  on  and 
captured  before  he  covild  reload.  Maxfield  being  more  fortunate  ia 
loading,  retreated  backward  toward  the  fort,  with  his  gun  pointed  at 
the  Indians,  till  he  was  relieved  by  a  body  of  men  coming  to  his  aid. 
Bolton  was  marched  through  the  woods  into  Canada,  suffering  many 
hardships,  and  sold  to  a  French  officer,  and  put  on  board  a  French 
frigate.  This  frigate  soon  after  was  captured  by  an  English  vessel, 
and  Bolton  was  carried  into  Boston,  where  he  became  the  servant  of 
a  Lieut.  Wallace,  on  board  of  an  English  frigate,  but  was  soon  set  at 
liberty,  and  returned  to  his  friends  in  Windham.  There  is  a  story 
told,  and  probably  it  is  true,  that  some  years  afterwards  Bolton  met 
his  old  master,  Lieut.  Wallace,  in  Portland,  poor  and  destitute.  He 
took  him  home  to  Windnam,  where  he  kept  him  in  comfort  and 
respectability  till  his  death.  When  Lieut.  Wallace  died  he  was  80 
years  of  age. 

William  Bolton  married,  March  17,  1757,  Rachel,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Haskell.     Children  : 


GENEALOGY.  407 

Thomas,  b.  Feb.  25,  1758,  m.  Hannah  Crockett,  Jan.  24,  17S2. 
William,  b.  Jan.  i,  1760,  m.  Ann  Webb,  Jan.  5,  1786. 
^    Sarah,  b.  June  iS,  1761,  m.  Edward  Webb  of  Gorham,  May  lo,  1787. 
John,  b.  ()ct.  2,  1762,  if  m.,  left  no  children  ;  d.  June  17,  1812. 
Peter,  b.  June  2,  1764,  m.  Rebecca  Cobb,  Mar.  19,  1787  ;  I'd  in  Windham. 
Ann,  b.  May  i,  1766,  d.  unm.,  Dec.  25,  1830. 

James,  b.  July  23,  1768,  m.  Elizabeth  Pettengal,  Mar.  ro,  1796;  went  to  N.  Y. 
Mary,  b.  Aug.  14,  1770,  m.  Daniel  Haskell  of  Windham,  Apr.  10,  1794. 
Rachel,  b.  Nov.  16,  1772,  d.  Feb.  14,  1786. 
Elizabeth,  b.  Apr.  4,  1775,  m.  Levi  Estes. 
Solomon,  b.  Mar.  9.  1778,  d.  Mar.  14,  1793. 

William  Bolton  died  Oct.  12,  1787,  aged  56.  His  wife  Rachel, 
who  was  born  July  12,  1730,  died  Nov.  25,  18 12. 

(3)  Thomas  Bolton,  son  of  William,  lived  on  the  farm  now  (1878) 
owned  and  occupied  by  Daniel  Mayberry.  He  married  Hannah, 
daughter  of  Lieut.  Joshua  and  Hannah  Crockett  of  Gorham.  Chil- 
dren : 

William,  b.  Dec.  23,  1782,  m.  Eunice  Nason,  Oct.  15,  1803. 

Joshua,  b.  Oct.  8,  1784,  d.  unm. 

Benjamin,  b.  Apr.  i,  1787,  m.  in  St.  Andrews,  N.  B. 

Ann,  b. ,  1791,  m.  William  Webb,  Apr.  29,  1821. 

Thomas,  b.  May  16.  1793,  "''•  Martha  Noble  of  Portland.    Ch:  Thon>as,  b.  181 7, 

d.  in  1830  ;  Eliza  Ann,  b.  1819,  d.  y. ;  Elbridge  G.,  b.  June  24,  1822,  m. 

Lydia  K.   Jordan,  May  22,  1845;  Charles,  b.   Mar.  29,  1824,  m.   Ellen  S. 

Crockett;    Harris,    b.    Apr.    19,    1826,   m.    Christiana   ,    in   Te.xas; 

Sumner  C,  b.  Nov.  15,  1828,  m.  Lauretta  Lane,  1850,    2d,  Lottie  Shorey, 

Sept.    15,    1891,    was   a   clothier,    and   for   many  years  I'd  at   Gorham 

village,    d.  in  1899;  Thomas  J.,  b.  Dec.  i,  1830,  lost  at  sea;  Eliza,  m. 

John  M.  Howe;  John   b. .     Mr.  Thomas   Bolton   m.  in   1848    Mrs. 

Mary  Eaton,  and  I'd  in  Portland. 

Thomas  Bolton,  Sen.  died  in  Gorham  near  Sapling  Hill,  on  his  farm, 
June  18,  1793.  His  widow  married,  July  11,  1795,  Joseph  Lombard, 
and  died  Dec.  28;  1843,  aged  83. 

(3)  William  Bolton,  son  of  William,  married  Ann,  daughter  of  Eli 

and  Sarah  Webb,  and  lived  in  Gorham  on  the  farm  lately  owned  and 

occupied  by  Otis  Emery.     Children  : 

Rachel,  b.  Dec.  16,  1786,  m.  John  Morton,  May  10,  1807. 

Sally,  b.  Dec.  22,  1788,  d.  young. 

Sally,  b.  May  24,  1790,  m.  James  Emery  of  Windham,  Sept.  5,  181 1. 

Martha,  b.  July  16,  1792,  m.  Caleb  Hodgdon,  Oct.  5,  1834. 

William  Bolton  died  July  18,  1793.  His  widow  married.  Mar.  30, 
1797,  William  Libby,  Jr.,  and  died  in  Gorham,  Dec.  28,  1855,  ^g^d  93. 

(4)  William  Bolton,  son  of  Thomas,  married  Eunice  Nason.     He 

lived  on  his  father's  farm,  near  Gambo,  at   Sapling   Hill,  near  what 

is  now  called  Pleasant  Ridge.     Children  : 

Abigail,  b.  Feb.  15,  1804,  d.  unm.,  Jan.  14,  1872. 

Hannah,  b.  Nov.  29,  1805,  m.  James  Strout  of  Raymond,  Oct.  26,  1833. 
Eleanor,  b.  Aug.  26,  1807,  m.  Edmund  Green  of  Portland,  p.  Mar.  19,  1833. 
Anna,  b.  Aug.  5,  18 10,  m.  Samuel  S.  Waterhouse,  June  3,  1S38. 


408  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Rachel,  b. ,  1812. 

Thomas,  b.  Jan   17,  1815,  m.  Mary  Ann  Moody  of  Standish,  Dec.  17,  1845;  ^'^ 

near   Gambo.     Ch:   William    M.,   b.    Sept.    3,    1846,    m.    Carrie    Gray;. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Mar.  8,  1850,  m.  Walter  Bu.xton.     Mr.  Bolton  d.  Aug.  29, 

1851. 
Sabine,   b.  Apr.   26,    181 6,  m.   Ann  Thomas;  d.  in  Biddeford ;  his  widow  m. 

Thomas  Randall. 

William  Bolton  died  July  10,  1856.  Mrs.  Eunice  Bolton  died  Apr. 
8,  1862,  aged  77. 

BOWMAN. 

Dr.  Nathaniel  Bowman  was  the  third  physician  who  settled  in 
Gorham.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College,  class  of  1786, 
and  practiced  here  for  some  years.  He  married  Sally  Johnson  of 
Andover,  Mass.,  to  whom  he  was  published  July  10,  1789.     Children: 

Samuel  Gardner,  b.  Oct.  9,  1790. 
Sally,  b.  Nov.  19,  1792. 
Joshua,  b.  Oct.  24,  1795. 

Dr.  Bowman  died  in  Gorham  on  the  8th  day  of  June,  i797-  He 
was  engaged,  with  others,  in  raising  the  frame  of  the  Congregational 
meeting  house,  when  through  some  cause  a  part  of  the  rigging,  by 
which  they  were  raising  one  of  the  broad-sides,  gave  way,  and  he  was 
struck  by  some  of  the  falling  timbers  and  instantly  killed.  A  young 
man,  by  the  name  of  James  Tryon,  was  so  injured  that  he  died  the 
next  day.  James  Irish  was  taken  up  for  dead,  but  proved  to  be 
unharmed.  Several  others  were  injured,  but  none  badly.  This  was 
at  a  day  when  the  raising  of  a  church  was  the  signal  for  a  general 
meeting  of  all  the  population  for  miles  around  the  country.  This 
was  the  case  here,  Gorham  was  one  of  the  largest  villages  in  the 
region,  the  church  was  to  be  a  large  one,  added  to  which  there  was  to 
have  been  a  ball  in  the  evening  as  a  closing  service  to  the  raising. 
All  this,  as  said,  caused  a  general  gathering  of  all,  both  young  and 
old,  who  felt  a  great  interest  in  the  new  church.  At  the  time  the 
accident  happened  there  must  have  been  more  than  a  thousand 
persons  about  and  within  a  very  short  distance  of  the  frame,  and  to 
those  present  it  appeared  almost  a  miracle  that  no  more  were  hurt. 

Dr.  Bowman  was  a  good  physician,  and  an  enterprising  man,  with 
his  whole  soul  in  his  work.  He  was  a  great  loss  to  the  town,  and  his 
death  cast  a  gloom  over  the  village  that  was  not  soon  forgotten. 
After  the  death  of  Dr.  Bowman  the  family  left  town.  His  widow  died 
about  i860.  The  family  while  living  in  Gorham,  occupied  the  house 
where  the  late  Stephen  Hinkley,  Jr.  lived. 


GENEALOGY.  409 

BRACKETT. 

Anthony  and  Thomas  Brackett  came  to  Fahiiouth,  from  Ports- 
mouth, N.  H.,  about  1662.  Mr.  Willis  says  that  they  were  sons  of 
Anthony  of  Portsmouth.  Anthony,  the  son,  married  first,  Ann, 
daughter  of  Michael  Mitton.  and  second,  Susannah  Drake,  of  Hamp- 
ton, N.  H.  Thomas,  the  other  son,  married  Mary  Mitton,  sister  to  Ann. 
Both  the  brothers  were  killed  by  the  Indians;  Thomas,  near  his 
dwelling  house,  in  1676,  and  Anthony,  on  his  farm  at  Back  Cove,  in 
1689. 

Anthony  Brackett,  son  of  Joshua,  and  grandson  of  Thomas,  was 
born  in  Greenland,  N.  H.,  in  1707.  He  married,  Feb.  14,  1733, 
Sarah  Knight,  and  second,  in  1756,  his  cousin,  Mrs.  Kerenhappuch 
Hicks,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Susanna  (Brackett)  Proctor,  and 
wadow  of  Joseph  Hicks.  It  does  not  appear  that  Anthony  Brackett 
was  ever  a  citizen  of  Gorham,  but  we  find  that  on  May  21,  1739,  he 
bought  of  Shubael  Gorham,  lot  58,  being  the  thirty  acre  lot  directly 
north  of  Phinney's  homestead.  Mar.  16,  1740,  he  sold  this  land  to 
Capt.  Phinney.  Mr.  Brackett  had  ten  children,  John,  Thomas, 
James,  Mary,  Joshua,  Elizabeth,  Keziah,  Samuel,  Nathaniel  and 
Sarah.  Of  these,  James,  Mary,  Joshua  and  Nathaniel,  probably 
settled  in  Gorham.  Anthony  Brackett  died  Sept.  10,  1784,  aged  77. 
His  widow  Kerenhappuch  died  in  Gorham,  Mar.  21,  182 1,  at  the  age 
of  93,  at  the  house  of  her  grandson,  James  Smith,  who  then  lived  in 
the  old  Samuel  Staples  house.  Smith  was  the  son  of  her  daughter 
Mary.  Mary's  first  husband  was  a  Halliday,  whom  she  married  May 
22,  1783.  She  married  second,  James  Smith,  about  the  year  1785  ; 
and  third,  Isaiah  Thomas,  in  1800. 

(2)  James  Brackett,  son  of  Anthony,  was  born  June  13,  1745. 
He  was  a  farmer.  His  farm  joined  the  old  David  Harding  farm,  on 
the  south.  His  house  stood  on  the  knoll,  near  the  road,  before  that 
part  of  the  road  running  from  Little  Falls  to  White  Rock,  had  been 
altered  and  straightened.  The  house  has  been  gone  for  many  years. 
Dec.  20,  1770,  he  married  Mehitable  Fabyan  of  Portland,  and  prob- 
ably came  to  Gorham  about  the  time  of  his  marriage.  The  children 
of  James  and  Mehitable  Brackett  were  : 

Rufus,  b.  Nov.  16,  1771,  d.  Aug.  17,  1795. 

Fabyan,  b.  May  30,  1774,  d.  Aug.  30,  1775. 

Olive,  b.  Oct.  17,  1776,  d.  Apr.  3,  1795. 

Betsey,  b.  Apr.  30,  1779,  ni.  Capt.  Thos.  Libby  of  Scarboro,  Nov.   14,  1822  ;  d. 

Jan.  6,  1825. 
Mary,  b.  June  17,  1781,  d.  Oct.  23,  17S3. 
Keziah,  b.  Sept.  i,  17S3,  m.  Daniel  Brackett,  Aug.  15,  1812  ;  I'd  in  Naples. 


410  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Mehitable,  b.  Oct.  14,  1785,  m.  Wm.  Harmon  of  Scarboro,  Mar.  23,  1833;  I'd  in 

Standish. 
Sally,  b.  Aug.  15,  17S8,  m.  Moses  Fogg  of  Scarboro,  p.  July  14,  i8ro. 
Joseph  F.,  b.  Sept.  30,   1790,  m.  Catherine  Emery,  Dec.  5,  1819;  I'd  in  Bidde- 

ford;  d.  Feb.  13,  1857. 
Patience,  b.  Aug.  i,  1794,  m.  Wm.  Haggett  of  Portland,  Dec.  4,  1817  ;  d.  Sept. 

17,  1871. 
Isabella,  b.  May  18,  1796,  d.  Sept.  6,  1799. 

James  Brackett  died  Jan.  11,  1803.     His  wife  Mehitable  died  July 

I,  1832,  aged  80, 

(2)  Joshua  Brackett,  son  of  Anthony,  lived  at  Little  Falls,  in  the 

corner  where  the  road  running  past  the   town  farm  joins  the  road 

to  White  Rock.     He  married  Abigail  Kendrick.     Children  : 

Jeremiah,  m.  Elizabeth  Cloudman,  Mar.  24,  1816. 

Alfred,  m.  Priscilla  Bramhall,  May  19,  18 16. 

Lewis,  m.  Mary  Ward  of  Windham,  Feb.  26,  1824;  d.  in  Gorham ;  liis  widow 

m.  Mr.  Walker  in  1839. 
John,  d.  May  24,  1832,  aged  27. 

Capt.  Joshua  Brackett  died  Aug.  20,  1826,  aged  64. 

( 2 )  Nathaniel  Brackett,  son  of  Anthony,  was  a  sea  captain,  and 
lived  in  Portland  as  long  as  he  followed  the  sea.  About  1800  he 
moved  to  Gorham  and  bought  the  farm  since  owned  by  Levi  Estes, 
and  which  is  about  a  half  mile  east  of  the  town  farm.  He  married 
Elizabeth  Lewis  of  Portland.     Children  : 

Samuel,  b. ,  m.  Louisa  Ingram  of  Portland,  p.  Feb.  19,  1820;  I'd  in  Lew- 

iston  ;  d.  about  1S75. 

Patience,  b.  ,  m.  Wm.  Lovitt  of  Windham,  Mar.  6,  1820;  d.  in  Otisfield. 

Mary,  b.   Aug.    14,   1S02,   m.   Rev.    Jonas   Tracy;    2d,  Holmes  Thomas;  d.  in 

Wales. 

Eliza,  b.  ,  m.  Chas.  Gardiner;  d.  in  Portland,  about  1868. 

Jane,  b.  July  29,  1805,  m.  Rev.  David  Newell  of  Durham,  Aug.  27,  1825. 
Martha,  h.  July  20,  1807,  d.  unm.  in  Gorham,  in  1862-3. 
Margaret,  b.  July  20,  181 1,  m.  Wm.  Dunn;  d.  in  S.  Paris,  about  1883. 
William,  b.  June  4,  1812,  m.  Susan  Green  of  Otisfield;  d.  in  O.  about  1872. 
Frederick,  b.  Mar.  4,  181 4,  m.  Mary  Knight  of  Otisfield;  d.  in  O.  in  Nov.  1896. 

Capt.  Brackett  sold  his  farm  in  Gorham,  and  took  up  a  farm  in 
Otisfield,  where  he  and  his  wife  died. 

(3)  John    Brackett,    son    of  John   and   grandson  of  Anthony,  was 

born  in  Falmouth  in  1770.      He  married  Jane,  daughter  of  John  and 

Jane  Warren  of  Falmouth,  and  lived  for  a  time  in  Gorham  on  the  old 

Rice  place.     Children  : 

George,  b.  Feb.  13,  1796. 
Mary,  b.  Apr.  28,  1798. 
John,  b.  Feb.  23,  1800. 
William  W.,  b.  Sept.  22,  1803. 

Shortly  after  the  birth  of  this  last  child,  Mr.  Brackett  removed  to 
Parsonsfield. 


(JENEALOGY.  411 

(3)  Alfred    Brackett,    son    of    Capt.    Joshua,    married     Priscilla, 

daughter  of  Cornelius  Bramhall.     Soon  after  their  marriage  Mr.  and 

Mrs.  Brackett  moved  to   Dixfield,   where    their  children    were  born. 

About    1843    the   family   returned    to    Gorham,    and    lived  on   Capt. 

Joshua's  old  homestead.     Children  : 

Leonard,  m.  Mary  in  N.  H. ;  d.  in  Cal. 

Sarah  J.,  m.  Freeman  Paine. 

Abbie,  m.  William  Rivinius. 

Ellen,  m.  Albion  Stiles  of  Westbrook. 

Lewis,  m.  Drusilla  Woodbury,  Jan.  17,  1S57. 

Martha,  m.  George  Sanborn  of  N.  H.;  2d,  Chas.  Stanyan  of  N.  H. 

Mary,  m.  Winslow  Burnham  of  Biddeford. 

Frances,  m.  W^m.  Moore  of  Biddeford. 

Alfred   Brackett  died  about  1875-6.      Mrs.  Brackett  died  in  1878. 

Joseph  Brackett  was  born  in  old  Falmouth  May  17,  1758.     He  was 

a  soldier  in  the  Revolution.     He  was  in  Gorham  as  early  as   1780. 

He    married    Sarah,    daughter   of    Barnabas   and    Loruhama    Bangs 

(pub.  Mar.  30,  1781).     There  is  no  perfect  record  of  their  children, 

but  there  were  : 

Jerusha,  b.  in  Gorham,  July  19,  1783,  d.  with  the  Shakers  in  Poland. 

Barnabas,  I'd  and  d.  at  Denmark,  where  he  kept  a  hotel. 

Benjamin,  joined  the  Gorham  Shakers.  • 

Comfort,  d.  in  Gorham  with  the  Shakers. 

Zachariah  Bangs,  I'd  on  Brackett  St.,  W^estbrook. 

Isaac,  b.  in  Cumberland,  May  18,  1792,  d.  with  the  Shakers  in  Alfred,  May  22, 

1836. 
Sarah,  b.  in  Gorham,  May,  1795,  d.  with  the  Shakers  in  Alfred,  Apr.  9,  1819. 
EHsha,  b.  in  Cumberland,  May,  6,  1797,  joined  the  Shakers;  changed  his  name 

to  Joseph  ;  became  an  Elder  and  head  of  the  Me.  Societies ;  d.  in  New 

Gloucester  in  1882. 

This  family  joined  the  Shakers,  with  whom  Joseph  Brackett  died 
in  Poland. 

Joshua  Brackett,  a  descendant  of  Anthony,  born  in  Falmouth,  July 
21,  1762,  served  in  the  Revolutionaiy  army.  He  moved  to  Limington 
about  1784.  His  grandson  Charles  A.  Brackett,  son  of  Robert  and 
Apphia  Brackett,  lives  in  Gorham  on  the  old  John  Hanscom  place. 
He  married  Frances  W.,  daughter  of  David  S.  and  Martha  (Small) 
Libby.     One  child : 

Edward  E.,  m.  Lizzie  Faulkner. 


BRAMHALL. 

Cornelius  Brimhall  had  a  proprietor's  right  in  Narragaiisett,  No. 
7,  which  he  purchased  of  Shubael  Gorham,  May  23,  1739  ;  but  we 
think  he  never  came  to  Gorham  to  live. 


412  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Sylvanus  Brimhall  came  from  Plymouth,   Mass.,  and  was  styled  a 

clothier.     In  1766  he  purchased  of  Moses  Akers  the  seventy  acre  lot, 

49.     July  30,  1770,  he  purchased  of  Enoch  Freeman,  for  £1^-6-8, 

the  house   and   lot  formerly  owned  by  Rev.   Ebenezer  Townsend, 

which  was  situated  on  the  west  side  of  the  Fort  Hill  road,  north  of 

where  the  house  of  Mr.  Isaac  Dyer  now  stands.     Sylvanus  Brimhall 

was  a  private   in    Capt.   Richard   Mayberry's  company,    nth  Mass. 

regiment,  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution.     He  had  a  sister  Sarah,  who 

married    Jonathan    Elwell.     The    hill   at    West    Gorham,    on    which 

George  Elwell,  son  of  Jonathan,  lately  lived  is  still  known  as  Bram- 

hall's  hill.     The  children  of  Sylvanus  Brimhall  and  Esther  his  wife 

were  : 

Cornelius,  b.  Apr.  6,  1768,  m.  Meribah  McDonald,  Feb.  28,  1788. 

Martha,  b.  Aug.  28,  1769. 

Betty,  b.  Nov.  4,  1771,  m.  James  Goodwin,  Oct.  23,  1794. 

John  B.,  b.  Sept.  5,  1773. 

Sylvanus,  b.  Aug.  5,  1775. 

Polly,  b.  Oct.  7,  1779,  m.  Abraham  Edwards,  Jan.  i,  1805. 

Esther,  b.  Aug.  25,  17S2. 

(2)     Cornelius  Bramhall,  son  of  Sylvanus,  at  one  time  lived  on  his 

father's  place,  the  thirty  acre  lot,   No.    8.       He  married    Meribah, 

daughter  of  Charles  and  Priscilla  McDonald.     Children  : 

Charles,  b.  Dec.  3,  1788. 

Martha,  b.  Mar.  24,  1791. 

Priscilla,  b.  June  29,  1793,  ^-  Alfred  Brackett,  May  19,  181 6. 

Esther,  b.  Aug.  4,  1796,  m.  William  H.  Smith,  Oct.  27,  1823. 

Almira,  b.  Mar.  20,  1800,  m.  John  Dean,  Oct.  27,  1823.  (?) 

BRIGGS. 

Abiel  Briggs  was  in  Gorham  as  early  as  1780.  In  1792  he  pur- 
chased of  Benjamin  Weeks  a  house  and  farm  of  twenty-four  acres  in 
the  south  part  of  the  town,  being  the  same  deeded  by  John  Dyer 
to  his  son-in-law  William  Weeks.  Mr.  Briggs  was  a  musician,  as  well 
as  farmer.  Gen.  Irish  relates  in  his  diary',  that  in  1790  he  and  some 
of  his  young  friends  hired  Mr.  Briggs  to  keep  a  singing  school  in  his 
(Irish's)  father's  house,  and  "  paid  him  in  corn  and  pork."  "  Cash 
was  not  to  be  had,  but  by  a  few  persons."  Abiel  Briggs  married, 
Aug.  26,  1786,  Lucy,  daughter  of  John  and  Lois  Perkins.  She  died 
June  10,  1788,  aged  18,  and  he  married,  Jan.  20,  1791,  Polly,  daugh- 
ter of  Nathaniel  and  Mercy  Dunn.     Children  : 

John  Perkins,  b.  Sept.  4,  1791,  was  a  physician  in  Portland. 
I.ucy  Perkins,  b.  Mar.  4,  1794- 

About  1800  Mr.  Briggs  removed  to  Portland,  where  he  died  a  few 
years  later  ;  his  wife  survived  him. 


GENEALOflY.  413 

BROWN. 

GRANDMOTHKR    COLE,    AND    THE    BROWNS. 

Timothy  C.'ole  was  one  of  the  original  grantees  of  Narragansett,  No. 
7,  or  Gorhamtown.  His  eldest  son  was  Timothy.  The  number  of 
Cole's  right  was  41.  This  lot  was  on  the  northerly  side  of  the  old 
Buxton  road,  being  the  first  lot  easterly  from  the  house  of  Samuel 
Cressey  (1878),  and  is  called  the  Brown  lot.  By  reference  to  a  deed 
given  by  Joseph  Brown  and  his  wife  Susanna  to  Zephaniah  Harding 
in  1764,  wherein  they  convey  the  seventy  acre  lot  to  which  No.  41 
would  be  entitled  in  the  lotting-out  of  the  then  common  lands  in 
town,  they  say  they  own  this  in  consequence  of  having  purchased  the 
Proprietary  right  of  Timothy  Cole,  by  his  deed  to  them  dated  Oct. 
23,  1 751;  recorded  in  the  York  County  Records.  We  know  the 
Browns  lived  on  this  lot  in  1797,  for  Edmund  Brown,  a  grandson  of 
•Joseph  and  Susanna,  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Isaac  Skillings, 
Aug.  6,  1797,  and  took  her  home  to  a  house  on  41.  They  lived  in 
what  for  many  years  was  known  as  the  Brown  house,  which  stood  in 
the  field  opposite  the  house  of  Seth  Hersey  on  the  old  Buxton  road, 
and  which  has  been  torn  down  for  many  years.  The  land  is  now 
owned  by  Mr.  Cressey.  Edmund  Brown  was  a  sea-faring  man,  and 
died  away  from  home  at  sea,  not  many  years  after  his  marriage.  It 
is  said  that  his  clothes,  instruments  and  telescope  came  home  to  his 
widow,  but  she  could  never  obtain  any  clear  account  of  where  or  how 
he  died.  He  left  no  children.  His  widow  married  John  Pride  of 
Westbrook,  and  died  leaving  no  children. 

•Timothy  Cole  was  an  Eastham  man,  and  one  of  the  Proprietors  of 
Gorham  ;  Joseph  Harding  was  an  Eastham  man,  and  a  Proprietor  ; 
his  number  was  39  ;  Geo.  Brown  was  also  of  Eastham,  and  a  Propri- 
etor, his  number  being  44.  Thus  far  we  cannot  find  Timothy  Cole 
in  the  town  of  Gorham,  but  in  early  times  there  was  an  old  lady  here 
whose  name  was  Cole.  She  was  known  as  "  Grandmother  Cole," 
and  from  what  little  we  can  learn,  think  she  was  in  some  way  con- 
nected with  the  Hardings  and  Browns.  The  last  we  know  of  her, 
she  lived  at  Gorham  corner,  nearly  in,  or  where,  the  road  is  now 
travelled  in  front  of  the  brick  house  and  store  owned  by  Lewis 
McLellan  ;  and  the  old  well  found  some  years  ago  several  feet  under 
the  sidewalk,  was  the  well  used  by  her,  near  where  her  house  stood. 
She  was  alive  at  the  time  of  the  burning  of  Portland,  during  the  Rev- 
olution, when  becoming  frightened,  thinking  the  British  would  come 
up  to  Gorham  and  steal  everything  they  could  find,  she  dropped  her 
ox-chains  into  this  same  well  to  hide  them. 


414  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Several  families  of  the  name  of  Brown  came  to  Gorham  from  East- 
ham,  Mass.,  among  whom  were  those  of  Joseph,  Samuel  and  Sylva- 
nus. 

Samuel  Brown  lived  at  West  Gorham.  He  was  a  cordwainer  by 
trade.     In  April,   1770,  be  bought  of  Barnabas  Harding  fifty  acres 

from  the  hundred  acre  lot,  89.     His  wife  was  Barbara .     She 

was  the  first  convert  in  Gorham  to  the  Shaker  doctrine.  She  and 
her  husband  both  joined  the  Shaker  family.  Children,  the  two  old- 
est born  in  Eastham : 

Lydia,  b.  Nov.  i,  1765. 

Samuel,  b.  Oct.  27,  1767,  d.  with  the  Shakers  at  Alfred,  Jan.  15,  1814. 

Joseph,  b.  Aug.  8,  1770,  m.  Hannah  Elder,  Oct.  28,  1798. 

Bethiah,  b.  Feb.  11,  1775,  d.  with  the  Shakers  at  Alfred,  May  2,  1807. 

Barbara,  b.  Mar.  25,  1777. 

Lucy,  b.  May  10,  1782. 

Samuel  Brown  was  drowned  at  sea  Oct.  12,  1798,  aged  53.  Bar- 
bara, his  wife,  died  with  the  Shakers  at  Alfred,  June  11,  1825,  aged 
79  years,  10  months. 

Sylvanus  Brown  was  a  brother  to  Samuel,  above.  They  had  a  sis- 
ter Martha,  who  married  Capt.  Samuel  Harding  of  Eastham,  and 
lived  in  Gorham  ;  also  a  sister  Bethiah  H.,  who  married  Simeon  Tryon. 

Sylvanus  Brown  was  a  cordwainer.      His  wife  was  Fear .     He 

probably  married  her  in  Eastham,  before  coming  here,  and  their  first 
child  was  probably  born  there.     Children  : 

Fear,  b.  July  10,  1767,  m.  John  Poland,  Apr.  26,  1791. 

Daughter,  b.  July  2.  1769,  d.  young. 

Hezekiah,  b.  May  28,  1771,  m.  Abiah  Moody,  July  3,  1794- 

Martha,  b.  Aug.  30,  1773,  d.  in  Alfred  with  the  Shakers,  Oct.  20,  1863. 

Sylvanus,  b.  Mar.  i,  1775,  d.  young.  • 

Sylvanus,  b.  July  5,  1776,  m.  Hannah  Harding,  p.  Nov.  21,  1801. 

Heman  Merrick,  b.  Feb.  13,  1778,  m.  Elizabeth  Hicks,  Dec.  20,  1802. 

Sylvanus  Brown  lived  at  West  Gorham.  He  bought  of  Barnabas 
Harding,  Jan.  18,  1769,  a  part  of  the  hundred  acre  lot  89.  This 
was  probably  about  the  time  of  his  coming  to  Gorham.  He  died 
about  1786. 

(2)  Hezekiah  Brown,  son  of  Sylvanus,  was  a  hatter,  and  carried 
on  his  business  in  a  small  shop  which  stood  on  the  same  lot  with  his 
house,  but  nearer  West  Gorham  village.  His  house  which  is  still 
known  as  the  "  Brown  house,"  is  yet  standing  at  West  Gorham.  It 
is  the  house  lately  occupied  by  J.  Hanson  Clement.  Mr.  Brown  mar- 
ried Abiah  Moody  of  Standish.     Children  : 

Betsey,  b.  July  9,  1795,  "^-  Eben  Harmon  of  Buxton,  Nov.  20,  1817. 
James  M.,  b.  Apr.  24,  1797,  m.  Ruth  Wentworth,  Apr.  6,   1S21;  I'd  in  Brown- 
field. 
Eliza,  b.  May  26,  1799,  m.  Abram  Linscott  of  Brownfield. 


GENEALOGY.  415 

Mary  L.,  b.  Nov.  ii,  1801,  m  (jerry  of  Brewer. 

Hepsiheth,  b.  Oct.,  1804,  m.  Abram   Berry  of  Buxton,  May  7,  1826;  d.  Feb.  26, 

1867. 
Sylvanus,   b.    Sept.   9,    1806,    m.   Aurelia    Kennisoii ,    I'd   in    Brownfitld;    d.    in 

Buxton. 
Samuel  M.,  b.  June  15,  1810,  m.  Sally  Linscott  of  Brownfield. 
Martha  A.  H.,  b  Aug.  4,  18 16,  d.  young,  unm. 

Mr.   Brown  sold  his  Gorham   property  in    181 7,  and   shortly  after 

moved  to  Brownfield,  where  both  he  and  his  wife  died. 

Joseph   Brown  probably  came  to  Gorham  about  1751  or  '52.     He 

purchased  of  David  Gorham  the  hundred  acre  lot  64,  and  May  3, 

1758,  sold  fifteen  acres  off  the  east  corner  to  Zephaniah   Harding. 

As  previously  stated  Joseph  Brown  probably  lived  on  the  thirty  acre 

lot  41   which   he   bought   in   1751.     His  wife  was  Susanna . 

We  find  no  complete  record  of  the  family.     Several  of  the  children 

were  doubtless  born  before  their  parents  came  to  Gorham. 

Joseph,  b.  about  1747,  m.  Hannah  Whitney,  Oct.  19,  1769. 

Benjamin,  b.  ,  m.  Sarah  Phinney. 

Simeon,  b.  May  9,  1753,  "^-  Elizabeth  Emery,  p.  June  22,  1776. 
Susanna,  b.  July  26,  1756,  m.  William  Adams,  Dec.  3,  1772. 

(2)  Joseph  Brown,  Jr.,  son  of  Joseph,  married  Hannah,  daughter  of 

Isaac  and  Sarah  Whitney.     He  lived  on  the  Flaggy  Meadow  road 

on  the  western  part  of  the  hundred  acre  lot  64.     Children  : 

Timothy,  b.  Nov.  3,  1769. 

Sarah,  b.  June  19,  1772,  m.  Benjamin  Bolter  of  Standish,  Nov.  i,  1788.    (?) 

Susanna,  b.  Jan.  15,  1775. 

Joseph,  b. . 

Joseph  Brown  died  before  1777,  and  his  v.'idow  married  (pub.  July 
26,  1777)  Joshua  Adams. 

(2)  Benjamin  Brown,  son  of  Joseph,  lived  on  the  old  Buxton  road. 

He  owned  the  thirty  acre  lot  44  which  had  belonged  to  Geo.  Brown, 

of  Eastham.      He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Col.  Edmund  and  Betty 

Phinney.      Children : 

Edmund,  b.  Sept.  22,  1772,  m.  Elizabeth  Skillings,  Aug.  6.  1797;  no  children. 

Joseph,  b.  July  22,  1774. 

Betty,  b.  Sept.  24,  1776,  m.  Simon  Davis  McDonald,  July  16,  1800. 

Isaac  Cole,  b.  Nov.  25,  1778. 

John,  b.  May  20,  1780. 

Nancy,  b.  Dec.  20.  1783. 

Hannah,  b.  Jan.  20,  1786. 

Polly,  b.  July  29,  1788. 

Patience,  b.  Aug.  10,  1791. 

vSally,  b.  July  23,  1795. 

(2)  Simeon  Brown,  son  of  Joseph,  served  in  the  army  during  the 
Revolution.  He  lived  on  the  eastern  part  of  the  hundred  acre  lot  64 
till  he  sold  this  homestead  in   1787   to  his   brother   Benjamin,  and 


416  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

moved  to  the  farm  afterwards  occupied  by  his  son  Samuel.     He  mar- 
ried Elizabeth,  daughter  of  James  and  Mary  (Bean)  Emery.    Children  : 

James,  b.  July  3,  1777,  lost  at  sea. 

Mercy,  b.  Jan.  22,  1779,  d.  Nov.,  1784. 

Samuel,  b.  Nov.  4,  1782,  m.  Mercy  Strout. 

Simeon,  b.  Jan.  17,  1785,  d.  unm. 

Levi,  b.  Mar.  23,  1787,  m.  Betsey  Ridlon  of  Buxton,  Mar.  25,  1812.  Ch :  Ebe- 
nezer,  d.  y. ;  Samuel;  Isaac,  m.  Harriet  Penfield ;  Martha  m.  Mr. 
Leavitt  of  Portland  ;  Hannah,  Elizabeth  and  Jane.  Mr.  Brown  lived  on 
the  new  Buxton  road,  near  the  railroad  crossing.  The  house  is  now  gone. 
He  d.  in  Gorham,  Jan.  29,  1838. 

Sally,  b.  Mar.  27,  1789,  m.  Capt.  Wm.  Chandler  of  Saco. 

Charles,  b.  Mar.  i,  1792,  m.  Lydia  Noble. 

Solomon,  b.  Mar.  5,  1795,  m.  Sarah  Elizabeth  Rumery  of  Biddeford,  Oct.  17, 
1813;  2d,  Sarah  P.  Shurline  of  Gorham,  Oct.  11,  1824,  d.  Jan.  22,  1S52; 
3d,  Julia  Plimpton,  of  Walpole,  Mass.,  1854  d.  Mar.  16,  1875.  Ch  :  by 
1st  w. :  Elizabeth  E.,  b.  1S17,  m.  Jabez  Nickerson,  and  2d,  Thos.  J.  Cole 
of  Vt.,  d.  in  Defiance,  O.,  Nov.  11,  1883,  no  ch.  ;  Priscilla,  b.  May  18, 
1823,  d.  Nov.  17,  1864,  m.  Nov.  25,  1843,  Stanwood  Alexander  of  Rich- 
mond, had  three  ch.,  of  whom  De  Alva  Stanwood,  a  Representative  in 
Congress  from  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  survived  her.  Ch  :  by  2d  w. :  Margaret,  b. 
Sept.  15,  1827,  d.  Mar.  r,  1869,  m.  1847.  Israel  Preble  of  Richmond  ;  had 
fourch.,  of  whom  Sarah  L.  and  Horace  W.  survived  her  ;  Edward  Payson, 
b.  Sept.  15,  1828,  d.  Nov  12,  1855,  m.  1849,  Margaret,  dau.  of  Gen.  John 
Scott  of  Terre  Haute,  Ind.,  one  child,  Ida  Scott,  survived  her.  Solomon 
was  one  of  the  incorporators  and  trustees  and  first  treasurer  of  Litch- 
field Academy.     He  d.  in  Defiance,  O.,  July  19,  1875. 

Polly,  b.  Feb.  28,  1797,  d.  Aug.  i,  1798. 

Simeon  Brown  died  Mar.  13,  1821. 

(3)  Samuel  Brown,  son  of  Simeon,  lived  for  many  years  on  the 

farm  opposite  the  old  McDougall  place,  not  far  from  the  Buxton  line. 

The  place  is  now  occupied  by  Mr.   Ridgeway.      He  married  Mercy 

Strout.     Children : 

Sarah,  b.  May  20,  1817,  d.  unm   at  Cumberland  Mill.*,  Feb.,  1890. 

Solomon,  b.  Dec.  10,  1819,  m.  Eleanor  Gerry,  Feb.  14,  1847  ;  d.  Feb,  1890.     Mrs. 

B.  d.  Apr.  12,  1880.     Ch:  Mary  E.,  m.  Wm.  B.  Dole;  George. 
Elizabeth,  b.  Apr.  24,  1822,  m.  Sylvester  Bachelder. 
Phebe,  b.  Aug.  19,  1824,  m.  Appleton  Emery,  Aug.  22,  1848. 
Samuel,  b.  Apr.  20,  1S27,  d.  young. 
William,  b.  June  26,  1828,  d.  young. 
Freeman,  b.  May  10,  1830,  m.  Lydia  E.  Brown  ;  d.  Apr.  21,  TS65  ;  child,  Appleton 

E.,  b.  July  28,  1863. 
Mary  L.,  b.  July  6,  1832,  m.  Lorenzo  Thompson. 
Ann,  b.  Nov.  to,  1833,- d.  Mar.  15,  1835. 
Samuel,  b.  May  20,  1836,  d.  Nov.  15,  1838. 
John  F.,  b.  July  18,  1840,  d.  Sept.  2,  1844. 

Samuel  Brown  died  in  Gorham,  Nov.  i,  1859.  Mrs.  Mercy  Brown 
died  Nov.  29,  1867,  aged  72. 

(3)  Charles  Brown,  son  of  Simeon,  was  a  brick  mason  by  trade. 
He  married  Lydia  Noble  of  Baldwin,  and  lived  for  a  time  in  that 
town,  and  afterwards  in  Gorham.  He  finally  moved  to  Buxton,  and 
lived  on  the  old  Jonathan  Emery  place.     Children  : 


SOLOMON   BROWN 


GENEALOGY.  417 

Simeon,  b.  July  6,  1815,  m.  Abigail  D.  Babb,  May,  1843;  '^-  ^°v-  -''  '^^^  !  '^^'^^ 
a  brick-mason,  also  a  teacher.  Ch  :  Lydia  E.,  m.  Freeman  Brown,  2d, 
Edmund  F.  Mayo;  James  Wni.,  Mary  J.  and  Arthur  Willard. 

Joanna,  b.  Aug.  31,  18 17,  m.  Samuel  Harding,  1846. 

Martha,  b. ,  d.  young, 

Lydia,  b.  Aug.  29,  1820,  d.  P"eb.  27,  1836. 

Martha  J.,  b.  Feb.  18,  1823,  d.  young. 

James  N.,  b.  Feb.  9,  1828,  m.  Eliza  A.  Taylor;  2d,  Sarah  M.  Lamprey;  3d, 
Mary  F.  Lamprey. 

Chas.  Wesley,  b.  Dec.  18,  1830,  perished  Feb.  \6,  1885  in  a  snow  storm,  not  far 
from  his  home  in  Buxton. 

George  K.,  b.  Oct.  29,  1834,  d.  young. 

Charles  Brown  died  Sept.  17,  1869,  and  his  wife,  July,  1878. 

Joshua  L.  Brown  was  the  son  of  Ezra  and  Sarah  (Lowell)  Brown, 
and  was  born  in  Gorham,  Oct.  27,  1803.  He  kept  a  grain  store  at 
Great  Falls  which,  together  with  a  farm,  he  exchanged  with  Alfred 
Libby  for  Libby's  farm  at  the  North  part  of  the  town,  and  there  he 
lived  for  some  years.  About  i860  he  removed  to  a  place  near  Little 
Falls,  where  he  lived  till  his  death.  'He  married,  Dec.  14,  11^27, 
Betsey  Hawkes  of  Windham.     Children  : 

Lendall,  b.  Oct.  17,  1830,  m.  Evelyn  C.  Hamblen,  Aug.  2,  1862  ;  d.  June  23, 
1893. 

Daniel  S.,  b.  May  16,  1832,  m.  Ellen  Burnham. 

Rebecca  H.,  b.  Oct.  1 1,  1S34,  m.  Dr.  Nathan  R.  Morse  of  Salem,  Mass ,  Dec.  7, 
1864. 

Charles  R.,  b.  May  26,  1836,  ni.  Mrs.  Maggie  McDavitte,  Oct.  30,  1877;  physi- 
cian in  Lynn,  Mass. 

Joshua  L.  Brown  died  Mar.  28,  1882,  and  his  wife,  Oct.  23.  1879, 

aged  76. 

Elijah  R.  Brown  was  the  son  of  John    Brown   of   Windham.     He 

bought  the  old   Murch  farm,  where   Caleb  Murch  lately  lived,  and 

lived  there  for  a  time.     He  then  moved  to  the  John   Walker  place. 

He  married  Harriet  N.  Hawkes.     Children  : 

Almira,  b.  Jan.  30,  1836,  m.  Edmund  Green. 

Ann  M.,  b.  Jan.  10,  1838,  m.  Frank  Irish. 

Edward  H.,  b.  Mar.  i,  1840,  d.  July  3,  1842. 

James  B.,  b.  Mar.  16,  1842,  d.  Aug.  i,  1863  ;  member  of  Co.  I,  17th  Me.  Vol. 

Eliza  P.,  b.  Mar.  24,  1846,  m.  Edward  P.  M.  Bragdon. 

Frank  H.,  b.  Apr.  16,  1848,  m.  Ellen  Anderson  of  Portsmouth,  N.  LL 

George  W.,  b.  Aug.  6,  1850,  I's  in  Conn. 

Elijah  Brown  died  Nov.  8,  1852,  aged  43.  His  wife  died  P'eb.  19, 
1875,  aged  58. 

Darius  Brown  and  his  brother  Edward  were  natives  of  Windham, 
sons  of  John  Brown,  and  brothers  to  Elijah  R.  Brown,  above.  They 
both  lived  in  Gorham  for  some  years ;  Darius  owned  and  ran  the  mill 
at  Fort  Hill.  He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Charles  and  Abigail 
McDonald  of    Windham,  in  which    town  their  children  were  born. 


418  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Their  daughter,  Abbie,  married  Augustus  Black,  and  died  in  Gorham 
in  Oct.,  1897.      Darius  Brown  and  family  moved  back  to  Windham. 
Edward  Brown  married  Mary  McDonald,  a  sister  to  Elizabeth,  and 
had  a  family  of  children.     This  family  moved  to  Bradford,  Me. 

BRYANT. 

We  find  the  name  of  Samuel  Bryant  of  Barnstable  on  the  list  of 
the  grantees  of  Narragansett  No.  7.  The  number  of  his  right  was 
54.  Whether  William  Bryant  was- descended  from  him,  we  have 
been  unable  to  learn.  William  was  the  first  whom  we  know  to  have 
settled  on  the  thirty  acre  lot  No.  5.  He,  having  moved  in  with  his 
family,  built  a  house  ;  and  having  performed  the  duties  enjoined  by 
the  General  Court  Act  of  Settlement,  received  from  Shubael  Gorham, 
Aug.  10,  1739,  his  deed,  which  is  on  record.  Mr.  Bryant,  with  four 
of  his  children,  was  killed  by  the  Indians  on  the  19th  of  April,  1746. 
His  son  James  alone  made  his  escape.  John  Motley  of  Portland 
settled  the  Biyant  estate  in  July,  1746,  and  was  guardian  to  the  son. 
June  5,  1766,  James  Bryant  of  Falmouth,  presumably  the  son  above 
mentioned,  sold  the  thirty  acre  lot  No.  5  to  Benjamin  Frost  of 
Gorham. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Bryant,  after  the  killing  of  her  husband  and  children, 
was  taken  prisoner  by  the  Indians,  and  finally  carried  to  Quebec. 
From  a  journal  kept  by  William  Pole,  Jr.,  a  fellow  prisoner,  we  learn 
that  she  arrived  there,  Sept.  30,  1746.  She  was  married  in  the  fort- 
ress, Nov.  20,  1746,  to  Leonard  Liddle,  also  a  prisoner,  and  died 
May  8,  1747. 

BUKER. 

Livy  Buker,  the  only  one  of  the  name  who  has  ever  settled  in 

Gorham,  came  here  about    the  year   18 14,  and  soon  after  married 

Ann,  daughter  of  Edward  and  Sarah  Webb  of  Gorham.     The  Webb 

family  then  owned  the  land  and  the  falls  on  the  Gorham  side  of  the 

river  at  Gambo.     Here  Mr.  Buker  in   18 16  built  a  mill  for  carding 

wool.     He  lived  in  the  house  which  stands  on  the  sand  hill.     Children  : 

Sarah  W.,  b.  Apr.  16,  181 5,  m.  Carlisle  Whipple  of  Boston,  May  24,  1835. 

Edward  W.,  b.  Aug.  28,  18 16. 

James,  b.  July  23,  1818,  d.  in  Savannah,  Ga. 

George,  b.  Feb.  20,  1821,  d.  at  sea,  Aug.  11,  1S42. 

Anna  M.,  b.  Feb.  28,  1823,  d.  in  Savannah,  Ga.,  about  1839;  was  a  teacher. 

Solomon,  b.  Mar.  5,  1825. 

Caroline  F.,  b.  Mar.,  1827,  d.  Sept.  29,  1829. 

Mary,  b.  Apr.  28,  1829,  d.  Aug.  2,  1832. 

Mary,  b.  about  1833,  m. Nichols  ;  I's  in  Savannah,  Ga. 

Mrs.  Ann  Buker  died  May  2,  1845,  aged  54. 


GENEALOGY.  419 

BURNELL. 

There  appears  to  have  been  a  John   Jiurnell  in  town   as  early  as 

1763.      His  wife  was  EHzabeth .     They  had  nine  children,  all 

born  in  Gorham. 

Mary,  b.  Dec.  17,  1763.  m.  Thoma.s  Skillings,  p.  Nov.  24,  17S1. 

John,  b.  Feb.  14,  1766,  m.  Jane  Ilolbrook,  Jan.  25,  1787. 

Benjamin,  b.  Feb.  27,  1768,  m.  Dorcas  Carsley,  Dec.  28,  178S. 

Samuel,  b.  July  17,   1770,  m.  Amy  Irish,  Sept.   18,  1791,  who  d.  about   1861, 

aged  91. 
Elizabeth,  b.  Sept.  21,  1772,  m.  William  Nason,  Sept.  8,  1791. 
Stephen,  b.  Apr.  22,  1775. 
Jonathan,  b.  Aug.  14,  1778. 
Nabby,  b.  June  11,  17S1. 
Sally,  b.  October,  1784. 

It  also  seems  probable  that  this  same  John  was  here  as  early  as 
1755,  for  we  find  that  the  new  fort  in  Pearsonstown  (now  Standish) 
was  built  about  that  time,  and  eight  men  assigned  to  keep  it ;  and 
amongst  these  eight  names  we  find  John  Meserve,  Clement  Meserve, 
Jr.,  Wentworth  Stuart,  Timothy  Crocker,  Israel  Thorn,  Joseph  Me- 
serve, that  we  know  were  of  Gorham  ;  John  Burnell  we  believe  to 
have  been,  and  Elijah  Dunham  of  whom  we  find  no  other  record. 
John  Burnell  of  Gorham,  whom  we  believe  to  have  been  the  same 
John,  by  his  deed,  Feb.  20,  1767,  conveys  to  Ebenezer  Shaw  of 
Pearsonstown  a  five  acre  lot  of  land,  being  the  five  acre  lot.  No.  2, 
the  same  lying  about  twenty  rods  southeasterly  from  where  the  fort 
formerly  stood,  and  where  the  meeting  house  now  stands.  The  same 
John  Burnell  sells  to  Daniel  Cram  the  thirty  acre  lot,  No.  39,  in  said 
Pearsonstown.  He  also  bought  of  Jonathan  Ereeman  and  Jonathan 
Freeman,  Jr.,  of  Gorham,  June  10,  1768,  the  westerly  half  of  the  100 
acre  lot  7.  This  family  of  Burnells  must  have  left  town  about  the 
year  1779,  and  moved  to  Flintstown,  now  Baldwin,  for  we  find  none 
of  the  name  on  the  tax  list  from  that  dafe  till  1787,  when  there 
appear  John  Burnell  and  John  Burnell,  Jr. 

This  John  Burnell,  who  appears  in   1787,  is  probably  the  one  who 

married,  July  3,  1776,  Lydia,  daughter  of  Abel   and   Mary  Whitney. 

We  think  he  originated   in   York,  or   Wells.      He   was   a   caulker  by 

trade,  and  worked  at  Stroudwater  for  a  number  of  years,  where  some 

of  his  children  were  born.    We  have  no  perfect  record  of  his  children, 

but  there  were 

John,  b.  prob'y  in  York,  1766,  m.  Martha  Libby,  dau.  of  Matthew  of  Scarboro, 

Nov.  27,  1788  ;  d.  June  3,  1843. 
Joseph,  b.  in  Falmouth,  Nov.  22,  1769. 

Mary,  b.  in  Boothbay,  Jan.  15,  1771,  m.  William  T.  Riggs,  Apr.  13,  1794. 
Jenney,  b.  in  Boothbay,  Jan.  15,  1775,  '^^  ^^  Scarboro,  Aug.  15,  1849. 
Samuel,  b.  in  Gorham,  Sept.  22,  177S. 


420  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Sally,  b.  in  Gorham,  Jan.  23,  1785. 

Uavid,  b.  in  Gorliam,  Aug.  16,  1787,  m.  Hannah  Riggs,  p.  Aug.  15,  1818. 

Eunice,  b.  in  Gorham,  Mar.  15,  1790,  m.  Andrew  Meserve,  Sept.  23,  1810. 

John  Burnell  when  he  first  came  to  Gorham  lived  on  the  south- 
easterly corner  of  the  thirty  acre  lot,  17.  The  entrance  to  his  house 
was  by  the  two  rod  road  running  easterly  between  the  land  of  Daniel 
Whittier  and  John  Simmons  on  South  St.  Some  years  after,  he  pur- 
chased the  northerly  half  of  the  thirty  acre  lot,  No.  20.  His  house 
stood  nearly  on  the  spot  where  Mr.  Simmons  now  lives  on  South  St. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burnell,  though  not  rich,  were  valuable  members  of 
society.  She  understood  well  the  use  of  roots  and  herbs,  which  were 
much  used  in  her  day  ;  was  a  good  nurse,  and  kind  to  those  in  sick- 
ness and  distress.  He  was  a  good  grave-digger,  and  helped  deposit 
more  bodies  in  the  old  cemetery  at  the  village  than  any  other  man 
since  the  yard  was  first  opened.  He  died  Jan.  13,  1822,  aged  80,  and 
his  wife,  Oct.  29,  1834,  aged  89. 

BURTON. 

William  Burton  was  a  native  of  Gloucester  Co.,  Virginia  ;  being 
born  at  Little  York,  in  1759.  His  father  being  dead,  he  was  brought 
to  Maine,  while  still  a  young  lad,  by  a  Captain  Doane  in  his  coasting 
vessel,  who  had  promised  Mrs.  Burton  to  keep  her  boy  but  a  year 
and  then  return  him  to  her,  but  failed  to  keep  his  word.  At  the  age 
of  seventeen  Burton  enlisted  in  the  Revolutionary  army  and  saw 
much  service,  among  other  engagements  being  in  the  battle  of  White 
Plains.  After  the  close  of  the  war  he  went  to  Virginia  to  visit  his 
mother,  but  finding  that  she  had  married  again,  returned  to  Gorham 
where  he  lived  with  Capt.  Alexander  Ross,  who  resided  on  the  Col. 
Tyng  place.  William  B^irton  was  one  of  the  first  members  of  the 
Society  of  Friends  in  Gorham,  and  a  leading  man  among  them — an 
honored  and  honorable  man.  To  the  day  of  his  death  he  wore 
the  peculiar  dress  of  the  Sect — a  broad-brimmed  hat,  a  coat  with 
full,  ample  skirts,  and  drab-colored  breeches.  In  1804  he  was  a 
member  of  the  committee  chosen  to  look  after  the  building  of  the 
Friends'  meeting  house  in  Gorham.  Apr.  26,  1781,  he  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  James  and  Hannah  Ross,  and  niece  of  Capt.  Alexander 
Ross,  and  lived  on  the  place  where  Frank  Hopkinson  now  lives. 
Children  : 

Rebecca,  b.  vSept.  25,  1784,  m.  Stephen  Hopkinson  of  Buxton,  Nov.  27,  1810. 
Sarah,  b.  Dec.  3,  1786,  m.  Thos.  Bacon,  Dec.  i,  1803;  2d,  Jessee  Cloudman. 
Elizabeth,  b.  Dec.  18,  1791,  m.  Amos  Hamblen  of  New  Portland,  181 1. 


GENEALOGY.  421 

Mary,  b.  Jan.  19,  1794,  m.  Joseph  Hamblen,  3d,  p.  July  18,  1812. 

William,  b.  Jan.  7,  1796,  d.  young. 

William,  b.  Jan.  13,  1798,  m.  Mary  Berry,  June  11,  1823. 

Mildred  F.,  b. ,  m.  Jasper  Johnson  of  Pownal,  Apr.  24,  1821. 

William  Burton  died  Sept.  23,  184 1,  aged  82,  and  his  wife  Mary, 
Apr.  II,  1830,  aged  72. 

(2)  William  Burton,  son  of  William,  married  Mary,  daughter  of 
Joshua  Berry.  After  his  marriage  he  lived  for  some  years  in  the 
house  which  once  formed  a  part  of  the  Shaker  village  and  stands 
nearly  opposite  to  the  house  of  the  late  Nelson  Merrill.  The  last 
years  of  his  life  he  lived  on  the  cross  road  running  east  from  the  old 
Shaker  neighborhood.  He  was  one  of  the  selectmen  of  the  town  in 
1858  and  1859.     Children  : 

Alfred  M.,  b.  Mar.  9,  1S24,  m.  Martha  J.   Larrabee,  Nov.  20,  1851  ;  was  cashier 

of  the  Maine  Savings  Bank  in  Portland  ;  d.  in  Portland. 
Edwin  M.,  b.  Feb.  14,  1826,  m.  Lucy  Ford  of  Gray  ;  d.  Dec.  3,  1855. 

William  Burton  died  June  9,  1882.  Mrs.  Burton  died  Mar.  23,  1876. 

BUTTRICK. 

The  Buttrick  family  came  from  Kingston-on-Thames,  in  Surrey, 
England,  in  1635.  William  Buttrick  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of 
Concord,  Mass. 

Willard  Buttrick,  son  of  Willard  and  Esther  (Blood)  Buttrick,  born 
in  Concord,  Mass.,  Sept.  10,  1772,  was  a  clothier  and  fuller,  and 
located  first  at  Dracut,  Mass.  ;  then  removed  to  Gorham  and  bought 
of  James  Tyler  his  part  of  the  lot,  122,  (Blenham  lot),  with  the  privi- 
leges and  all  the  buildings.  He  had  his  principal  mill  near  the 
bridge,  with  his  fulling-mill  and  dye-house  on  the  Blenham  falls 
below.  Mr.  Buttrick  carried  on  the  business  for  many  years  at  the 
same  places  till  his  fulling-mill  and  dye-house  were  burned,  Aug.  29, 
1813.  After  the  fire  he  abandoned  the  Blenham  falls,  and  moved 
all  his  machinery  into  his  other  mill,  near  the  bridge.  He  lived  in  a 
house,  since  removed,  at  the  top  of  the  hill,  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Fort  Hill  road,  above  the  mill  on  Little  river.  He  married,  Apr.  28, 
1799,  Mary  Bartlett  of  Cambridge.     Children: 

Samuel  B.,  b.  Oct.  16,  i8oi,m.  Ann  Merritt. 

John  P.,  b.  May  5,  1804,  m.  Mary ,  d.  Nov.  20.  1870. 

Mary  A.,  b.  Apr.  23,  1S06,  m.  Oliver  Abbott;  d.  Dec.  29,  1861. 
Esther,  b.  Oct.  14,  1808,  m.  Eben  Ilayward,  d.  Dec.  13,  1861. 
Elizabeth,  b.  Oct.  6,  1810,  m.  Samuel  Rice;  d.  July  9,  1869. 
Susanna  E.,  b.  Dec.  2,  1813,  m.  Isaac  P.  Bacon;  d.  Oct.  28,  1887. 
Harriet,  b.  Mar.  31,  181 6,  d.  unm.  Apr.  6,  1861. 
Sarah  C,  b.  Apr.  19,    1818,  d.  unm.  June  27,  1840. 
Willard,  b.  July  14,  1822,  m.  twice. 


422  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Mr.  Buttrick  remained  here  in  town  until  he  sold  out  to  Peter 
Whitney,  and  in  1817  bought  a  farm  in  Bedford,  Mass.,  and  removed 
to  that  place,  where  his  two  youngest  children,  Sarah  and  Willard, 
were  born.  He  died  in  Bedford,  July  25,  1849.  -^is  widow  died  in 
Salem,  Mass.,  July  23,  1859. 

Willard  Buttrick,  son  of  Jonathan  and  Elizabeth  (Wooley)  But- 
trick,  born  in  Concord,  Mass.,  Nov.  11,  1746,  father  of  Willard 
Buttrick  above,  lived  with  his  son  in  Gorham,  and  died  at  his  house, 
Jan.  3,  1813,  aged  66. 

Willard  Buttrick's  uncle.  Major,  afterwards  Colonel,  Buttrick,  gave 
the  command  to  fire  on  the  British  at  the  Concord  fight. 

CANNELL. 

Philip  Cannell,  with  his  wife  Jane,  came  from  the  Isle  of  Man  to 

America  before  the   Revolution,  and  settled  first  in   Falmouth,  and 

about  1770  removed  to  Pearsonstown  (Standish).     Thomas  Cannell, 

son   of   Philip,    married   Margaret,  daughter   of   Uriah   and    Abigail 

(Knight)  Nason  of  Gorham,  (pub.  June  30,  1797).     The  records  give 

him  as  being  then  of  Standish.     Shortly  after  their  marriage  Mr.  and 

Mrs.  Cannell  moved  to  Gorham,  and  settled  in  what  is  now  called  the 

Nason  district.     Children  : 

Hannah,  b.  Mar.  28,  1798,  m.  Ebenezer  Gilnian,  p.  July  22,  1820. 

William,  b.  June  2,  1799,  m.  Ann  Plaisted  of  Standish,  Nov.  i,  1832. 

Joseph,  b.  Mar.  28,  1801,  m.  Temperance  Sturgis,  Apr.  29,   1821,  d.  Oct.  22, 

1873;  she,  Dec.  26,  1887. 
Wyer,    b.    Feb.    23,    1803,    m.    Francis   Plaisted,  1831  ;  2d,   Sarah    Harmon  of 

Scarboro ;  d.  Mar.  8,  1848. 
Lot,  b.  Feb.  13,  1805,  went  to  Bangor  when  young;  d.  in  California. 
Jane,  b.  Oct.  23,  1806,  m.  Daniel  Nason  of  Sebago,  Sept.  21,  1828. 
Margaret,  b.  Aug.  i,  1808,  m.  John  Bennett  of  New  York;  d.  May  13,  1882. 
Huldah,  b.  Jan.  26,  181 1,  d.  June  10,  1821. 
Esther,  b.  Jan.  27,  1813,  m.  John  Rhodes  (or  Rowe). 
Clark,  b.  Jan.  28,  i8i5,m.  Sarah  A.   Harmon,  Mar.    15,   1840;  2d,  Dorcas  M. 

Plaisted,  1846;  3d,  Elsie  Wood;  d.  Feb.  1900. 
Barnabas,  b.   Nov.   28,   1816,  m.   Lorana  Manchester,   May  16,  1847;  d.   Mar. 

1900. 
Heman,  b.  Mar.  5,  1S21,  m.  Lucy  A.  Oilman. 

Thomas  Cannell  died  at  Great  Falls  (North  Gorham)  Mar.  12, 
1854,  aged  86  ;  his  wife  died  Dec.  28,  1855,  aged  78. 

CARD. 

John  C.  Card,  son  of  Peter  Card,  was  born  in  Lyman.  When 
about  fourteen  years  of  age  he  came  to  Gorham,  and  learned  the 
trade  of  a  mason  of  W^illiam  B.  Harding,  at  which  trade,  however,  he 
never  worked.     After  having  been  employed  for  some  years  as  clerk 


GENEALOGY.  423 

in  the  Robie  store  in  1848.  he  entered  into  partnership  with  his  brother- 
in-law,  Joseph  Ridlon,  which  partnership  lasted  till  1879,  when  Mr. 
Card  went  into  business  by  himself,  f'or  nine  years  Mr.  Card  was 
town  clerk.  He  married  Dorcas  Maria,  daughter  of  Abijah  Usher,  Jr. 
of  Hollis.  He  died  Oct.  5,  1885,  aged  69,  and  his  wife,  August,  1893. 
They  have  two  sons  living,  John  H.,  a  lawyer,  and  Horatio  S.,  a 
physician. 

CARSLEY. 

This  name  was  formerly  quite  numerous  in  town.  John  Carsley  — 
the  first  we  find  —  and  soon  after  him,  Ebenezer,  came  here  probably 
about  the  year  1760.  We  find  John  taxed  a  poll  tax  in  1763.  They 
were  then  young  men,  and  came  from  Barnstable,  Mass.,  and  it  is 
supposed  were  the  sons  of  John  and  Dorcas  (Hamblin)  Carsley. 

John  Carsley  married,  Apr.  5,  1764,  Mercy,  daughter  of  John  and 

Bethiah  Freeman,  and  their  children  were : 

Mary,  b.  Feb.  10,  1765,  m.  James  Watson,  Feb.  23,  1792. 

John,  b.  Aug.  19,  1766,  m.  Martha  Crockett,  Apr.  16,  1790. 

Nathan,  b.  Apr.  6,  1768,  m.  Susanna  Cotton,  Mar.  2,  1792. 

Ebenezer,  b.  April  9,  1770. 

Bethiah,  b.  Feb.  6,  1772,  d.  Feb.  26,   1772. 

Isaac,  b.  Feb.  17,  1773,  m.  Jenny  Mosher,  June  18,  1797. 

Sarah,  b.  Oct.  12,  1774,  m.  John  Blanchard,  June  4,  1792. 

Benjamin,  b.  Dec.  17,  1776,  m.  Eunice  Moody,  Sept.  23,  1799. 

Dorcas,  b.  Jan.  26,  1781,  d.  May,  1781. 

Seth,  b.  July  18,  1782,  m.  Susanna  Whitney,  Jan.  22,  1S09. 

Eunice,  b.  Apr.  30,  1784,  m.  Dennis  Hamblen,  Apr.  7,  1805. 

John  Carsley  lived  on  the  road  leading  from  Fort  Hill  to  West 
Gorham,  near  where  the  late  Stephen  Files  lived.  He  and  most  of 
his  family  moved  to  Harrison,  in  the  spring  of  1793. 

Ebenezer    Carsley,    brother    of    John,    married,    Nov.    25,    1766, 

Patience,  daughter   of   Col.  Edmund    and    Betsey    Phinney.     Their 

children  were  : 

Dorcas,  b.  Aug.  5,  176S,  m.  Benjamin  Burnell,  Dec.  28,  1788. 
Patience,  b. ,  m.  Philemon  Rand,  Mar.  20,  1796. 

Mrs.  Patience  Carsley  died  July  19,  1769.  Her  husband,  Ebenezer, 
outlived  her  many  years,  and  died  about  1794,  aged  50. 

(2)   Isaac  Carsley,  son  of  John,  married  Jenny,  daughter  of  James 

and  Abigail  Mosher.     Children  : 

James  M.,  b.  Jan.  28,  1798,  m.  May  8,  1822,  Eliza  B.,  dau.  of  Royal  Lincoln. 
Ch:  Abigail  P.,  b.  June  11,  1823,  m.  Thos.  S.  Furman,  Feb.  7,  1854,  d. 
in  Columbus,  N.  J.,  Feb.  28,  1895;  William  L.,  b.  March  4,  1825, 
d.  y. ;  Royal  L.,  b.  Jan.  16,  1828,  d.  unm.,  killed  by  a  fall  in  Boston, 
Aug.  20,  1862;  Eliza  Jane,  b.  Aug.  9,  1831,  m.  Geo.  H.  Everett,  Jan. 
26,    1853;    Woodbury,   b.  April  18,  1833,  m.  Mary  C.  Greely,  Sept.  22, 


424  HISTORY    OF    GOKHAM. 

1S59  ;  James  H.,  b.  Mar.  21,  1835,  d.  July  19,  1836.  This  family  moved 
to  Boston,  where  Mr.  Carsley  died  Dec.  27,  1866,  and  Mrs.  C,  Aug.  20, 
1872. 

Louisa,  b.  Mar.  13,  1801,  m.  Chas.  Davis;  d.  Feb.  15,  1880. 

Jane,  b.  Aug.  3,  1806,  m.  Sylvanus  Davis;  d.  May  2,  1883. 

Isaac,  b.  Apr.  1808,  m.  Julia  A.  Chandler;  d.  June  27,  1850. 

Mary  Ann,  b. -,  d.  young. 

Mary  Ann,  b.  June  3,  1815,  m.  John  McLain. 

Benjamin  F.,  b.  181 9,  d.  young. 

Lsaac  Carsley  died  in  \\'ilton,  Jan.  22,  1851,  aged  78,  and  his  wife 
in  Farmington,  Oct.  20,  1858,  aged  82. 

(2)  Benjamin    Carsley,    son    of    John,    married    Eunice     Moody. 

Children : 

Harriet  C,  b.  Dec.  28,  1800,  I'd  in  Portland. 

CJeorge,  b.  Nov.  8,  1802. 

Freeman,  b.  Mar.  iS,  1805,  m.  Martha  H.  Phinney,  Aug.  31,  1834. 

Mark,  b.  Aug.  7,  1807. 

Charles,  b.  Sept.  19,  18 10. 

Mary,  b.  Aug.  11,  1812. 

Lorenzo,  b.  Sept.  5.  1814,  m.  Betsey  Bishop,  1838. 

Mercy,  b.  Aug.  7,  18 16,  m.  in  Portland. 

CATES. 

Joseph  Cates  came  from  Greenwich,  England,  when  quite  a  young 
man.  Of  his  birth  or  parentage  we  know  nothing.  He  was  a 
resident  of  Falmouth  (now  Cape  Elizabeth)  as  early  as  1745.  Apr. 
8,  1745,  he  was  published  to  Deborah  Cobb.  She  was  the  youngest 
daughter  of  Joshua,  Jr.  and  Elizabeth  (Vaughn)  Cobb  of  Falmouth, 
and  was  born  in  Falmouth,  Aug.  14,  1725. 

In  1748  Joseph  Cates  purchased  a  lot  of  land  in  Cape  Elizabeth, 
on  the  road  leading  from  the  ferry  to  the  meeting  house,  where  he 
probably  lived.  May  11,  1772,  he  sold  this  lot  to  Jonathan  Strout, 
Jr.  At  this  time  Mr.  Cates  lived  in  Gorham,  to  which  town  he  prob- 
ably moved  in  1756,  and  we  find  him  a  tax-payer  with  two  ratable 
poll  taxes  in  1763.  By  this  it  is  probable  that  he  had  a  son  who  was 
over  sixteen  years  of  age.  lliis  son  must  have  been  James,  who 
was  born  in  1746.  Mr.  Cates  with  his  wife  Deborah  reared  a  family 
of  ten  children,  only  three  of  whom  were  born  in  Gorham;  viz., 
Andrew,  Ebenezer  and  Lydia.  In  1768  Mr.  Cates  was  one  of  the 
selectmen  of  Gorham.  For  many  years  he  was  a  deacon  and  ruling 
elder  in  the  Congregational  church  ;  of  which  denomination  he  was 
a  staunch  and  influential  member.  A  man  of  good  abilities,  he  held 
many  important  offices  in  town,  and  was  much  beloved  and  respected 
by  his  fellow-citizens.  We  have  no  perfect  record  of  the  births  of 
his  children,  but  give  them  as  nearly  as  our  means  will  allow  : 


GENEALOGY.  425 

James,  b.  1746,  m.  Esther  Perkins,  Sept.  20,  1768. 

Abigail,  b. ,  m.  Epiiraim  Hunt,  Oct.  6,  1769. 

Benjamin,  b.  ,  m.  Anna  Skillings,  Aug.  18,  1774. 

Joseph,  b. ,  m.  Mary  Sinclair,  Jan.  13,  1774. 

Deborah,  b. ,  m.  James  Bangs,  p.  July  23,  1774. 

Elizabeth,  b. ,  m.  Joel  Rich,  May  16,  1779. 

Sarah,  b. ,  m.  Philip  Horr  of  Waterford,  Dec.  17,  1786.     Mr.  Horr  had 

formerly  been  a  citizen  of  Gorham,  from  which  town  he  had  enlisted  in 
the  Continental  army.  He  afterward  received  a  pension  from  the  (iov- 
ernment  for  his  services.  After  his  marriage  he  returned  to  Gorham, 
and  settled  in  the  Quaker  neighborhood,  on  the  farm  recently  owned  by 
Reuben  Elder.     He  and  his  wife  both  died  in  Gorham. 

Andrew,  b.  Aug.,  1763,  m.  Comfort,  dau.  of  Thomas  Thomes,  Oct.  6,  1785. 

Ebenezer,  b.  Aug.  24,  1768,  m.  Anna  Cobb,  Jan.  5,  1794. 

Lydia,  b.  June  24,  1770,  m.  William  Cobb,  Jan.  i,  1792. 

Elder  Joseph  Cate.s  died  in  Gorham  on  the  farm  which  he  had 
owned  and  occupied  for  many  years  in  the  Quaker  neighborhood,  so 
called,  and  which  was  lately  owned  and  occupied  by  Richard  Willis, 
one  of  his  descendants.  He  died  Mar.  15,  1810,  aged  89,  and  his 
wife  Deborah,  Sept.  24,  18 13,  aged  88. 

(2)  Benjamin  Gates,  son  of  Joseph,  lived  on  his  father's  farm,  the 

hundred  acre  lot  52.     He  married  Anna,  daughter  of  Benjamin  and 

Mary  Skillings.     Their  children  were  : 

James,  b.  Feb.  2,  1775,  m.  Betsey  Whitney,  Dec.  10,  1797. 

Thomas,  b.  Sept.  28,  1776. 

John,  b.  June  12,  1779. 

Deborah,  b.  Mar.  10,  1781. 

Ebenezer,  b.  Oct.  25,  1783. 

Joseph,  b. . 

(2)  Ebenezer  Gates,  son  of  Joseph,  lived  on  the  old  Gates  place. 
He  married  Anna,  daughter  of  Jedediah  and  Reliance  Gobb.  Their 
children,  all  born  in  Gorham,  were : 

William,  b.  Oct.  21,  1794,  d.  Mar.  2.  1796. 

Edmund,  b.  Aug.  31,  1796,  m.  Ann  Bunker;  I'd  and  d.  in  Vassalboro. 

Jedediah  C,  b.  Mar.  2,  1801,  m.  Mary  Brown  of  Gorham,  Mar.  4,  1824.  Ch  : 
the  last  three  b.  in  Thorndike ;  Willis,  b.  Apr.  5,  1828,  d.  imm.  in  Thorn- 
dike,  when  a  young  man ;  Abigail  A.,  b.  Apr.  13.  1830,  m.  Samuel 
Johnson,  d.  in  Jackson,  Me.,  Feb.  17,  1855;  Mary,  b.  Aug.  18,  1832, 
m.  Chas.  Ames  of  Bangor,  d.  June  23,  1858;  Jedediah  C,  b.  ^ov.  25, 
1835,  m.  Amelia  Alexander,  d.  July  17,  1895;  James,  b.  Apr.  23,  1839, 
m.  Irene  Edwards,  d.  Aug.  12,  1899;  Lydia  E.,  b.  Sept.  16,  1842,  m. 
Major  Morton,  d.  Nov.  9,  1868.  Mr.  Gates  I'd  while  in  Gorham,  opposite 
to  where  his  father  I'd.  He  moved  to  Thorndike.  Both  he  and  his 
wife  d.  in  Jackson,  Me.,  he.  Apr.  18,  1881,  and  she.  Mar.  18, 1885. 

Phebe,  b.  June  4,  1804,  m.  Ebenezer  Willis,  Dec.  29,  1S29  ;  2d,  Robt.  Meserve. 

William  C,  b.  Feb.  25,  1806,  m.  Jan.  6,  1831,  Elizabeth  Willis,  sister  of  Ebenezer 
and  Richard  Willis.  Ch:  Henry,  b.  Oct.  25,  1831  ;  William,  b.  Jan.  5, 
1833.  Mr.  Gates  was  a  carpenter.  He  d.  Nov.  11,  1832,  and  his  widow 
married  in  1835,  Leonard  Bacon. 

Lydia,  b.  June  4,  1808,  m.  Richard  Willis,  Apr.  13,  1834. 

James  P.,  b.  Jan.  17,  iSii,m.  Sept.  25,  1834,  Margaret  J.,  dau.  of  Jonathan  and 
Abigail   Libby.     Ch :  Mary  E.,  b.  Aug.  9,  1835,  d.  July   21,  1843;    James 


426  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

D.,  b.  Oct.  19,  1837.     Mr.  Gates  was  a  carpenter.     He  d.  Sept.  22,  1838, 
and  his  widow  married  David  Frost. 
Henry,  b.  June  28,  1S13,  d.  Oct.  10,  1829. 

Ebenezer  Gates  died  Mar.  29,  1829. 


CHADBOURNE. 

Silas  Chadbourne  and  his  brother  James  were  the  sons  of  Humphrey 
and  Phebe  (Hobbs)  Chadbourne.  They  were  descended  from 
Anthony  Chadbourne,  who  was  of  English  origin. 

Silas  Chadbourne  was  born  in  Berwick,  Aug.  8,  1752,  and  by  the 
old  Berwick  church  records  was  baptized  the  following  day.  He 
came  to  Gorham  when  a  young  man,  before  the  Revolution.  He 
was  a  tailor  by  trade.  When  the  Revolution  broke  out  he  enlisted 
and  went  to  Cambridge  under  Col.  Edmund  Phinney.  In  the  following 
year,  1776,  he  was  a  Sergeant  in  Gapt.  Bryant  Morton's  company  of 
Coast  Guards,  stationed  at  Cape  Elizabeth,  at  Eort  Hancock,  which 
was  a  battery  located  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  Fort  Preble.  Mr. 
Chadbourne  was  appointed  first  lieutenant,  Jan.  i,  1777,  in  Gapt. 
Richard  Mayberry's  company,  nth  Mass.  regiment,  Gen.  Patterson's 
brigade,  and  with  his  company  participated  in  the  battles  of  Hub- 
bardton,  Saratoga  and  Stillwater ;  was  at  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne, 
and  at  Valley  Forge,  and  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Monmouth.  After 
this,  his  regiment  served  in  Connecticut  and  was  at  West  Point. 
June  10,  1779,  he  Avas  appointed  Quartermaster.  A  diary,  kept  by 
him  at  this  time  while  in  the  army,  is  still  in  existence.  Lieut. 
Chadbourne  was  a  good  officer,  and  served  with  honor.  When  the 
first  Pension  Act  was  passed  he  received  a  pension  from  the  govern- 
ment, and  continued  to  do  so  until  his  death.  After  his  return  from 
the  army  he  purchased  a  lot  of  land  on  the  south  side  of  Main  St., 
joining  the  Frost  lot:  here  he  made  his  home.  This  lot  is  now 
included  in  the  New  Cemetery.  His  house  is  the  one  now  occupied 
by  Gyrus  Libby,  having  been  moved  to  its  present  location  many 
years  ago.  After  Mr.  Chadbourne's  death  this  house  was  occupied 
by  Benjamin  Hamblen  and  then  by  Stephen  Rounds.  He  married, 
Apr.  23,  1775,  Abigail,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Priscilla  Crockett. 
Children  : 

Isaac,  b.  Jan.  22,  1776,  prob.  d.  young. 

Rebecca,  b.  Apr.  9,  1780,  m.  James  Irish,  Sept.  2,  1798. 

Abigail,  b.  Mar.  3,  1782,  ni.  John  Edmunds,  p.  Feb.  21,  1807  ;  I'd  in  Portland. 

Nahum,  b.  Apr.  25,  1784,  m.  Desire  Watson,  May  30,  1806. 

Samuel,  b.  Apr.  23,  1786,  m.  Jane  Wood  of  No.  Yarmouth. 

Martha,  b.  Apr.  13,  1788,  m.  Richard  Edwards,  Jr.  of  Otistield,  July,  1810. 


GENEALOGY.  427 

Polly,  b.  July  31, 1790,  m.  David  Loring  of  No.  Yarmouth,  p.  Nov.  23,  iSii  ;  2d 

Mr.  Hatchelder;  d.  in  Cambridge. 
Betsey,  b.  July  17,  1793,  '^-  ''^  Portland,  unm. 
Priscilla,  b.  Oct.  25,  1795,  m.  Cyrus  Wasliburn  of  Portland. 
Nancy  P.,  b.  Jan.  i,  1798,  m.  Cyrus  Washburn  (2d  wife),  Oct.  22,  1828. 

Mrs.  Abigail  Chadbourne  died  Aug.  17,  18 13,  aged  55,  and  Mr. 
Chadbourne  married,  June  24,  18 19,  Mr.s.  Lucy  (Seiver)  Crockett, 
widow  of  Peletiah  Crockett.  Lieut.  Chadbourne  died  Jan.  14,  1823, 
aged  70.      His  widow  Lucy  married  Richard  Edwards. 

(2)  Nahum  Chadbourne,  son  of  Silas,  was  for  many  years  a  deacon 
of  the  Congregational  church;  a  man  of  exemplary  piety;  honored 
and  respected  by  those  who  knew  him.  He  was  a  saddler  by  trade, 
and  owned  and  worked  in  the  building  which  stood  on  the  parish  lot, 
where  the  new  chapel  now  stands.  He  married  Desire,  daughter  of 
John  and  Tabitha  Watson.     Children  : 

Sophia,  b.  Dec.  11,  1807,  m.  Stevens  Smith,  Oct.  30,  1831. 

Emeline,  b.  May    22,  iSiO,  m.   Humphrey  Pike,  June  13,  1832  ;  d.  May  4,  1835. 

Charles,  b.  Oct.  27,  1812,  m.  Adela  H.  Plaskell  of  Portland,  May,  1845;  -d, 
June,  i860,  Charlotte  Nutting  of  Otisfield;  3d,  in  Dec,  1879,  Mrs. 
Nancy  (Oilman)  Eveleth  of  Augusta;  d.  in  Roxbury,  Mass.,  Nov.  7,  1897. 

Samuel  L.,  b.  Nov.  2,  1818,  d.  May  i,  1829. 

George,  b.  Dec.  3,  1820,  m.  Harriet  O.  Boynton,  Feb.  2,  1847.  Ch  :  Samuel,  b. 
Dec.  13,  1847,  m.  Esther  Fogg  of  Limerick;  George  E.,  b.  May  19, 
1849,  d.  y. ;  Augustus,  b.  Jan.  19,  1852,  d.  y. ;  Emma  V.,  b.  Sept.  28, 
1854,  m.  Rev.  Chas.  W.  Bradlee;  Leander,  b.  July  28,  1856,  m.  Gertie 
Walker  of  Saco ;  Horace  A.,  b.  May  31,  1858,  m.  Fannie  Ridlon  of 
Kennebunk ;  Helen  S.,  b.  Apr.  28,  1861,  m.  Charles  L.  Brackett 
of  Winthrop  ;  Milton  W.,  b.  Aug.  28,  1864,  m.  Lizzie  Riggs  of  Charlotte- 
town,  P.  E.  L  Mrs.  Harriet  Chadbourne  d.  Apr.  30,  1891,  aged  65;  and 
Mr.  C.  m.  Oct.  27,  1897,  Miss  P.  Cordelia  Edwards. 

Frederick,  b.  Dec.  25,  1825,  d.  young. 

Frederick,  b.  Mar.  9,  1828,  d.  young. 

Dea.  Chadbourne  died  Aug.  6,  1857,  and  his  wife,  Aug.  11,  1858, 
aged  69. 

James  H.  Chadbourne  was  a  native  of  Berwick,  and  a  brother  of 

Lieut.  Silas  Chadbourne.     He  was  baptized  Mar.   13,   1766.     It  is 

probable  that   he  came  to  Gorham  from  Falmouth,   where  his  first 

child,  Samuel,  was  born.     He  lived  on  Main  St.,  in  the  house  lately 

owned   by    Edwin   Gamman.     He    married,    Jan.    4,    1789,   Dorcas, 

daughter  of  Samuel  and  Mary  Whitmore  of  Gorham.     Children  : 

Samuel,  b.  June  28,  1790. 

Phebe,  b.  June  14,  1791. 

Charlotte,  b.  Sept.  4,  1793,  ^-  Lyman  Nutting  of  Otisfield. 

James,  b.  Jan.  23,  1796. 

Rufus,  b.  June  20,  1798. 

Gardner,  b.  Oct.  23,  i8oo,  d.  young. 

Gardner,  b.  July  17,  1S02. 

William,  b.  May  26,  1805. 

Simeon,  b. 


428  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

About  i8io  the  family  moved  to  Harrison.  After  leaving  town, 
they  had  other  children  born  —  Humphrey,  Dorcas  and  Samuel. 

CHASE. 
* 
Caleb  Chase  came  from  Newburyport,  Mass.  to  Gorham.     He  was 

born  in  Newbury,  Mass.,  Feb.  28,  1746;  and  was  graduated  from 
Princeton  College  in  1766.  He  taught  school  here  from  1769  to 
1779.  He  was  Proprietors'  Clerk  from  1776  to  1778  ;  and  also  held 
the  offices  of  town  clerk  and  town  treasurer  for  some  years. 
Mr.  Chase  was  one  of  the  heirs  of  the  famous  Chase  estate  in  Eng- 
land, from  which  the  heirs  could  never  obtain  anything.  In  1769  he 
was  licensed  as  a  retailer  of  tea,  coffee  and  liquors,  and  was  among 
the  early  inn-holders  of  this  town.  He  married,  Dec.  31,  1769, 
Joanna,  daughter  of  Abel  Whitney  of  Gorham.  The  first  five  of 
their  children  were  born  in  Gorham,  and  the  remainder  in  Concord, 
N.  H.,  to  which  place  Mr.  Chase  removed  with  his  family,  and  opened 
a  public  house.     Children  : 

Polly,  b.  Jan.  31,  1771,  m.  Samuel  C.  Morrill  of  Canterbury,  N.  H.,  Nov.  13, 

1796;   d.  Aug.  2,  1857. 
Joseph,  b.  Aug.  9,  1772,  m.  Abigail  Eaton  of  Hanover,  N.   H.,  in  1794-5;  d. 

Nov.  I,  1836. 
Abigail,  b.  Aug.  12,  1774,  m.  Samuel  Merrill  of  Plymouth,  N.  H.,  Apr.  5,  1795; 

d.  Aug.  3,  1817. 
William  H.,  b.  Apr.  11,  1776,  d.  at  Concord,  N.  H.,  Oct.  10,  1791. 
Jacob,  b.  Feb.  11,  1778,  m.  Hannah  Colby  of  Thornton,   N.  H.,  Mar.  5,  iSoi  ; 

d.  Dec.  23,  1858. 
Amos,  b.  Aug.  5,  1780,  m.  Polly  Chandler  of  Hanover,  N.  H.,  Jan.  i,  1S06;  d.- 

Feb.  26,  1859. 
Susanna,  b.  May  28,  17S2,  m.  John  Worth  of  Tornton,  Nov.  15,  1807  ;  d.  soon 

after. 
Joanna,  b.  Apr.  8,  1784,  m.   Chas.  Worthen  of   Holderness,  Nov.  6,    1805;  d. 

about  1S67. 
Elizabeth,  b.  Dec.  24,  1785,  m.  lohn  Foss  of  Thornton,  Mar.  20,  1806;  d.  Aug. 

29,  1856. 
Moses,  b.  Feb.  16,  1788,  m.  Elizabeth  Chase  of  Chester,  Oct.  27.  1810. 
Charlotte,  b.    Dec.    23,    1789,    m.    Benjamin    Hall;  2d,    Capt.    Wm.    Hall    of 

Hanover.* 
William,  b.  Mar.  2,  1792,  p.  to  Freyda  Proctor,  Dec.  10,  1816. 

Caleb  Chase  died  at  Thornton,  N.  H.,  Feb.  14,  1810,  and  his  wife, 
Joanna,  at  Hanover,  N.  H.,  about  1832. 

CLARK. 

Morris  Clark  came  to  Gorham  from  Windham  about  1777.  He 
was  a  blacksmith.  His  house  and  shop  stood  near  where  Capt. 
Joshua  Brackett  lived,  near  the  corner  made  by  the  Great  Falls  and 
Little  Falls  roads.  He  enlisted  in  Falmouth  as  Sergeant  in  Capt. 
John   Brackett's  company.  Col.   Phinney's  regiment.   May   10,   1775. 


GENEALOGY.  429 


He  was  then  of  Falmouth.     Children  of  Morris  and  Sarah  ( 
Clark  : 


John,  b.  in  Stiatham,  N.  H.,  Nov.  6,  1767. 

Jacob,  b.  in  Epping,  N.  H.,  Oct.  20,  1769,  m.  Elizabeth   Fly,  Oct.  11,  1792,  and 

moved  to  Baldwin. 
Joseph,  b.  in  Falmouth,  July  3,  1772. 
Mary,  b.  in  Goiham,  Aug.  24,  1777. 
James,  b.  in  Gorham,  Jan.  29,  1781. 

Benjamin  Clark  probably  came  from  Raymond.  His  wife  was 
Sarah  .     Children  : 

Elizabeth,  b.  in  Raymond,  Apr.  24,  177S,  m.  Joseph  Young,  Sept.  i,  1803.  (?) 
Benjamin,  b.  in  (iorham,  June  23,  17S1. 
James,  b.  in  Gorham,  May  5,  1784. 

Moses  Clark  came  from  Massachusetts.     He  was  a  tanner,  and 

had  his  yard  where  Mr.  Hinkley's  tannery  now  stands.     His  house 

was  on  the  spot  now  occupied  by  the  office  of  Mr.   Hinkley.     His 

wife  was  Martha  Rogers.     Children  : 

Hannah,  b.  Dec.  15,  1788,  m.  Col.  Freeman  Paine  of  Standish,  Oct.,  1812. 

Susan,  b.  1790,  m.  Joseph  Skilhngs,  Feb.  6,  1808. 

Patty,  b.  Dec.  16,  1792,  m.  John   Quimby  of  Westbrook,  May   18,  1815  ;  I'd  in 

Minot. 
John  R.,  b.  Feb.  14,  1795,  "^-  Mary  Hight  of  Scarboro,  Dec.  5,  1819. 
Horatio,  b.  Feb.  15,  1797,  moved  to  Mass. 
Leonard,  b.  Sept.  5,  1799,  d.  young. 
Leonard,  b.  Aug.  13,  1803,  d.  Aug.  21,  1808. 

Mr.  Clark  died  Feb.  2,  1824,  aged  60.  Mrs.  Clark  died  Nov.  13, 
1830,  aged  67.     They  are  buried  in  the  old  cemetery  at  the  village. 

(2)     John  R.  Clark,  son  of  Moses,  carried  on  the  tanner's  business 

with  his  father  at  the  old  stand  for  some  time^.     He  built  the  house 

just  east  of  the  tannery,  known  as  the  Rust  house.     About   1822   he 

sold  out,  and  not  far  from  that  time  removed  to  New  Portland.     He 

married  Mary  Hight  of  Scarboro,  sister  to  George  Hight.     Children, 

on  Gorham  records,  are  : 

Charles  H.,  b.  Oct.  22,  1820. 
Horatio,  b.  Aug.  10,  182-. 

After  leaving  Gorham  other  children  were  born  to  them  : 

Ann  F.,  Moses,  John,  Elizabeth,  Mary,  Martha,  Eulalia  and  Emma. 

Samuel  and  Elizabeth  Clark  of  Gorham  had  a  son  Samuel  born 
here  in  1794. 

CLAY. 

Thomas  Clay  of  Buxton,  born  Dec.  20,  1750,  (son  of  Richard  Clay 
of  Biddeford,  who  moved  to  Buxton  as  early  as  1755)  married  Ruth, 
daughter  of  Philip  Gammon  of  Gorham,  (pub.  Oct.  15,  1781).     He 


430  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

moved  to  Gorham,  where  he  lived  on  the  seventy  acre  lot  63,  which 
he  owned  with  his  father-in-law.  In  1801  Philip  Gammon  gave  his 
half  of  this  lot  and  his  half  of  the  dwelling  house  thereon  to  his 
daughter  Ruth.     Children  of  Thomas  and  Ruth  (Gammon)  Clay  : 

Thomas. 

Priscilla,  m.  Benjamin  Libby,  p.  Apr.  4,  1816;  settled  in  Gray. 

Joanna,  m.  Joel  Libby,  Dec.  22,  181 5. 

William,  m.  Anna  Young,  Apr.  7,  1822. 

Rachel,  m.  Caleb  Graffam  of  Windham,  Apr.  3,  181 5. 

Polly,  d.  unm. 

Fanny,  m.  Joshua  .Starbird,  Jan.  11,  1821. 

Thomas  Clay  died  Jan.  9,  1846,  aged  96,  and  his  wife  Ruth,  in 
April,  1829. 

Thomas  Clay  had  several  sisters  who  at  the  time  of  their  marriage 
are  recorded  as  being  of  Gorham  :  Molly,  born  July  i,  1756,  married 
Samuel  Hamblen,  Jr.,  p.  Nov.  29,  1777  ;  Rachel,  born  Jan.  5,  1759, 
married  James  Rounds  of  Buxton,  Dec.  13,  1781  ;  and  Jemima,  born 
Feb.  15,  1761,  married  Butler  Lombard,  Aug.  9,  1787. 

(2)     William  Clay,  son  of  Thomas,  was  born  in  1790,  and  lived  on 

his  father's  place.     He  married  Anna,  daughter  of  Joseph,  3rd,  and 

Lydia  Young.     Children  : 

Thomas,  b.  1823,  d.  Sept.  20,  1828. 

Joseph  Y.,  b.  Apr.  7,  182S,  m.  Mary  Starbird  of  Saccarappa.    Ch:  Anna,  Lizzie 

and  Elmira ;  m.  2d,  Rhoda  Greenleaf ;  I'd  in  the  White  Rock  district ;  d. 

in  Farmington,  Me.,  about  1889. 
Lydia  A.,  b.  Mar.  4,  1830,  m.  William  Libby  of  Standish. 
Cyrus  B.,  b.  Nov.  7,  1834,  m.  Addriannah   Hardy. 

William  Clay  died  May  3,  1870,  aged  80,  and  his  wife  died  Mar. 
14,  1880,  aged  79. 

Jonathan  Clay  married  Jane,  daughter  of  Joseph,  3rd,  and  Lydia 
(Snow)  Young.     Children  : 

Willis,  m.  Mary  A.  Hill.    Ch  :  Herbert,  Horace,  Charles  and  Janie  who  m.  John 

Barrows ;  I'd  in  Gorham  where  his  father  I'd  and  d. 
Sarah  Ann,  m.  Jacob  Maddox;  2d,  Wm.  D.  Sovereign. 

Jonathan  Clay  lived  near  the  Theodore  Shackford  place,  where 
Sumner  Jordan  now  (1900)  lives.  He  died  Apr.  27,  1854,  aged  55. 
His  widow  married  John  Hardy  of  Raymond,  and  died  in  Raymond. 

John  R.  Clay  was  born  in  Limington.  He  came  to  Gorham  from 
Bluehill,  in  which  town  it  is  said  that  he  left  a  wife  behind  him. 
Owing  to  domestic  infelicity  he  left  home  secretly,  and  it  being  in  the 
winter  time,  cut  a  hole  in  the  ice  near  which  he  placed  his  hat.  He 
then  killed  his  dog  and  pushed  the  body  under  the  ice,  smearing  the 


GENEALOGY.  •  431 

edges  of  the  hole  with  blood.  It  was  supposed  for  some  time  that 
he  had  been  murdered,  and  his  wife  was  suspected  of  the  deed.  He 
turned  up,  however,  alive  and  safe  in  Gorham.  About  1820  he  mar- 
ried Sally  Gammon  of  Raymond,  who  was  a  descendant  of  Philip 
Gammon  of  Gorham.  They  had  but  one  child,  Mary  R.,  who 
married  William  H.  Lombard,  Feb.  22,  1843.  Mr.  Clay  was  quite 
a  character  in  his  way.  Many  will  remember  the  old  man  with  his 
pet  yoke  of  little  oxen.  He  li\ed  during  the  latter  part  of  his  life  on 
the  road  to  the  old  Weeks  farm.  The  house  is  now  gone.  He  died 
Jan.  12,  1863,  aged  92,  and  his  wife  Sally,  Feb.  21,  1854,  aged  75. 

CLEMENT. 

Jacob  H.  Clement  came  to  Gorham,  probably  from  Alfred  or 
Waterboro.  He  settled  at  what  was  long  known  as  "  Clement's  Cor- 
ner,'' now  West  Gorham,  where  he  built  the  large  tavern  on  the  west- 
ern side  of  the  road,  and  also  a  small  store  on  the  opposite  side, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  trade  for  many  years.  Mr.  Clement  was 
born  June  3,  1769,  and  married.  May  11,  1790,  Phebe,  the  daughter 
of  Simeon  and  Eleanor  Coffin.  She  was  born  Mar.  25,  1769,  and 
had  been  given  by  her  parents  to  the  Shakers,  but  left  them  and 
married  Mr.  Clement.     Children  : 

Eleanor,  b.  May  26,  1791,  m.  Robert  McLaughlin  of  Scarboro,   Feb.  i,  181 7. 

Ebenezer,  b.  Feb.  13,  1794,  d.  unm.  Sept.  13,  1819. 

John,  b.  May  11,  1796,  m.  Martha  Thomes  of  Standish,  Nov.   17,  18 14. 

Hanson  J.,  Sept.  18,  1798,  m.  Sally  C.  Baker,  p.  Sept.  30,  1826. 

Elizabeth  R.,b.  Dec.  20,  1800,  m.  Thomas  Barker  of  Hiram,  Dec.  10,  182  i. 

Phebe  W.,  b.  Jan.  24,  1803,  m.  Jonathan  Eastman  of  Chatham,  N.  H.,  Mar.  16, 

1824. 
Simeon  C,  b.  Feb.  14,  1805,  m.  Mary  Ann  Howe,  Nov.  14,  1835. 
Daniel  B.,  b.  June  r,  1808,  d.  unm.  June  15,  1859. 
Samuel  R.,  b.  Dec.  5,  18 10,  m.  Hannah  Fogg,  Jan.  30,  183S. 
Mary  C,  b.  Mar.  6,  18 13,  m.  Abram  Osgood  of  Portland,  Jan.  8,  1834. 

Mrs.  Phebe  Clement  died  Nov.  3,  1837,  aged  69,  and  Mr.  Clem- 
ent married,  Dec.  30,  1838,  Mrs.  Hannah  Fogg,  widow  of  Daniel 
B'ogg.  She  died  Feb.  10,  1842,  aged  64,  and  he  married  third,  Mrs. 
Eliza  (Burns)  Atkins.  Jacob  H.  Clement  died  Sept.  6,  1849,  aged 
80,  and  his  widow  married  a  Mr.  Wharf. 

(2)  Hanson  J.  Clement,  son  of  Jacob  H.,  lived  at  West  Gorham. 
He  was  one  of  the  selectmen  in  1843.  ^^  married  Sally  C,  daugh- 
ter of  Moses  and  Sally  Baker  of  Somersworth,  N.  H.     Children  : 

Jacob  H  ,  Jr.,  d.  young,  Granville,  d.  young  and  Moses  B. 

Hanson  Clement  died  Aug.  24,  i860,  and  his  wife,  in  1880,  aged 
80. 


432  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

(2)  Simeon  C.  CJement,  son  of  Jacob  H.,  was  one  of  the  selectmen 

in  1842.     He  married  Mary  Ann  Howe  of  Standish.     Children  : 

Marshall  H.,  b.  Jan.  20,  1838,  lives  in  Mt.  Vernon,  N.  Y. 

Scott,  b.  Nov.  27,  1839,  d. 

Catherine,  b.  Feb.  19,  1842,  lives  in  Mt.  Vernon,  N.  Y. 

Simeon  C.  Clement  died  Oct.  15,  1842,  aged  38  years. 

(2)  Samuel  R.  Clement,  son  of  Jacob  H.,  for  many  years  kept  a 
tavern  at  West  Gorham,  as  his  father  did  before  him.  He  after- 
wards built  the  house  at  West  Gorham  now  occupied  by  his  son 
Walter.  He  married  Hannah,  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Hannah 
Fogg.     Children : 

Phebe,  b.  Nov.  12,  1S39,  m   Kimball  Eastman. 

Mary  H.,  b.  Jan.  4,  1842,  d.  Nov.  17,  1857. 

William  F.,  b.  Mar.  6,  1844,  m.  Jennie  Johnson. 

Charles  J.,  b.  July  12,  1846,  m.  Emily  Rand. 

Jacob,  b.  Apr.  27,  1849,  d.  Jan.  28,  1855. 

Walter  C,  b.  Mar.  18,  1851,  m.  in  Colorado,  Elizabeth  A.  Cann  of  England. 

Annie  E.,  Feb.  17,  1853,  m.  Dr.  William  P.  Watson;  d.  in  1883. 

Samuel  R.  Clement  died  May  16,  1897,  aged  86.  His  wife 
Hannah  died  June  24,  1882,  aged  69. 

(3)  George  T.  Clement,  son  of  John  and  Martha  (Thomes)  Clem- 
ent, was  born  in  Baldwin,  from  which  place  he  moved  to  Gorham, 
and  kept  tavern  at  West  Gorham.  Just  before  his  death  he  pur- 
chased the  Narragansett  House  at  the  Village.  His  widow  sold  this 
to  Mr.  Dow,  who  kept  it  for  some  time.  Mr.  Clement  married,  Mar. 
27,  1842,  Dolly,  daughter  of  Luther  Tappan  of  Baldwin.     Children  : 

Henry  George,  b.  Mar.  4,  1843,  ^-  ^'^t-  2,  1857. 

Mary  E.,  b.  Aug.  18,  1846,  d   Oct.  8,  1857. 

John  Gi;anville,  b.  Feb.  17,  1848,  m.  Louisa  Plaisted,  Jan.  i,  1878. 

Luther  T.,  b. ,  d.  June  16,  1854. 

Charles  Fred,  b. ,  m.  Julia  Cressey. 

Nellie,  b. ,  m.  Edward  Cressey. 

George  T.  Clement  died  Oct.  26,  1857,  aged  42.  Mrs.  Clement 
died  Apr.  17,  1893,  aged  81. 

CLOUDMAN. 

John  and  Thomas  Cloudman,  who  were  brothers,  came  in  Septem- 
ber, 1690,  to  America  from  the  Highlands  of  Aberdeen,  Scotland. 
They  landed  at  Plymouth,  and  settled  at  Marblehead.  Tradition 
says  that  the  brothers  were  noted  for  their  strength  and  stalwart 
form.  They  were  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  of  strict  integ- 
rity and  sound  Christian  character. 

Edward,  the  first  of  the  name  in  this  vicinity,  was  born  in  Dover, 
N.   H.,  Feb.   15,   1714,  (O.    S.).     He  was  the   son   of   Edward,  and 


GENEALOGY.  433 

descended  from  William,  who  was  the  son  of  Thomas,  and  who  moved 
from  Marblehead  to  Dover,  N.  H.  Edward  when  twenty-two  years 
of  age  came  to  Falmouth,  and  there  married,  Apr.  i6,  1738,  Anna 
Collins  of  Philadelphia.  After  his  marriage  he  went  to  Presumpscot 
Lower  Falls,  where  he  had  charge  of  the  first  saw  mill  ever  built 
there.  This  mill  was  built  in  1735,  by  Col.  Westbrook,  Samuel 
Waldo,  and  others.  Mr.  Cloudman  is  said  to  have  been  a  tall  and 
very  strong  man,  weighing  about  two  hundred  and  twenty  pounds. 
He  was  a  noted  wrestler.  Many  stories  are  told  concerning  his 
strength.  It  is  said  that  he  was  accustomed  to  throw  all  the  boards 
from  the  medium  sized  pine  logs  to  the  brow  of  the  mill  and  over. 
Another  tradition  is  that  he  was  able  to  break  off  pieces  of  pine 
board  "like  chunks  of  cheese."  Cloudman  was  accustomed  to  run 
the  mill  all  night,  and  while  alone  in  the  mill  one  night  in  1741,  he 
saw  an  Indian  creeping  up  with  his  gun,  who  twice  attempted  to  tire 
at  him,  but  his  gun  snapped  and  missed  fire.  Cloudman  hurled  the 
bar  used  for  placing  the  log  on  the  carriage  at  the  Indian.  It  hit 
him  on  the  head  killing  him  instantly.  He  then  threw  the  body  into 
the  wheel-pit,  shut  down  the  mill  and  went  home.  The  night  follow- 
ing, the  Indians  burned  the  mill.  Cloudman,  with  his  wife  and  little 
son  Timothy,  packed  their  goods  in  a  canoe  and  paddled  down  the 
river,  and  around  what  is  now  Portland,  to  Stroudwater.  In  1745 
he  came  to  Gorham  and  bought  the  thirty  acre  lot  No.  7,  which  is 
where  the  late  Daniel  Billings  lived,  near  Fort  Hill. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  19th  of  April,  1746,  a  party  of  Indians 
entered  the  settlement  of  Gorham.  After  shooting  and  killing  \\'illiam 
Bryant,  they  surprised  Mr.  Cloudman  as  he  was  sowing  wheat  in  his 
field,  and  after  a  desperate  struggle,  succeeded  in  overpowering  him, 
and  carried  him  a  captive  to  Canada,  where  he  was  taken  to  Que- 
bec and  placed  in  the  fortress  there.  Cloudman  and  a  man  named 
Robert  Dunbar,  who  had  been  captured  at  Albany,  planned  to  make 
their  escape  from  the  building  in  which  they,  together  with  about  a 
hundred  other  captives,  were  confined.  They  laid  by  daily  a  part  of 
their  rations,  and  choosing  a  stormy  night,  made  their  escape  on  the 
23rd  of  October.  They  were  missed  on  the  following  morning,  but 
when  sought  were  not  to  be  found.  This  is  the  last  that  is  known  of 
them  with  certainty.  They  never  reached  home  ;  but  are  supposed 
to  have  been  drowned  while  attempting  to  cross  Lake  Champlain,  as 
the  next  summer  two  skeletons  with  their  clothes  on  their  backs  were 
washed  ashore.  In  the  pocket  of  one  of  them  a  compass  was  found, 
and  identified  as  belonging  to  Cloudman. 


434  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Edward  Cloudman  lived  at  the  time  of  his  capture  by  the  Indians 
in  1746,  on  the  30  acre  lot,  No.  7,  on  which,  as  we  have  already  said, 
he  settled  and  made  his  home.  It  is  presumed  he  had  made  good 
his  title,  (we  do  not  find  his  deed)  for  it  was  sold  at  auction  in  Fal- 
mouth at  the  Tavern  of  Mrs.  Mary  Wheeler,  Aug.  19,  1751,  to  pay 
dues  on  the  same,  by  a  committee  of  the  Proprietors  ;  and  Mrs.  Ann 
Cloudman,  the  widow,  was  the  purchaser.  After  her  marriage  with 
Abraham  Anderson  of  Windham,  they  sold  this  lot  to  Nathaniel 
Frost,  Feb.  28,  1757,  for  the  sum  of  ;^53-6-8.  At  the  decease  of 
Nathaniel  Frost,  the  lot  went  into  the  hands  of  his  son,  Nathaniel,  Jr., 
(afterwards  Colonel)  who  purchased  at  Administrator's  sale,  his 
brother's  lot,  No.  5,  (the  Bryant  lot).  These  lots  continued  in  the 
Frost  family  until  about  the  year  1846.  They  have  since  been  owned 
by  the  late  Daniel  Billings.  Mrs.  Ann  (Cloudman)  Anderson  died 
Dec.  I,  1802,  aged  85.  She  lies  buried  on  the  old  Anderson  farm  in 
Windham. 

(2)  Timothy  Cloudman,  son  of  Edward,  was  born  at  Presumpscot 
Lower  Falls.  He  was  much  like  his  father,  strong  and  daring. 
After  his  mother's  second  marriage  he  lived  with  her  in  Windham, 
where  he  was  accustomed  to  go  on  "neighborhood  scouts"  against 
the  Indians.  He  was  with  Anderson  and  a  boy  named  Winslow 
when  Manchester  shot  the  famous  chief,  Poland.  He  was  at  that 
time  a  boy  of  fifteen  ;  and  fired  at  the  redskins  with  the  gun  his 
father  had  picked  up  in  the  saw  mill,  when  he  killed  the  Indian. 
He  married,  July  24,  1766,  Katy  Partridge.  She  is  thought  to  have 
come  from  Marblehead,  Mass.  At  the  time  of  the  Embargo,  and 
consequent  business  depression,  Capt.  Joseph  Partridge,  w-ho  was  a 
brother  to  Katy,  owned  ships  which  rotted  at  the  wharves  in  Portland 
harbor.  The  young  Cloudman  couple  settled  on  the  old  farm  in 
Gorham,  where  Solomon  and  Edward  T.  Cloudman  now  live.  Here 
they  built  a  log-house  for  themselves,  and  a  "hovel"  for  the  cow. 
The  house  stood  a  little  east  of  the  present  house,  and  the  site  is  still 
marked  by  the  uneven  ground  where  the  cellar  was.  The  place 
produced  only  enough  hay  to  winter  one  cow.  This  hay,  when  cut 
and  made,  Timothy  and  Katy  carried  into  the  "  hovel  "  on  a  pair  of 
hay-poles.  At  that  time  there  were  no  roads  near.  The  only  high- 
way was  the  river,  which  ran  behind  the  house.  Timothy  occasion- 
ally worked  in  the  saw  mill  at  Horse  Beef  Falls,  when  Mrs.  Cloud- 
man was  accustomed  to  send  her  little  boys  with  their  father's  dinner  ; 
they  carrying  his  razor  in  their  pocket  for  protection  against  wild 
beasts  or  Indians. 


GENEALOGY.  435 


Timothy  and  Katy  Cloudman  are  the  ancestors  of  all  the  Cloud- 
mans  in  this  part  of  the  countiy.  They  had  eleven  children,  who 
were  : 

Betty,  b.  May  3,  1767,  m.  Barnabas  Bangs,  Nov.  i,  1789. 

Nancy,  b.  May  7,  1769,  d.  in  1779. 

Edward,  b.  July  5,  1771,  went  to  New  Hampshire. 

Cm.  Eunice  Swett,  p.  Nov.   12.   1S02;  moved  to 
Nathan,    i  u    ,    1  J  Stetson. 

Jessee,      j  °-  -'"'y -7>  i/74.    ^  ^n.    Hannah    Swett,    March,    179S;    2d,   Sarah 

[^  Bacon. 

John,  b.  Feb.  20,  1776,  m.  Elizabeth  Cobb,  July  2,  1800;  2d,  Sarah  Cobb. 
Polly,  b.  July  13,  1779,  m.  Caleb  Graffam,  Dec.  i,  1808. 
William,  b.  Sept.  16,  1780,  m.  Sarah  Hamblen,  p.  Jan.  12,  1804. 
Thomas,  b.  Aug.  20,  1783,  m.  Martha  Gilpatrick,  p.  Jan.  30,  1808. 
Solomon,  b.  Dec.  4,  17S5,  lived  in  Cornisli  ;  was  a  Bapt.  preacher. 
David,  b.  Sept.  16,  1788,  lived  in  Portland. 

Timothy  Cloudman  died  Oct.  22,  1830,  aged  91.  Mrs.  Cloudman 
died  Mar.  24,  1832,  aged  91. 

Sarah,  sister  of  Timothy  Cloudman,  born  Feb.  5,  1742,  married 
Eli  Webb  of  Gorham,  Apr.  20,  1760. 

(3)     Jessee  Cloudman,  son  of  Timothy,  lived  near  the  river,  on 

the  hill  a  little  east  of  the  house  where  his  sons,  Solomon  and  Edward, 

now  reside.     He  married  Hannah  Swett  of  Standish  Neck.     Children  : 

Nathan,  b.  Aug.  12,  1799,  m.  Elizabeth  Gallison,  Mar.,   1826;  d.  in   Windham. 

Eunice,  b.  July  7,  1801,  d.  unm.  Feb.  27,  1885. 

Sallv,  b.  Feb.  20,  1803,  m.  Moses  Stiles,  Dec,  1826  ;  d.  in  Westbrook,  Mar.  10, 

1859. 
David,  b.  ]\Iay  19,  1S04,  m.  Ellen  M.  Brown,  1832  ;  d.  in  Little  talis,  Jan.   i, 

1877.      Ch  :   Eliza  Ann,  m.    Harry   Kingsbury;   Sarah,    m.    John    Lane; 

Marcellus  C,  m.   Helen  Pierce;  William. 
John  T.   S.,  b.  Nov.  24,  1805,  m.   Mary  G.   Waterhouse,  in  Saco,  Dec,  1827; 

d.  in  Westbrook,  Jan.  15,  1852. 
Susan,  b.  Aug.  12,  1807,  m.  Bartholomew  Johnson  of  Pownal,  p.  Dec.  4,  1830. 
Josiah,  b.  June  10,  1809,  m.  Susan  Babb  of  Westbrook,  May,  1833;  2d,  Huldah 

Estes,  Nov.,  1840;  d.  in  Westbrook. 
•    Abraham  A.,  b.  Feb.  14,  181 1,  m.  Betsey  Smith,  Dec,  1840. 
William,  b.  May  13,  1813,  unm.,  I'd  in  California,  d.  in  189S. 

f   m.  in  Bath,  May,  1853;  d.  in   Westbrook,  Dec 

Moset  ^■'  }  ^-  ^^g-  ^'  '8'  5>  j    d.  Oct'.%!U=^i  5. 
I 

Mrs.  Hannah  Cloudman  died  Aug.  7,  181 5,  and  Mr.  Cloudman 
married,  Aug.  22,  1822,  Mrs.  Sarah  Bacon,  widow  of  Thomas  Bacon, 
and  daughter  of  William  Burton.      Children  : 

Hannah,  b.  May  30,  1823,  m.  Levi  Estes,  Feb.  25,  1849. 

Lucretia  A.,  b.  Jan.  13,  1826,  d.  July  17,  1826. 

Solomon  B.,  b.  Mar.  27,  1827,  m.  Lucy  Sweetsir,  Nov.  22,  1854.     Ch  :   Eleanor 

L.,b.  1855,  is  a  teacher ;  Marcia  H.,  b.  1857,  m.  James  Cook  ;  Fannie  ^L, 

b.  1863,  m.  Chas.  R.  Dyer.     Mrs.  Lucy  Cloudman  d.  Oct.  17,  1880,  and 
■  Mr.   Cloudman  m.  Jan.   21,  1SS2,   Maria   E.  Trott,  who  d.  Apr.  9,  1900, 

ag.  53.     Mr.  Cloudman  has  served  several  terms  as  one  of  the  selectmen 

of  this  town. 


436  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Edward  T.,  b.  Dec.  29,  1829,  m.  Sarah  J.,  dau.  of  Oliver  Haskell  of  Windham, 
June  3,  1868.  Ch  :  Harlan  E.,  b.  July  3,  1869,  m.  Bertha  Mosher; 
Ella  M.,  b.  Jan.  13,  1874;  Jesse  F.,  b.  Oct.  4,  1877  ;  Merrill  H.,  b.  Jan. 
14,  1880. 

Jessee  Cloudman  died  Jan.  25,  1848.     Mrs.  Cloudman  died  Mar. 

23,  1869,  aged  82. 

(3)  John    Cloudman,    son    of    Timothy,    married    Elizabeth,    the 

daughter  of  Jedediah  and  Reliance  Cobb.     By  her  he  had 

Elizabeth  )  ,     a     ^         o        i  m.  Jeremiah  Brackett,  Mar.  24,  1S16. 
T~.        w         b.  Sept.  7,  1801,  <  J    .     .   r 
Daughter  J  ^      '  (  d.  in  infancy. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cloudman  died  Sept.  16,  1801,  and  Mr.  Cloudman 
married  her  sister,  Sarah,  Aug.  i,  1802.     Their  children  were  : 

Reliance,  b.  Oct.  11,  1803,  m.  Moses  Quimby,  Sept.  30,  1827. 

Jane,  b.  Sept.  20,  1805,  d.  Jan.  15,  1807. 

Paul  L.,  b.  June  29,  1807,  m.  Eliza  B.  Waterhouse,  May  4,  1832  ;  d.  Apr.  23, 
1864. 

Esther  C,  b.  Mar.  30,  1809,  m.  Aaron  Quimby  of  Westbrook,  Dec.  8,  1833. 

Mark  W.,  b.  Mar.  5,  181 1,  m.  Susan,  dau.  of  Nathan  Burnett,  Sept.  30,  1835. 
Ch :  Adeline,  b.  Jan.  10,  1836,  m.  Enos  B.  Hale;  Nathan  B.,  b.  Aug.  10, 
1S39,  m.  Helen  P.  Austin,  2d,  Lizzie  Judson,  I'd  in  Mass.,  d.  in  1S95; 
Mary  H.,  b.  Sept.  8,  1842,  m.  L.  C.  Berry;  Edwin  H.,  b.  Aug.  21,  1844, 
m.  Lizzie  Brown,  d.  in  Boston,  Aug.  27,  1882  ;  Charles,  b.  Feb.  13,  1850, 
m.  Annie  A.  Waterhouse;  Clara  M.,  b.  Dec.  15,  1856,  m.  Chas.  Martin 
Libby,  June  15,  1879.  Mr.  Cloudman  I'd  at  Little  Falls;  d.  Sept.  13, 
1892.     Mrs.  Cloudman  is  living  (1902)  at  the  age  of  93. 

Daniel  C,  b.  Mar.  13,  181 3,  m.  Esther  Quimby,  Dec.  1841  ;  d.  in  Westbrook. 

John,  b.  July  27,  181 5,  m.  Eliza  H.  Stevens,  Dec.  22,  1839  ;  d.  in  Mass. 

Maria  W.,  b.  Feb.  8,  181 8,  m.  Gibeon  Plummer,  Dec.  6,  1846. 

Ruth  C,  b.  July  7,  1820,  m.  Ansel  L.  Boothby,  Jan.  4,  1850;  I'd  in  Westbrook. 

Mary  A.,  b.  June  i,  1823,  m.  David  M.  Bean  of  Limington,  Dec.  6,  1846. 

Louisa  B.,  b.  Apr.  29,  1S25,  m.  Charles  L.  Partridge,  Feb.  27,  1849. 

John  Cloudman  died  Aug.  9,  1850,  and  his  wife  Sarah,  Aug.  5, 
1870. 

(3)  William  Cloudman,  son  of  Timothy,  lived  on  the  road  leading 
from  Gorham  village  to  Little  Falls,  on  the  place  near  Little  river 
now  owned  by  his  son  William.  He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of 
George  Hamblen.     Children  : 

Mahala,  b.  May  6,  1805,  m.  Geo.  Harvey;  I'd  in  Bath  ;  d.  in  Gorham,  Oct.  21, 
1884. 

Patience,  b.  Apr.  8,  1807,  d.  in  Gorham,  unm. 

George,  b.  Mar.  30,  1809,  d.  in  Gorham,  unm. 

Jane,  b.  Nov.  i,  1810,  m.  Armand  Hivert;  d.  in  New  York  City. 

Martha,  b.  June  30,  1812,  m.  Nathaniel  Cobb;  d.  in  Portland. 

Sewall,  b.  Apr.  25,  1815,  m.  Dorothy  L.  Tate  of  Westbrook,  Mar.  30,  1842;  I'd 
on  the  road  from  Gorham  village  to  Little  Falls,  near  the  river,  and 
nearly  opposite  the  farm  of  his  brother  William.  Ch  :  Horace  A.,  b. 
Mar.  I,  1843,  m.  Lottie  Lord  of  Portland,  d.  Feb.  22,  1893:  Howard  B., 
b.  May  14,  1845,  m.  Anna  Sawyer  of  Gorham;  Henry  S.,  b.  Oct.  9,  1846; 
Eugene  H.,  b.  Sept.  10,  1848,  m.  Emma  Wingate  of  Gorham;  Alice  F., 
b.  Mar.  17,  1850,  m.  Capt.  Wm.  Adie,  d.  Nov  21,  1899;  Elma  J.,  b.  Jan. 
23,  1852,  m.  G.  L.  Hriggs  of  Portland;  Sarah  E. ;  Herbert  S.,  d.  Oct.  4, 
1858;  Cora  C;  John  A.,  b.  Apr.  4,  1862.  Mrs.  Cloudman  d.  Aug.  22, 
1883;  Mr.  Cloudman  d.  Dec.  30,  1900. 


GENEALOGY.  437 

Catherine,  b.  July  3,  181 7,  m.  Stephen  Whitney  of  Poland;  d.  in  Auburn. 

Susan  A.,  b.  July  29,  1819,  d.  unm.  in  Gorham,  Feb.  15,  1865. 

Arthur,  b.  Jan.  2,  1821,  m.  Lizzie  Perkins  of  Milltown. 

William,  b.  Sept.  25,  1826,.  m.  in  1856,  Emily  J.,  dau.  of  Samuel  Dunn.  Ch  : 
Belle  S.,  b.  Sept.  28,  1857,  m.  Willard  H.  Deguio  ;  Lizzie,  b.  Mar.  8,  1863, 
d.  ag.  16;  Hertha,  b.  July  22,  1871,  m.  Ciias.  Uoyle  ;  Annie,  b.  Nov.  4, 
1873,  m,  Edward  Bardsley,  d.  in  Biddeford.  Mrs.  Cloudman  d.  Aug.  29, 
1876,  ag.  39.  Mr.  Cloudman  built  the  first  dam  that  was  ever  built  across 
Little  river  at  the  lower  falls. 

William  Cloudman  died  Sept.  20,  1826,  and  his  wife  Sarah,  Oct.- 

23,  1859,  aged  74. 

COBB. 

Chipman  Cobb,  in  common  with  the  other  Cobbs  of  Gorham, 
traced  his  descent  from  Dea.  Henry  Cobb  of  Eastham,  who  came 
from  England  in  1629,  and  settled  finally  at  Barnstable,  Mass.  He 
was  the  oldest  son  of  Samuel  Cobb,  who  was  born  in  Barnstable, 
April  6,  1686  ;  married  Abigail  Stuart,  and  came  with  his  family  to 
Falmouth  (Portland),  where  he  was  one  of  the  early  settlers.  Chip- 
man,  born  Mar.  5,  1709,  came  with  his  father,  and  was  admitted  an 
inhabitant  of  Falmouth,  April  22,  1728,  being  then  nineteen  years  of 

age.     He  married  Elizabeth .    They  were  living  on  the  Neck, 

east  of  Clay  Cove  in  1734.  In  1765  he  married  a  second  wife,  Mrs. 
Mary  (Bloom)  (Green)  Hall,  widow  of  Ebenezer  Hall. 

Mr.  Cobb's  name  appears  on  a  Gorham  tax  bill  for  1773.  A  tax 
of  ;^2i,  19^,  4'',  i^,  was  levied  for  contingent  expenses  of  the  town, 
Dec.  28,  1775  :  of  this,  Cobb's  assessment  was  in  all,  9*^;  no  poll. 
In  January  1783,  he  being  then  of  Gorham,  signs  a  deed  to  Jonathan 
Freeman,  of  land  in  Falmouth.  He  lived  in  Gorham  with  his  son 
Andrew  on  a  lot  of  fifty  acres  since  owned  by  the  heirs  of  Thomas 
Mulloy.  His  house  stood  on  the  southeast  side  of  a  small  brook,  a 
few  rods  from  the  town  road,  where  the  hollow  left  by  the  cellar  may 
still  be  seen.  His  great-grandson,  Isaac  Cobb  of  Portland,  tells  us 
that  the  old  gentleman  well  remembered  the  Indian  wars,  and  used 
to  relate  many  thrilling  incidents  in  relation  to  them.  He  and  his 
wife  were  taken  care  of  in  their  last  days  by  their  grandson  Ebenezer. 
They  were  both  living  as  late  as  1792,  and  probably  died  between 
that  time  and  1798.  He  was  living  in  1795.  VVe  have  no  record 
of  the  death  of  either.  They  were  both  buried  in  the  old  cemetery 
at  the  village. 

The  children  of  Chipman  and  Elizabeth  Cobb  were  : 

Nathaniel,  b.  in   Falmouth,  Jan.  19,  1731/2,  m.  Hannah  Johnson  of  York  ;  I'd 

in  Falmouth. 
Andrew,  b.  in  Falmouth,  Mar.  27,  1734,  m.  Hannah  Green,  Feb.  21,  1754  ;  2d, 
Mrs.  Hannah  Fowler. 


438  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

(2)  Andrew  Cobb,  son  of  Chipman,  lived  in  Falmouth  for  some 

years.     He  moved  to  Gorham  about   1767.      He  bought  of  Nathan 

Whitney,  Oct.  3,  1764,  the  eastern  half  of  the  hundred  acre  lot,  No. 

38,  on  which   he  built  and  settled  in  1767.      He  became  dissatisfied 

with  the   ministrations  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thacher,  at  the   time   of  the 

New  Light  excitement,  and  was  one  of  those  exempted  by  vote  of  the 

town  from  paying  a  tax  for  the  support  of  the  settled  ministry.     He 

finally  withdrew  to  the  Free  Will  Baptist  society,  founded  in   1781  ; 

of  which   denomination   he  became  a  most  earnest  and  prominent 

member.     (See  F.   D.   Stuart's  History  of  F.  W.   B.,  Vol.  i,  p.  89.) 

On  a  Sunday   in   June,  1798,  while  the   men   were   away  at  a  F.  W. 

Baptist  Convention,  which  was  in  session  in  another  part  of  the  town, 

and  the  women  were  busy  preparing  dinner  for  the  large  company 

that  was  expected  to  return  with  them  from  the  meetings,  Mr.  Cobb's 

house  caught  fire  and  was  burned  to  the  ground.    The  same  year  he, 

and  his  son  Ebenezer,  built  a  house  on  the  southeast  corner  of  the 

hundred  acre  lot  39,  which   Andrew  had  purchased,  Nov.  15,  1779, 

of   Edmund    Bramhall.     His   grandson    says   the  rooms  were   made 

large,  with  especial  reference  to  the  accommodation  of  the  "brethren 

and  sisters,  who  were  accustomed  to  hold  their  meetings  at  private 

houses."     Andrew  and  his  wife  occupied  the  west  end  of  the  house, 

and  Ebenezer  and  his  wife  had  the   east  end,  and  their  respective 

initials  were  built  into  the  bricks  of  the  chimney  on  the  east  and  west 

sides   of   it.     This   house,   now   gone,  was  standing  as  late  as   1889. 

Andrew  Cobb  married  Hannah  Green,  the  daughter  of  Mrs.  Chipman 

Cobb,    his    stepmother,    by    her    first    husband    Mr.    Green.     Their 

children,  the  last  three  of  whom  were  born  in  Gorham,  the  others  in 

Falmouth  (Portland),  were  : 

Daniel,  b.  May  7,  1755,111.  Mary  Brown,  (b.  in  Gloucester,  Mass.,)  p.  Oct.  5,  1776. 

Phebe,  b.  about  Apr.,  1756,  m.  Ephraim  Chick  of  Limington,  1782. 

Nicholas,  b.  Apr.  4,  1758,  m.  Abigail  Chick,  June  25,  1782  ;  2d,  Desire  Rogers, 

Sept.  29,  1797. 

Hannah,  b. ,  m.  Micah  Whitney,  Nov.  29,  1779. 

Sarah,  b. ,  d.  young. 

Andrew,   b.   Feb.   7,    1764,   m.   Betsey   Irish,  p.  Dec.  14,  1782;  2d,  Mrs.  Mary 

(Cobb)   Bangs. 
Nathan,  b.  Mar.  3,  1767,  m.  Mary  Sawyer  of  Limington,  1792. 
Ebenezer,  b.  Oct.  4,  1768,  m.  Sarah  Hanscom,  Jan.  8,  1792  ;  2d,  Mary  Larrabee. 
Chipman,  b.  Jan.  5,  I77i,m.  Rachel  Brown  (sister  to  Daniel's  wife).   Mar.  12, 

1797  ;  d.  in  Otisfield. 
Mary,  b.  July  26,  1772,  m.  William  Leavitt  of  Buxton,  Jan.  10,  1796. 

Mrs.  Hannah  (Green)  Cobb  died  Apr.  30,  1803,  aged  69.  Mr. 
Cobb  married,  Apr.  21,  1804,  Mrs.  Hannah  Fowler.  Her  maiden 
name  was  Hannah  W^hitney.  October,  1755,  she  married  Joseph  Ham- 
blen of  Gorham.     He  died  in  1763,  and  she  married,  June  27,  1765, 


GENEALOGY.  439 

Moses  Fowler  of  Falmouth.  She  was  a  zealous  believer  in  the  "  New 
Light  "  doctrine.  It  is  said  that  at  one  of  their  meetings  she  broke 
out  into  a  song  "I  can  jump,  I  can  jump  over  the  walls  of  Jericho." 
To  which  some  one  responded  '*  No  wonder,  for  the  walls  are  broken 
down."  Dea.  Andrew  Cobb  moved  to  Limington,  where  he  died  with 
his  son  Andrew,  July  22,  1822,  aged  88.  Mrs.  Cobb  died  in  Liming- 
ton, Feb.  10,  1820,  aged  83. 

(3)  Andrew  Cobb,  son  of  Andrew,  married  Betsey,  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  Hannah  (Doane)  Irish.  He  lived  for  some  years  in 
Gorham,  but  moved  to  Limington  before  1787.  Children,  born 
in  Gorham,  were  : 

Dorcas,  b.  June   13,  1783,  m.  Samuel  Dunn  of  Cornish. 

Samuel,  b.  17S5,  m.  Ellen  Neele. 

Stephen,  Levi,  Andrew,  Ebenezer,  Dorothy  and  Desire  were  born  in  Limington. 

Mr.  Cobb  married,  Dec.  10,  1808,  Mrs.  Mary  (Cobb)  Bangs, 
daughter  of  Jedediah  Cobb,  and  widow  of  Ebenezer  Bangs. 

(3)  Ebenezer  Cobb,  son  of  Andrew,  lived  on  his  father's  home- 
farm,  on  the  hundred  acre  lot.  No.  39.  He  was  an  honest,  upright 
man,  noted  for  scrupulous  exactness  in  all  his  dealings.  He  married 
Sarah,  daughter  of  George  and  Mary  Hanscom.  She  was  born  in 
Scarboro.  She  died  at  the  house  of  Dea.  Andrew  Cobb  in  Liming- 
ton about  1816,  leaving  no  children.  Ebenezer  Cobb  married,  Jan. 
4,  1824,  Mary,  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Sarah  Larrabee.     Children  : 

Isaac,  b.  Apr.  28,  1825,  m.  Louisa  M.  Richardson,  Apr.  5,  1855. 
Moses,  b.  Mar.  26,  1827,  d.  Apr.  23,  1846. 

Ebenezer  Cobb  died  Dec.  23,  1840,  aged  72.  Mrs.  Mary  Cobb 
died  Sept.  8,  1859,  aged  73. 

(4)  Isaac  Cobb,  son  of  Ebenezer,  went  in  185 1  to  Boston,  in 
which  city,  and  in  New  York,  he  spent  several  years.  In  1865  he 
entered  the  ofifice  of  the  Portland  Transcript,  where  he  remained  until 
his  death.  He  was  a  writer  of  no  mean  repute,  contributing  in  both 
prose  and  poetry  to  various  periodicals.  Some  years  since,  he  pub- 
lished a  volume  of  poetry,  entitled  "  Sylvan  Songs."  To  the  fondly 
remembered  woods  and  fields  of  old  Gorham  he  ascribed  his  poetic 
inspiration.  He  was  deeply  interested  in  all  that  related  to  his  native 
town,  and  to  him  we  are  indebted  for  valuable  assistance  in  collecting 
genealogical  facts  and  items.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Maine 
Genealogical  Society,  and  a  contributor  to  the  Maine  Historical 
and  Genealogical  Recorder.  He  married  Louisa  M.,  daughter  of 
Isaac  and  Abigail   Richardson  of  Gorham.     Thev  had  no  children. 


440  HISTORY    OF    GOKHAM. 

Mrs.  Cobb  died  Dec.  14,  1889,  and  Mr.  Cobb,  Sept.  21,  1890.  They 
were  both  brought  to  Gorham  for  burial. 

Elisha  Cobb  was  born  June  6,  1736,  at  Eastham  (Wellfleet).  He 
was  the  son  of  Elisha  and  Mary  (Harding)  Cobb.  Leaving  Wellfieet, 
or  Barnstable,  with  one  of  the  Harding  families,  he  came  to  Gorham 
as  early  as  1750.  In  1758  he  was  a  soldier  in  Capt.  John  Libby's 
company,  Col.  Preble's  regiment — which  regiment  served  in  the 
French  and  Indian  war,  scouting  back. from  the  seacoast.  I  think 
he  was  then  of  Cape  Elizabeth.  He  was  also  a  soldier  in  the  Revo- 
lution, a  private  in  Capt.  Hart  Williams'  company,  Col.  Phinney's 
regiment.  In  November,  1760,  he  married  Elizabeth  Murch.  July 
25,  1765,  he  bought  of  David  Gorham  the  thirty  acre  lot,  37,  and 
also  a  part  of  39.  Here  he  made  his  home.  His  house  was  nearly 
opposite  to  that  of  Prince  Davis,  on  the  Flaggy  Meadow  (old  Buxton) 
road.     Children : 

Elisha,  Jr.,  b.  June  10,  1761,  m.  Molly  A.  Murch,  p.  Sept.  4,  1790. 

Mary,  b.  Oct.  4,  1762,  d.  unm. 

Ezeiciel,  b.  June  10,  1764,  m.  Nancy  Thompson  Oct.  9,  1787  ;  I'd  in  Hampden  ; 

d.  in  1816,  and  his  widow  m.  Shebner  Swett. 
Phebe,  b.  Apr.  16,  1766,  m.  Daniel  Kldridge,  Jr.,  of  Buxton,  Mar.  17,  1785. 
Rt-uben,  b.  Mar.  9,  1769,  m.  Sally  Hatch,  Apr.  5,  1801. 
William,  b.  July  20,  1771,  m.  ISancy  Poke  of  Biddeford,  Mar.,  1798  ;  I'd  in  Bux- 

t(jn. 
Samuel  C,  b.  Oct.  15,  1773,  m.  Tabitha  Elwell  of  Buxton,  Dec.  9.  1802. 

Ebenezer,  b.  Jan.  22,  1777,  m. ;  was  a  carpenter;  d.  in  Alna,  Me. 

Elizabeth,  b.  July  22,  1779,  d.  unm.  in  Gorham. 

Elisha  Cobb  died  at  his  home,  June  11,  1794,  in  his  59th  year. 
Elizabeth,  his  wife,  died  Sept.  6,  1798,  aged  63. 

(2)  Elisha  Cobb,  Jr.,  son  of  Elisha,  was  a  carpenter,  or  joiner. 
He  was  one  of  those  who  framed  the  present  Congregational  church 
edifice,  in  company  with  Samuel  Elder  and  others.  He  lived  on  the 
old  road  to  Buxton,  half  a  mile  above  Gorham  village.  He  married 
Molly  Murch  of  Biddeford.     Children  : 

Thankful,  b.  Nov.  12,  1791,  d.  in  Saco,  Apr.,  1871. 

John,  b.  Sept.  17,  1793,  ^-  Abby  Smith  of  Gorham  ;  d.  in  Lowell,  Mass. 

Elisha,  b.  Nov.  7,  1795,  m.  Abigail  Ells  of  Freeport ;  d.  in  Freeport  in  1826. 

Betsey,  b.  in  Limington,  d.  unm.  in  1819,  in  Limington. 

William,  b.  Feb.  19,  1801,  m.  Martha  Libby  of  Limington  in  1824;  2d,  Lucinda 

Gilpairick,  1837  ;  I'd  in  Limington  and  Limerick. 
Mary,  b.  March,  1803,  m.  John  Skillings  of  Gorham,  p.  Apr.  6,   1822  ;  went  to 

Strong. 
Hannah,  b.  Nov.,  1805,  m.  — McLaughlin  of  Boston;  after  his  death  she 

joined  the  Shakers  in  Alfred. 

Elisha  Cobb,  Jr.,  died  in  Limington  in  1809. 


GENEALOGY.  441 

(2)  Reuben  Cobb,  son  of  Ellsha,  married  Sally,  daughter  of 
Nathaniel  and  Elizabeth  Hatch.  He  lived  for  some  time  on  his 
father's  home-farm,  then  sold  out,  and  about  1814  the  family  moved 
to  Otisfield,  where  he  died  Dec.  15,  183 1.  His  wife  Sally  died  Oct. 
21,  1828,  in  the  same  town.      Children: 

Ebenezer,  b.  Jan.  8,  1S02,  d.  young. 

Richard,  b.  Apr.  19,  1803,  d.  young, 

Jerusha,  1).  about  1805,  d.  in  Saco,  unm.,  Apr.  12,  1835. 

Reuben,  b.  Feb.  3,  1807,  m.  Nancy  Moore  of  Naples,  1833  ;  I'd  in  Otisfield. 

Betsey  H.,  b. ,  m.  Isaac  Hall  of  Harrison  about  1831  ;  d.  in  1835. 

Sally  B.,  b.  ,  d.  in  1834. 

(2)  Samuel,  son  of  Elisha  Cobb,  settled  in  Gorham  on  the  farm 
where  his  father  lived  before  him.  In  addition  to  carrying  on  his 
farm,  he  worked  at  the  trade  of  a  tailor,  working  at  his  home,  and 
also  going  from  house  to  house  to  work,  as  was  the  custom  of  those 
days.  He  was  an  active  member  of  the  Congregational  church.  He 
married  Tabitha  Klwell  of  Buxton.      Children: 

Edward,    b.   Sept.  4,   1804,  m.   Martha    Frost,  Nov.   24,    1825;  2d,   Abigail   S. 

Allen  of  New  Gloucester,  July  11.  1832  ;  d.  in  Portland,  1879. 
Eunice,  b.  Oct.  11,  1806,  m.  Nathaniel  Frost,  Dec.  28,  1826. 
Joseph,    [^    j^j^g  ^    jg^g  j  d.  young. 

Samuel,  J       ■'  ■''  '  j  m.  Sarah  M.  Jordan,  May  30,  1831  ;  I'd  in  Portland. 

Lois  McL.,  b.  May  3,  1810,  m.  Jonathan  Redlon  (3d  wife)  of  Buxton,  Mar.  13, 

1849.    I^s  <i-  i'''  Ciorham,  Nov.  6,  1865.  and  she  m.  2d,  Nathaniel  Strout 

of  Casco. 
Caleb  J.,  b.  June  4,  1812,  m.  Julia  A.Cook  ;  I'd  in  Waterford,  Vt. ;  d.  in  1878. 

Samuel  Cobb  died  Oct.  15,  1839,  aged  66.     Mrs.  Tabitha  Cobb 

died  Oct.  24,  1839,  aged  69. 

Capt.  Nathaniel  Cobb,  who  came  from  Barnstable,  where  he  was 
born  Mar.  19,  1749,  was  probably  the  son  of  Nathaniel  Cobb  of  Barn- 
stable, who  married,  Dec.  14,  1738,  Susanna  Bacon,  born  Dec.  24, 
1 7 18,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Deborah  (Otis)  Bacon  of  Nantucket. 
Nathaniel  Cobb,  Jr.,  was  a  sea  captain.  He  lived  near  Mr.  Sturgis 
at  West  Gorham,  by  the  fork  of  the  roads,  close  by  Cobb's  river.  He 
was  married  in  Barnstable,  Apr.  30,  1772,  to  his  cousin  Olive,  daugh- 
ter of  Matthew  and  Polly  (Garrett)  Cobb  of  Barnstable,  and  sister  to 
the  late  Hon.  Matthew  Cobb  of  Portland.     They  had  one  son  : 

James,  b.  1772,  m.  Priscilla  Brossard,  p.  Oct.  13,  1803.  Mrs.  Priscilla  Cobb  d. 
Sept.  14.  1808,  ag.  50.  James  Cobb  was  a  deaf  mute.  He  I'd  on  his 
father's  homestead.  After  his  father's  death,  he  sold  the  farm  to  Wil- 
liam Sturgis,  but  continued  to  make  his  home  there  till  his  death,  June 
12,  1847. 

Capt.  Cobb  died  Sept.  24,   1839,  aged  90.     Mrs.  Cobb  died  May 

17,  1830,  aged  77.      Mrs.  Susanna,  widow  of  Nathaniel  of  Barnstable, 

and  mother  of  Capt.  Nathaniel  Cobb,  died  in  Gorham,  July  6,  1807. 


442  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

David  Cobb,  son  of  David  Cobb  of  Barnstable,  and  his  wife  Lucy 
(Bickford)  of  Wellfieet,  who  were  married  in  1774,  (pub.  Apr.  23,) 
came  to  Gorham  from  Cape  Cod.  He  lived  on  South  St.,  in  the 
house  now  occupied  by  Dr.  Ridlon.  This  house  when  built  by  Mr. 
Cobb  was  one  story  and  a  half,  and  was  altered  by  Col.  W.  B.  Free- 
man to  its  present  form.  Mr.  Cobb  also  built  the  house  on  South 
St.,  now  (1902)  owned  by  Mrs.  Jas.  Edwards.  He  drove  for  many 
years  a  stage  between  Portland  and  Gorham.  Dec.  9,  1802,  he  mar- 
ried Sally,  daughter  of  John  and  Tabitha  Watson.      Children  : 

Naaman,  b.  Sept.  24,  1804,  d.  Nov.  27,  1S04. 

Louisa  P.,  b.  .Sept.  6,  1805,  m.  Henry  Hodgkins,  May  14,  1828  ;  d.  Feb.,  1880. 

J)avid  H.,  b.  Sept.  28,  1807,  d.  Apr.,  19,  1808. 

Mary  A.  M.,  b.  May  18,  1S09,  ni.  Thomas  J.  Emery,  Nov.  14,  1830. 

Lot  Davis,  b.  May  20,  i8  [  i,  d.  Feb.  27,  1813. 

Francis  B.,  b.  Jan.  27,  1813,  m, Bowers. 

Albert  S.,  b.  June  21,  181 5,  m.  Abbie  G.  Libby,  Oct.  15,  1840. 

David  Cobb  died  Sept.  27,  1837,  aged  59.  Mrs.  Cobb  died  Oct.  7, 
1849,  aged  65. 

Jedediah  Cobb,  soil  of  Ebenezer,  married  in  Portland,  Feb.  7, 
1765,  Reliance  Paine.  After  his  marriage  he  lived  for  a  time  on 
Falmouth  Neck,  in  his  father's  house,  on  the  north  side  of  Queen, 
(now  Congress)  St.  He  was  a  housewright,  and  we  find  in  Rev. 
Mr.  Deane's  Journal  that  he  helped  to  build,  in  1774,  the  gambrel- 
roofed  house  in  which  Mr.  Deane  lived  while  in  Gorham.  We  find 
him  first  taxed  in  Gorham  in  1780.  He  bought  fifty  acres  of  Shir- 
ley's Grant,  not  far  from  Horse  Beef  Falls.  On  this  he  built  his 
house,  which  was  at  first  of  one  story,  but  afterwards  altered  and 
enlarged  to  two  stories.  Here  he  Hved  and  died.  This  house  was 
in  what  is  called  the  Quaker  neighborhood,  and  close  to  the  spot 
where  Stephen  Anderson  now  lives.  Mr.  Cobb  was  a  Baptist  in 
1 781,  but  afterwards  became  an  honored  and  prominent  member  of 
the  Society  of  Friends. 

Children  of  Jedediah  and  Reliance  Cobb  : 

Esther,  b.  about  1766,  m.  Josiah  Lakeman,  Dec.  24  ,1783. 

William,  b.  Mar.  21,  1768,  m.  Lydia  Gates,  Jan.  i,  1792;  2d,  Phebe  Southwick. 

Polly,  b.  Sept.  6,  1770,  m.  Ebenezer  Bangs,   Dec.  30,  1787  ;  2d,  Dea.  Andrew 

Gobb  of  Limington,  Dec.  10,  1808. 
Anna,  b.  Feb.  7,  1773,  ^'^-  Ebenezer  Gates,  Jan.  5,  1794. 

Ebenezer,  b. ,  1777,  m.  Peggy  Rollins  of  Portland,  Jan.  9,  1800. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Mar.  6,  1779,  m.  John  Gloudman  (ist  wife),  July  2,  1800. 

Abigail,  b. ,  m.  Moses  Dow  of  Portland. 

Sarah,  b.  Oct.  23,  1783,  m.  John  Gloudman  (2d  wife),  Aug.  i,  1802. 

Mrs.  Reliance  Cobb  died  Apr.  29,  1801,  and  Mr.  Cobb  married, 
July  29,  1803,  Mrs.  Sarah  (Purinton)  Ross.  She  died  Oct.  22,  1822. 
Jedediah  Cobb  died  Aug.  21,  1833,  aged  91. 


GENEALOGY.  443 

(2)     William    Cobb,  son  of  Jedediah,  lived   on   the   farm   in   the 
Quaker  neighborhood  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Isaac  L.  Johnson. 
He  was  an  influential  and  zealous  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends. 
He  married  Lydia,  daughter  of  Elder  Joseph  Gates.     Children  : 

Daniel,  b.  Nov.  14,  1792,  m.  Ruth  Almy  of  Baltimore  ;  d.  in  Baltimore. 
Esther,  b.  July  26,  1794,  m.  Chas.  Horton. 
James,  b.  Apr.  17,  1796,  d.  Sept.  16,  1796. 

Mrs.  Cobb  died  Sept.  10,  1796,  and  Mr.  Cobb  married,  Dec.  7, 
1797,  Phebe  South  wick  of  Gorham,  who  was  born  Mar.  i,  1770.  and 
whose  parents,  Josiah  and  Elizabeth  Southwick  of  Sandwich,  Mass., 
came  to  Gorham  from  Portland  about  1805.  By  his  second  wife  Mr. 
Cobb  had  twin  sons,  born  and  died  May  29,  1803.  William  Cobb 
died  Feb.  12,  1844,  aged  76.  Mrs.  Phebe  Cobb  died  in  Windham, 
Apr.  27,  1854. 


COBURN. 

Jacob  Coburn  came  from  Dracut,  Mass.  Before  coming  to  Gorham 
he  had  kept  a  hotel  in  Newburyport,  and  also  in  Portland.  He 
settled  at  Little  Falls  about  1824, and  engaged  in  trade,  and"  is  said  to 
have  been  the  first  trader  to  locate  in  that  village.  He  was  Agent 
of  the  mills  of  the  Cumberland  Manufacturing  Co.,  and  was  also  a 
large  owner  in  boats  on  the  Oxford  and  Cumberland  Canal.  He 
built  at  Little  Falls  the  large  brick  house  since  occupied  by  Nathaniel 
Berry,  and  now  owned  by  George  W.  Heath.  Mr.  Coburn's  wife 
was  Mary .     Children  : 

Mary,  b.  Dec.  5,  1800,  m.  Byron  Greenough,  Nov.  10,  1822  ;  d.  Jan.  25,  1872  ; 
he  d.  Aug.,  187 1. 

Jacob,  b.  Mar.  29,  1S08,  m.  Evelina,  dau.  of  Joseph  and  Esther  Hamblen,  p. 
Apr.  12,  1835  ;  one  child,  Josepli  H.,  b.  Apr.  7,  1837,  m.  Kliza  J.  Sawyer 
of  Gray  ;  d.  June  18,  1901.  Mr.  Coburn  was  a  farmer  and  I'd  for  some 
years  on  the  Royal  Lincoln  place.  Mrs.  Evelina  Cobum  d.  Apr.  18, 
1837,  ag.  28,  and  soon  after  her  death  Mr.  Coburn  moved  to  Patten, 
thence  to  Otisfield,  and  finally  to  Mass.  He  m.  2d,  Tryphena  Hancock, 
and  had  one  child,  Henry  C.  Mr.  Coburn  d.  in  Winchester,  Mass., 
Sept.  II,  1882. 
Edwin,  b.  Dec.  5,  1813,  m.  Betsey  Coolbroth,  Dec.  7,  1834.  Ch:  Byron  G.,  b. 
Dec.  23,  1835,  '^-  Theano  J.  Pollard,  was  murdered  at  his  home  in 
Gorham,  Dec.  13,  1894;  Edwin,  b.  Nov.  7,  1837,  I's  in  S.  America; 
Charles  S.,  I's  in  New  York.  Mr.  Coburn  succeeded  his  father  in  trade 
at  Little  Falls.  About  the  time  that  his  brother  Jacob  went  to  Patten 
he  removed  to  the  Lincoln  place,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
life.     He  d.  Oct.  23,  1891,  and  his  wife  d.  May  20,   1884,  ag.  70. 

Jacob  Coburn  died  Aug.  2,  1855,  aged  76  years  and  10  months  ; 
and  his  wife  died  Oct.  30,  1856,  aged  76. 


444  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

CODMAN. 

James  Codman,  the  oldest  son  of  Dea.  Richard  Codman  of  Port- 
land, was  born  in  1763.  He  was  for  many  years  an  active,  energetic 
shipmaster,  and  acquired  an  honorable  name  and  a  good  property. 
He  came  to  Gorham  about  the  year  1790,  and  lived  on  the  old  Bux- 
ton (Flaggy  Meadow)  road,  on  the  hill,  which  is  called  to  this  day 
Codman's  hill.  Here  he  engaged  in  farming  and  also  kept  a  store 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road  in  the  building  which  still  stands 
there,  but  has  since  been  converted  into  a  dwelling  house.  He  mar- 
ried, Oct.  23,  1 79 1,  Elizabeth  Waite  of  Portland,  by  whom  he  had 
two  children  : 

Randolph,  A.  L.,  b.  1793,111.  Elizabeth  W.  Stephenson,  Jan.  6,  1825. 
Frederick,  b. ,  d.  in  Baltimore,  Md. 

After  the  death  of  his  wife  Elizabeth,  who  died  in  Jan.,  1797,  aged 
31,  Capt.  Codman  married  Abigail  Loring.  He  died  on  his  farm  in 
Gorham,  Jan.  3,  1840.  His  widow  Abigail  married  in  1844  Rev. 
Caleb  Bradley,  and  died  Aug.  16,  1855,  aged  75. 

(2)  Randolph  A.  L.  Codman,  son  of  Capt.  James,  married  Eliza- 
beth W.,  daughter  of  Col.  Samuel  and  Abigail  Stephenson.  Children  : 

Elizabeth,  b.  Apr.  21,  1826,  m.  Henry  G.  Day  ;  d.  Sept.  29,  1902  ;  he,  June   19, 

1902. 
Margaret,  b.  July    15,    1829,  m.  George  Payson,  Oct.  5,   1857  ;  d.  May  12,  1899. 
Catherine,  b.  July  15,  1829,  m.  Capt.  Sherwood  of  Iowa,  Jan.  27,  1857. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Codman  died  July  16,  1829,  and  Mr.  Codman 
married  Caroline  P.  Porter,  by  whom  he  had  two  children,  Annie  and 
Grace.  Mr.  Codman  was  a  prominent  lawyer  in  Portland,  in  which 
city  he  died. 

After  the  burning  of  Portland  by  Mowatt  in  1775,  Dea.  Richard 
Codman,  father  of  Capt.  James,  lived  for  a  time  in  Gorham  ;  not  far 
from  where  Freeman  Richardson  lately  lived.  His  house  probably 
stood  a  little  west  of  the  house  of  the  late  Merrill  Mother,  on  the 
northern  side  of  the  road. 

COFFIN. 

Isaac   Cofifin,  son  of   Simeon    and    Eleanor  ( )  Cofifin,  was 

born,  probably  in  Thorndike,  June  i,  1756.  The  first  I  find  of 
Isaac  Cofifin  in  Gorham,  and  his  is  the  first  of  the  name  here,  by  the 
old  tax  bills  was  in  1788,  and  I  find  him  as  late  as  1795.  Only 
three  of  his  children  are  recorded  here,  viz. :  James,  John  and  Molly. 
Soon  after  1795  he  exchanged  property   here  with  his  brother-in-law 


GENEALOGY.  445 

Jacob  H.  Clement,  and  took  property  in  Alfred  or  VVaterboro,  where 
he  moved  with  his  family,  and  afterward  joined  the  Shakers,  carrying 
his  property  with  him.  He  married  Lydia  Hubbard.  Their  children 
were  Peter,  James,  b.  Jan.  13,  1791  ;  John,  b.  Dec.  22,  1792  ;  Molly, 
b.  May  4,  1795  ;  Isaac  and  Eleanor.  Peter,  James,  John,  Isaac  and 
Eleanor  lived  and  died  with  the  Shakers.  Isaac  Coffin,  Sr.,  died 
May  16,  1841. 

COTTON. 

Deacon  William  Cotton  of  Portland  appears  among  the  Proprie- 
tors of  this  town  as  early  as  1743,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  any  of 
the  family  or  name  were  residents  till  1760,  when  William,  the  son 
of  Dea.  William,  moved  in  with  his  wife,  and  one  child  who  was  born 
in  Falmouth.  Soon  after,  John,  another  son  of  the  Deacon,  came 
here.  Dea.  Cotton  came  from  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  and  settled  in 
Portland  about  the  year  1732,  on  Fore  St.,  at  the  foot  of  Cotton  St., 

where  he  had  a  tannery.     He  was  twice  married  ;  first  to  Sarah , 

who  died  May  3,  1753,  and  second,  in  November,  1753,  to  Mrs. 
Martha  Hudson.  His  children,  all  of  whom,  excepting  Mary,  were 
by  his  first  wife,  were  : 

Sarah,  b.  ,  m.  Wm.  Thomes ;   2d,  Elisha  Turner. 

William,  b.  Oct.  24,  1739,  m.  Elizabeth  Cobb,  in  1759. 

John,  b.   1741,  m.  Rebecca  Bryant,  Aug.  5,  1769. 

Abigail,  b.  1742,  m.  Ebenezer  Owen,  1763. 

Mary,  b.  1754,  m.  Moses  Holt,  Jr.,  1771  ;  2d,  Rev.  Stephen  Hall,  1778. 

(2)  William  Cotton,  son  of  Dea.  William,  married  Elizabeth  Cobb. 
After  coming  to  Gorham,  they  first  settled  on  the  thirty  acre  lot,  65, 
lately  owned  by  Ezra  Thomes,  where  he  had  a  tannery  and  carried 
on  the  business  with  his  brother  John  for  some  years.  This  yard  has 
disappeared.  It  was  on  the  back  end  of  the  lot,  and  the  entrance  to 
it  was  by  a  two-rod  town  road  running  west  from  King  street,  between 
lots  65  and  121,  toward  where  Geo.  Elwell  lately  lived.  This  road 
was  discontinued  on  the  opening  of  Horse  Meadow  road,  so  called. 
Mr.  Cotton's  tannery  business  was  not  of  the  magnitude  of  the  pres- 
ent time  ;  only  to  tan  the  cowhides  and  calf  skins  of  his  neighbors, 
and  that  generally  on  a  share  ;  the  custom  of  the  time  being  for  about 
every  householder  to  kill  his  beef-creature  every  fall,  and  have  the 
skin  tanned  for  his  family's  shoes. 

Mr.  Cotton  became  a  zealous  Baptist  in  his  latter  days.  He  died 
leaving  the  reputation  of  an  honest,  upright  man.  The  children  of 
William  and  Elizabeth  Cotton,  all  born  in  Gorham  but  John,  who  was 
born  in  Falmouth  : 


446  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

John,  b.  Feb.  i6,  1760,  d.  at  New  Gloucester,  Oct.  15,  1847. 

Sarah,  b.  Dec.  4,  1761,  m.  Jonathan  Ehvell,  Feb.  5,  1794. 

Ebenezer,  b.  Feb.  18,  1764,  m.  Elizabeth  Chase,  Mar.  5,  1789. 

Susanna,  b.  Apr.  17,  1766,  m.  Nathan  Carsley,  Mar.  2,  1792. 

Mary,  b.  June  7,  1768. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Aug.  10,  1770. 

William,  b.  July  i,   1773,  was   a  sea -faring  man  ;  d.  unm.  in    Gorham,  Mar.  9, 

1854. 
Abigail,  b.  Aug.  26,  1775,  ^-  '"  Alfred,  Sept.  10,  1S46. 
Dorcas,  b.  Jan.  11,  1778,  d.  in  Alfred,  Dec.  17,  182 1. 

(2)     John  Cotton,  the  brother  of  WiUiam,  lived  above  Fort  Hill. 

His  house  was  on   the   left  hand  side   of  the   road,   and  has  been 

moved  back,  and  forms  the  ell  of  the  Motley  house.      He  married 

Rebecca  Bryant  of  Scarboro.     Their  children  were  : 

Eunice,  b.  Sept.  29,  1770. 

Loruhama,  b.  Aug.  22,   1772,  m.    John    Coffin,   Dec.   11,   1791  ;  went   with   the 

Shakers  to  Alfred. 
William,  b.  Oct.  5,  1776. 
Elisha,  b.  Apr.  25,  1779. 
John.  b.  Apr.  11,  1781. 

Pamela,  b.  Oct.  16,  1782,  d.  at  Alfred,  July  7,  1851. 
Samuel,  b.  June  6,  1784. 

Mr.  Cotton  was  a  peculiar  man.  He  had  a  great  gift  at  prayer 
and  exhortation,  and  was  of  a  very  religious  turn  of  mind.  He  also 
had  the  reputation  of  being  an  honest,  upright  man,  but  almost  a 
monomaniac  on  the  subject  of  religion,  and  the  old  Standing  Order 
of  clergymen,  as  they  were  then  called.  Parson  Smith  speaks  of  John 
Cotton  exhorting  and  praying  about  the  streets  in  Falmouth,  and  of 
his  disturbing  him  in  his  meetings,  and  puts  him  down  as  insane. 
He  often  made  disturbances  in  the  meetings  in  Gorham,  by  telling 
Rev.  Mr.  Jewett,  when  preaching,  that  he  lied ;  or  by  commencing 
his  wild  exhortation  when  the  services  of  the  meeting  were  going  on, 
had  to  be  removed  from  the  house,  and  put  under  keepers  till  the  ser- 
vices were  over,  at  which  time  he  would  work  himself  into  a  perfect 
frenzy,  denouncing  his  opponents  as  persecutors,  calling  down  the 
vengeance  of  heaven  on  all,  and  curses  on  their  heads  to  the  last 
generation.  This  was  in  the  time  of  the  Come-outers,  or  New 
Lights,  as  they  were  called,  and  some  there  were  who,  in  their  zeal 
for  the  new  order  of  things  and  opposition  to  the  Standing  Order, 
were  fain  to  call  Cotton  an  inspired  man  and  to  say  that  these  parox- 
ysms of  frenzy  were  the  working  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  him.  He 
went  with  the  Free  Will  Baptists,  where  he  was  made  an  Elder,  and 
an  unordained  preacher  in  1790,  under  the  ministrations  of  Rev. 
James  McCorson,  but  even  here  things  did  not  go  smoothly  with 
him.  He  was  often  brought  before  the  Quarterly  Meeting  for  his 
singularities.     At  one  meeting,  it  was  "concluded  that  John   Cotton 


GENEALOGY.  447 

has  a  gift  to  improve  in  the  church,  but  it  is  possible  he  has  some- 
times spoken  too  much,  or  often  spoken  after  he  should  have  left 
off."  The  Religious  Magazine  says,  "  This  Cotton  had  an  excellent 
gift  of  exhortation,  but  it  may  be  said  of  him,  as  it  was  of  Elias,  he 
was  a  man  subject  to  like  passions  as  we  are,  and  sometimes  his  zeal 
for  God  carried  him  to  a  great  length,  and  exposed  him  to  great 
persecutions." 

I  have  dealt  somewhat  at  length  with  John  Cotton,  for  he  was  quite 
a  character  in  the  time  of  the  New  Lights,  but  he  finally  died  quietly 
at  his  home,  and  no  one  called  him  a  bad  man.  We  have  not  the 
date  of  his  death. 

(3)  Ebenezer  Cotton,  third  child  of  William  and  Elizabeth,  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Chase.  From  this  couple  all  of  the  name  now  in  town 
are  descended.  They  settled  and  lived  on  the  farm  recently  owned 
by  William  Cotton,  deceased,  near  West  Gorham.  Their  children 
were : 

Joseph,  b.  Oct.  26,  1789,  m.  Mehitable  Snow,  Nov.  20,  181 7.  Ch  :  Ebenezer,  b. 
Sept  24,  i8i8,  d.  Jan.  9,  1S48  ;  Dorcas  S.,  b.  May  22,  1821,  m.  N. 
Hutchinson  of  Fryeburg,  Sept.  2,  1848  ;  Mary,  b.  Apr.  25,  1825,  d.  y.  ; 
Hannah,  b.  July  15,  1827,  d.  Dec.  12,  1850;  Joseph  J.,  b.  Apr.  3,  1832; 
William  S.,  b.  Sept.  21,  1834,  m.  Mary  E.  Emery  of  Buxton,  Mar.  11, 
i860,  d.  May  7,  1862.     Joseph  Cotton  d.  May  15,  1S54. 

Susanna,  b.  Mar.  12,  1791,  m.  Chas.  Hamblen,  May  25,  18 17. 

Nathaniel,  b.  May  20,  1794. 

Polly,  b.  Apr.  30,  1796,  d.  Apr.  14,  1825. 

Lydia,  b.  Mar.  20,  1799,  m.  Cotton  Owen  of  Portland,  Nov.  25,  1817.  (Mr. 
Owen  was  a  descendant  of  Ebenezer  Owen  and  Abigail  Cotton,  who 
were  married  in  1763.) 

William,  b.  Oct.  12,  1801,  m.  Maria,  dau.  of  Joseph  Sturgis,  Mar.  23,  1835.  Ch: 
Charles  B.,  b.  Nov.  5,  1836,  m.  Lizzie  E.  Douglass,  Oct.  25,  1862  ; 
Howard,  b.  Dec.  9,  1843,  '"".  Hannah  E.  Billings,  Sept.  24,  1867.  Wil- 
liam Cotton  I'd  on  the  place  formerly  owned  by  his  father,  where  he  d. 
Mar.  27,  1876  ;  his  wife  d.  July  23,   1885. 

Elizabeth,  wife  of  Ebenezer  Cotton,  died  May  1 1,  1838. 

CRESSEY. 

As  far  back  as  any  of  the  name  can  be  traced,  there  lived  a  family 
in  Beverly,  Essex  County,  Mass.,  by  the  name  of  Cressey,  and  the 
head  of  this  family  whose  name  was  John  Cressey  had  eight  children, 
five  sons  and  three  daughters  ;  John,  Daniel,  Joseph,  Richard  and 
Ebenezer,  Mary,  Ruth  and  Anna.  It  is  supposed  that  about  the 
year  1745,  the  several  members  of  this  family  moved  to  different 
places.  John  moved  eastward  and  settled  in  Gorham,  then  Narra- 
gansett  No.  7.  Daniel  moved  to  New  Sharon,  N.  H.,  thence  to 
Hopkinton,  and  finally  settled  in  the  town  of  Bradford,  N.  H.     Joseph 


448  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

moved  to  Charlemont,  west  of  the  Connecticut  river,  in  Mass.  Rich- 
ard moved  to  Bradford,  where  his  brother  Daniel  lived.  Eben  lived 
in  Abington,  Conn.  The  daughters  all  lived  in  Connecticut.  Mary 
married  Abner  Ashley,  Ruth  married  Samuel  Ashley,  and  Anna 
married  Nathan  Griggs. 

John,  the  eldest  son,  who  settled  in  Gorham,  was  born  July  31, 
172 1,  and  was  about  twenty-five  or  twenty-six  years  old  when,  about 
1747,  he  married  Deborah,  daughter  of  Capt.  Amos  Wadley  of  Boston. 
He  came  to  Gorham  when  his  son  John  was  an  infant,  and  settled 
first  on  the  hundred  acre  lot,  69,  or  70,  west  of  Little  river,  near 
where  David  Warren  lately  lived.  From  thence  having  exchanged 
farms  with  Chas.  McDonald  he  moved  to  the  thirty  acre  lot,  53, 
where  he  lived  a  part  of  the  time  during  the  Indian  war. 

Mr.  Cressey  built  his  first  house  on  the  above-named  thirty  acre 
lot,  near  where  Charles  Cressey's  cider  house  now  stands.  x\t  the 
time  of  his  coming  to  Gorham,  1749,  or  1750,  the  Indians  in  conse- 
quence of  their  many  defeats  had  become  less  troublesome,  though 
they  were  often  seen,  singly  or  in  small  parties,  but  committed  but 
little  depredation,  as  the  settlers  had  become  better  armed  and  more 
wary.  Nevertheless,  many  of  the  settlers  who  were  near  enough 
made  the  fort  their  home  during  the  night.  Such  was  the  case  with 
Mr.  Cressey.  Although  his  name  does  not  appear  with  those  who 
made  the  fort  their  home  during  the  Indian  war,  the  fact  is  that  he 
did  so  most  of  the  time  with  his  wife  and  children,  always  going  to 
the  fort  to  spend  the  nights.  He  had  a  road  across  lots  direct  to  the 
fort,  which  was  a  short  half  mile  from  his  clearing.  The  first  land 
he  cleared  was  in  front  of  his  log  house,  on  the  thirty  acre  lot,  53. 
Here  he  would  work,  while  his  wife  and  her  son  John  would  sit  on  a 
stump  with  the  gun  by  her  side  in  order  to  give  the  alarm,  should 
the  Indians  appear.  At  one  time,  while  husband  and  wife  were  thus 
situated,  an  Indian  came  upon  them.  Discovering  Mr.  Cressey  at 
work,  and  not  seeing  his  wife,  he  crept  stealthily  toward  Mr.  Cressey, 
with  his  tomahawk  raised  and  knife  ready,  not  being  armed  with  a 
gun.  Mrs.  Cressey  sat  with  her  gun  in  her  hand,  with  fear  and 
trembling.  When  the  enemy  got  quite  near  to  her  husband  she 
could  bear  it  no  longer,  his  danger  overcame  her  fear.  She  rose  up 
and  called  out  to  him,  at  the  same  time  pointing  her  gun  toward  the 
Indian,  who  thought  it  prudent  to  beat  a  hasty  retreat,  for  the  savages 
had  had  several  lessons  that  had  taught  them  that  the  '■  white  squaws  " 
were  not  bad  shots.  Here  the  couple  lived  and  toiled.  Mrs.  Cres- 
sey, although  reared  in  the  city  of  Boston,  and  never  having  known 


GENEALOGY.  449 

what  hard  work  was,  took  hold  resolutely  with  her  husband,  taking 
care  of  the  house  and  aiding  in  the  field,  helping  him  in  the  toilsome 
work  of  cutting  and  piling  up  the  partially  burned  logs  in  order  to 
clear  the  land  for  crops,  often  not  knowing  from  whence  the  next 
meal  of  victuals  was  to  come.  Sometimes  there  was  not  a  particle 
of  food  in  their  house,  nor  did  they  know  where  they  could  obtain 
any.  Such  was  the  case  one  day  when  they  were  at  work  on  their 
land.  The  season  was  advancing ;  their  crops  must  be  in  ;  if  they 
were  to  raise  anything  they  had  no  time  to  spare,  they  must  work, 
and  then  hunt  for  food.  While  thus  at  work,  nearly  dead  for  want 
of  food,  Mrs.  Cressey  found  a  partridge  nest,  with  thirteen  eggs  in  it. 
This  was  good  fortune,  and  when  their  day's  work  was  done  they 
had  a  good  square  supper  of  partridge  eggs  on  which  to  go  to  rest. 
Bread  was  hard  to  be  got.  When  they  first  came  into  town  they 
could  occasionally  procure  game  when  their  work  would  allow  them 
time  for  hunting  and  when  they  thought  the  Indians  were  not  prowl- 
ing around. 

Mr.  Cressey  died  in  1785,  and  his  wife  Deborah,  in  1796.  Their 
children  were  : 

John,  b.  Feb.  22,  1749,  m.  Susanna  McDonald. 

Joseph,  b.  Oct.  26,  1753,  m.  Hannah  Ashley,  Aug.  28,  1776. 

Betsey,  b.  Apr.  18,  1757,  m.  Simon  Harding,  Jan.,  1775  ;  I'd  in  Baldwin. 

Mary,  b.  May  i,  1762,  m.  David  Watts,  Oct.  4,  1784. 

Job,      S  ^-  ^'^^y  ^  17*35,  ■,  d_  ;,,  ,765 

(2)  John  Cressey,  the  eldest  son  of  John,  married,  Dec.  i,  1770, 
Susanna  McDonald,  who  was  probably  the  sister  of  Charles  McDon- 
ald. Soon  after  his  marriage  Mr.  Cressey  purchased  a  farm  in 
Buxton,  near  what  was  formerly  called  Spruce  Swamp,  now  Grove- 
ville,  where  by  industry  and  prudence  he  brought  up  a  family,  and 
left  a  good  farm,  which  is  still  owned  by  his  descendants.  Two  of 
his  children,  Daniel  and  Betsey,  were  born  in  Gorham ;  Daniel 
married  Elizabeth  Harding  of  Baldwin,  and  Betsey  married  Edmund 
Watson.  Another  of  his  sons,  Benjamin,  was  captured  in  a  privateer 
during  the  W'ar  of  181 2,  and  for  some  time  held  a  prisoner  in  Dart- 
moor Prison.      Mr.  Cressey  died  Dec.  23,  1842,  in  Buxton. 

(2)  Joseph  Cressey,  second  son  of  John,  married  Hannah  Ashley, 
his  Qousin,  daughter  of  Abner  of  Pomfret  (or  Hampton),  Conn.  He 
remained  in  Connecticut  a  while,  and  in  Pomfret  in  that  State,  his 
oldest  son,  Ebenezer,  was  born,  Jan.  16,  1779.  At  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Revolution,  when  Capt.  Williams'  company  was  raised, 
Mr.  Cressey  enlisted  as  a  private,  marched  to  Cambridge  and  thence 


450  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

with  Col.  Phinney's  regiment  to  Ticonderoga.     This  military  service 

was  before  his  marriage.     Mr.  Cressey  lived  on  his  father's  old  place, 

where  he  carried  on  the  tanner's  and  shoemaker's    business,  until 

Dec.   20,  1804,  when   he   moved   out   to  the   main    road,  called   the 

Flaggy  Meadow  road,  where  he  had  purchased  a  farm  of  Barnabas 

Harding — the    hundred    acre    lot    67, —  where    Miss    Martha    Ann 

Cressey  now  lives.     In  less  than  a  year,  Sept.  5,  1805,  his  buildings 

seven   in    number   were  consumed  by   fire   and   he   with   his  famity 

returned  to  the  old  farm  where  he  remained  until  he  had  finished 

new  buildings,  November,   181 1,  when  he  came  back  to  the  road, 

where  he  lived  till  his  decease,  July  22,  1832.     His  wife  survived 

him   several  years,  and  died  Dec.  27,  1848,  aged  89.     Mr.  Cressey 

was  never  an  aspirant  for  military  or  civil  honors.     He  and  his  wife 

were    members    of   the   Congregational    church,    in   good   standing. 

They  never  ate  the  bread  of  idleness  ;  hard  working,  industrious  and 

prudent,  they  accumulated  a  handsome  property,  and  left  numerous 

descendants,  who  rank  among  our  best  citizens.     The  children  of 

Joseph  and  Hannah  Cressey  were  : 

Ebenezer,  b.  Jan.  ifi,  1779,  m.  Sally  Chick,  Aug.  6,  1S03. 

Elvin,  b.  July  12,  1781,  d.  unm.  Apr.  24,  1799. 

John,  b.  Aug.  22,  1785,  m.  Martha  Higgins,  Apr.  8,  1812. 

Joseph,  b.  Mar.  14,  1788,  m.  Sarah  Watts,  Jan.  21,  1817;  2d,  Sarah  Harding. 

Mary,  b.  Sept.  6,  1792,  m.  William  Ashley,  Mar.  6,  181 5. 

Sally,  b.  Mar.  7,  1796,  d.  unm.  May  14,  1814. 

Noah,  b.  July  28,  1798,  m.  Hannah  Watts,  Feb.  22,  1820. 

(3 )  Ebenezer  Cressey,  son  of  Joseph,  lived  on  the  Standish  road, 
on  the  thirty  acre  lot,  38.  He  married  Sally  Chick  of  Berwick,  Me., 
or  Somersworth,  N.  H.     Children  : 

Alvin,  b.  Feb.  27,  1806,  m.  Sarah  Flagg,  of  Topsham,  Mar.,  1S38.  Ch  :  Eliza  A., 
b.  Feb.  22,  1839,  d.  Sept.  14,  1869;  Eben  F.,b.  Apr.  20,  i84r,d.  in  1866; 
Caroline  A.,  b.  Mar.  11,  1843,  d.  in  1869;  Elizabeth  M.,  b.  Sept.  17, 
1845,  d.  Jan.  8,  1850 ;  Mattie,  b.  May  3,  1S49,  m.  Hon.  Frederick  Robie, 
Jan.  10,  1900;  Hattie  E.,  b.  Aug.  31,  1851,  d.  in  18S8.  Mr.  Cressey  I'd  on 
his  father's  place;  d.  Apr.  30.  1858;  his  wife  d.  in  May,  1888,  aged  78. 

Caroline,  b.  May  19,  1S08,  m.  Oliver  Yeaton  of  Somersworth  ;  d.  about  1895. 

Martha,  b.  Apr.  25,  18 10,  m.  Daniel  McCorrison  of  Standish  ;  d.  in  1851. 

Joseph,  b.  Mar.  10,  181 2,  d.  in  1858. 

John  R.,  b.  Oct.  8,  1814,  d.  in  Boston,  in  1892,  unm. 

Mary  E.,  b.  Sept.  16,  1818,  m.  Dr.  John  G.  Pike  of  Somersworth,  N.  H. 

Eliza  Ann,  b.  Dec.  19,  1820,  d.  Qct.  26,  1831. 

Ebenezer  Cressey  died  July  31,  1829.  aged  50  ;  his  wife  died  Feb. 
14,  1863,  aged  79. 

(3)  John  Cressey,  son  of  Joseph,  lived  on  his  father's  homestead, 
on  the  Flaggy  Meadow  road.  He  married  Martha,  daughter  of 
Ebenezer  and  Rebecca  Higgins.     Children  : 


GENEALOGY.  451 

Hannah  A.,  b.  Dec.  25.  1813,  m.  Wm.  Dudley,  Apr.  1 1,  1834. 

Samuel,  b.  Aug.  12,  1815,  d.  young. 

Samuel,  b.  Jan.  21,  1817,  m   June,  1847,  I^^ebecca,  dau.  of  Joseph  and  Louisa 

Harding;   I'd  on  the  place  owned  by  his  father  and  grandfather  before 

him  ;  d.  Feb   22,  1893  ^  '""'^  wife  d.  Apr.  26,  1896,  aged  74.  Ch  :    tUa,  b. 

May  2,  1851  ;  Henry,  b.  Jan.  28,  1855,  m.  Villie  E.  Bragdon  of  Buxton, 

Nov.  30,  1890. 
Albert,  b.  Feb.  14,  1820,  m.  Emily  A.  C.  Hobson  of  Buxton,  Dec.  21,  1852, 

who  died  Nov.  23,  1853,  aged  23,  and  he  m.  June  4,  1854,  Elizabeth,  dau. 

of  David  Patrick.  Ch  :  Emma  H.,  b.  Nov.  22,  1855;  Edwin  G.,  b.  Oct.  8, 

1857,  m.  Nellie  Clement;  Nellie,  b.  Apr.   16,  1861  ;  Ernest,  b.  Feb.  27, 

i86g,  m.   Fannie  M.  Baker  of  Boston,  Apr.  21,   1897.     Mrs.  Elizabeth 

Cressey  d.  July  19,  1S82,  aged  55. 
Martha  Ann,  b.  Sept.  7,  1822,  I's  on  the  old  place. 
Thaddeus  P.,  b.  Feb.  23,  1826,  m.  Asenath  C.  Swain  of  Dover,  N.  IL,  Aug., 

1850;  I'd  in  Dover;  d.  Feb.  22,  1895. 

John  Cressey  died  Sept.  21,  1871,  aged  86;  Mrs.  Cressey  died 
Mar.  27,  1863,  aged  79. 

(3)  Joseph  Cressey,  son  of  Joseph,  lived  for  many  years  on  the 
farm  which  was  cleared  by  John  Cressey  the  lirst,  on  which  the  old 
log  house  was  situated.  Here  he  lived  until  he  bought  out  his 
brother  Noah,  and  moved  on  to  his  farm.  He  married  Sarah, 
daughter  of  Capt.   David  Watts.      Children  : 

Charles  H.,  b.  Nov.  21,  1817,  m.  Sarah  W.  Anderson  of  Windham,  who  d.  July 
7,  1851,  aged  29,  and  Mr.  Cm.  her  sister,  Emeline  Anderson.  Ch: 
Herbert  B.,  b.  May  29,  1856,  m.  Ella  Warren  of  Hopkinton,  Mass. ; 
Julia  F.,  b.  Feb.  6,  1858,  m.  Charles  Clement,  Dec.  25,  1S97  ;  Hattie  P., 
b.  July  28,  i860;  Guy  R.  P.,  b.  Nov.  12,  1862,  m.  Hattie  Whitney  of 
Staiidish,  Mar.  19,  1892.     Charles  Cressey  d.  Nov.  22,  1872. 

Joseph,  b.  Oct.  30,  1820,  m.  Rhoda  Lowell  of  Hiram,  June  7,  1853.  Ch  :  Isa- 
bel Marie,  b.  Apr.  9,  1854,  d.  Mar.  7,  1864;  Francis  O.,  b.  Mar.  18,  1858, 
d.  F"eb.  9,  1864;  Carrie  Emma,  b.  July  28,  i860,  m.  Abial  Rounds,  Nov. 
18,  1891  ;  Laura  Celia,  b.  Jan.  29,  1862,  d.  Feb.  10,  1864.  Mrs.  Cressey 
d.  Sept.  20,  1868,  aged  36,  and  Mr.  Cressey  m.  Sarah  E.  Libby  of  Lim- 
erick, Nov.  24,  1870;  one  son,  Joseph  Francis,  b.  Dec.  30,  1871.  Mr. 
Cressey  d.  in  Newfield,  Aug.  28,  1898. 

Emily,  b.  Dec.  23,  1824,  m.  Thos.  H.  Smith  of  Buxton,  Nov.,  1851  ;  d.  Sept.  16, 
1855. 

William  W.,  b.  Oct.  i,  1828,  m.  Frances  Ellen,  dau.  of  Robert  Rounds,  Jan.  26, 
1854.  Ch :  Charles  R.,  b.  Dec.  7,  1854,  m.  Annie  Johnson,  Nov.  12, 
1S82  ;  Mary  L.,  b.  Oct.  13,  i86r,  d  Feb.  27,  1864  ;  Melville  W.,  b.  Feb. 
2,  1867,  m.  Jeannette  Fifield.     William  W.  Cressey  d.  May  2,  1892. 

Mary  Eliza,  b.  Oct.  29,  1835,  d.  unm.  Jan.  3,  1866. 

Edward  K.,  b.  Mar.  12,  1838,  d.  Sept.  12,  1863. 

Mrs.  Cressey  died  Sept.  29,  1847,  aged  53,  and  Mr.  Cressey  mar- 
ried, Jan.  7,  1849,  Sarah  J.  Harding  of  Baldwin,  by  whom  he  had  : 

Sarah  Ellen,  b.  Feb.  21,  1853,  m.  Fred  A.  Giddings. 
John  H.,  b.  Jan.  3,  1857. 

Mr.  Cressey  died  Feb.  9.  1858,  aged  70  years. 

(3)  Noah  Cressey,  son  of  Joseph,  lived  where  William  Cressey's 
family  now  live,  on  the  thirty  acre  lot,  No.  40,  until  he  sold  out  to 


452  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

his  brother  Joseph,  when  he  moved  to  Standish,  and  went  into  trade 
there.  He  married  Hannah,  daughter  of  Capt.  David  Watts.  Chil- 
dren : 

Sally,  b.  Apr.  i8,  1820,  m.  Hugh  Moore  of  Standish. 

William,  b.  Jan.  ro,  1823,  d.  young. 

Harriet,  b.  Sept.  23,  1824,  m.  Jonathan  Clay  of  Buxton,  Aug.  18,  1846. 

George,  b.  May  24,  1829,  m.  Harriet  Smith. 

Eliza  A.,  b.  Aug.  9,  1S31,  d.  unm. 

Almon,  b. ,  m.  Abbie  Boothby. 

Noah    Cressey  died    in   Standish,  Apr.   20,    1839,  aged  40.     His 
wife  also  died  in  Standish. 


CROCKETT. 

There  seem  to  have  been  at  least  three  distinct  families  of  this 
name  who  came  early  to  town  and  as  it  appears  were  not  related  to 
each  other.     In  the  old  deeds  we  find  the  name  spelled  "  Crockit." 

Samuel  Crockett,  the  first  of  the  name  that  we  find  in  town,  was 

the  son  of  Richard,  and  grandson  of  Ephraim  Crockett,  whose  father, 

Thomas  was  of  Kittery  in  1647.     Samuel,  who  was  born  in  February, 

17 17,  came  from  New  Hampshire,  and  settled  in  Falmouth  (Portland) 

where  he  lived  on  the  northeast  corner  of   Middle  and  Plum   Sts. 

From  his  grandson,  Nathaniel  Crockett  of  Portland,  we  learn  that  he 

had  a  grant  of  land  in  Gorham  which  he  exchanged  for  land  on  the 

foreside  of  Portland.     His  occupation  was  that  of  a  shipwright.     He 

married  in  1738,  (pub.  Mar.  10,)  Sarah,  daughter  of  Jonathan  Cobb. 

She  was  born  in  March,  .1717.     There  is  no  perfect  record  of  their 

children,  but  there  were  : 

Sarah,  bapt.  in  1740. 

Betty,  bapt.  in  1741,  m.  Jonathan  Fickett  of  Buxton,  Dec.  21,  1763. 

Susannah,  b.  about  1743,  m.  Moses  Whitney,  Dec.  27,  1760. 

In    1750,  Mr.   Crockett  married   Mrs.  Priscilla  (Swett)   Jackman, 

daughter  of  John  Swett  of  Falmouth,  by  whom  he  had : 

Samuel,  b.  Sept.  6,  1752,  m.  Tabitha  Hamblen,  p.  Feb.  2,  1771  ;  2d,  Elizabeth 

Fickett. 
Martha  A.,  b.  Nov.  29,  1754,  m.  Nathaniel  Hill  of  Buxton,  Dec.  30,  1773. 
Dorcas,  b.  Apr.  14,  1756,  m.  Daniel  Merrill  of  Falmouth,  Jan.  12,  1775. 
Abigail,  b.  Apr.  10,  1758,  m.  Silas  Chadbourn,  Apr.  23,  1775. 

Mrs.  Priscilla  Crockett  died  Mar.  7,  1763,  and  Mr.  Crockett  mar- 
ried, June  10,  1763,  Mrs.  Maiy  Whitney,  widow  of  Abel  Whitney  of 
Gorham. 

According  to  the  record  of  deeds,  Samuel  Crockett  was  of  Fal- 
mouth in  1754,  and  of  Gorham  in  1755.  He  probably  moved  to 
Gorham  in  1755.     He  built  and   occupied  the  two   story  house  on 


GENEALOGY.  453 

Main  St.  in  this  village  which  he  sold  to  Rev.  Caleb  Jewett,  (lately 
occupied  by  Henr)'  Broad).  It  is  probable  that  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Crockett  lived  during  the  latter  part  of  their  life  at  West  Gorham 
with  their  son  Samuel  Crockett,  Jr.  The  lot  on  which  the  latter 
settled,  as  well  as  the  seventy  acre  lot  on  which  Isaac  and  Mary 
Whitney  lived,  were  located  and  run  out  by  Mr.  Crockett.  Samuel 
Crockett  died  Dec.  19,  1798,  aged  82.  His  wife  Mary  died  about 
1794.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Crockett  are  buried  in  the  old  cemetery 
at  the  village. 

(2)  Samuel  Crockett,  Jr.,  son  of  Samuel,  lived  at  West  Gorham, 
on  the  hundred  acre  lot,  79,  which  land  jomed  that  of  Nathaniel 
Cobb.  His  house  was  on  the  road  leading  to  Fort  Hill.  He  mar- 
ried Tabitha  Hamblen,  who  was  probably  the  daughter  of  Jacob  and 
Content  Hamblen.      Children  : 

Eunice,  b. ,  1771,  d.  young. 

William,  b.  Sept.  19,  1772,  m.  Nancy  Fickett  of  Stroudwater. 
Nancy,  b.  Sept.  18,  1774,  m.  Caleb  Page  of  Conway,  Dec,  1797. 
vSusanna,  b.  July  31,  1777,10.  Joseph  Bradbury,  Jr.,  July   22,  1798. 
Content,  b.  May  iS,  1779,  m.  Joseph  Moody  of  Bu.xton,  Aug.  i,  1S02. 
Martha,  b.  Mar.  19,  1781,  m.  James  Merrill  of  Buxton. 

Joseph,  b.  Oct.  11,  1782,  m.  Mary  Bradbury  (sister  to  Jos.  B.,  Jr.,  above),  Nov. 
28,  1813. 

Mrs.  Tabitha  Crockett  died  soon  after  the  birth  of  her  son  Joseph, 
and  Mr.  Crockett  married,  Apr.  17,  1783,  Elizabeth  Fickett  of  Bux- 
ton, by  whom  he  had  : 

John,  b.  ,  d.  young. 

James,  b.  Dec.  14,  1785,  m.  Sally  Poor  of  Portland. 

John,  1).  Mar.  11,  17S8,  m.  Sally  Richards  of  Cape  Elizabeth. 

Samuel,  b.  Feb.  20,  1790,  m.  Priscilla  Flarmon,  Mar.  6,  1817  ;  2d,  Harriet  Fol- 
som. 

Mary,  b.  Feb.  3,  1792,  m.  Col.  Seward  Merrill,  Sept.  13,  1829. 

Nathaniel,  b.  Apr.  22,  1794,  m.  Nancy  Sisk ;  2d,  Florinda  True  of  New  Glou- 
cester; was  a  hard -ware  dealer  in  Portland. 

Silas,  b.  .^ug.  5,  1796,  m.  Hannah  Marriner  of  Cape  Elizabeth  ;  she  d.  Dec.  28, 
1853.  ag.  65;   he,  in  De.xter,  May  24,  1868. 

Daniel,  b.  May  21,  1800,  m.  Ellen  Thomas  of  Charleston,  S.  C,  Mar.  19,  1829; 
d.  at  St,  Augustine,  Fla. 

Samuel  Crockett  died  March  8,  1830,  aged  78,  and  his  wife  Eliza- 
beth, March  6,  1845,  aged  88. 

(3)  Samuel  Crockett,  son  of  Samuel,  Jr.,  lived  at  West  Gorham 

on  his  father's  homestead,  where  his  son   George  now  resides.     He 

married  Priscilla  Harmon  of  Ikixton.     Children  : 

Thomas  H.,  b.  Dec.  8,  1817,  d.  Oct.  27,  1839. 

Eliza  C,  b.  Apr.  26,  1820;  m.  Randall  Johnson  ;  d.  in  Wisconsin,  May  14,  1855. 

Mrs.  Priscilla  Crockett  died  Nov.  5,  1822.  aged  28,  and  Mr. 
Crockett  married,  June  13,  1825,  Harriet,  daughter  of  Dr.  Folsom, 
by  whom  he  had  : 


454  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

George  W.,  b.  Apr.  i6,  1826,  m.  Nancy,  dau.  of  Luther  Tappan,  June  15,  1852. 

Ch:  Chas.   E.,  b.  Mar.  12,  1853;  Nelson  H.,  b.  Apr.    12,   1857,  m.   Ella 

Files,  Jan.  13,  1885. 
Edward  C,  b.  Dec.  17,  1828,01.   Martha  Philbrick  of  Thorndike.  Ch  :  George 

E.,  Hattie  G. 
Priscilla,  b.  Aug.  17,  1831,  d.  Aug.  i,  1S53. 

Capt.  Samuel  Crockett  died  Sept.  15,  1855.      Mrs.  Harriet  Crock- 
ett died  Mar.  23,  1851,  aged  51. 


Peletiah,  Andrew  and  Jonathan  Crockett,  probably  came  from 
Stratham,  N.  H.  Mrs.  Eunice  Hambury,  daughter  of  Peletiah,  said 
the  three  were  brothers,  and  that  they  had  a  brother  David,  who 
lived  in  Ossipee,  N.  H.,  and  who  had  a  son  David  living  (1878)  in 
that  town. 

May  31,  1762,  Peletiah  Crockett  of  Stratham,  N.  H.  bought  one 
half  of  the  hundred  acre  lot,  25.  He  also  purchased,  of  Abel  Whit- 
ney in  1764,  five  acres  of  land,  "  on  the  northerly  side  of  s^  Crockett's 
land  "  running  "  westerly  60  rods,  and  by  the  road  so  far  north  as  to 
make  up  the  five  acres."     On  this  latter  lot  he  probably  lived  when 

he  first  came  to  town.      He  married  Mary ,  and  their  children 

were  : 

Susanna,  b.  in  Stratham,  May  4,  1761,  m.' Joseph  Phinney,  June  18,  1780. 
Phebe,  b.  in  Stratham,  July  4,  1762,  m.  Moses  Hanscom,  Apr.  23,  1781. 
Rebecca,  b.  in  Gorham,  Feb.  26,  1767,  m.  Asa  Hatch,  May  6,  1783. 
John,  b.  in  Gorham,  Mar.  7,  1776,  m.  Betsey  Plunt,  Dec.  15,  1796. 

There  were  probably  other  children,  but  there  is  no  record  of  them. 

Martha  Crockett,  who  married  John  Carsley,  Jr.,  Apr.  16,  1790,  may 

have  been  of  this  family.     Mrs.  Mary  Crockett  died  Sept.  25,  1801, 

and   Mr.   Crockett   married,  July    18,    1802,    Mrs.    Lucy    (Roberts) 

Seiver,   daughter   of  Joshua   Roberts,   and  widow  of  Philip  Seiver. 

About  this  time  Mr.  Crockett  moved  on  to  a  part  of  the  old  MuUoy 

place,  near  the  brook.     The  children  of  Peletiah  and  Lucy  Crockett 

were  : 

Eunice,  b.  June  8,  1803,  m.  Benjamin  Hambury  of  Portland,  Apr.  14,  1832. 
Caroline,  b.  Aug.  14,  1805,  m.  Levi  Knight  of  Westbrook,  p.  1835. 

After  Mr.  Crockett's  death  his  widow  Lucy  married  Lieut.  Silas 
Chadbourn,  and  4th,  Richard  Edwards. 

(2)     John  Crock'ett,  son   of  Peletiah   and   Mary,   married    Betsey 

Hunt.     They  lived  and  died  in   Gorham.      He  died  Aug.   8,    1843  ; 

she,  Dec.  30,  1851,  aged  73.     Children: 

Nabby,  b.  July  i,  1797,  prob.  m.  William  Frost,  p.  1S16. 
Charles,  b.  July  23,  1799,  d.  young. 

Mary,  b.  Jan.  7,  1802,  m.  Joseph  Harmon,  Aug.  24,  1820. 
Caroline,  b.  Feb.  17,  1804,  d.  young. 


GENEALOGY.  455 

Angelina,  b.  Feb.  22,  1806,  m.  Eli  Phinney,  Feb.  23,  1828;  2d,  Benjamin  Phin- 

ney;  3d,  Mr.  Magrath;  4th,  Rev.  G.  W.   Whitney. 
Catherine,  b.  Feb.  29,  1808. 
Albert,  b   Mar.  18,   i8ro. 

Eliza,  b.  Mar  8,  1812,  m.  Frederick  Fogg  of  Saco,  Sept.  15,  1830. 
Martha,  b.  Apr.  17,  1814. 
Daniel  H.,  b.  Oct.  16,  1816,  d.  young. 
Susan,  b.  Nov.  22,  181 9,  m.  and  I'd  in  Mass. 

Andrew  Crockett  purchased,  Oct.  19,  1764,  the  eastern  half  of  the 
hundred  acre  lot,  26.  He  is  named  in  the  deed  as  of  Narragansett, 
No.  7.  He  was  married,  Nov.  8,  1764,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Deane  of 
Falmouth,  to  Rebecca  Hunt,  probably  the  daughter  of  Ichabod  and 
Susanna  Hunt,  then  of  Portland,  but  afterwards  of  Gorham.  Chil- 
dren, the  oldest  born  in   Falmouth  : 

Ephraim,  b.  Jan.  13,  1766,  m.  Martha  Gray,  Jan.  5,  1792. 

David,  b.  July  21,  1768,  d   in  Gorham. 

Mehitable,  b.  July  21,  177 1,  m.  Joseph  Richardson. 

Ebenezer,  b.  July  27,  1775. 

Rebecca,  b.  Feb.  25,  1781,  m.  Isaac  Libby,  Dec.  20,  179S. 

Mrs.  Crockett  died  about  the  time  of  the  birth  of  her  daughter 
Rebecca  and  Mr.  Crockett  married  (pub.  Oct.  27,  1781)  Abigail 
Wallis,  daughter  of  John  Wliite  of  Cape  Elizabeth.  After  Andrew 
Crockett's  death,  his  widow  Abigail  married,  Aug.  6,  1789,  Nathaniel 
Chick  of  Falmouth,  and  died  in   Limington  in  1820. 

Jonathan  Crockett  we  find,  purchased  of  Solomon  Lombard,  Esq., 

the   hundred   acre   lot,  28,  (the  old    Daniel    Merrill  farm.)  Dec.  11, 

1772.      He  came  to  Gorham  from  Falmouth,  where  his  oldest  child 

was  born.     His  wife  was  Anna  Dearborn  of  Boston.     Children  : 

David,  b.  Dec.  7,  1775,  d,  in  Gorham  in  1S42. 

Sarah,  b.  Mar.  21,  1777. 

Deborah,  b.  Mar.  21,  1779,  m.  prob.  Francis  York,  Oct.  15,  1809. 

Mehitable,  b.  Mar.  20,  1780. 

Andrew,  b.  Jan.  17,  17S5. 

Nathaniel,  b.  Mar.  to,  1788,  p.  to  Betty  Crockett  of  Ossipee,  Sept.  20,  1817. 

Jonathan  Crockett  married,  second,  Ruth  Foss  of  Stratham,  N.  H., 

Apr.  28,  1792.      He  died  before   1835.  '^^  ^^^  estate  was  settled  by 

his  widow^  Ruth  at  that  date. 

We  find  on  record  the  names  of  Joshua  Crockit,  who  died  Feb. 
18,  1800,  and  his  wife  Elizabeth,  who  died  September,  1798.  Mr. 
Alden  in  his  old  records  says  this  Joshua  and  his  wife  were  very 
old.  Whether  they  were  the  parents  of  Lieut.  Joshua  and  came  here 
with  their  son,  we  cannot  say. 

Lieut.  Joshua  Crockett  came  to  Gorham  and  settled  near  the 
mouth  of  Little  river.      He  purchased,  Nov.  13,  1770,  of  Enoch  Free- 


456  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

man,  a  lot  of  common  land,  lying  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  adjoining 
the  Presumpscot.  By  his  deeds  Crockett  at  this  time  was  of  Wind- 
ham. This  lot  contained  eighty-three  acres,  more  or  less,  and  it 
appears  was  also  conveyed  to  Abel  Whitney  ;  the  Proprietors  disput- 
ing Crockett's  title,  as  coming  from  one  who  had  no  right  to  convey  ; 
but  finally  they  confirmed  his  claim.  Joshua  Crockett  served  as  a 
soldier  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  He  was  Ensign  in  Capt. 
Whitmore's  company,  Col.  Fogg's  regiment  ;  and  commissioned  as 
2d  Lieut.,  May  10,  1776.  He  was  ist  Lieut,  in  Capt.  Roger  Libby's 
company,  which  he  joined  Oct.  i,  1779,  and  with  which  he  served  at 
the  eastward,  with  a  detachment  of  Cumberland  County  militia, 
under  Nathaniel  Jordan,  Esq.  July  i,  1 781,  he  was  commissioned  as 
2d  Lieut,  of  Capt.  Whitmore's  company  in  Col.  Phinney's  3d  Cum- 
berland County  regiment.  Lieut.  Crockett  married  Hannah,  daugh- 
ter of  James  Babb  of  Falmouth,  (pub.  July  8,  1757  ).      Children  : 

Peter,  b.  1758,  m.  Polly  Warren,  p.  Oct.  12,  17S2. 

Hannah,  b.  about  1760,  m.  Thomas  Bolton,  Jan.   24,    1782;  2d,   Jos.   Lombard, 

July  II,  1795. 

Betty,  b. ,  m.  Benjamin  Gammon,  Oct.  21,  1787. 

Joshua,  h.  June  4,  1765,  m.  Sarah  Hamblen.  Nov.  29,  1787. 

James,  b.  Oct.  10,  1768,  m.  Sarah  Sanborn,  Dec.  25,  1796;   2d,  Ruth  Lord. 

Enoch,  b.  July  3,  1771,  m.  Drusilla  Sanljorn,  Sept.  13,  1801. 

Miriam,  b.   Nov.  30,  1773,  m.  John  Thomas,  Jan.  17,  1796. 

Sarah,  b.  Srpt.  30,  1775,  m.  Matthew  Tobin  of  Windham,  Feb.  6,  1800. 

Abigail,  b.  Feb.  25,  1778,  tn.  Abel  Brown,  Aug.  15,  1799. 

William,  b.  July  19,  1781,  m.  Sally  Thompson,  Nov.  21,  1802. 

Solomon,  b.  Sept.  17,  1784,  m.  Mary,  dau.  of  Christopher  and  Rebecca  Plum- 

mer,  Sept.  14,  1809;  no  ch;  I'd  near  Little   Falls,   on  the  road  leading 

from  Mosher's  to  Horse  Beef  ;  was  at  one  time   tax  collector;   d.  June 

25,  1825.     His  wife  d.  June  13,  1875. 

Lieut.  Joshua  Crockett   died   Jan.   6,    1809,  and   his  wife.  May  5, 

1805. 

(2)     Peter  Crockett,  son  of  Lieut.  Joshua,  was  a  private   in   the 

Revolutionary   army.     He  was  mustered    out  of    Gen.  Thompson's 

brigade  May  26,  1778,  and  delivered  to  Maj.  James  Johnson.     He 

enlisted  as  a  private  in  Col.   Fogg's  regiment,  June   14,   1778,  and 

was  discharged  at  West  Point,  Mar.  14,  1779.     He  also  served  for  a 

while  in  Capt.  Richard  Mayberry's  company,  nth  Mass.     He  lived 

at  Sapling  Hill,  near  the  graveyard,  next  John  Lord's.     He    married 

Polly,  daughter  of  John  and  Jane  (Johnson)  W'^arren  of  Falmouth. 

Children  : 

Peter,  b.  Feb.  9,  1783,  m.  Molly  Murch,  p.  Jan.  6,  181 5. 

Nancy,  b.  Oct.  3,  1784,  m.  Daniel  Purinton,  Nov.  17,  1814. 

Hannah,  b.  Feb.  4,  1787,  m.  Jabez  Clapp  of  Portland,  p.  Oct.  18,  1812. 

John,  b.  Jan.  25,  1789,  m.  Abigail  Newcomb,  June  22,  181 5. 

Betsey,  b.  July  29,  1791,  m.  Solomon  Lakeman,  Dec.  8,  18 14. 


GENEALOGY.  457 

Charlotte,  b.  Feb.  i8,  1794,  d.  probably  unm. 

Mary,  b.  Mar.  23,  1796. 

Enoch,  b.  July  7,  1799,  m.  Harriet  Mann;  I'd  in  Yarmouth. 

Daniel,  b.  Sept.  11,  1803,  m.  l.ydia  Roberts,  p.  July  27,  1827  ;  moved  east. 

Peter  Crockett  died  Oct.  14,  1828,  and  his  wife  Mary,  Sept.  13, 
1824,  aged  66. 

(2)  Joshua  Crockett,  son  of  Lieut.  Joshua,  was  also  a  soldier  of 
the  Revolution,  and  served  under  Capt.  Paul  Ellis,  in  Col.  Timothy 
Rigelow's  regiment.  He  married  Sarah  Hamblen,  who  was  born  in 
Barnstable,  and  was  the  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Temperance  Ham- 
blen of  Gorham.     There  are  two  children  on  the  Gorham  records  : 

James,  b.  Apr.  24,  1789,  m.  Martha  Pike. 
Joshua,  b.  Jan.  14,  1791,  m.  Judith  Pike. 

The  family  moved  to  Hebron,  where  two  sons,  Samuel  and  Lewis, 
were  born  ;  thence  to  Norway,  where  other  children,  Solomon,  Han- 
nah, Betsey,  Sewall  and  Sally  were  born.  Joshua  Crockett  died 
Oct.  II,  18 19.     Mrs.  Crockett  died  Sept.  8,  1848. 

(2)  James  Crockett,  son  of  Lieut.  Joshua,  lived  on  his  father's 
farm,  near  the  mouth  of  Little  river.  He  married  Sarah,  daughter 
of  Joseph  and  Esther  Sanborn.     Children  : 

Vashii,  b.  July  3,  1800,  m.  Ira  Cook,  p.  Mar.  3,  1821. 
Twin  Girls,  b.  ,  d.  aged  i  year. 

Mrs.  Crockett  died  soon  after  the  birth  of  her  twins,  and  Mr. 
Crockett  married,  Oct.  26,  1805,  Ruth  Lord.  He  died  June  10,  1846, 
aged  77. 

(2)  Enoch  Crockett,  son  of  Lieut.  Joshua,  lived  near  White  Rock, 
on  the  place  lately  occupied  by  Freeman  Hicks,  and. now  by  Reuel 
Smith.  He  married  Drusilla,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Esther  San- 
born.     Children  : 

Harriet,  b.  Aug.  28,  1802,  m.  Peter  Purinton,  Jan. '25,  1830  ;  went  to  Hartland. 
Statira,  b.  Feb.  21.  1804,  m.  Geo.  Harrington,  Sept.  i,  1858;  d.  Apr.,  1883. 
Sophia,  b.  Mar.  8,  1806,  m.  Joseph  Pray  of  Windham,  Oct.  15,  1828;  2d,  John 

Warren,  Apr.  19,  1835. 
Mary,  b.  June  28,  1808,  m.  James  Beck  of   Portland,  Nov.  30,  1831  ;  d.  Mar.  28, 

1842. 
Noah,  b.  July  7,  1810,  m.  Eunice  True  of  Freeport,  Nov.  14,  1836  ;  d.  Aug.  26, 

1883. 

Lot,  b.  Sept.  24,  1812,  m. Allen  of  Nantucket,  June  14,  1840 ;  lost  at  sea. 

Hezekiah,  b.  Apr.  20,   1815,  m.  Eunice  Harmon,  p.  Nov.  28,   1839;  2d,  Mary 

Grant. 
James,  b.  Aug.  18,  1817,  m.  Mary  Hall,  dau.  of  David,  Apr.  25,  1844;  was  a 

F.  Bapt.  minister;  d.  in  S.  Gorham,  Jan.  16,  1854. 
Sarah  Ann,  b.  May  26,  1820,  m.  Stephen  F.  Smith  of  Mass.,  Dec.  3,  1846  ;  d.  in 

Attleboro,  Mass.,  Feh.,  1882. 
Hannah,  b.  Nov.  12,  1822,  m.  Edward  Hies,  June  22,  1845. 
Lorenzo  D.,  b.  June  24,  1824,  m.  Sarah  B.  Thayer,  Aug.  18,  1849;  d.  in  Lunen- 
burg, Mass. 


458  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Enoch  Crockett  died  March  15,  i860,  aged  88.  His  wife  Drusilla 
died  March  18,  1842,  aged  59. 

(2)  WilUam  Crockett,  son  of  Lieut.  Joshua,  Uved  near  Mallison's 
Falls.      He  married  Sally  Thompson.     Children  : 

Sally,  h.  Sept.  15,  1803,  ni.  Dennis  Hamblen,  p.  Dec.  27,  1S23. 

Peter,  b.  Dec.  16,  1805. 

Mary,  b.  Apr.  22,  1808. 

John,  b.  Jan.  31,  181 1. 

Major,  b.  July  22,  1813. 

Jane,  b.  Jan.  4,  1816. 

Ann,  b.  Aug.  4,  18 18. 

This  family  moved  to  Wilton. 

(3)  Peter  Crockett,  son  of  Peter,  lived  at  White  Rock,  on  the  farm 
where  Elbridge  M.  Wilson  now  lives.  He  married  Molly,  daughter 
of  Matthias  and  Polly  Murch.      Children  : 

Lothrop  L.,  b.  Dec.  10,  1S15,  m.  Mary  J.  Libby,  Mar.  24,  1S42  ;  died  in  Naples, 

June  28,  1885. 
Franklin,  b.  — — ,  d.  on  the  Isthmus,  on  his  way  to  Cal.,  about  1855. 

Charlotte,  b. ,  m.  David  Harding;  d.  Aug.  17,  18S9. 

Mary,  b.  about  1826,  m.  Austin  Coburn  ;  I'd  in  West  P'airlee,  Vt. ;  d.  in   1892-3. 

Peter  Crockett  died  about  1827,  and  his  wife  Molly,  about  1828. 

(3)  John  Crockett,  son  of  Peter,  lived  at  White  Rock,  near  Sap- 
ling Hill.  He  married  Mrs.  Abigail  (Nason)  Newcomb,  daughter  of 
Ephraim  and  Eleanor  Nason,  and  widow  of  Solomon  Newcomb. 
Children  : 

Mary  Jane,  b.  Feb.  10,  1816,  m.  Ivory  Lord,  Nov.  26,  1834. 
Abner  W.,  b.  Feb.  15,  181S,  d.  in  1822. 

John  Crockett  died  Dec.  11,  1827,  aged  38.  His  widow  Abigail 
died  June  21,  1848. 

(3)  Hezekiah  R.  Crockett,  son  of  Enoch,  lived  at  White  Rock. 
He  married  Eunice,  daughter  of  Rufus  and  Eunice  Harmon.  Chil- 
dren : 

Helen  M.,  b.  Mar.  18,  1841,  m.  Charles  P.  Haskell  of  New  Gloucester,  Mar.  5, 

1868. 
Mary  F.,  b.  Dec.  22,  1844,  "^^  ^'""i  I's  in  Georgetown,  Me. 
Veranus  C,  b.  Apr.  5,  1846,  I's  in  Canada. 
Abby  v.,  b.  Jan.  15,  1849,  i^  dead. 
James  Leroy,  b.  Apr.  2,  1851,  I's  in  Mass. 
Clarence  O.,  b.  Feb.  14,  1856,  I's  in  Mass. 

Mr.  Crockett  moved  to  Naples  where  his  wife  Eunice  died,  and  he 
married  second,  Mrs.  Mary  Grant  of  that  town.  He  died  Jan.  6, 
1882. 


GENEALOGY.  459 

William  Crockett  came  to  Gorham  about  1836.  He  was  a  car- 
riage maker  by  trade.  He  built  and  for  some  years  lived  in  the  brick 
house  on  State  St.,  now  owned  by  Miss  Sarah  Robie,  and  his  brother 
Daniel  built  the  next  house  on  the  east,  now  known  as  the  Faine 
house.  He  married  in  1828  Mary  J.  Brackett  of  Westbrook,  who 
was  a  descendant  of  Anthony  Brackett.     Their  children  were  : 

George  W.,  b.  Apr.  23,  1830,  m.  Eliza  J.  Newcomb,  1851  ;  d.  Dec.  22,  1892. 
William,  b.  May  13,  1831,  m.  Harriet  M.  Kemp;    killed  at  Lookout   Mountain. 
Silas  B.,  b.  Mar.  31,  1833,  d.  in  1841. 
Edwin,' b.  Feb.  21,  1835,  m.  Susan  A.  Whitehouse  of  Gt.  Falls,  N.  H.;  d.  Sept. 

7,  1896. 
Sarah  A.,  b.  Apr.  i,  1837,  d.  young. 

Francis,  b.  Sept.  18,  1839,  m.  Hattie  French  of  Gt.  Falls,  N.  H. 
Martha  A.,  b.  May  i,  1841,  d.  young. 
Mary  C.,  b.  Apr.  i,  1843.  '"■  Eben  Meserve. 
Martha,  b.  Apr.  28,  1845,  m- James  Moulton. 
Charles,  b.  Mar.  29,  1847,  m.  Esther  Plummer. 

Mr.  Crockett  with  his  family  left  Gorham  about  1852,  and  moved 
to  Great  Falls,  N.  H.  After  an  absence  of  about  seven  years  he 
returned  to  Gorham,  where  he  died  Sept.  3,  1869,  aged  63.  His 
wife  Mary  died  in  Gorham,  Aug.  17,  1888,  aged  84. 

CROSS. 

In  1 79 1  the  name  of  Cross  first  appears  in  Gorham.  There  was 
a  Thomas  Cross  and  a  Joseph  Cross,  father  and  son.  Joseph's  name 
disappears  after  1793.  Thomas  Cross  married,  in  Bradford,  Mass., 
Lucy  Hovey,  and  brought  with  him  to  Gorham  a  family  of  ten 
children,  all  born  in  Bradford  : 

Joseph,  b.   Dec.  31,   1768,  m.  Betsey   Duston  of   Haverhill,   Mass.,  p.  Mar.  30, 

1793 ;  <^-  O'^'-  -9'  1819. 
Thomas,  b.  Mar.  3,  1770. 
Betsey,  b.  Feb.  11,  1772,  m.  Capt.  Jonathan  Stevens,  Jan.  20,  1795;  <^'-  Nov.  13, 

1838. 
Rebekah,  b.  Jan.  20,  1774,  d.  Apr.  ir,  1794. 
Sally,  b.  Sept.   22,  1777,  m.  Capt.  Enoch  Preble,  p.  Aug.  22,    1800;  d.  June   20, 

1848. 
William,  b.  Aug.  21,  1779,  m.  Eliza  Stevens,  of  Portland. 
Lucy,  b.  Mar.  7,  1782,  m.  James  Phinney,  June  30,  1817. 
Lois,  b.  Mar.  10,  1784,  m.  Allison  Libby,  June  27,  1812. 
Leonard,  b.  May  8,  1786,  d.  Mar.  2r,  1S61. 
Amos  PL,  b.  Oct.  20,  1790,  d.  at  Harrison,  Sept.  27,  1842. 

Harriet,  b.  ,  d.  Mar.  14,  1798. 

Hannah,  b. ,  1798,  d.  Oct.  16,  1799. 

Mr.  Cross  settled  on  the  thirty  acre  lot  No.  i,  being  the  farm  on 
which  Capt.  Phinney  made  the  first  settlement  made  in  Gorham. 
For  many  years  Mr.  Cross  kept  a  store  near  his  house.  This  store 
stood  over  the  spot  where  the  first  tree  was  cut  in  town  for  settlement 


460  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

purposes.  Thomas  Cross  was  made  a  deacon  in  the  First  Parish 
Church,  and  continued  in  ofifice  till  his  death.  He  died  in  Gorham 
Feb.  15,  1819,  aged  78,  and  Mrs.  Cross,  May  21,  1821,  aged  72.  Of 
their  children,  the  sons  all  settled  in  Portland  where  also  two  of  their 
daughters  found  husbands.  Sally,  who  married  Capt.  Preble,  son  of 
Gen.  Jedediah  Preble  of  Portland,  was  the  mother  of  Eben  Preble, 
late  of  Gorham,  and  of  the  late  Rear  Admiral  Geo.  H.  Preble  of  the 
U.  S.  Navy.  William,  who  married  Eliza  Stevens,  was  a  sea  captain. 
His  daughter  Eliza  Ann,  born  in  1804,  married  Oct.  2,  1826,  Tolman 
Gary  of  Sangerville,  and  second,  John  McLellan.  Capt.  William 
Cross  died  Feb.  14,  18 19,  the  day  preceding  the  death  of  Dea. 
Thos.  Cross,  and  father  and  son  were  borne  to  the  grave  on  the  same 
hearse.  William's  widow,  married  November,  1828,  Capt.  Toppan 
Robie. 

CURTIS. 

Capt.  John  Curtis  was  among  the  earliest  settlers  of  Gorham.  He 
came  here  from  Gloucester,  Mass.,  but  had  formerly  resided  in  Fal- 
mouth, Me.,  for  in  1734  he,  then  of  Gloucester,  sold  "the  land  in 
Falmouth  on  which  he  had  once  lived  ''  to  William  Bryant  of  Fal- 
mouth. In  August,  1739,  Capt.  Curtis  and  William  Pote  were 
appointed  by  the  Proprietors  a  committee  to  lay  out  the  two  hundred 
acres  of  land  granted  to  Edmund  and  Stephen  Phinney.  Capt.  Cur- 
tis, then  of  Gorham,  received  Aug.  10,  1739,  from  Shubael  Gorham 
a  deed  of  the  right  No.  74.  This  thirty  acre  lot  was  sold  in  1760  by 
James  Curtis  of  Falmouth,  son  of  Capt.  John,  to  Nathaniel  Whitney ; 
and  in  1761  the  remaining  one  hundred  and  seventy  acres  of  the 
right  were  sold  by  the  heirs  of  Capt.  Curtis  to  Bryant  Morton.  Capt. 
Curtis  died  previous  to  1741,  for  Sept.  29th  of  that  year  his  widow 
Jane  was  published  to  Dea.  John  Bailey  of  Falmouth.  The  children 
of  John  Curtis  and  his  wife  Jane  were  James  and  Daniel.  In  1761, 
James  was  of  Brunswick,  and  Daniel  a  shipwright  in  Newbury,  Mass. 

Capt.  John  Curtis,  late  of  Gorham,  was  the  son  of  Capt.  John 
Curtis  of  Portland  who  was  lost  at  sea  in  18 12  while  in  command  of 
the  privateer  Dart.  Capt.  Curtis,  the  son,  was  himself  for  many 
years  a  successful  master  mariner.  He  married.  May  22,  1823, 
Statira  R.,  daughter  of  Ai  and  Eunice  Staples,  and  made  his  home 
in  Gorham  on  the  farm  formerly  owned  by  his  wife's  father  in  the 
south  part  of  the  town  and  now  owned  by  John  Sanborn.     Children  : 


GENEALOGY.  461 

John  I..,  b.  May  1 2,  1824,  m.  Maria  C,  dau.  of  George  W.  and  Sarah  Waters,  Sept. 

<).  1845.  Ch  :  Geo.  L.,  b.  Sept.  20,  1846,  m.  Louise  L  Pitts,  May  12,  1867  ; 

Mary  E.,  b.  May  16,  1848,  m.  Capt.  Geo.  Jacob  Threstrup,  Oct.  15,  1885  ; 

Statira  E.,  b.  Apr.  22,  1S50,  d.  at  Denver,  Col.,  June   12,  1889;  John,  b. 

July  26,  1852,  m.  Sarah  E.  Lombard,  May,   1876,  d.  Aug.  9,  1879;  Chas. 

IL,  b.  July,  1853,  m.  Ida  B.  Clark  of  Sandusky,  O.,  Oct.  6,  1877,  d.  Jan. 

12,  1897,  at    Denver;  Arthur   G.,   b.    Feb.   28,    1856,   d.   Nov.   30,    1856; 

Clara  F.,  b.  Apr.  27,    1857,  m.   Richard   S.   Storrs  of   Boston,  Oct.    15, 

1884;  Edwin  W.,  b.  Sept.  28,  185S,  m.  Maria   T.   Peterson  of  London, 

Eng.,  July  24,  1877,  d.  at  Brighton,  Mass.,  Oct.  20,   1897  ;  Hattie  M.,  b. 

July  19,  i860,  d.  Oct.  21,  1861  ;  Calvin  A.,  b.  Sept.  14,  1867,  m.  Lorena 

F.  Fause  of  Chillicothe,  O.,  Dec.  7,  1885.     John   L.  Curtis  d.  in  Casco, 

Me.,  Nov.  20,  1893. 
Mary  P.,  b.  July  18,  1826,  m.  Calvin  I.  Crocker  of  Portland,  Sept.  24,  1850. 

Capt.  Curtis  died  Jan.  7,  1869,  aged  69  ;  Mrs.  Curtis  died  Jan.  16, 
1883,  aged  So.  Mrs.  Mercy,  widow  of  Capt.  John  Curtis,  Sr.,  mar- 
ried in  1822,  Thomas  Burnham  of  Scarborough.  She  died  in 
Gorham  at  the  house  of  her  son  Capt.  Curtis,  in  June,  1867,  aged  89. 

DAME. 

Theophilus  Dame  came  from  Rochester,  N.  H.  He  married 
Mary  Ann,  daughter  of  Moses  and  Sarah  (Thomes)  Baker  of  Somers- 
worth,  N.  H.  Mr.  Dame  was  a  farmer  and  lived  for  thirty  years  at 
West  Gorham,  on  the  Capt.  John  Lincohi  place,  (now  occupied  by 
Lewis  Files).     Children  : 

Caroline,  b.  July  25.  1S25,  m.  John  Sawyer;  I'd  in  Deering;  d.  Sept.  26,1861. 
Moses  B.,  b.  July,  1826,  m    Susan  W.  \'arney  of  Sandwich,  N.  PL;  d.  Feb.  20, 
1868. 

Mr.  Dame  died  at   his  home  at  West  Gorham,    Jan.  29,  1875,  aged 

74.     Mrs.  Mary  A.  Dame  died  Dec.  24,  1878,  aged  74. 

DARLING. 

John  Darling  was  the  first  and  only  one  of  the  name,  who  ever 
came  to  Gorham  to  settle.  He  was  born  in  Plymouth,  Mass.,  in  1758. 
His  father  was  Jonathan  Darling  —  the  maiden  name  of  his  mother 
was  Martha  Bramhall.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Joshua  Bramhall, 
and  an  aunt  of  Sylvanus  (formerly  of  Gorham),  also  an  aunt  of 
Benjamin  Bramhall  for  many  years  one  of  the  managers  of  the  old 
Plymouth  Beach  lottery.  John  Darling  had  four  brothers  and  sisters 
—  Lydia  who  married  W'illiam  Churchill,  Benjamin  who  settled  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  State,  Sarah  who  married  Lazarus  Harlo>\' 
and  had  a  son  who  settled  in  Portland  where  for  many  years  he  kept 
a  store  at  the  corner  of  Fore  and  Union  Sts.,  and  Polly,  long  a  suc- 
cessful school-teacher  in  her  native  town. 


462  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

John  Darling  was  a  soldier  in  the  army  of  the  Revolution,  and  in 
1777  was  a  member  of  Capt.  Jabez  Lane's  company,  in  the  6th  Mass. 
regiment ;  for  which  services  his  widow  received  a  pension  in  her 
latter  days.  When  about  twenty-two  years  of  age  he  came  to  Gorham. 
He  had  learned  the  hatter's  trade  in  Plymouth;  and  was  the  second 
one  of  that  trade  who  established  himself  in  Gorham.  He  first  went 
into  business  at  his  house,  then  standing  on  the  westerly  side  of  the 
Fort  Hill  road  on  the  top  of  the  hill  above  the  .Fabyan  (Dyer)  place. 
He  married,  Oct.  14,  1785,  Annah,  daughter  of  Dea.  George  Lewis. 
About  the  year  1791  he  moved  to  Gorham  village  and  purchased  and 
lived  on  the  lot  on  the  east  corner  of  Main  and  Elm  streets,  after- 
wards owned  and  now  included  in  the  grounds  of  Ex-Gov.  Robie. 
Here  for  many  years  he  worked  at  his  trade,  which  was  then  quite  a 
business,  as  there  was  but  small  importation  of  hats  and  every  village 
had  its  hatter,  as  well  as  blacksmith  and  shoemaker.  Getting  some- 
what out  of  fashion  and  others  coming  up  who  could  make  two  hats 
of  less  wool  than  it  took  him  for  one,  he  gradually  went  out  of  the 
business.  The  house  and  shop  in  w^hich  he  lived  and  worked,  some- 
what altered  and  modernized,  and  now  the  property  of  Col.  Robie, 
has  been  moved  to  a  lot  a  few  hundred  feet  farther  down  on  the 
eastern  side  of  Elm  St.  Mr.  Darling  was  also  a  soldier  in  the  War 
of  18 1 2.  He  volunteered  as  a  substitute  for  his  son  George,  in  the 
company  of  Militia  ordered  out  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Robie 
for  the  defence  of  Portland  in  September,  18 14.  Children  of  John 
and  Annah  Darling  were  : 

John,  b.  June  6,  1787,  d.  Dec.  15,  1803. 

Robert,  b.  May  6,  1789,  lost  at  sea  in  1805. 

George  L.,  b.  Oct.  7,  1791,  m.   Mahala  (Virgin)    Hanscom,  widow  of  Daniel 

Hanscom,  July  13,  1S34.     Ch  :   Mary  Anna,  b.  Aug.  31,   1837,  m.   Thos. 

J.  Frothingham  of   Portland,   d.   Apr.   3,    1902;   George    L.,  b.   Apr.    12, 

1844,  d.  in  Portland,  Jan.  9,   1895.     ^^-  Darling  was  a  cabinet  maker; 

and  owned  and  for  many  years  worked  in  the  shop  on  School  St.,  now 

owned   by    Miss    Mary    Kelsey.     He  d.  June    16,    1865.     Mrs.    Mahala 

Darling  d.  July  29,  1856,  ag.  53. 
Mary  L.,  b.  Oct.  8,  1793,  "^-  James  Smith;  d.  in  New  York. 
Martha,  b.  Aug.  4,  1796,  d.  June  7,  1801. 
Sarah  A.,  b.  Apr.  17,  1799,  d.  Jan.  6,  1817. 

Mehitable  C.,  b.  Nov.  16,  1801,  d.  unm,  in  Brunswick,  Jan.  23,  1885. 
Martha,  b.  Sept.  4,  1806,  d   unm.  in  Portland,  July  3.  18S3. 
Tabitha  L.,  b.  Sept.  3,  1808,  m.  Joseph  Babb  of  Westbrook,  Feb.  18,  1827;  d. 

Mar.  19,  1865. 
Abigail  P.,  b.  July  30,  1810,  d.  unm.  in  Portland,  May  12,  1S76. 

John  Darling  died  in  Gorham  in  the  house  which  he  had  occupied 
so  many  years,  Apr.  7,  1832.  His  wife  died,  universally  beloved  and 
respected,  at  the  house  of  her  daughters  Martha  and  Abbie,  in 
Portland,  Apr.  10,  1849,  aged  81. 


GENEALOGY.  468 

DAVIS. 

Of  the  families  of  Joshua  and  Prince  Davis  we  cannot  tell  which 
came  to  Gorham  first.  Joshua  came  from  Scarborough,  where  he 
had  two  children  born  before  1762,  and  we  find  his  name  on  a  Gor- 
ham tax  bill  for  1763.  His  first  child  born  in  Gorham  was  born  in 
1762.  He  lived  on  the  farm  near  where  Fred  Sturgis  lived  at  West 
Gorham.  It  is  believed  there  are  none  of  this  family  now  in  town. 
His  wife's  name  was  Sarah .      Children  : 

Hannah,  b.  Jan.  23,  1758. 

Joshua,  b.  Mar.  i,  1760. 

Sarah,  b.  Jan.  3,  1762,  m.  Charles  Wood,  Sept.  17,  1786. 

Elizabeth,  b.  July  6,  1764. 

Mehitable,  b.  Sept.  20,  1767. 

Joseph,  b.  Aug.  9,  1769. 

Timothy,  b.  Oct.  18,  1772. 

Gideon,  b.  Feb.  8,  1775. 

Joshua  Davis  was  a  soldier  in  Capt.  McLellan's  company,  in  the 
Penobscot  expedition  in  1779.     He  moved  to  Canton. 

Prince  Davis,  son  of  Stephen,  Jr.  and  Rebecca  Davis,  came  from 
Barnstable,  Mass.,  to  Gorham  about  the  year  1762.  We  find  him 
taxed  here  in  1763.  His  wife,  whom  he  married  Feb.  15,  1750,  was 
Sarah,  daughter  of  Edward  Colman  of  Barnstable,  and  niece  of 
Martha  Phinney,  the  wife  of  Capt.  John  Phinney,  the  first  settler. 
The  house  which  Mr.  Davis  built  about  1764,  or  soon  after  he  came 
to  Gorham,  stood  till  recently  in  a  good  state  of  preservation,  three- 
fourths  of  a  mile  above  the  village  near  the  spot  where  Almon  Han- 
scom  now  lives  on  the  Flaggy  Meadow  road,  which  was  the  old  road 
to  Buxton.  When  this  house  was  built,  on  account  of  the  price  and 
scarcity  of  glass,  the  windows  had  only  ten  squares  of  glass  in  each  ; 
two  panes  wide  and  five  high  of  7x9  glass.  Mr.  Davis  made  the 
bricks  for  the  chimney  himself  on  the  cross-road,  a  few  rods  north 
of  his  house.  Prince  Davis  was  a  house  carpenter.  He  was  a  good 
citizen  and  a  prominent  man.  He  was  several  years  one  of  the 
selectmen  ;  and  we  find  his  name  often  on  committees  of  importance 
both  in  town  and  church  affairs.  The  children  of  Prince  and  Sarah 
Davis  were : 

Elijah,  bap.  in  Barnstable,  Oct.  9,  1757,  m.  Phebe  Hopkins,  p.  Apr.  8,  1780. 
Edward,  bap.  in  Barnstable,  Oct.  9,  1757. 

Prudence,  bap.  in  Barnstable,  Oct.  9,  1757,  m.  Josiah  Jenkins,  p.  June  15,  1776. 
Alice,  bap.  in  Barnstable,  Oct.  9,  1757,  m.  Enoch  Frost,  Apr.  24,  1780. 
Temperance,  b.  in  Barnstable,  Nov.  1 1,  1759,  m.  Capt.  David  Harding,  Aug. 

19,   i78r. 
Isaac,  b.  in  Gorham,  Mar.  27,  1762,  d.  unm.  June  20,  1839. 


464  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

David,  b.  in  Gorham,  Oct.  20,  1764,  m.  Martha,  dau.  of  Jolm  and  Tabitha  Wat- 
son, June  12,  1788;  one  son  recorded  in  Gorham,  Elijah,  m.  prob. 
Abigail  Moody  of  Gorham,  p.  Jan.  6,  181  5  ;  the  family  moved  to  Buxton 
where  other  children  were  born,  and  where  Mrs.  Davis  d. 

Rebecca,  b.  in  Gorham,  July  15,  [766,  m.  Geo.  Knight  of  Windham,  Mar.  14, 
1787;  2d,  David  Harding,  181 1. 

Thomas,  b.  in  Gorham,  May  10,  1768,  d.  unm. 

Jonathan,  b.  in  Gorham,  July  10,  1770,  m.  Mary  Murch,  Sept.  22,  1796;  2d, 
Sally  Murch. 

Josiah  Davis,  the  grandfather  of  Prince,  was  a  soldier  in  the  com- 
pany of  Capt.  John  Gorham  in  King  Philip's  war  in  1675. 

Prince  Davis  died  Sept.  17,  1819,  at  the  age  of  96.  His  wife  died 
in  1804. 

(2)  Elijah  Davis,  son  of  Prince,  married  Phebe,  daughter  of  Con- 
stant and  Phebe  Hopkins  of  Truro,  Mass.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Revolution.     One  child: 

Sarah,  b.  Sept.  17,  1781,  m.  Benjamin  Emery  of  Buxton,  Oct.  4,  1801  ;  2d, 
Simeon  Bradbury  of  Buxton. 

Mr.  Davis  died  Oct.  5,  1783,  and  his  widow  married,  July  14,  1785, 
Asa  Whitney  of  Gorham. 

(2)     Jonathan  Davis,  son  of  Prince,  married   Molly,  daughter  of 

Daniel  and  Mary  Murch  of  Buxton.     They  lived  on  his  father's  old 

homestead.     Children  : 

Stephen,  b.  June  30,  1797. 

Daniel,  b.  Oct.  18,  1798. 

Elijah,  b.  Aug.  5,  1800,  m.  Mary  A.   Webster;  moved  to    Wilton;  both   d.  in 

Jay. 
Harriet,  b.  Nov.  12,  1802,  m.  Israel  Hall  of  Saco,  Nov.  25,  1827. 
Sewall  L.,  b.  Dec.  4,  1804. 
William,  b.  1806. 

Mrs.  Molly  Davis  died  Aug.   10,   1806,  aged  38,  and  Mr.  Davis 

married  her  sister  Sally  Murch,  Dec.  24,  1807.       Children  : 

Mary  Ann,  b.  July  25,  1808,  m.  Thomas  Magrath,  Nov.  30,  1826. 
John  Colby,  b.  Nov.,  1S12,  m.  Harriet  P.  Erskins,  p.  Dec.  27,  1835. 
Sarah,  b.  June,  1815,  m.  Stephen  Emery.  vSept.  18,  1834. 
Joseph,  b.  Oct.  12,  1817. 

Jonathan  Davis  died  Mar.  15,  1852,  aged  81,  and  Mrs.  Sarah 
Davis  died  Feb.  28,  1858,  aged  81. 

Josiah  Davis  also  came  from  Barnstable.  He  was  the  son  of  John 
Davis,  Jr.  and  his  second  wife,  Anna,  daughter  of  James  Allen,  who 
were  married  Mar.  25,  1736.  Josiah  came  here  about  the  year  177 1, 
for  we  find  his  name  in  the  tax  bill  for  1772.  His  first  wife  was 
Thankful  Matthews,  whom  he  probably  married  about  1754.  His 
children  by  her  were  : 


GENEALOGY.  465 

Josiah,  bap.  in  Barnstable,  June  6,  1756,  prob.  d.  young. 

Thankful,  bap.  in  Barn.stable,  June  6,  1756. 

Mary,  bap.  in  Barnstable,  Sept.  3,  1759,  m.  James  Watson,  June  30,  17S5. 

Mr.  Davis  married,  May  3,  1760,  Thankful,  daughter  of  Ebenezer 
and  Temperance  Gorham  of  Barnstable,  and  sister  to  Temperance, 
wife  of  Jonathan  Slurgis.     Their  children  were  : 

Josiah,  bap.  in  Barnstable,  Oct.  11,  1761. 

John,  b.  in  Barnstable,  about  1763,  m.  Molly  Harper  of  Falmouth,  Feb.  14, 
17S4;   2d,  Patience  Irish,  Apr.  16,  1789;  I'd  in  Buxton. 

Sarah,  b.  in  Barnstable  about  1764,  m.  David  Watts,  Dec.  9,  1779. 

Sylvanus,  b.  in  Barnstable,  1767,  m.  Hannah  Gorham,  Nov.  19,  1789.  Ch.  b. 
in  Gorham,  Ebenezer,  b.  Sept.  4,  1790;  Sarah  Hoff,  b.  Mar.  4,  1792; 
this  family  moved  to  Buxton,  where  other  ch.  are  on  record.  Mrs.  Davis 
d.  in  Buxton  in  June,  1807,  and  Mr.  Davis  m.  Apr.  24,  1808,  Phebe 
McDonald. 

Allen,  b.  in  Barnstable,  1770,  m.  Martha  Morris,  July  8,  1792. 

James,  b.  in  Gorham,  Sept.  27,  1773,  m.  '!  hankful,  dau.  of  William  and  Sarah 
Paine,  Mar.  21,  1793;  moved  to  Standish.  Ch:  Josiah,  b.  Dec.  5,  1793, 
m.  Eunice  Frost ;  Phebe,  b.  Jan.  31,  1795  ;  Martha;  Samuel,  d.  at  sea. 

Joseph,  b.  in  Gorham,  Aug.  10,  1776,  m.  Abigail  Whitney,  Sept.  29,  1799. 

Solomon,  b.  in  Gorham,  Feb.  6,  1780,  m  Salome,  dau.  of  Josiah  and  Sarah 
Alden,  p.  Apr.  20,  1805;  moved  to  Buxton.  Ch :  Julia  A,  b.  Sept.  4, 
1806,  m.  Mr.  Rice,  d.  in  Paris;  Joseph,  b.  Dec.  14,  1807,  d.  in  Buxton 
(  entre  ;  Josiah  A.,  b.  Nov.  25,  1810.  m.  Harriet  J  (iale;  Sarah,  m. 
Horace  Em'iy  of  Buxton,  d.  in  Buxton  Centre;  Salome,  m.  Charles 
Fogg,  d  in  Fairfield.  Mrs.  Salome  Davis  d.  Feb.  3,  1816,  aged  29,  and 
Mr.  Davis  m.  Susan  Billings  of  Buxton,  by  whom  he  had  Enoch,  Is  at 
Buxton  Centre;  Chas.,  d.  in  Portland;  Mary  I'd  in  Pittston,  Me.  Mr. 
Davis  d.  in  Buxton. 

Mr.  Davis  married  a  third  wife,  Mrs.  Martha  Hill  of  Buxton,  Nov. 
25,  1802.  He  died  in  Gorham  Feb.  8,  1824,  aged  about  86.  His 
wife,  Martha,  died  Jan.  7,  1846,  aged  75.  Frederick  D.  Scamman, 
his  great-grandson,  now  owns  and  occupies  the  old  homestead,  which 
has  been  in  the  family  over  a  hundred  years.  The  late  Judge  Wood- 
bury Davis  of  Portland  was  the  son  of  Joseph,  and  grandson  of 
Josiah. 

(2)  Allen   Davis,  son   of  Josiah,  lived  on  his  father's  homestead. 

At  one  time  (1803)  he  kept  a  hotel  there,  in  the  house   where  Mr. 

Scamman  now  lives.    Mr.  Davis  married  Martha,  daughter  of  Charles 

and  Rhoda  Morris.     Children  : 

Polly,  b.  Oct.  18,  1792,  m.  Edward  Scamman  of  Saco,  Sept.  28,  1819. 

Rhoda  M.,b.  Sept.  9,  1794,  m.  Joseph  Libby  of  Portland,  Oct.  30,  1822  ;  d.  Aug. 

8,  1824. 
Charles  M.,  b.  Jan.  20,  1797,  m.  Louisa  Peabody,  Sept.  4,  1822  ;  d.  in  Portland, 

Jan.  20,  1876. 
Anna  A.,  b.  Feb.  20,  1799,  m.  Edward  Scamman  (2d  wife),  Oct.  28,  1827. 
Josiah,  b.  Nov.  3,  1801,  d.  at  sea,  Nov.  25.  1823. 

Eliza,  b.  Jan.  28,  1S03,  m.  Samuel  S.  Libby  of  Buxton,  Aug.  10,  1835. 
Martha,  b.  Sept.  11,  1805,  m.  William  Jameson  of  Bangor,  Nov.  18,  1823. 
Emeline.  b.  May  13,  r8o8,  m.  Aaron  Brooks  of  Buxton,  Dec.  8,  1830. 
Frederick,  b.  June  6,  181  i,  I'd  in  Portland;  d.  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Ann  Louisa,  b.  Apr.  5,  1813,  m.  Moses  Buck  of  Stillwater,  1844. 


466  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Allen  Davis  died  May  22,  1818,  and  his  wife,  Jan.  9,  1847,  aged 
75-      ■ 

(3)  Josiah  Davis,  son  of  James,  married  Eunice,  daughter  of 
Wingate  and  Ann  (Mitchell)  Frost  of  Limington  and  lived  in  Standish 
till  about  1840  when  he  removed  to  Gorham,  and  opened  a  store  at 
the  village.     Children  : 

Charles  O.,  b.  Jan.  19,  1822,  m.  Mary  Woodman,  1851  ;  he  was  then  of  Georgia  ; 

is  dead.     Mrs.  D.  d.  Dec.  31,  1853.     ■ 
Jas.  Wingate,  b.  May  18,  1824,  m.  Rebecca  Hatch  of  Richmond,  Me. ;  d.  Feb. 

14,  1885. 
Ellen  A.,  b.  Feb.  14,  1827,  m.  Thaddeus  Irish,  Nov.  29,  1848. 
Harriet  M.,  b.  July  i,  1828,  d.  Sept.  7,  1832. 
Frances  M.,  b.  Apr.  30,  1833,  d.  unm.  Dec.  20,  1859. 
Frederick,  b.  July  13,  1835,  ™'  Fannie  Wilson  of  Bangor. 
Julia  E.  b.  June,  1841,  d.  Oct.  22,  1841. 

Josiah  Davis  died  Aug.  5,  1843,  aged  49.  Mrs.  Davis  died  in 
Portland,  July  19,  1861,  aged  58. 

Samuel   Davis  was   in  Gorham  about  the  time  of  the  Revolution. 

He  was  born  in  Barnstable,  Sept.  13,  1734,  and  was  the  son  of  Dea. 

Gershom   and   Mary  (Hinkley)  Davis.     He   married   in    Barnstable, 

Dec.  22,  1757,  Mary,  daughter  of  Ebenezer  and  Temperance  Gorham. 

Their  six  eldest  children  were  baptized    in    Barnstable,   while    the 

youngest,  Elizabeth,  was  born  in  Gorham.     Children  : 

Ebenezer,  bap.  July  6,  1760,  d.  young. 

Samuel,  b.  June  ir,  1762,  m.  Mary  Skillings,  Nov.  11,  1784. 

Mary,  bap.  Sept.  25,  1763. 

Ebenezer,  bap.  Feb.  17.  1765,  m.  Mary  Paine,  Feb.  18,  1790;  d.  in  Porter,  N.  Y. 

Prince,  bap.  May  17,  1767,  m.  Betty  Cahoon,  Jan.  3,  1797. 

William,  b.  June  9,  1771,  m.  prob.  Martha  Kimball,  June  5,  1796. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Apr.  14,  1777. 

Samuel  Davis  and  his  wife  Mary  settled  in  Gorham  on  the 
hundred  acre  lot  118,  on  land  now  owned  by  Edward  Files,  north  of 
land  owned  by  the  late  Samuel  R.  Clement,  where  the  apple  trees 
now  stand.      Mr.  Davis  was  a  Revolutionary  pensioner. 

(2)  Samuel  Davis,  Jr.,  son  of  Samuel,  lived  on  the  farm  above 
West  Gorham,  which  was  cleared  by  his  father.  He  was  a  Revo- 
lutionary soldier  in  Capt.  Whitmore's  company.  He  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  Isaac  and  Susanna  Skillings.     Children  : 

Elizabeth,  b.  Aug.  5,  1785,  d.  unm.  Apr.  24,  1876. 

Sarah,  b.  Jan.  26,  1787,  m. Frost ;  m.  2d,  Parsons  Pingree  of  Denmark  ; 

d.  June  28,  1867. 
Mary  C,  b.  Sept.  8,  1788,  d.  unm.  June  15,  1886. 
Isaac,   b.  Mar.   28,    1790,  m.    Hadassah   Shaw   of  Standish,  1817  ;  2d,  Abigail 

(Whitney)  Boucher;  d.  in  1867. 
Zachariah,    b.    Sept.    24,    1791,   m.    Susan    Ingalls;  2d,    Nancy   Ingalls;rdin 

Bridgton  ;  d.  Mar.  23,  1876. 


GENEALOGY.  467 

Daniel,  b.  Apr.  i8,  1793,  m.  Rebecca  Plummer,  July  3,  1824;  no  ch  ;  d.  at 
White  Rock,  June  12,  1873;  Mrs.  U.  d.  Dec.  17,  1868. 

Susanna,  b.  Feb.  3,  1795,  "^-  ^ViHiam  Barker  of  Bridgton,  Feb.  iS,  1820. 

Samuel,  b.  July  13,  1796,  went  to  S.  America,  and  was  never  heard  from. 

John,  b.  Apr.  15,  1798,  m.  Nancy  Whitten  ;  I'd  in  Naples;  d.  June  10,  1864. 

Joanna,  b.  June  19,  1800,  m.  Elder  John  Buzzell  of  Parsonsfield ;  d.  in  (iorham 
in  18S0. 

Tabitha,  b.  Oct.  10,  1801,  d.  unm.  in  iS3r. 

In  March,  1803,  Mr.  Davis  moved  to  Standish,  and  settled  on  the 

farm  near  the  brick  schoolhouse  where  his  grandson  Daniel  S.  Davis 

now    lives.       The    remainder    of    his    children,    who    were    born    in 

Standish,  were  : 

Mark.  b.  Apr.  23,  1803,  m.  Lydia  Staples  ;  I'd  in  Naples  ;  d.  in  March,  1842. 

Martha,  b.  Jan.  11,  1805,  d.  unm.  Jan.  10,  1864. 

Hannah,  b.  June  28,   1806,  m.  Joseph   Martin  ;  I'd  in  Naples;  d.  July  26,  1888. 

Caroline,  b.  Jan.  25,  1808,  m.  Francis  Kimball  of  Naples. 

Infant,  b.  Oct.  20,  1809,  d.  Nov.  7,  1809. 

At  the  time  of  Mr.  Davis's  death,  Jan.  22,  1856,  he  was  the  last  of 

the  Revolutionary  soldiers  in  Standish.    His  wife  died  Apr.  25,  1852, 

aged  85. 

(2 )  Prince  Davis,  Jr.,  son  of  Samuel,  married  Betty  Cahoon. 
We  know  nothing  of  her,  farther  than  that  she  is  published  as  of 
Gorham,  and  they  were  married  by  Rev.  Caleb  Jewett.  Their  chil- 
dren, recorded  in  Gorham,  are  : 

Samuel,    lie 

,       .         >  b.  Sept.  22,  1797. 

Lewis,       {^  f         '     /y/ 

Capt.  Sylvanus  Davis  was  born  May  4,  1756,  in  Falmouth,  Mass., 
from  which  place  he  came  to  Gorham  in  1797.  He  owned  the  farm 
and  house  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Jonathan  S.  Whitney.  He 
had  a  large  family,  the  first  eight  of  whom  were  born  in  Falmouth, 
Mass.,  and  the  remaining  six  in  Gorham.  His  first  wife  whom  he 
married  in  Falmouth,  Dec.  7,  1777,  was  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
Ebenezer  and  Tabitha  (Robinson)  Dimick. 

Sylvanus,  b.  July  6,  1780,  d.  Aug.  30,  1799. 

Chloe,  b.  June  13,  1782,  m.  Ale.xander  McLellan,  Feb.  9,  1803. 

Robinson,  b.  Apr.  28,  1785,  m.  Polly  Gallison  of  Windham,  May   i,  1809;  I'd 

in  Albion  ;  d.  Sept.  10,  1879. 
Ebenezer,  b.  Apr.  19,  1788,  m.  Betsey  McLellan,  Apr.  26,  1809;  went  to  Farm- 

ington  about  1815;  d.  Dec.  30,  1831. 

Walter,  b. ,  1790,  d.  May  10,  1790. 

Edmund,  b.  May  10,  1792,  d.  July  i,  1792. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Davis  died  July  24,  1792,  aged  ;^t,,  and  Capt. 
Davis  married  Catherine  Smith  of  Martha's  Vineyard,  Mass.  Chil- 
dren : 

Charles,  h.  Sept.  24,  1794,  m.  Sophia  A.  Stewart;   2d,  Louisa  Carsley ;  went  to 
Farmington  about  1819;  d.  Dec.  23,  1873. 


468  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Dec.  7,  1796,  m.  Thos.  W.  Tobey  ;  2d,  John  vS.  Scales  of  Temple ; 

d.  Feb.  4,  1892. 
Nathan  S.,  b.  Feb.  i,  1799,  "i-  Mis.  Betsey  (Cooper)  Dimick  ;   2d,  Eunice  Bolan  ; 

d.  June  19,  1869. 
Sylvanus,  b.  Mar.  31,  1801,  m.  Jane  Carsley  of  Gorham ;  d.  in  Farmington,  Oct. 

29,  1853. 
Caroline,  b.  Nov.  19,  1804,  m.  Wm.  Scales  of  Temple;  d.  Dec.  31,  1891. 
Abner,  b.  Jan.  17,  1807.  m.  Harriet  Butterfield  of  Farmington;  d.  Mar.  28,  1846 

in  Waldoboro. 
Thomas  C,  b.  Sept.  3,  1S09,  m.  Lavinia  Butterfield;  d.  Oct.  14,  i8gr. 
Jabez,  b.  March,  1812,  d.  young  in  Gorham. 

Capt.  Davis  moved  to  Farmington  about  18 15.  He  was  killed  in 
his  grist  mill  by  being  caught  in  some  of  the  machinery,  Dec.  24, 
1831. 

Gershom  and  John  Davis  were  both  soldiers  in  Capt.  McLellan's 
company,  in  the  Penobscot  expedition.  Gershom  was  also  a  soldier 
in  Capt.  Whitmore's  company  in  1776.  He  married,  Dec.  26,  1779, 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  William  McCoUister.  After  living  in  Gorham 
for  a  few  years,  he  left  town.     Of  John  we  have  no  record. 

Daniel  Davis  of  Standish  married,  Mar.  29,  1826,  Miriam,  daugh- 
ter of  Jonathan  Stone  of  Gorham.  After  some  years  he  moved  to 
Gorham,  and  lived  near  Little  river  at  Fort  Hill  having  purchased 
the  saw  and  grist  mill  there.     Children  : 

Aveline,  b.  Jan.  28,  1827,  m.  Daniel  Billings. 

Mary  Ann,  h.- Mar.  22,  1829,  d.  May  25,  1886. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Aug.  18,  1833,  m.  Ansel  Stevens. 

Harriet   M.,  b.  Jan.  7,   1838,  m.  Freeman    Paine;  2d,  David  Moore;  d.   May, 

1877. 

William  S.,  b.  Aug.  14,  1840,  d.  young. 

Daniel  Woodbury,  b.  Feb.  14.  1842,  m.  Emily  Morton;  2d,  Mary  E.  Watson, 
Oct.  22,  1870;  I's  in  the  house  which  his  father  occupied;  the  building 
was  moved  back  from  the  river  in  188 1  on  to  higher  ground. 

Daniel  Davis  died  Jan.  2,  1873,  and  his  wife,  May  25,  1876. 


DEERING. 

Jeremiah  and  Samuel  Deering  were  brothers.  They  came  from 
Blue  Point,  probably  about  the  year  1790,  and  cleared  up  the  farm 
on  which  Jeremiah's  grandson  Charles  W.  Deering  now  resides.  The 
first  night  of  their  occupancy  they  hung  their  beds  from  the  trees 
and  kept  a  fire  burning  all  night  to  frighten  away  the  wolves.  The 
brothers  built  a  saw  mill  and  carried  lumber  to  Blue  Point  to  build 
vessels  there  and  brought  from  that  place  hay  for  their  cattle.  At 
this  time  the  only  road  out  to  Buxton  was  a  path  marked  by  ''  spot- 
ted "  trees. 


GENEALOGY.  469 

Jeremiah  Deerin<^  married,  Mar.  14,  1793,  Molly  Sawyer  of  Bux- 
ton. Their  children,  born  in  what  was  then  Scarborough,  now 
Gorhani,  were  : 

Eunice,  b.  Mar.  20,  1794,  d.  young. 

John,  b.  July  12,  1795.  ^-  young. 

Hannah,  b.  Jan.  12,  1797,  d.  unm.,  Jan.  8,  1877,  in  Gorham. 

Jeremiah,  b.  Oct.  8,  1798,  m.  Sarah  Varney,  Feb.  21,  1832. 

Abigail,  b.  June  4,  1801,  d.  unm.,  Feb.  21,  1825. 

Mary,  b.  Jan.  7.  1802,  m.  Abram  Winslow;  d.  Sept.  27,  1828. 

Lois.  b.  Nov.  12,1804,  m.  Levi  Morrill  of  Cornish. 

John,  b.  Oct.  19,  1806,  m.  Pauline  Emeiy ;  I'd  in  Fairfield;  d.  Jan.  9,  1859. 

William,  b.  Mar.  30.  1809,  d.  young. 

Isabella,  b.  Mar.  29,  1810,  m.  Almon  Hanscom,  Oct.  9,  1836. 

William,  b.  .Mar.  3,  1812,  m.  Betsey  Larrabee  of  Scarboro  ;  I'd  on  a  farm  in  the 
south  part  of  the  town,  on  South  St. ;  d.  at  No.  Scarboro,  Nov.  18,  1S78  ; 
his  wife  d.  in  May,  1893.  ^h :  Caroline,  b.  Mar.  10,  1843,  ^-  Frank 
Cram  of  Portland;  Abba,  b.  Oct.  30,  1844,  m.  Thomas  J.  Skillmgs  of 
Chicago;  Belle,  m.  William  T.  Small  of  Portland;  Luella,  m.  Winfield 
Smith  of  Portland;  Addie,  m.  Nathaniel  Knight  of  N.  Berwick. 

Charles,  b.  May  9,  1814,  d.  unm.,  Sept.  30,  1837. 

Jeremiah  Deering  died  Sept.  29,  1852,  and  Mrs.  Deering,  Oct.  24, 
1857- 

Samuel  Deering  lived  for  a  time  with  his  brother  Jeremiah.     At 

length,  however,  the  brothers  divided  the  farm,  and   Samuel   went  to 

the  place  where  his  son  James  has  since  lived.      He  married,  June  4, 

1794,  Nancy  Larrabee.      Children  : 

Polly,  b. ,  m.  Jonathan  Burnham  of  Scarboro,  Oct.  31,  1S32. 

Lois  B.,  b.  — ,  m.  Samuel  Harper  of  Limerick,  Dec.  30,  1822. 

Lydia,  b.  July  24,  1800,  m.  Samuel  Graffam. 

Fo.xwell,  b.  Jan.  25,  1802,  m.  Susanna  Harper  ;   2d,  Jane  Meserve  ;  d.  in  Buxton. 

Benjamin,  b.  Sept.  18,  1803,  I'd  near  Fairfield. 

Eunice,  b.  Mar.  i,  1805,  m.  Joseph  W.  Dresser  of  Scarboro,  p.  Feb.  4,  1832. 

James,  b.  Aug.  27,  1807,  d.  young. 

Nancy  L.,  b.  Nov.  18,  1808,  m.  John  W^oodman,  Nov.  20,  1828  ;  I'd  in  Fairfield. 

William  K.,  b.  Jan.  9,  1810,  m.  Mary   A.  Barberick  ;  d.  Feb.  i,  1853  ;  she,  Feb. 

16,  1849. 
James   L.,  b.   Oct.  4,    iSii,  m.    Louisa  E.   Libby,   Dec.   12,    1S33;    2d,   Irene 

Hodgdon. 
Miranda,  b.  Oct.  6,  1813,  m.  John  Emery  of  Fairfield. 
Martha  M.,  b.  Feb.  16,  1816,  d.  in  Saco,  June  10,  1837. 
Frederic,  b.  Apr.  17,  1818,  m.  Maria  Harmon;  I'd  and  d.  in  .Scarboro. 

Samuel  Deering  died  in  February,  1839. 

(2)  Jeremiah  Deering,  Jr.,  son  of  Jeremiah,  lived  on  the  farm 
cleared  and  occupied  by  his  father.  He  married  Sarah  Varney  of 
Windham.     Children  : 

Abigail,  b.  Dec.  3,  1832,  d.  young. 

Mary  J.,  b.  Aug.  16,  1S34,  m.  Samuel  G.  Boothby  of  Saco,  Mar.  7,  1861. 

Charles  W.,  b.  Apr.  30,  1837,  m.  Zilpah  B.  Watson  of  Hiram,  Mar.  17,  1861. 
Ch :  Lelia  M.,  b.  Jan.  31,  1862,  m.  Geo.  Sawyer  of  Buxton  ;  Frank  H., 
b.  Sept.  2,  1864.  m-  Helen  M.  Burnell,  in  1888  ;  Ruth  Emma,  b.  July  8, 
1866;  Edwin  W.,  b.  Sept.  23,  1874,  d.  Feb.  5,  1880.     Mr.  Deering  I's  in 


470  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

the  south  part  of  the  town,  on  the  farm  owned  by  his  father  and  grand- 
father before  him.  In  1879,  'So,  and  '81,  he  was  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Selectmen  of  Gorham,  and  he  has  always  taken  a  prominent  part  in 
the  affairs  of  the  town.  It  was  largely  owing  to  him  that  that  part  of 
Scarboro,  known  as  the  "strip,"  was  set  off  and  annexed  to  Gorham. 

Jeremiah  Deering,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  Sept.  i,  1877,  was  the 
last  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in  Gorham.  His  wife  died 
Dec.  24,  1884,  aged  88. 

(2)  James  L.  Deering,  son  of  Samuel,  lived  on  his  father's  old 
place  neai;  the  Buxton  line,  in  the  southwest  corner  of  the  town. 
He  married  Louisa  E.,  daughter  of  Capt.  Theodore  Libby  of  Scar- 
boro.     Children  : 

Caroline,  b.  Sept.  22,  1S34,  m.  Wallace  Phillips  of  Gorham. 
Martin  V.  B.,  b.  Apr.  7,  1837,  m.  S.  E.  Roundy  ;  I'd  in  Westbrook. 
Samuel,  b.  Aug.  14,  1839,  d.  Mar.   10,  1849. 
Theodore,  b.  June,  1849,  ™-  Kate  Skillings  ;  I's  in  Scarboro. 

Mrs.   Louisa   E.   Deering  died    Aug.   7,  1850,   aged   39,  and   Mr. 

Deering  married,    May   18,  185 1,   Irene,   daughter  of   Timothy   and 

Nancy  Hodsdon.     Children  : 

Louisa,  b.  Aug.  18,  1852,  m.  J.  Augustus  Libby  of  Scarboro,  Jan.  i,  1873. 
Martha  A.,  b.  Sept.  30,  1854,  m.  David  Aldrich. 
Louville  W.,  Oct.  16,  1858,  m.  Jennie  Kowe  of  Baldwin. 
Nancy  J.,  b.  Oct.  23,  1863,  m.  hugene  Libby  of  Scarboro. 
Rena  Etta,  b.  Jan.  20,  1868,  d.  Aug.  26,  1886. 

James  L.  Deering  died  Feb.  18,  1901. 

DOUGLASS. 

Elisha    Douglass    of    Limington    married.    Mar.  3,    1814,    Betsey, 

daughter  of   Nathaniel   and    Mary   (Fogg)   Blake   of   Gorham.     He 

came  to  Gorham   and   lived   for  a  while   on  the  farm  of  his  wife's 

father,  and  then  returned  to  Limington.     Children: 

Elias,  b.  in  Gorham,  d.  in  Cornish. 

Orin,  b.  in  Gorham,  I'd  in  Sebago  ;  d.  March  1898. 

Freedom,  b.  Mar.  2,  1818,  m.  Elizabeth  A.  Knight. 

Edmund,  b.    in    Lirnington,    m.   Boody ;    2d,  Eliza    Mayberry ;    I'd   in 

Windham. 
Elisha,  b.  in  Limington,  Oct.  16,  1824,  m.  Ellen  E.  Patrick  ;  no  ch. 
Eliza,  b.  in  Limington,  m.  David  Davidson. 
Lewis,    b.    in    Limington,  m.    Hannah    P.   Patrick,   June   3,  1855;  2d,  Frances 

H.  Fogg. 
Leonard,  b.  in  Limington,  m.  Mary  Purinton. 

Elisha  Douglass  married  second,  Salome  Morton  of  Limington  ; 
and  died  in  that  town.  His  children  by  his  second  wife  were 
Charles  and  Almon. 

(2)  Freedom  Douglass,  son  of  Elisha,  lived  on  the  Standish  road, 
above  Saul  C.  Higgins's  on  the  old  Nathaniel  Blake  farm.  He 
married  Elizabeth  A.  Knight  of  Westbrook.     Children  : 


GENEALOGY.  471 

Orman  L.,  b.  June  3,  1842,  d.  in  the  army  at  P^ort  Laramie,  Kansas,  Oct.  21, 

1864. 
Edward  K.,  b   Oct.,  1843,  m.  Josephine  Chick. 
Elizabeth  E.,  b.  Sept.  i,  1844,  m.  Chas.  B.  Cotton,  Oct.  25,  1862. 
Geo.  Henry,  b.  Mar.  15,  1846,  m.  Winfred  McLellan,  Sept.  2,  1871. 
Temperance,  b   Oct.  25,  1S4S,  m.  I  has.  P.  I-ibby. 
Hattie  J.,  b.  Oct.  31,  1850,  m.  Alfred  B.  Pride  of  Deering;  2d,  Fred  A.  Gammon, 

of  Mich. 
Elisha,  3d,  b.  Sept.  28,  1852,  m.  Mary  Fields  of  Boston. 
Etta,  b.  July  22,  1854,  m.  Newell  B.  Lowell. 
Freedom  L.,  b.  May  31,  1859,  m.  Mrs.  Nellie  M.  Jones. 

Freedom  Douglass  died  Oct.  24,   1886,  aged  68.     Mrs.  Elizabeth 

A.  Douglass  died  Aug.  12,  1885,  aged  67. 

(2)  Lewis  Douglass,  son  of  Elisha,  married  Hannah  P.,  daughter 
of  Stephen  A.  Patrick  of  Buxton,  and  lived  on  the  Standish  road, 
about  a  mile  above  West  Gorham  village.     Children  : 

Emma  K.,  m.  Dr.  Albert  \V.  Lincoln. 

Clara  E.,  m.  Fred  O.  Sturgis,  May  23,  1883;  2d,  J.  S.  Leavitt,  Jr. 

Ada,  m.  George  Alden,  Nov.,  1887. 

Mary,  m.  Henry  Mosher,  June  i,  1892. 

Mrs.  Hannah  Douglass  died  Dec.  31,  1874,  aged  42,  and  Mr. 
Douglass  married,  Mar.  12,  1876,  Mrs.  Frances  H.  (Libby)  Fogg, 
widow  of  Harmon  Fogg.     He  died  Aug.  3,  1902,  aged  72. 


DUNN. 

Nathaniel  Dunn  came  to  Gorham  from  Long  Creek,  Cape  Eliza- 
beth. Feb.  14,  1765  he  purchased  of  Wentworth  Stuart  and  Austin 
Alden  the  hundred  acre  lot  23.  Dea.  Alden  in  his  diary  under  date 
of  Aug.  7,  1765  says  "Nathaniel  Dunn  worked  for  me."  In  Novem- 
ber, 1795  he  sold  his  homestead,  comprising  some  seventy  acres  of 
the  above-mentioned  lot,  to  Benjamin  Fickett  and  his  son  Moses 
of  Falmouth,  and  moved  to  the  Blake  neighborhood  on  to  the  farm  now 
owned  by  Alonzo  Wood,  near  the  schoolhouse.  In  18 12  he  was  a 
resident  of  Cornish.  His  wife  was  Mercy,  daughter  of  Christopher 
Dyer  of  Cape  Elizabeth.     Children  : 

Christopher,  b.  ,  m.  Susanna  Lombard,  Feb.  3,  1782  ;  2d.  Betty  Fogg. 

Mercy,  b.  ,  m.  James  Emeiy  of  Buxton,  p.  June  14,  1783. 

Nathaniel,  b. ,  1765,  m.  Betty  Atkinson,  May  3,  1787. 

Joshua  (?),  b. ,  m.  Rebecca  Jones  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  Sept.  15,  1791. 

Deborah,  b.  Feb.  6,  1771,  m.  Joshua  Harmon  of  Scarborough,  Jan.  28,  1790. 

Polly,  b.  Oct.  ID,  1773,  ^-  Al^iel  Briggs,  Jan.  20,  1791. 

Jonah,  b.  Feb.  22,  1776. 

Samuel,  b.  Mar.  15,  1778,  I'd  in  Dover,  N.  H. 

Betsey,  b.  June  17,  1780. 

Benjamin,  b. . 

David,  b. . 

John,  b. ,  m.  Lydia  Brooks. 


472  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

(2)  Christopher   Dunn,   son   of   Nathaniel,    was   a   soldier   of  the 

Revolution  —  a  fifer  in  Capt.  Richard   Mayberry's  company  in  1779. 

In   1 78 1   he  bought  of  his  father  thirty  acres  of  the  hundred  acre  lot 

23,  and  in  1785   he  purchased  sixteen  acres  of  land,  the  part  of  the 

hundred  acre  lot   22   on  which   Strout  lived.      He  married   Susanna, 

daughter  of  Solomon,  Jr.,  and  Lydia  Lombard.     Children  : 

Peter,  b.  May  31,  17S2. 

Rebecca,  b.  Apr.  10,  1789. 

Lydia. 

Richard,  b.  Jan.  9,  1792. 

Christopher  Dunn  married  second.  Mar.  30,  1794,  Betty,  daughter 
of  Jeremiah  and  Mary  Fogg,  by  whom  he  had  Jeremiah,  Nathaniel, 
George  and  Joshua.  The  family  moved  to  Belgrade.  Mrs.  Betty 
Dunn  died  in  1S48. 

(2)  Nathaniel  Dunn,  Jr.,  son  of  Nathaniel,  was  born  in  Gorham. 
He  married  Betty,  daughter  of  Dea.  Joseph  Atkinson  of  Buxton 
Gore,  near  the  Gorham  line.  After  his  marriage  he  bought  the  farm 
of  Daniel  Eldridge,  Jr.,  a  part  of  the  hundred  acre  lot  58,  and  after- 
wards moved  to  Salmon  Falls  on  the  Buxton  side  where  he  went 
into  trade. 

(2)  John  Dunn,  son  of  Nathaniel,  lived  for  a  time  in   Brownfield. 

In  18 1 2  he  returned  to  Gorham,  exchanging  his  Brownfield  place  for 

his  father's  old  farm,  then  owned  by  Benjamin  Blake.     He  married 

Lydia  Brooks  of  Portland.     Children  : 

Samuel,  m.  Joan  Roberts,  Sept.  26,  1826;  2d,  Martha  Roberts. 

Martha,  m.  WiUiam  Smith,  Oct.  21,  1830. 

John,  m.  Mary  K.  Goold  ;  I'd  in  Buxton. 

Sophia,  d.  unm.  Aug.  i,  i860. 

Mary  Ann,  m.  Eli  Wood,  May  22,  1827. 


Joseph,       f    ■    )  m.  Mary  Kimball;  d.  in  Portland. 

Charles,  m.  Nancy  Taylor;  2d,  Lucinda  Johnson  ;  d.  in  Buxton. 

Enoch,  d.  in  Dover,  N.  H. 

Silas,  m.  Serena  Dearborn  ;  d.  in  Oswego,  N.  Y. 

John  Dunn  died  Feb.  27,  1855,  and  Lydia  his  wife,  Feb.  20,  1846, 
aged  76. 

(3)  Samuel  Dunn,  son  of  John,  lived  on  the  old  place,  where  his 

father  had  lived.     He  married  Joan  Roberts  of  Buxton.     Children  : 

Octavia  R.,  b.  Feb.  2,  1827,  m.  Seth  Decker,  July  30,  1843. 

William  F.,  b.  June  29,  1828,  d.  Jan.  24,  1832. 

Sarah,  b.  July  30,  1830,  d.  Jan.  10,  1832. 

Andrew  J.,  b.  Mar.  4,  1832,  m.  Elizabeth  Dodge. 

Lydia  A.,  j    1     a  q         j  "i-  Elias  Graff  am  of  Limington,  Sept.  9,  1852. 

Joan,  \      •      P  •    y>      j4.    I  jjj  E2ra  Flanders. 


GENEALOGY.  473 

Mrs.  Joan  Dunn  died  Apr.  25,  1834,  aged  31,  and  Mr.  Dunn  mar- 
ried Martha  Roberts,  (pub.  Mar.  6,  1836).     Children: 

Emily  J.,  b.  Feb.  2,  1837,  m.  William  Cloudman,  1856. 

Sarah  E.,  b.  May  6,  1838,  m.  Andrew  J    Sands  of  Buxton,  June  27,  1858. 

Freeman,  b.  Nov.  9,  1S39,  m.  Carrie  Walker;  d.  in  Harrison. 

Harriet,  b. ,  m.  Lorenzo  B.  Emery  of  Bu.xton. 

Alpha,  b.  Oct.  25,  1843,  ™-  Lydia  York  of  Waterboro. 

William  F.,  b.  Oct.  14,  1845,  d.  at  Cape  Elizabeth,  Apr.  14,  1865;  member  of 

20th  M.  Vols. 
Selinda,  b.  Mar.  5,  1847,  m.  Joseph  Martin. 
Samuel,  b.  Sept.  28,  1849,  d.  in  Harrison,  unm.  July  23,  1872. 
Melville,  b.  Oct.  4,  1852,  d.  Apr.  15,  1864. 

Clarence,  b.  Apr.  15,  1855,  m.  Nellie  Deguio;  d.  Oct.  27,  1882. 
Mary  E.,  b.  Apr.  5.  1857,  d.  July  25,  1874. 
Evelina,  b.  Apr.  22,  1862,  d.  May  27,  1866. 

Samuel   Dunn   died   Aug.   12,   187 1,  aged  70.     His  wife  Martha 

died  Apr.  9,  1893,  aged  79. 

DYER. 

John  Dyer  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  whose  wife  was  Mary,  daughter  of 
Christopher  and  Mary  Strout,  received  about  the  year  1760  from  the 
estate  of  his  wife's  father  a  hundred  and  thirty  acres  of  land  in  Gor- 
ham,  comprising  the  thirty  acre  lot,  80,  and  the  hundred  acre  lot,  22, 
which  latter  piece  of  land  he  divided  among  his  children.  John  Dyer, 
Jr.,  had  thirty  acres  from  the  eastern  end  ;  to  Bickford  Dyer  he  gave 
the  next  lot  of  thirty  acres  ;  to  William  Weeks,  who  married  his 
daughter  Dorcas,  the  adjoining  lot  of  twenty-four  acres,  and  to  Prince 
Strout  and  wife  Christiana,  the  remaining  sixteen  acres.  July  24, 
1786,  he  gave  his  son  Samuel  a  deed  of  his  homestead  property  in 
Cape  Elizabeth  and  it  is  supposed  came  to  Gorham  and  made  his 
home  with  his  son  John,  Jr. 

Bickford  Dyer  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  enlisting  in  Capt. 
Hart  Williams's  company,  Col.  Phinney's  regiment.  He  and  his  wife 
Betty  sold  their  land  in  Gorham  Feb.  28,  1789,  to  Nathaniel  Dunn, 
and  probably  left  town  about  that  time.  He  died  in  Baldwin,  May 
5,  1828. 

Apr.  14,  1792,  Benjamin  Weeks  sold  to  Abiel  Briggs  the  lot  and 
buildings  which  had  belonged  to  his  father  and  mother,  William 
and  Dorcas. 

In  1785  Prince  and  Christiana  Sfrout  sold  their  portion  of  22  to 
Christopher  Dunn.     Prince  Strout  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution. 

John  Dyer,  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Strout)  Dyer  of  Cape  Eliza- 
beth, came  from  that  town  to  Gorham  in  July,  1765.  He  settled  on 
and  cleared  the  land  in  the  south  part  of  the  town,  spoken  of  above. 


474  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

This  farm  is  still  in  the  possession  of  his  descendants.     He  married 
Dorcas — .     Children  : 

John,  b.  in  Falmouth,  June  4,  1767,  m.  Mary  Dearborn,  Apr.  i,  1790. 
William,  b.  in  Gorham,  Sept.  20,  1769,  m.  Mrs.  Rebecca  Huston.  Oct.  11,  1792. 
Deborah,  b.  in  Gorham,  May  20,  1772,  m.  Daniel  Moulton,  Jr.,  Nov.  25,  1790. 
Mary,  b.  in  Gorham,  Aug.  4,  1774,  m.  Jacob  Morse,  p.  July  26,  1800. 

John  Dyer  probably  died  about  1812. 

(2)     John  Dyer,  son  of  John,  married  Molly  Dearborn.     After  the 

birth  of  most  of  his  children  the  family  moved  to  Coal  Kiln  corner 

in  Scarborough.      Children  : 

Dorcas,  b.  Oct.  26,  1790,  m. Russell. 

Timothy,  b.  Feb.  i,  1793. 

William,  b.  Oct.  10,  1795. 

Mehitable,  b.  June  6,  179S,  m.  Ephraim  Bragdon. 

Deborah,  b.  Jan.  22,  1800,  d.  young. 

Deborah,  b.  Feb.  24,  1803. 

Molly,  b. . 

(2)  William  Dyer,  son  of  John,  lived  in  the  south  part  of  the  town 

on  the  old  homestead.     He  married  Mrs.  Rebecca  (Horton)  Huston, 

the  widow  of  Capt.  Wm.  Huston  of  Falmouth  whom  she  married  Jan. 

II,  1784,  and  by  whom  she  had  one  child  Betty.     Capt.  Huston  was 

lost  at  sea  about  1787.     Children  : 

Horton,  b.  May  10,  1793,  '^-  Mar.  14,  1795. 

Samuel,    b.  Feb.  14,  1795,  m.  Susan   Woodman,  Jan.  7,  1817  ;  I'd  in   Scarboro ; 

d. 1843. 
William,  b.  Feb.  14,  1795,  ^-  ^^S-  8,  1796. 
Nathan,  b.  Mar.  4.  1796,  m.  Polly  Grant,  p.  Apr.  2,  183 1. 
Ruth  H.,  b.  Nov.  20,  1799,  d.  unm.  Feb.  3,  1866. 

Deborah,  b. ,  1800,  d.  Nov.  22,  1802 

Amelia,  b.  Apr.  i,  1804,  m   Isaac  Dyer  of  Baldwin  (ist  wife),  Oct.  30,  1825. 
James, b.  Dec.  14,  1805,  m.  Mrs.  Nichols. 

Hort'^n,  b.  May  10,  1806,  m   Jemima  Flood  of  Buxton,  Jan.  i,  1S29. 
Lavinia,  b.  June  5,  1809,  m.  Mark  L.  Robinson  of  Baldwin,  Dec.  29,  1833. 
William,  b.  Nov.  20,  181 1,  went  to  sea  —  d.  while  a  young  man. 
Eleanor,  b. ,  d.  unm. — a  young  woman. 

William  Dyer  died  Sept.  22,  1832,  aged  63.     Mrs.   Rebecca  Dyer 
died  Oct.  17,  1823,  aged  59. 

(3)  Nathan  Dyer,  son  of  William,  lived  on  the  farm  once  owned 
by  his  father.      He  married  Polly  Grant  of  Limington.      Children  : 

William  M.  b.  Apr.  19,  1833,  m.  Sarah  A.,  dau.  of  Timothy  and  Nancy  Hods- 
don,  Dec.  21,  1854.  Ch :  Ar^iur  P.;  Cora  E.,  m  J.  Fred  Varney,  d.  July 
8,  1887;  Ivory  L. ;  Helen  L.,  d.  June  9,  1886,  ag.  22.  Mrs.  Sarah  Dyer 
d.  Feb.  II.  1878,  ag  48,  and  Mr.  Dyer  m.  May  12,  1886,  Mrs.  Marilla 
(Spear)  Files,  widow  of  Albion  K  P.  File.s.  Mr  Dyer,  who  was  a  mason 
by  trade.  I'd  for  some  years  on  his  father's  farm,  and  afterwards  at  Gor- 
ham Village.     He  d.  Feb.  8,  1900 

Susan  J.,  b.  June  28,  1834.  d.  Oct.  9.  1854. 

Caroline  L.,  b.  May  26.  1836,  d.  1842. 


GENEALOGY.  475 

Nancy  L.,  b.  Mar.  i8,  1839,  m.  Samuel  L.  Trace. 
George  W.,  b.  Nov.  24,  1840,  m.  Martha  Emery. 
Samuel  F.,  b.  Dec.  19,  1841,  d.  aged  2  years. 

Nathan  Dyer  died  May  8,  1853;  Mrs.  Dyer  died  Jan.  22,  1859, 
aged  61. 

Capt.  Jonah  Dyer,  born  July  27,  1755,  wa.s  the  son  of  Christopher 
Dyer  of  Cape  EHzabeth.  July  25,  1776,  he  married  Elizabeth  Clark 
Deake,  daughter  of  George  and  Mary  Deake  and  adopted  daughter 
of  Rev.  Ephraim  Clark  of  Cape  Elizabeth.  She  was  born  in  that 
part  of  Falmouth  which  is  now  Cape  Elizabeth,  May  19,  1759.  Capt. 
Dyer  probably  came  from  Cape  Elizabeth  to  Gorham  about  the  year 
1794,  as  he  and  his  wife,  being  then  of  Gorham,  give  at  that  time  a 
deed  of  land  m  Cape  Elizabeth,  and  his  name  first  appears  on  the 
tax  list  of  Gorham  in  1795.  Capt.  Dyer  purchased  the  thirty  acre 
lot  102,  and  the  hundred  acre  lot  42.  He  lived  in  and  probably 
built  the  two-story  house  on  Main  St.,  on  lot  102,  nearly  opposite  the 
western  part  of  the  New  Cemetery,  still  known  as  the  Dyer  house. 
Children  of  Jonah  and  Elizabeth  Dyer : 

Elizabeth,  b.  May  5,  1777,  m.  Isaac  Choate,  Nov.  7,  1793;  -^'  Abner  McDon- 
ald, June  28,  1801  ;  3d,  David  H.  Bradley,  May  18,  1S04;  4th,  Ephraim 
Frost,  Feb.  3,  1810. 

Polly,  b.  May  23,  1781,  m.  Rev.  Daniel  D.  Lewis,  May  13,  179S. 

Almira,  b.  Feb   23.  1783,  m.  Stephen  llutterfield,  Sept.  i,  1804. 

Clark,  b.  Mar.  31,  1785,  m  Hannah  Whitney,  Jan.  10,  1812;  2d,  Catherine  L. 
Hatch. 

Mercy,  b.  June  25,  1787,  m.  Stephen  Hatch,  p.  Feb.  14,  1807;  d.  Dec.  2,   1S14. 

Jonah,  b.  Aug.  11,  1789,  m.  Elizabeth  Harding;  I'd  in  Gorham,  in  the  house  on 
the  north  side  of  Main  St.,  lately  occupied  by  Christopher  Way.  Ch : 
Elizabeth,  m.  Charles  McDonald ;  Charles;  George;  Jonah.  Mr.  Dyer 
d.  Apr.  27,  1831.     The  family  moved  to  the  British  Provinces. 

George,  b.  Sept.  23,  1791. 

Charles,  b.  May  20,  1793. 

Capt.  Jonah  Dyer  died  Mar.  14,  1830,  aged  75  ;  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Dyer  died  July  31,  1843,  aged  84. 

(2)  Clark  Dyer,  son  of  Capt.  Jonah,  lived  in  the  house  occupied 
by  his  father.  He  married  Hannah,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Mehit- 
able  Whitney,  by  whom  he  had  one  child,  Hannah,  born  in  1812. 
Mrs.  Hannah  Dyer  and  her  infant  daughter  died  Sept.  27,  181 2, 
Mrs.  Dyer  aged  21.  Mr.  Dyer  married,  Jan.  29,  1814,  Catherine  L. 
Hatch.     Children: 

Charles,  b.  Oct.   i,    1814,  m.    Lydia   Clemons,   1844;  d.  Nov.   26,   18474     Mrs. 

Lydia  Dyer  m.  2d,  Capt.  Nathan  Winslow  ;  d    May  29,    1888,  ag.  75. 
Clark,  b.  Oct.  21,  1816,  m   Ann  Johnson  ;  d.  Jan.  2,  1894. 
Harriet,  b.  Feb.  11,  1819,  d.  May  7,  1826. 


476  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

George,  b.  Jan.  29,  1822,  m.  Mrs.  Rebecca  Baker,  1849;  2d,  Mrs.  Clara  (Perry) 
Hanson,  Mar.  31,  1858. 
*      Asa,  b.  Dec.  7,  1824,  d. . 

Clark  Dyer  died  May  4,  1834  ;   Mrs.  Dyer  died  July  15,  1826. 

EDWARDS. 

It  is  said  that  John  and  Jonathan  Edwards,  brothers,  came,  about 
171 1,  from  England  or  Wales  to  America.  John  settled  in  Haverhill, 
Mass.,  and  Jonathan  in  Connecticut.  Richard  Edwards  who  was 
born  in  Haverhill,  Mass.,  Sept.  5,  1740,  was  the  son  of  John  and 
Elizabeth  (Crockett)  Edwards,  and  probably  grandson  of  the  John 
above.  He  came  from  Haverhill  when  quite  young,  with  his  uncle, 
(probably  his  mother's  brother).  His  uncle  lived  on  the  Portland 
road  —  south  side  —  in  the  then  next  house  below  the  Samuel 
Crockett  (now  Jewett  or  Board)  house.  Samuel  Crockett  was 
probably  a  cousin  to  Richard.  The  mother  of  Richard-  Edwards 
when  a  widow  came  to  Gorham  from  Haverhill,  where  she  then 
lived,  and  spent  the  remainder  of  her  life  with  her  son  Richard, 
dying  at  his  house.  Richard  Edwards  was  one  of  the  early  Come- 
outers,  and  became  a  zealous  Free  Will  Baptist.  He  was  probably 
one  of  the  first  abolitionists  in  the  country.  He  helped  to  get  off 
Limbo,  one  of  the  old  Hugh  McLellan  slaves.  He  married  in  Gor- 
ham, July  4,  1765,  Hannah  Lothrop  of  Haverhill.  Previous  to  this, 
on  Oct.  ig,  1764,  he  had  purchased  of  William  Bucknam  and  others 
a  half  of  the  hundred  acre  lot  26.  On  this  lot  he  settled  on  the  place 
where  Lawyer  Smith  afterwards  lived.     Children  : 

John,  b.  Apr.  18,  1766,  d.  young. 
Sarah,  b.  Sept.  3,  1768,  d.  young. 
Samuel,  b.  Jan.  27,  1770,  m.  Martha    McLellan,    July  8,    1792;  2d,    Susanna 

Pierce. 
Hannah,  b.' July  8,  1772,  m.  John  Sawyer  of  Phillips'  Gore,  Oct.  4,  1792. 
Enoch,  b.  Sept.  20,  1774,  m.  Abigail  McLellan,  June  16,  1799. 
Lydia,  b.  June  12,  1777,  m.  Ahner  Fogg,  p.  Feb    14,  1807. 
William,  b.  Sept.  2,  1779,  ^-  Dorcas  Merrill,  Nov.  30,  1803. 

Sarah,  b. ,  1780,  d.  young. 

Susannah,  b.  Apr.  22,  1782,  m.  Thomas  Worcester,  Sept.  11,  1800. 

Richard,  b.   Feb.   18,    1786,  m.   Martha,  dau.  of   Lieut.  Silas  Chadbourn,  July, 

1810;  moved  to  Otisfield. 

Mrs.  Edwards  died  Jan.  3,  1823,  and  Mr.  Edwards  married,  Jan.  8, 
1824,  Mrs.  Lucy  (Roberts)  (Seiver)  (Crockett)  Chadbourn,  daughter 
of  Joseph  and  Hannah  Roberts,  and  widow  of  Lieut.  Silas  Chadbourn. 
Richard  Edwards  died  Oct.  29,  1826,  aged  86.  Mrs.  Lucy  Edwards 
died  Sept.  4,  1842,  aged  76. 

(2)  Samuel  Edwards,  son  of  Richard,  lived  on  the  Dea.  James 
McLellan  farm   on    South  St.     The   house   in   which   Mr.    Edwards 


GENEALOGY.  477 

lived  contained  the  first  plastered  room  in  Gorham,  and  stood  near 
the  spot  now  occupied  by  the  house  of  Mr.  VV.  E.  Russell.  Samuel 
Edwards  married  Martha,  daughter  of  James  and  Abigail  McLellan. 
Children  : 

James  M.,  b.  June  27,  1793,  m.  Dolly  Hill,  Dec.  12,  1819;  2d,  Eliza  A.  Rolfe ; 
3rd,  Susan  Stone. 

Hannah,  b.  July  14,  1796,  m.  Simon  Elder,  Jr.,  June  7,  1823. 

Martha,  b.  Feb.  17,  1798,  m.  Clark  Swett,  p.  Aug.  21,  181S. 

Bryce  McL.,  b.  Mar.  23,  1800,  m.  Martha,  dau.  of  Gen.  James  and  Rebecca  Irish", 
Nov.  21,  1833;  moved  to  Saci  arappa,  where  for  many  years  he  was  one 
of  the  leading  merchants,  an  honest  and  upright  Christian  man,  noted 
for  his  square  and  honorable  dealings  ;  d.  in  Saccarappa,  Apr.  15,  1871  ; 
his  wife  d.  July  22,  1874. 

Charles,  b.  Mar.  9,  1802,  d.  June  25,  1804. 

Charles,  b.  May  9,  1805,  d.  Feb.  25.  1815. 

Mary  Ann,  b.  Dec.  8,  1807,  m.  William  B.  Harding,  Dec.  21,  1826. 

Maria,  b.  June  8,  1809,  m.  Joseph  Estes,  July  10,  1834. 

Abigail,  b.  Aug.  25.  iSii,m.  Sept.  11,  1831,  Rev.  Paul  C.  Richmond,  a  promi- 
nent minister  in  the  Maine  M.  E.  Conference.  Their  dau.  Mars-,  m.  Dr. 
S.  H.  Weeks  of  Portland. 

Theodore  B.,  b.  May  25,  181 5,  m.  Martha  R.  Gammon;  2d,  Lavina  A.  Bangs. 

Mrs.  Martha  Edwards  died  July  20,  1842,  aged  68,  and  Mr. 
Edward.s  married,  Feb.  7,  1843,  Mrs.  Susanna  Pierce  of  Wesibrook. 
Samuel  Edwards  died  Feb.  23,  1847. 

(2)  Enoch  Edwards,  son  of  Richard,  married  Abigail  McLellan, 
sister  to  his  brother  Samuel's  wife.  He  lived  for  a  time  with  his 
brother  on  the  Dea.  McLellan  farm.  His  first  child,  Eunice,  was 
born  in  Gorham,  Mar.  23,  1800.  Shortly  afterwards  he  moved  to 
Otisfield,  where  ten  other  children  were  born  to  him.  Richard,  the 
second  son,  born  Mar.  30,  1804,  lived  many  years  in  Gorham,  and  is 
well  remembered  by  many  of  our  citizens.  He  died  unm.  Jan.  25, 
187 1.  Clark  Swett,  the  youngest  child,  born  Mar.  25,  1823,  was 
colonel  of  the  Fifth  Me.  Regt.,  in  the  Civil  War.  He  was  at  one 
time  the  Democratic  candidate  for  Governor  of  Maine.  Enoch 
Edwards  died  in  Otisfield,  Dec.  7,  1863  ;  Abigail,  his  wife,  died  Oct. 
4,  1843. 

(2)  William  Edwards,  son  of  Richard,  lived  on  the  Jacob  S.  Smith 

place,  which  he  received  from  his  father  in   1806,  together  with  all 

his  carpenter's    and   joiner's  tools  and  clock  and  desk.      He  married 

Dorcas,  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Dorcas  Merrill.     Children  : 

Susan,  b.  Dec.  27,  1804,  m.  Geo.  Anderson  of  Limington.  Jan.  i,  1S32. 

Emeline,  b.  Feb.  9,  1806,  m.  Ivory  Wdkefield,  June  3,  1827. 

James  H.  R.,  b.  Nov.    13,   1807,   m.  Emeline  McLellan,  p.   July  25,    1834;  2d, 

Abbie  T.  Jones;  3d,  Harriet  Mcl.anathan. 
Betsey,  b.  Dec.  16,  1808,  m.  William  Mason  of  Baltimore. 
Dorcas  M.,  b.  Dec.  28,  1810,  m.  Sylvester  Fogg,  Oct.  9,  1834. 
Catherine,  b.  Mar.  2,  1813,  m.  Peter  E.  Mosher,  p.  Nov.  i,  1833. 
Charlotte,  b.  Feb.  7,  1815,  d.  unm. 


478  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Harriet,  b.  Nov.  25,  1817,  m.  Tobias  l.ittlefield ;  d.  at  Gardiner. 
Hannah  L.,  b.  Aug.  15,  1819,  m.  Daniel  Cole. 

Margaret,  b.  Oct.  2,  1821,  m. . 

Mary  Jane,  b.  July  7,  1X25,  m.  A.  Bachelder. 
Albion,  b.  Sept.  29,  1827,  I's  at  Lisbon  Centre. 

William  Edwards  moved  with  his  family  to  Fayette,  and  from 
thence  to  Gardiner. 

(3)  James  M.  Edwards,  son  of  Samuel,  was  a  cooper  by  trade.     He 

lived  on  the  westerly  side  of  South  St.,  in  the  house  since  occupied 

by  his  daughter  Ann  Maria.     He  married   Dolly  Hill  of  Biddeford. 

Children  : 

Josiah  H.,  b.  Sept.   17,   1820,  m.  Elizabeth  B.  Woodman  of  Buxton,  Nov.  7, 

1847;  d.  Aug.  17,  1859,  in  Greenville,  S.  C;  she  d.  Sept.  22,  '88. 
Charles  H.,  b.  Mar.  14,  1822,  m.  in  the  South;  d.  Feb.  11,  1900. 
Martha  J.,  b.  Aug.  7,  1823,  d.  Nov.  13,  1823. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Nov.  i,  1824,  m. ;  dead. 

James  L.,  b.  Sept.  15,  1827,  d.  June  i,  1828. 

Mrs.  Dolly  Edwards  died  Apr.  25,  1827,  aged  32,  and  Mr.  Edwards 
married,  May  27,  1828,  Eliza  Ann  Rolfe,  by  whom  he  had  : 

Julia  F.,  b.  Apr.  27,  1829,  m.  Wm.  L.  Alden  of  Portland,  1850;  2d,  Randall 

Weeks. 
Ann  Maria,  b.  Dec.  23,  1830.  d.  unm.  Dec.  31,  1887. 
Harriet  L.,  b.  Aug.  4,  1833,  m.  John  C.  Quinby  ;  I's  in  St.  Paul,  Minn. 
Melville  C,  b.  Oct.  22,  1834,  d.  Sept.  11,  1835. 

P.  Richmond,  b.  June  25,  1836,  m.  Rebecca  Proctor;  2d,  Mary  Miles. 
Clark  S.,  b.  Jan.  15,  1839,  d.  Feb.  3,  1842. 

Mrs.  Eliza  A.  Edwards  died  Dec.  16,  1841,  and  Mr.  Edwards  mar- 
ried, Dec.  8,  1844,  Mrs.  Susan  (F^rost)  Stone.  Mrs.  Edwards  died 
in  1854,  and  Mr.  Edwards,  Jan.  6,  1859. 

(3)  Theodore  B.  Edwards,  son  of  Samuel,  married  Martha  R. 
Gammon,  by  whom  he  had  William  G.,  died  young;  Mar}^'  Ella,  mar- 
ried Henry  Whitney ;  and  Arthur  J.,  died  young.  Mrs.  Edwards  died 
Sept.  8,  i860,  aged  35,  and  Mr.  Edwards  married,  Dec.  28,  1865, 
Lavina  A.,  daughter  of  Nathan  and  Statira  Bangs.  They  have  two 
children  living :  Ralph,  and  Dana  Estes.  Mr.  Edwards  was  post- 
master at  the  Village,  during  Cleveland's  first  administration.  He 
died  May  19,  igoo.     Mrs.  Lavina  Edwards  died  Aug.  14,  1902. 

(3)  James  H.  R.  Edwards,  son  of  William,  married  Emeline,  daugh- 
ter of  David  and  Betsey  McLellan.     Children  : 

Mary  McL.,  b.  Dec,  1835,  d.  ilnm.  Feb.  4,  1879. 

Elizabeth  I.,  b.  May  17,  1837,  m.  Giles  Heath,  of  Niles,  Mich. 

Geo.  W.,  b.  Nov.  27,  1839,  graduated  at  Bowdoin  College,  with  high  honors ; 

killed  at  the  Battle  of  Fredericksburg,  Dec.  13,  1862. 
Chas.  M.,  b.  Aug.  21.  1842,  m.  Isabella  Fenton;  I'd  in  St.  Joseph,  Mo. ;  w^as  in 

the  Civil  War;  d.  Feb.  18,  1896. 
Emma,  b.  Jan.  10,  1846,  m.  Frank  Peterson. 


GENEALOGY.  479 

Mrs.  Emeline  Edwards  died  Aug.  25,  1846,  aged  37  years.  Mr. 
Edwards  married  Abbie  T.  Jones,  who  died  Oct.  2,  1869,  aged  64; 
he  then  married  Mrs.  Harriet  (Edwards)  McLanathan,  widow  of 
Samuel  McLanathan,  by  whom  he  had  one  child  : 

William,  b.  June  9,  1S74. 

James  H.  R.  Edwards  died,  May  26,  1890,  aged  82. 

Samuel  Edwards  was  the  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  Edwards  of 

Haverhill,  Mass.,  and  was  born  Feb.  16,  1750.     He  came  to  Gorham 

about  1772.     His  wife  was  Mary .     They  had  two  children 

born  in  Gorham  : 

Olive,  b.  Jan.  13,  1772.  m.  John  McQuillan,  Sept.  20,  1798. 
Susannah,  b.  Dec.  24,  1774. 

Samuel  Edwards  moved  to  Buxton  about   1776,  where  his  other 

children  were  born,  and  are  recorded  on  the  Buxton  records.     His 

wife  Mar}'  died  May  18,  1805,  and  he  married  second,  Lucy  McDonald 

of  Buxton. 

Nathaniel  Edwards  was  a  brother  to  Samuel  above,  and  also  to 
Richard.  He  was  born  in  Haverhill,  Mass.,  in  1752,  and  came 
to  Gorham  some  years  after  his  brother  Richard.  He  lived,  prob- 
ably, on  the  farm  since  owned  by  the  late  Byron  G.  Coburn.  He 
married,  Sept.  16,  1775,  Sarah,  daughter  of  Ichabod  and  Susanna 
Hunt.      Children : 

George,  b.  Aug.  3,  1776. 
John,  b.  Oct.  3,  1777. 

Stephen,  b.  Sept.  22,  1779,  m.  Dilla  Hamblen,  Oct.  4,  1798 ;  moved  to  Raymond, 
or  Otisfield. 

After  the  death  of   Mrs.  Sarah  Edwards,  Mr.   Edwards  married, 

Sept.  29,  1786,  Bathsheba  Snow. 

Isaac,  b.  Mar.  12,  1787. 

Rachel,  b.  July  18,  1789. 

Jacob,  b.  Dec.  6,  1790,  probably  d.  June  26,  1847. 

Tabitha,  b.  June  11,  1792. 

Sally,  b.  May  23,  1793. 

Joshua,  b.  Jan.  12,  1795. 

Reuben,  b.  Dec.  i8,  1796. 

Anna,  b.  May  31,  1798. 

Nathaniel,   /  ,     in  <.• 

Bathsheba,  [  ^-  ^^^^  5,  1^00. 

Nathaniel  Edwards  sold  his  land  in  Gorham,  and  moved  to  Otis- 
field,  where  he  died. 

Samuel  Edwards  came  to  Gorham  from  Ashby,  Mass.  He  was 
engaged  for  some  years  in  the  manufacture  of  wooden  clocks.     He 


480  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

lived  on  the  spot  now  occupied  b)^  the  house  of  Daniel  Whittier,  on 

South  St.     About   1823-24,  he  moved  with  his  family  to  Portland, 

where  he  engaged  in  the  business  of  brass  casting  and  afterwards  in 

that  of  an  iron  foundry,  manufacturing  pumps  and  iron  doors  for 

brick  ovens,  which  latter  article  he  invented,     Mr.  Edwards  married, 

Nov.  5,  181 1,  Nancy  Burr  of  Ashby.     Children: 

Mary  Ann,  b.  Oct.  15,  18 12,  d.  unm.,  in  Portland,  Mar.  17,  1869. 
Sarah  W.,  b.  June  26,  18 14,  m.  Alexander  Putney,  d.  in  California. 
Grata  R.,  b.  Mar.  13,  1817,  m.  Chas.  H.  Carruthers,  Dec.  28,  1863. 
Otis  C,  b.  Jan.  30,  1819,  d.  in  California. 

Martha  E.,  b.  Mar.  31,  1822,  m.  Horatio  Griffin;  d.  Apr.  25,  1855. 
Rebecca  P.,  b.  in  Portland,  1825,  m.  Josiah  Duran ;  d.  in  1894. 
Harriet    M.,  b.  in    Portland,   1829,  m.  Samuel   McLanathan ;    2d,   Jas.    H.    R. 
Edwards. 

Calvin  Edwards,  brother  to  Samuel  above,  was  born  in  Ashby,  Jan. 
16,  1 79 1,  and  came  to  Gorham  about  1810.  He  was  a  cabinet 
maker.  After  working  for  some  years  at  this  trade,  he  began  the 
manufacture  of  organs.  His  first  organ  was  purchased  by  the  Con- 
gregational church,  at  the  Village,  and  was  the  first  one  placed  in 
that  building.  He  afterwards  moved  to  Portland  and  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  pianos.  Sept.  20,  1813,  he  married  Susan,  the 
daughter  of  Royal  Lincoln.  He  lived  for  a  time  after  his  marriage, 
in  the  Thacher  house,  and  then  in  the  Storer  house,  now  owned  and 
occupied  by  Mrs.  Simon  B.  Guthrie.     Children  : 

Sophia,  b.  Apr.  4,  1815,  m.  J.  HoHis  Randall;  d.  in  Natick,  Mass.,  Jan.  7,  1895. 

Mary  H.,  b.  Nov.  29,  1816,  m.  William  Edwards;  d.  in  So.  Natick,  Jan.  20, 
1881. 

Thankful  L.,  b.  Feb.  3,  1818,  d.  Apr.  24,  1819. 

Henry  S.,  b.  Jan.  16,  1820,  m.  Jane  G.  Ilemenway  of  Lancaster,  N.  H.  Mr. 
Edwards  was  a  skillful  musician,  and  long  a  popular  teacher  of  music. 
He  was  in  partnership  with  his  father  in  manufac:turnig  pianos  in  Port- 
land. About  1850  he  returned  to  Gorham  and  for  some  time  resided 
in  the  house  on  Statf-  St.,  now  occupied  by  F.  H.  Emery.  He  died  in 
Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  in  March,  1897. 

Martha,  b.  May  9,  1823,  d.  unm.,  in  Portland,  Mar.  15,  1S47. 

Clara  R.,  b.  May  30,  1825,  m.  Levi  Wetherbee;  d.  in  Cambridge,  Mass.,  Nov., 
1858. 

Elizabeth  M.,  b.  Aug.  18,  1829,  m.  Dr.  Cieo.  Lincoln,  i860;  d.  in  Natick,  Mass. 

George  Calvin,  b.  Nov.  20,  1831,  d.  Aug.  28,  1832. 

Mrs.  Susan  Edwards  died  July  11,  1855,  and  Mr.  Edwards  married 
Mrs.  Louisa  Locke,  by  whom  he  had  one  child  :  Grace,  b.  Dec.  21, 
1857,  d.  May  ig,  1870.  Calvin  Edwards  died  in  So.  Natick,  Mass., 
Dec.  6,  1870,  aged  80  years. 

Some  of  the  Edwards  families  in  Gorham  probably  came  here  from 
Wells,  Me.  There  was  a  Nathaniel  Edwards  family  in  town  which 
came  from  York,  Me.  ;  probably  no  relation  to  the  family  of  Richard 


GENEALOGY.  481 

Edwards.  Miss  Catherine  Edwards,  who  lived  for  many  years  at  Mr. 
Jonathan  Kimball's  in  this  town,  was  one  of  this  family.  She  was 
the  granddaughter  of  Joshua  Edwards  of  York,  and  daughter  of 
Nathaniel  Edwards.  She  was  born  in  Buxton,  Mar.  9,  1782,  and 
died  in  Gorham,  Oct.  19,  1874,  aged  92  years.  At  the  time  of  her 
death  she  was  the  oldest  member  of  the  Congregational  Church  at 
the  Village. 

Joshua  Edwards  was  probably  a  brother  of  Nathaniel,  and  uncle 
to  Catherine,  above.     His  wife  was  Mary .     Children  : 

Polly,  b.  June  13,  1780. 

Abigail,  b.  in  Buxton,  Oct.  28,  1782,  m.  Joseph  Wise  of  Falmouth,  p.  Feb.  20, 

i8oi.(?) 
Cyperion  J.,  b.  in  Gorham,  Feb.  16,  1785. 
Hepsibeth,  b.  in  Gorham,  Apr.  19,  1787. 
Lois,  b.  in  Gorham,  Feb.  7,  i  792. 

ELDER. 

Samuel  Elder,  the  first  of  the  name  known  in  Maine,  came  to  this 
country  from  Artemore,  County  of  Antrim,  in  the  north  of  Ireland. 
His  brother  Robert  came  with  him  alid  settled  in  what  is  now  Cape 
Elizabeth  near  where  the  end  of  the  present  railroad  bridge  is  ;  while 
Samuel  with  his  wife  (who  was  a  Huston)  and  two  children  settled 
at  Presumpscot  Falls,  now  Deering,  about  the  year  1730.  In  1743 
he  moved  from  Falmouth  to  Windham.     Children  of  Samuel  Elder : 

Margaret,  b.  in  Ireland,  m.   Samuel  Watts,   1752;  2d,  Jas.  Gilkey  of  Gorham, 

Nov.  9,  1759. 
William,  b.  in  Ireland,  m.  Mary  Akers ;  I'd  in  Windham. 
Isaac,  b   in  Falmouth,  Jan.  19,  1739,  m.  Mary  Hunnewell,  Oct.  16,  1761. 
Elizabeth,  b.  in  Falmouth  ,  1741,  m.  SiiTion    Huston  in  Falmouth,  July  23, 

1 761.     About  1765  they  removed  to  Gorham. 

Eunice,  b. ,  1745,  m.  Gary  McLellan  of  Gorham,  Jan.  i,  1767. 

Samuel,    b.    Aug.    29,    1748,    m.    Hannah    Freeman,   Mar.  3,    1774;   2d,   Mary 

Graffam. 
Jane,  b. ,  m.  ICleazar  Chase  of  Standish;  had  a  son  Isaac,  who  settled  in 

Standish,  and  a  dau.  Mary,  who  m.  Nathaniel  Freeman. 

(2)  Isaac  Elder,  son  of  Samuel,  married  Mary  Hunnewell,  and 
lived  in  Windham  till  Mar.  8,  1781,  when  the  family  moved  to 
Gorham.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Elder  lived  many  years  on  their  farm  on 
Queen  street  in  Gorham  and  died  there;  he,  July  15,  1796,  aged  57, 
and  she,  Sept.  14,  1804,  aged  60.  They  are  buried  in  the  old  ceme- 
tery on  South  St.     Children  : 

Hannah,  b.  Feb.  11,  1762,  d.  Oct.  10,  1781,  or  1789. 
Mary,  b.  Oct.  i,  1763,  m.  Daniel  Gammon,  Jan.  4,  1787. 
Anna,  b.  Sept.  17,  1765,  m.  David  McDougall.  Dec.  20,  1786. 
Matilda,  b.  June  8,  1767,  m.  Wm.  Hanson  of  Windham,  Dec.  8,  1785  ;  d.  Sept. 
15,  1818. 


482  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Isaac,  b.  May  8,  1769,  d.  young. 

Samuel,  b.  May  24,  1770,  d.  young. 

Elijah,  b.  June  25,  1772,  ni.  Eleanor,  dau.  of  Alexander  and  Margaret  Mi  Lellan, 
Aug.  19,  1798  ;  was  for  some  years  a  merchant  in  B^th  ;  one  child 
recorded  in  Gorham,  John,  b.  Dec.  5,  1798.     Mr.  E.  d.  May  10,  1812. 

Margaret,  b.  Dec.  22,  1774,  m    Samuel  Lummus,  May  31,  1801. 

Isaac,  b.  Feb.  9,  1777,  m. Oilman;  d.  Dec.  16,  1848. 

Dorcas,  b.  May  25,  1779,  d.  young. 

William,  b.  Aug.  i,  1781,  d.  >oung. 

John,  b.  Aug.  9,  1783,  d.  unm.  July  18,  1816. 

David,  b.  Feb.  6,  1786,  m.  Abigail  Colley  of  Windham,  Mar.  22,  1826;  no  ch. ; 
d.  Dec.  23,  1869,  and  she.  May  16,  1852,  ag.  65. 

(2)  Samuel  Elder,  son  of  Samuel,  was  apprenticed  to  learn  the 
trade  of  house-carpenter,  to  Robert  Ilsley,  Oct.  25,  1763,  for  the  term 
of  five  years  and  ten  months,  which  period  brought  him  to  his 
majority.  In  1773  he  bought  a  lot  of  land  on  the  then  Portland 
road.  This  was  the  farm  afterwards  owned  by  his  son  Simon,  and 
now  by  his  grandson  Randall  J.  Elder.  Upon  this  he  built  in  1774 
a  large  two-story  house.  This  house  was  burned  in  April,  1808. 
Mr.  Elder  at  once  rebuilt  on  the  same  spot,  and  in  a  very  short  space 
of  time  the  present  house  was  completed  and  ready  for  occupancy. 
Mr.  Elder  was  one  of  the  first  Trustees  of  Gorham  Academy. 
He  married  Hannah,  daughter  of  John  and  Bethiah  Freeman. 
Children  : 

Eunice,  b.  Nov.  29,  1774,  m.  Nathaniel  Mosher,  Nov.  15,  1795. 

Ruth,  b.  Jan.  7,  1776,  d.  Feb.  10,  1786. 

Hannah,  b.  Oct.  4,  1777,  m.  Joseph  Brown,  Oct.  28,  1798  ;  2d,  Elkanah  Hard- 
ing, Mar.  12,  1802. 

Betsey,  b.  Oct.  4,  1779,  m.  John  W.  Morris,  Nov.  18.  1798;  moved  to  Limerick. 

Samuel,  b.  Sept.  2,  178 1,  m.  Nancy  Mosher,  Jan.  i,  1805;  2d,  Mrs.  Rebecca 
Waterhouse. 

Mrs.  Hannah  Elder  died  Apr.   22,  1786,  and   Mr.  Elder  married, 

Dec.  14,  1786,  Mary,  daughter  of  Capt.  Caleb  and  Lois  Graffam  of 

Windham.     Children : 

Peter,  b.  Oct.  5,  1787,  d.  unm.  Jan.  29,  181 5. 

Ruth,  b.  Mar.  24,  1789,  m.  Simon  Huston,  May  28,  1812. 

Simon,  b.  Dec.  4,  1791,  m.  Mary  Hatch,  Apr.  10,  1819;  2d,  Elizabeth  Johnson. 

Lois,  b.  Jan.  13,  1797,  d.  young. 

Samuel   Elder  died  May  10,  1819;  his  wife  Mary,  Aug.  27,  1829. 

(3)  Reuben  Elder,  son  of  William  and  Mary  (Akers),  was  born  in 
Windham  June  22,  1762.  After  his  marriage  with  Elizabeth  Huston 
Feb.  4,  1787,  he  settled  in  Gorham  on  a  farm  in  the  Quaker  neigh- 
borhood, so  called.     Children  : 

Lydia,  b.  Nov.  24,  1787,  d.  Mar.  4,  1806. 
Mary,  b.  June  7,  1789,  d.  Feb.  10,  1798. 
Elizabeth  H.,  b.  Feb.  25,  1791,  d.  Oct.  5,  1873,  unm. 
Simon,  b.  Feb.  15,  1793,  d.  Apr.  lo^  1793- 


SIMEON    ELDER. 


RANDALL  J.    ELDER. 


GENEALOGY.  483 

Reuben,  b.  Oct.  17,  1794,  m.  Ruth  M.  Smith,  Dec.  25,  1818. 

Rebecca,  b.  June  21,  1796.  d.  Feb.  17,  179S. 

Simon,  b.  Sept.  2.  179S,  m.   Hannah   Edwards,  June  7,  1823;  d.  Mar.  26,  1826. 

John,  b.  June  8,  1800,  m.  Eliza  Thumas,  Feb.,  1822;  d.  June  10,  1624. 

Reuben  Elder  died  in  Gorham,  Sept.  7,  1830,  aged  68,  and  his 
wife  Elizabeth,  Jan.  14,  1840,  aged  76. 

(3)   Samuel   Elder,   son    of   Samuel,   lived   on   the   road  between 

White  Rock  and  Great  Falls,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  latter  place. 

He    married    Nancy,    daughter    of    James    and    Abigail     Mosher. 

Children : 

Samuel  H.,  b.  July  9,  1805,  m.  Sarah  Ayer ;  2d,  Sarah  Kimball. 

Freeman,  b.  Nov.  10,  1806,  m.  Harriet  Knapp  of  Standish,  p.  Oct.,  1850. 

Leonard  C,  b.  Oct.  15,  1808,  m.  Caroline  Stile. 

George  G.,  b.  Jan.  18,  181 1,  m.  Annie  Morrill. 

Peter,  b.  Mar.  i  i,  1813,  m.  Mary  J.  Harmon,  Nov.  25,  1839. 

Ruth    H.,  b.   July    11,  1815,  m.  Dr.  Phineas  Ingalls,  Mar.  19,  1845;   2d,   Lucius 

Bancroft,    June  15,  1859  ;  3d,  Jacob  C.  Baker,  Aug.  6,  1861  ;  d.  Aug.  23, 

1900. 
Abigail,  b.  June  14,  1819,  m.  John  Blair,  p.  Sept.  9,  1838. 

Mrs.  Nancy  Elder  died  May  2,  1837,  and  Mr.  Elder  married,  Nov. 

2,  1837,  Mrs.  Rebecca,  widow  of  Josiah  Waterhouse,  and   daughter 

of  Ezra  Brown  of  Windham.     Samuel  Elder  died  Sept.  22,  i860,  aged 

79.     Mrs.  Elder  died  June  6,  1875,  aged  85. 

(3)  Simon  Elder,  son  of  Samuel,  lived  on  the  old  road  to  Portland, 
on  the  farm  now  owned  by  his  son  Randall  J.  Elder.  He  married 
Mary,  daughter  of  Asa  and  Jane  Hatch,  who  died  Dec.  22,  1820, 
aged  24,  leaving  one  child  : 

Mary  Jane,  b.  June  10,  1820,  d.  Oct.  5,  1828. 

Mr.  Elder  married,  Jan.  26,  1823,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Randall 

Johnson  of  Westbrook.     Children  : 

Miriam,  b.  Nov.  18,  1823,  d.  young. 

Catherine,  b.  Nov.  i,  1825,  d.  unm.  Sept.  21,  1845. 

Mdrtha,  b   Nov.  5,  1827,  d.  July  27,  1851. 

Henry,  b.  Mar.  2,  1829,  d.  young. 

Sarah  J.,  b.  July  15,  1830,  d.  unm.  Apr.  28,  1854. 

Eunice,  b.  May  31,  1832,  d.  young. 

Randall  J.,  b.  Nov.  3,  1833,  m.  Frances  E.  Roberts.  Mar.  10,  1861. 

Mary  E.,  b.  Apr.  8,  1836,  m.  Henry  M.  Sweetsir,  Dec.  29,  1889. 

Edward,  b.  Jan.  13,  1839,  d-  young. 

George  L.,  b.  Nov.  16,  1841,  d.  young. 

Simon  Elder  died  May  4,  1862,  and  his  wife  Elizabeth,  Jan.  26, 
1889. 

(4)  Reuben  Elder,  son  of  Reuben,  lived  in  the  Quaker  neighbor- 
hood, where  Howard  Small  now  lives.  He  married  Ruth  M., 
daughter  of  Josiah  Smith.     Children  : 


484  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Wm.  Sewall,  m.  Mrs.  Bethiah  (Bangs)   Files,  June  23,  1844;  two  ch.,  Everett 

and  Mary. 
George  M.,  m.  Harriet  Bell  of  Portland ;  I'd  in  Portland. 
Greenlief  G.,  m.  Sarah  Parsons  of  Biddeford ;  I'd  in  Ueering. 
Charles  L.,  m.  Roxanna  Cumniings;  I'd  in  S.  Paris. 
Harriet  E.,  d.  unm.  in  Gorham. 
Edwin  F.,  m.  Emeline  Harding. 
Ruth  M.,  d.  unm.  in  Gorham. 

Esther  E.,  m.  Chas.  J.  Walker;  I'd  in  Portland;   d.  in  Gorham  in  1S98. 
Frances  A.,  m.  B.  F.  Whitney. 
Mary  J.,  d.  unm.  in  Portland  about  Feb.,  1894. 

Reuben  Elder  died  in  Gorham  in  1866. 

(4)  Peter  Elder,  son  of  Samuel  (3),  lived  at  the  north  part  of  the 

town  on  the  place  now  owned  by  William  Fogg  until  about  1867   or 

'68,  when  he  removed  to  Portland.     He  married  Mary  J.,  daughter 

of  Rufus  Harmon.     Children  : 

Helen  M.,  b.  Feb.  20,  1841,  d.  young. 

Mary  C,  b.  May  12,  1842,  m.  William  Cameron. 

Clara  M.,  b.  Aug.  28,  1846,  m.  Herbert  Sylvester. 

Ida,    b.  July  28,  1851,  m.  James  Pooler. 

Ruth  M.,  b. ,  is  a  teacher. 

Peter  Elder  died  in  Portland  in  1880.  His  widow  lives  in  Port- 
land with  her  children. 

ELDRIDGE. 

Daniel  Eldridge  came  to  Gorham  from  Wellfleet,  Mass.  He  pur- 
chased of  Enoch  Freeman  of  Falmouth,  Oct.  16,  1770,  the  hundred 
acre  lot  58,  which  adjoins  the  eastern  line  of  Narragansett  No.  i, 
(Buxton).  This  lot  is  west  of  where  the  late  Col.  Colman  Harding 
lived.  In  November,  1774,  Daniel  Eldridge  sold  a  part  of  this  lot  to 
Zephaniah  Harding.  In  January,  1774,  his  house  was  burned,  and  a 
son,  seven  years  old  perished  in  the  flames.     (See  Chapter  XVII.) 

Mr.   Eldridge's   wife   was   Abigail ,whom   he  married  before 

coming  to  Gorham.  We  have  no  record  of  their  family.  There  is 
but  one  child  recorded  as  being  born  in  Gorham  :  Ebenezer,  b.  Mar. 
26,  1 77 1.  Doubtless  other  children  were  born  before  the  family 
came  here.  There  was  a  son,  Daniel,  Jr.,  who  married,  Mar.  17, 
1785,  Phebe  Cobb,  and  had  a  child,  Sarah,  born  in  Gorham.  He 
lived  in  Buxton  where  he  died  June  10,  1832,  leaving  several  children. 
We  find  on  record  the  following,  who  were  also,  probably,  children  of 
Daniel  and  Abigail  Eldridge  :  Deborah,  married  Jonathan  Brown, 
formerly  of  Wellfleet,  Aug.  i,  1779;  Elizabeth,  married  Benjamin 
Woodman  of  Buxton,  1778.  Capt.  Daniel  Eldridge  was  quite  noted 
in  his  day  as  a  song  and  ballad  maker.  He  died,  probably,  in  1808 
or  1809. 


GENEALOGY.  485 

ELWFXL. 

Jonathan  Ehvell  is  the  iirst  of  the  name  we  tind   in  town.      His 

name  appears,  for  the  first  time,  on  the  tax  Hst  for   1775   where  he 

has  no  property,  but  is  taxed   a   poll   and  two  shillings  for  faculty 

which   indicates  a  fair  standing.      He  came  from   Cape  Ann,  Mass. 

He  had  a  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  probably  Horton.      PJy  her  he 

had  at  least  three  children  : 

Rebecca,  m.  William  Adams  of  Buxton,  Dec.  13,  1786. 
Sarah,  m.  Stephen  Adams  of  Buxton,  Apr.  14,  17S2. 
Isaac,  m.  Mary  Butterfield  of  Standish,  July  30,  1796. 

Mr.  Elwell's  second  wife  was  Sarah  Brimhall.  She  was  a  sister  of 
Sylvanus  Brimhall,  and  Mr.  Elwell  probably  married  her  in  Fal- 
mouth.     By  her  he  had  three  children  : 

George,  b.  Oct.  31,  1775,  m.  Mehitable  Cain  of  Buxton,  Oct.  4,  1798. 

Mary,  b.  May  2,  1778. 

Mercy,  b.  Apr.  16,  1780,  m.  Joseph  Adams,  Apr.  12,  1802. 

Jonathan  Elwell  married,  Feb.  5,  1794,  a  third  wife,  Sarah  Cotton, 
the  daughter  of  William  Cotton,  the  tanner.  By  her  he  had  one 
child  : 

Abigail,  d.  unm.,  Apr.  25,  1827. 

Mr.  Elwell  first  settled  in  the  Mosher  neighborhood  where  he  kept 
a  tavern.  In  the  year  1778  he  kept  a  public  house  at  Gorham  Cor- 
ner where  the  store  of  R.  G.  Harding  lately  stood.  We  find  meetings 
of  the  Proprietors  notified  to  meet  at  his  public  house  in  Gorham. 
He  died  on  the  farm  known  as  the  Joseph  Adams  farm  on  the  two 
rod  road  which  then  ran  westerly  from  near  the  David  Freeman 
farm,  above  Fort  Hill,  Sept.  30,  18 18,  aged  84. 

Jonathan  Elwell  had  a  sister  Rachel  who  married  in  Cape  Eliza- 
beth, Thomas  Morton,  son  of  Capt.  Bryant  Morton  of  Gorham. 

(2)    Isaac  Battle  Elwell,  son  of  Jonathan,  married  Mary,  daughter 

of  Joseph  and  Mary  (Harding)  Butterfield  of  Standish.     Children: 

David,  b.  in  Standish,  May  9,  1797. 
John,  b.  in  Gorham,  Nov.  17,  1798. 
Sally  Adams,  b.  in  Gorham,  Aug.  28,  1802. 

(2)     George  Elwell,  son  of  Jonathan,  lived  on  a  farm  not  far  above 

West  Gorham,  near  the  William  Cotton  place.     The  rising  ground 

on  which  his  house  was  situated  is  still  known  as  Bramhall's  Hill. 

He  married  Mehitable  Cain  of  Buxton.     Children  : 

Sally,  b. -,  1799,  d.  unm..  Mar.,  1883,  in  Gorham. 

Mary,  b. ,  d.  unm.,  in  Gorham,  July  29,  1842. 

Ruth,  b.  .  m.  Thos.  H.  Davis  of  Buxton,  p.  Oct.  19,  1831. 

Henry  W.,  b.  Feb.  24,  1809,  m.  Elsie  Libby,  Sept.  29,  1828;  d.  Mar.  30,  1863. 


486  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

George,  b.  Jan.  i8,  1810,  m.  Nancy  Smith  of  Standish,  in  1S36.  Ch :  Preston, 
b.  June  4,  1S37,  m.  Mary  Cannell  of  Windham;  Benjamin  D.,  b.  Aug. 
12,  1839,  m.  iViartha  Skilhngs  of  Westbrook  ;  Mary  E.,  b.  July  14,  1842, 
d.  Oct.  12,  1859;  Joanna  F.,  b.  Aug.  27,  1S44,  m  Josiah  Marean,  2d, 
Winthrop  Dresser  of  Standish  ;  Abigail  H.,  b.  May  23,  1847,  d-  ^g-  '9  ! 
Roscoe  G.,  b.  about  1849,  d.  ag.  17  ;  Lovanthia  J.,  b.  June  i,  1852,  m. 
Horace  Cre.ssey  of  Buxton  ;  Lendall  J.,  b.  June  30,  1854,  m.  Sarah  Lamb 
of  Windham,  I's  on  the  old  Elwell  place;  Fannie  F.,  b.  Feb.  4,  1857,  m. 
Clarence  Marean  of  Standish.  Mrs.  Elwell  d.  in  1883,  ng.  72  ;  Mr.  El- 
well d.  July  25,  1895. 

George  Elwell  was  lost  at  sea  in  October,  18 lO.     At  the  time  of 

his  death  he  was  mate  of  the  vessel  in  which  he  sailed,  and  was  to 

have  gone  captain  on  the  next  voyage.     Mrs.  Mehitable  Elwell  died 

at  the  house  of  her  son  George,  July  7,  1852,  aged  76. 

William  Elwell  purchased  a  saw  and  grist  mill  of  Zephaniah  Hard- 
ing at  Great  Falls  in  1792.  He  married,  June  12,  1792,  Molly, 
daughter  of  John  and  Isabella  (Martin)  Sawyer  of  Buxton.  Children 
recorded  in  Gorham  : 

Jabez,  b.  May  15,  1794. 
Joseph,  b.  June  9,  1796. 
Mary,  b.  July  1 1,  1798. 
John,  b.  Apr.  22,  1800. 

EMERY. 

John  and  Anthony  Emery  were  sons  of  John  and  Agnes  Emery. 
They  were  born  in  England,  and  came  to  America  with  their  wives 
in  the  ship  "James"  of  London  in  1635.  John  finally  settled  in 
Newbury,  Mass.,  and  Anthony  in  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  after  having 
lived  in  Newbury,  Mass.,  Dover,  N.  H.,  and  Kittery,  Me.  From 
these  two  brothers  are  descended  all  the  Emerys  of  Gorham  and  the 
neighboring  towns. 

John  Emery's  name  appears  on  the  tax  list  as  having  been  a  resi- 
dent of  Gorham  in  1776.  Dec.  21st  of  that  year  he  was  published 
to  Sarah,  daughter  of  John,  Jr.,  and  Rebecca  Phinney  of  Gorham. 
They  have  the  birth  of  one  child  on  the  Gorham  records  :  Benjamin, 
born  May  11,  1778.  There  is  no  further  record  of  the  family,  but  it 
is  probable  that  this  was  the  John  Emery  of  Gorham  who  was  a  pri- 
vate in  Capt.  Paul  Ellis's  company,  and  a  Corporal  in  Capt.  Samuel 
Whitmore's  company,  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution. 

James  Emery,  son  of  James  and  Mercy  (Bean)  Emery,  was  born 
in  Buxton  about  the  year  1763.  He  married  Mercy  Dunn,  (pub. 
June  14,  1783).  She  was  probably  the  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and 
Mercy  Dunn  who  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  Gorham.  We 
have  no  perfect  list  of  their  children  but  there  were  : 


GENEALOGY.  487 

Nathaniel,  b.  July  15,  1786,  d.  in  1803. 

Hannah,  b.  ,  d.  young  in  1790. 

Joshua,  b.  Sept.  9,  1792,  d.  Jan.  16,  1858. 

James,  b.  Aug.  22,  1794,  d.  Nov.  22,  1844,  in  Tamworth,  N.  H. 

James  Emery  married  second,  July   14,   1796,   Sarah,  daughter  of 

Jeremiah  and  Mary  Fogg  of  Gorham,  by  whom  he  had  : 

Martha,  b.  Nov.  4,  1797,  m.  Rev.  Nathaniel  Strout ;  d.  Feb.,  1838. 

Hannah,  b.  June  12,  1804,  d.  unm.  Jan.  28,  1852. 

Sarah,  b.  May  13,  1806,  d.  Apr.  29,  1877. 

Joseph,  b.  July  4,  1808,  d.  Mar.  11,  1866. 

Jeremiah,  b.  Aug.  13,  181 2. 

Mary,  b.  Nov.  4,  1814,  d.  unm.  Feb.  16,  1848. 

Mr.  Emery  moved  to  Limington,  where  most  of  his  younger  chil- 
dren were  born.     He  died  in  1844,  and  his  wife,  Dec.  22,  1840. 

Stephen  Emery,  son  of  Stephen  and  Sarah  (Hodgdon)  Emery,  was 
born  December,  1753,  and  married,  Sept.  8,  1775,  Sarah,  daughter  of 
Daniel  and  Sarah  (Shackley)  Emery,  and  second.  Mar.  6,  1783,  Mrs. 
Mary  (Libby)  Sharpies,  daughter  of  Capt.  Thos.  Libby  and  widow  of 
John  Sharpies  of  Portsmouth.  Mr.  Emery  joined  the  Shakers  at 
Alfred,  left  them,  returned,  and  again  left  them.  He  had  a  grist  mill 
at  Great  Falls,  and  died  in  Gorham  in  1830.  He  had  ten  children, 
none  of  whom  were  born  in  Gorham.  Calvin,  his  youngest  child, 
born  in  Biddeford,  Dec.  3,  1806,  married,  Nov.  8,  1830,  Rebecca, 
daughter  of  James  and  Rebecca  (Huston)  Warren  of  Gorham.  Chil- 
dren of  Calvin  and  Rebecca  Emery  : 

Elizabeth  J.,  b.  Jan.  6,  i83i,m.  Albert  L.  Matthews  of  Windham,  Oct.  15,  1859. 

Albert,  b.  Feb.  7,  1833,  went  to  sea  in  1852  ;  was  never  heard  from. 

Charles  F.,  b.  Oct.  26,  1835,  d.  young. 

Emily  F.,  b.  Aug.  22,  1841,  d.  Nov.  17,  1844. 

Frank  J.,  b.  July  i,  1847,  d.  Oct.,  1895. 

Clara  A.,  b.  Sept.  3,  1850,  m.  John  Chaffin  of  California. 

Calvin  Emery  died  at  No.  Windham  about  1882.  Mrs.  Rebecca 
Emery  died  in  Waltham,  Mass.,  in  February,  1897. 

Joshua  Emery,  son  of  Stephen  and  Sarah  (Hodgdon)  Emery,  lived 
for  a  time  in  Alfred  where  he  had  a  pottery.  He  removed  to  Wind- 
ham and  from  that  place  to  Gorham  where  he  lived  at  Great  Falls 
and  ran  a  grist  mill.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution  in  1775. 
He  married,  Sept.  3,  1778,  Tirzah  Emery,  by  whom  he  had  seven 
children  : 

Mary,  b. 


Hannah,  b. ,  d.  young. 

Sarah,  b. . 

James,  b.  about  17S7,  m.  Sally  Bolton,  Sept.  5,  181 1. 

Elijah,  b.  Jan.  3,  1793,  m.  Rhoda  Parker,  p.  Mar.  22,  1817  ;  2d,  Mrs.  Miriam 

Leavitt. 
Jane,  b.  about  1795,  ^-  Levi  Hall,  p.  Apr.  7,  1814. 
Elisha,  b. ,  d.  about  1850,  unm. 


488  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Joshua  Emery  married  second,  Mrs.  Dolly  (Hall)  Woodward,  widow 
of  John  Woodward,  by  whom  he  had  : 

Lucretia,  b.  May  15,  1814,  m.  William  Rogers  of  Little  Falls. 
Hannah,  b.  May  16,  1816,  m.   W'm.   Rich  of  Standish,  Oct.   19,  1837  ;  d.  Nov. 
17,  1850. 

Mrs.  Dorothy  Emery  died  Dec.  15,  18 18,  and  Mr.  Emery  married 
Mrs.  Abigail  Whitney  of  Gorham,  (pub.  Apr.  3,  18 19).  He  died  in 
Gorham,  Apr.  6,  1827. 

(2)   James  Emery,  son  of  Joshua  and  Tirzah  Emery,  married  Sally, 

daughter  of  William  and  Ann  Bolton.     He  was  a  soldier  in  the  War 

of  18 1 2.     He  lived  at  White  Rock,  where  his  son  Otis  afterwards 

lived.      Children  : 

Jane,  b.  about  1814,  m.  Tyng  Wilson  of  Gray,  July  2,  1837. 

William,  b.  Aug.  7,  i8i6,  d.  July  7,  1817. 

Martha,  b.  Nov.  25,  1818,  m.  Elias  Sweetser ;  I'd  in  Port  Huron,  Mich. 

Otis,  b.  about  1821,  m.  Sarah  E.  Dudley  ;  d.  at  White  Rock,  Sept.  2,  1897. 

Baxter,  b.  ,  m.  Mary  Haley  of  Biddeford  ;  2d,  Jane  Swazey. 

Elizabeth,  b.  about  1826,  d.  Oct.  21,  1846. 
Frances,  b.  about  1829,  d.  Aug.  25,  1832. 

William,  b. ,  m.  Lydia  Maddox ;  d.  in  Saco. 

Frances  E.,  b.  April,  1837,  m.  William  S.  Edwards  of  Portland. 

James  Emery  died  in  Gorham,  Mar.  19,  1840,  aged  52.  Mrs. 
Emery  died  April  9,  1879,  aged  89. 

Daniel  C.  Emery,  son  of  Jonathan  and  Jean  (Stevens)  Emery,  was 
born  in  Buxton,  May  2,  1803.  He  was  of  the  eighth  generation 
from  Anthony  Emery,  the  immigrant.  He  came  to  live  in  Gorham 
about  1823,  and  was  for  some  time  engaged  in  teaching.  He  was  a 
prominent  man  in  town  affairs,  and  a  good  citizen,  identified  with 
the  best  interests  of  the  town.  He  was  a  member  of  the  State  Leg- 
islature in  1843  ^"d  1844.  He  was  high  sheriff  in  1856  ;  and  was 
for  some  time  treasurer  of  Gorham  Academy.  He  married,  Aug.  9, 
1826,  Lucia  Jordan  of  Cape  Elizabeth.      Children: 

Jesse  Appleton,  b.  May  22,  1827,  m.  Phebe  Brown,  Aug.  22,  1848;  d.  May  22, 

1862. 
Sarah  Ellen,  b.  May  6,  1829,  m.   William  S.  Briggs,  Oct.  5,  1847  !  d.  Feb.  6, 

1850. 
Joseph   Melville,  b.  June   i,  1831,  m.   Kate  Bartlett,  Jan.  5,  1853;  d.  July  24, 

1855. 

Mrs.  Lucia  Emery  died   Sept.  17,   1834,  aged  36.     Capt.   Emery 

married  second,  Mrs.  Mary  A.  (Barrett)  Fogg.     Children  : 

Eliza  Barrett,  b.  Aug.  15,  1836. 

George  Barrett,  b.  June  28,  1838  ;  a  lawyer  in  Gorham  ;  d.  unm.  Aug    11,  1898. 

Lucia  Anna,  b.  Oct.  15,  1847. 

Capt.  Emery  died  June  i,  1881,  aged  78.     Mrs.  Emery  died  Aug. 

13,  1864,  aged  58. 


c 


GENEALOGY.  489 

ESTES. 

Robert  Estes  and  his  wife  Dorcas  (Chestly)  moved  to  Gorham  in 
1835.  They  had  a  family  of  ten  children  all  born  in  Windham. 
Joseph  their  eldest  son  born  Feb.  3,  1805,  came  to  Gorham  from 
Windham  (Gambo).  He  was  a  stone  cutter  by  trade.  July  10,  1834, 
he  married  Maria,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Martha  Edwards.  Chil- 
dren : 

Martha  M.,  b.  July  ly,  1835,  m.  Wm.  H.  Jones,  Jan.  20,  1861. 

Albert  S  ,  b.  Feb.  21,  1837,  k'd  at  the  battle  of  Manassas,  Aug.  29,  1862. 

Dana,  b.  Mar.  4,  1840,  m.  Apr.  11,  1867,  Louise  S.  Reid,  who  d.  Aug.  1,  1883; 
2d,  Nov.  10,  1884,  Grace  D.  Couse;  served  in  the  Union  army  as  a  pri- 
vate in  Co.  A,  13th  Mass.  Inf.;  wounded  at  2d.  Bull  Run;  senior  mem- 
ber of  the  publishing  firm  of  Dana  Estes  &  Co.,  Boston,  Mass. 

Abba  A.,  b.  June  13,  1S42,  d.  July  16,  1862. 

Mary  H.,  b.  Aug.  11,  1844,  m.  E.  P.  Pennell. 

George  H.,  b.  July  10,  1847,  d.  young. 

Ellen  M..  b.  June  14,  1849,  m.  Edward  A.  Hooper,  N.  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Harriet  A.,  b.  Aug.  12,  1S51,  m.  A.  P.  Ayer  of  Windham. 

Joseph  Estes  died  May  30,  1892,  and  his  wife  Martha,  Apr.  21, 
1893,  aged  84. 

Levi  Estes,  son  of  Robert  and  Dorcas,  was  born  Nov.   i,   1820. 
He    married,    Feb.    25,    1849,    Hannah   L.    Cloudman.      Children  : 
Frank   E.,  b.  Aug.  25,  1854,  d.   young;   Ernestine,  b.  June  16,  1856; 
and  Jesse   C,  b.  Nov.  8,  1857.      Mrs.    Hannah   Estes  died   Mar.    18, 
1897,  aged  73. 

Abigail,  born  in  1810,  and  Charles  H.,  born  in  1827,  children  of 
Robert  and  Dorcas  Estes,  died  unmarried  in  Gorham  in  1846  and 
1873,  respectively. 

Robert  Estes  died  at  Gambo,  July  16,  1872,  aged  95,  and  his  wife 
Dorcas,  Nov    17,  1867,  aged  87. 

FARNHAM. 

Simeon  Farnham,  a  descendant  of  Ralph  Farnham,  the  Welch 
emigrant  who  settled  in  Andover,  Mass.,  and  married  Elizabeth  Holt, 
came  to  Gorham  from  Andover  as  early  as  1786.  He  was  by  trade 
a  tanner.  His  tan  yard  was  about  where  the  house  of  the  late  Mrs. 
Stephen  Hinkley  now  stands.  He  owned  the  lot  of  land  from  the 
Pierce  house  (now  Mrs.  Chesley's)  to  the  old  Clark  lot  (which  is  the 
Hinkley  tan  yard).  .About  1805  he  built  on  the  westerly  end  of  his 
lot  the  large  three-story  brick  house  which  was  destroyed  by  fire  in 
187 1,  at  which  time  it  was  used  as  a  hotel.  Mr.  Farnham  married 
in  1787,  Elizabeth  Johnson  of  Andover.      Children  : 


490  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Simeon,  b.  Aug.  9,  1788. 

John,  b.  Mar.  5,  1790,  m.  Ann  March,  Feb.  28,  1825. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Feb.  18,  1792,  m.  Col.  Samuel  L.  Valentine  of  Bangor  (ist  wife). 

Roxana,  b.  Apr.  7,  1794,  d.  when  a  young  lady. 

Charles,  b.  May  8,  1796,  m.  Lucy ;  I'd  and  d.  in  Newburg,  Me. 

Henry  B.,  b.  Apr.  i,  1798,  m.  Harriet  May  of  Winthrop  ;  d.  in  Bangor. 

Frederick,  b.  June  30,  1800,  m. ;  I'd  in  Bangor. 

Edward,  b.  Sept.  4,  1802. 

Major  Simeon  Farnham  died  in  Bangor. 

(2)  John  Farnham,  son  of  Simeon,  was  long  a  trader  here.  He 
was  town  treasurer  for  several  years,  and  was  postmaster  at  the  vil- 
lage from  1857  to  1 86 1.  He  married  Ann,  daughter  of  Col.  James 
and  Sally  March.     Children  : 

George  V.,  b.  Feb.  14,  1827,  m.  Jane  Duran ;  d.  Nov.  18,  1863. 

Henry  B,,  b.  Mar.  16,  1828,  d.  young. 

Henry,  b.  May  10,  1829,  d.  young. 

Sarah  E.,  b.  Feb.  i,  1832,  d.  Aug.  5,  1846,  in  Gorham. 

Ann  M.,  b.  Nov.  15,  1835,  in  Bangor. 

John  C,  b.  Aug.  15,  1836,  in  Orono;  m.  Abby  Y.  Crooker  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  ; 

d.  Mar.  i,  1888. 
William  H.  P.,  b.  Nov.  6,  1838,  in  Gorham  ;  m.  Annie  L.  M.  Farliss  of  Salem, 

Mass.;  d.  Aug.  23,  1891. 

Capt.  John  Farnham  died  June  25,  1868.  Mrs.  Farnham  died 
Jan.  18,  1892,  aged  91. 

FILES. 

William  Files,  the  ancestor  of  all  the  Files  family  in  Gorham,  was 
born  in  England  in  1728.  Having  a  step-father  he  ran  away  from 
home  when  but  nine  years  old  and  hid  himself  in  the  hold  of  a  sail- 
ing vessel.  The  captain  of  the  vessel,  finding  him,  landed  him  on 
Cape  Cod  where  he  sold  him  for  his  passage.  The  boy  worked 
till  he  had  paid  up  this  debt  and  finally  accumulated  quite  a  property. 
He  married  Mrs.  Joanna  (Gordan)  Moore  of  Cape  Cod  in  1756,  and 
went  to  York,  Me.,  where  his  two  eldest  children  were  born.  From 
York  he  came  to  Gorham  and  bought  from  John  Freeman  thirty- 
eight  acres  of  land,  which  was  a  part  of  the  two  hundred  acres 
granted  by  the  Proprietors  to  the  two  sons  of  Capt.  Phinney,  Edmund 
and  Stephen.  Here  he  made  a  clearing  and  built  a  log  cabin  in 
which  he  and  his  family  lived.  At  a  later  date  he  built  the  two-story 
house  now  occupied  by  his  great-grandson  David  F.  Files.  The  site 
of  the  log  cabin  was  a  few  rods  south  of  that  of  the  house,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  present  road. 

Mr.  Files  was  in  the  English  army  at  the  capture  of  Fort  William 
Henry  on  Lake  George.  In  company  with  Zephaniah  Harding  of 
Gorham  he  was  captured  by  the  Indians,  but  by  superior  strength 


GENEALOGY.  491 

made  his  escape  from  the  two  Indians  who  had  taken  him.  They 
pursued  him  for  some  time  through  the  woods  but  at  last  he,  in 
company  with  Zephaniah  Harding  who  had  also  made  his  escape, 
eluded  them  by  crawling  into  a  large  hollow  log.  The  pursuers  not 
finding  them  elsewhere  cut  several  holes  into  the  log,  being  of  the 
opinion  that  their  prisoners  were  secreted  within,  and  even  went  so 
far  as  to  build  fires  at  the  ends  of  the  log  in  order,  if  they  were  there 
to  smoke  them  out,  but  the  smoke  would  not  draw  into  their  hiding 
place.  After  trying  in  vain  to  dislodge  them  the  Indians  became  con- 
vinced that  they  were  mistaken  and  went  off.  When  all  was  clear  Files 
and  Harding  crawled  out  more  dead  than  alive,  and  made  theit  way 
through  incalculable  hardships  through  the  wilderness  to  their  homes, 
where  they  arrived  so  much  emaciated  and  worn  out  that  there  was, 
as  they  said,  scarce  the  form  of  a  man  to  either  of  them.  They  were 
about  a  month  in  the  woods  with  nothing  on  which  to  subsist  save 
roots  and  berries,  and  often  had  to  make  a  meal  on  browse  ;  had 
often  to  ford  and  swim  rivers  and  make  large  detours  to  get  around 
lakes  and  ponds,  with  shoes  worn  out  and  clothes  literally  torn  from 
their  backs. 

On  account  of  Mr.  Files's  service  in  the  Regiment  of  Rangers  he 
was  known  as  "William,  the  old  Ranger."  He  was  one  of  the  oldest 
members  of  the  Congregational  church  in  Gorham  ;  and  was  a  man 
of  the  strictest  honor,  honesty  and  integrity.  He  is  said  never  to 
have  paid  but  twenty  cents  interest,  so  careful  was  he  never  to  be  in 
debt.  He  died  Mar.  21,  1823,  aged  95.  Mrs.  Files  died  January, 
18 16,  aged  75.     Children  of  William  and  Joanna  Files  : 

Ebenezer,  b.  Feb.  24,  1758,  m.  Molly  Elder,  p.  Apr.  8,  1780. 

Samuel,  b.  Aug.  4,  1759,  m.  Esther  Thomes,  Sept.  28,  1780. 

William,  b.  Aug.  15,  1761,  m.  Hannah  Sturgis,  Dec.  30,  1784;  2d,  Maiy 
McKenney. 

Robert  M.,  b.  Feb.  13,  1764,  m.  Ruth  Woodman  of  Minot,  p.  Dec.  10,  1808; 
she  d.  Sept.  13,  1809,  and  he  m.  Dec.  11,  181 1,  Sally,  dau.  of  Gershom 
and  Nancy  Winship  of  Windham  ;  no  ch.  by  either  wife.  Mr.  Files  I'd 
near  White  Rock  on  the  farm  since  owned  by  Theodore  Shackford;  he 
d.  Mar.  23,  1833,  and  his  wife  Sarah,  Nov.  13,  1846,  ag.  83. 

George,  b.  Feb.  2,  1766,  m.  Temperance  Sturgis.  Oct.  10,  1789. 
";^ "^Joseph,  b   Dec.  11,  1767,  m.  Anna  Haskell,  p.  Dec.  22,  1798. 

Polly,  b.  July  2,  1771,  m.  Daniel  Small  of  Raymond,  Nov.  14,  1819. 

Joanna,  b.  May  11,  1774,  d.  young. 

Elizabeth,  b.  July  29,  1779,  m.  Rev.  Joseph  Higgins  of  Thorndike,    Jan.  3,  1804. 

(2)  Ebenezer  Files,,  son  of  William,  lived  at  West  Gorham,  where 

Everett  Files  now  lives.     He  married  Molly  Elder.     Children  : 

William   E.,  b.   Apr.   3,    1781,   m.  Abigail  Shaw,  May  8,   1803;  2d,  Elizabeth 

Moulton. 
Ebenezer,  b.  June  7,  1783,  m.  Sarah  Stuart  of  Standish,  Dec.  i,  1814. 
Edward,  b.  Feb.  11,  1786,  m.  Hannah  Shaw,  June  27,  1810. 


492  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Molly,  b.  June  7,  1789. 

Joanna,  b.  Mar  7,  1792,  m.  Peter  Wardwell  of  Otisfield,  181 3. 

Esther,  b.  June  23,  1795,  ^-  Jonathan  Wardwell  of  Otisfield,  1816. 

Ebenezer  Files  died  Sept.  30,  1833,  and  his  wife  Molly,  Feb.  28, 
1833,  aged  75. 

(2)  Samuel  Files,  son  of  William,  was  in  the  army  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, having  entered  the  service  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  He  married 
Esther  Thomes  and  lived  on  his  father's  place  between  West  Gorham 
and  Fort  Hill,  where  David  Files  now  lives.     Children  : 

Samuel,  b.  Aug.  17,  1781,  m.  Katie  Linnell;  2d,  Sarah  ISryant  of  Raymond. 

Thomas,  b. ,  1783,  m.  June  11.  1807,  Statira,  dau.  of  Ebenezerand  Sarah 

P.  Phinney  of  Standish  ;  most  of  their  ch.  were  b.  in  Raymond  ;  they 
were,  Mercy,  d.  y, ;  Kbenezer;  Thomas,  I's  in  Deering  ;  Wem worth  P., 
b.  in  Gorham,  m.  Ann  Lombard,  d.  in  Portland  ;  Elmira,  d.  unm  ;  Eunice, 
d.  unm;  Sarah,  m.  N.  E.  Ridlon  of  Portland;  Caroline,  m.  Nathaniel 
N.  Lang  of  Portland.     Thomas  Files  d.  in  Portland. ' 

Joseph,  b.  ,  1785,  m.  Peggy  Wescott,  Jan.  22,   1810;  2d,  Sally  Morton  ; 

went  to  Thorndike. 

Robert,  b.  about  1787,  m.  Patience  Phinney,  Apr.  2,  1818  ;  2d,  Ann  B.  Thomes. 

Abigail,  b.  about  1789,  m.  Luther  Libby  of  Scarborough,  Dec.  18,  1846;  2d, 
Rev.  Sargent  Shaw,  July  19,  i860;  d.  July  27.  tS8o. 

Eunice,  b.  about  1791,  m.  David  Thompson  of  Thorndike. 

George,  b.  about  1793,  ™-  Anna  Stone  ;  went  to  Thorndike. 

Ebenezer  S.,  b.  about  1795,  m.  Patience  Phinney,  May  14,  1818 ;  went  to 
Thorndike. 

Stephen,  b.  Feb.,  1800,  m.  Eunice  R.  Freeman,  Oct.  21,  1827. 

Sally,  b.  ,  1802,  m.  Luther  Libby,  Jan.  22,  1843. 

Samuel  Files  died  Apr.  7,  1835;  Mrs.  Files  died  Mar.  i.  1844, 
aged  81. 

(2)  William  Files,  Jr.,  son  of  William,  married  Hannah,  daughter 
of  Jonathan  and  Temperance  Sturgis.     Children  : 

Jonathan  E.,  b.  Nov.  4,  1785,  m.  Esther  Libby,  Sept.   11,  1811  ;  I'd  and  d.  in 

Raymond. 
Betsey,  b.  Apr.  21,  1788,  m.  Benjamin  Leavitt. 
Allen,  b.  Feb.  4,  1791,  was  a  F.  Bapt.  minister;  d.  in  Wales,  Me. 
Abigail,  b.  Dec.  14,  1793,  ^  unm.  in  Raymond. 
Nathaniel  S.,  b.  July   12,  1796,  was  in  Capt.  Bettis's  Company  in  the  War  of 

1812  ;  was  a  farmer;  went  to  Ohio. 
Hannah,  b.  May  18,  1799,  d.  Dec.  10,  1820. 
Sylvanus,  b.  Sept.  22,  1803,  m.  Phebe  Rounds,  Mar.  i,  1827. 
William,  b. ,  m.  Roxana   Libby,   Sept.   27,   1827  ;  I'd   in   Gorham   where 

Greenlief  Fickett  now  I's.     Ch :     Dorothy  E. ;  Harriet ;  Roswell.     Mr. 

Files  d.  in  Portland. 

Mrs.  Hannah  Files  died  Mar.  13,  181 1,  aged  44,  and  Mr.  Files 
married  Aug.  30,  181 2,  Mary  McKenney  of  Scarboro.  William 
Files,  Jr.  died  Apr.  8,  1834. 

(2)  George  Files,  son  of  William,  lived  above  West  Gorham  in  the 
Blake  neighborhood,  on  the  place  where  his  grandson  Wesley  Files 
now  lives.  He  married  Temperance  Sturgis,  a  sister  of  his  brother 
William's  first  wife.     Children  : 


GENEALOGY.  493 

Temperance  G.,  b.  June  20,  lygi,  m.  Eli  Ayer  of  Ruxton,  Feb.  9,  1814. 
Nabby,  b  May  3,  1794,  m.  Nathan  Kimball  of  Buxton,  Dec.  27,  1814. 
Tahpcnes.  b.  Aug.  8,  1796,  m.  Ale.xander  Phinney,  Jan.  21,  1819. 

Sally,  b.  ,  1S03.  d.  unm.,  Jan.  9,  1886. 

Louisa  R.,  b.  ,  1S06,  d.  unm.,  Mar.  21,  1896. 

Jonathan  S.,  b. ,  1811,  m.  Levisa  A.  Whitney,  p.  Feb.  15,  1S35. 

George  Files  died  Jan.  7,  1853,  and  hi.s  wife  Temperance,  Sept.  19, 

1824,  aged  55. 

__yiL — ^  (2)  Jo-seph  Files,  son  of  William,  lived  at  White   Rock.     He  mar- 
ried Anna,  daughter  of  John  Haskell.      Children  : 

Joanna,  b.  June  6,  1800,  m.  Daniel  Fogg,  Aug.  27,  1821. 

Mary  H.,  b.  Feb.  i,  1802,  m    William  Frost  of  Norway  ;  d.  Apr.  11,  1850. 

Mercy  L.,  b.  Feb.  14,  1804,  d.  June  23,  1810. 

John   H.,  b.  Dec.  4,  1805,  m.  Dorcas  Nason  of  Standish,  Dec.  21,  1834;  d.  in 

.Stoneham,  Feb.  10,  1S86. 
Elizabeth,  b.  Sept.  15,  1807,  m.  Ai  Libby,  Sept.  3,  1833;  2d,  Samuel  Johnson, 

Mar.  3,  1854. 
Dorothy,  b.  Dec.  9,  1S08,  d.  May  29,  1827. 
Ruth  W.,  b.  Mar    18,  1811,  m.  Francis   Small,  3d,  of   Raymond,  June  30,  1844; 

d.  March,  1S97. 
Lydia  P.,  b.  May  23,  1813,  m.  Thomas  H.  .Abbott  of  Saco,  p,  Aug.  7,   1836;  d. 

June  23,  1849. 
j,if-^__,.J>~> Daniel  H,  b.  Mar.   18,    1815,  m.  Elizabeth  Rich,  p.  Jan.  27,  1850;  d.  Oct.  21, 
>        '^  1891. 

Patience  P.,  b.  Feb.  4,  1817,  m.  Gershom  H.  Skillings,  Apr.  12,  1843. 

Mark,  b.  Dec.  17,  1818,  d.  Nov.  5,  1842. 

Martha  A.,  b.  Nov.  8,  1821,  d.  unm.  in  1893. 

Merrill  T.,  b.  Jan.  31,  1823,  m.   Martha  Libby,  Mar.,   1853;  2d,  Mrs.   Mary  E. 

Merrill. 

Joseph  Files  died  May  9,  1854.     Mrs.  Files  died  Oct.  13,  1862. 

(3)  William  E.  Files,  son  of  Ebenezer,  was  for  two  years  a  Repre- 
sentative to  the  Legislature,  and  in  1838  was  one  of  the  selectmen 
of  this  town.  He  married  Abigail,  daughter  of  Sargent  and  Salome 
(Lombard)  Shaw  of  Standish.     Children  : 

Anna,  b.  Dec.  12,  1804,  d.  Jan.  22,  1807. 

Ebenezer,  b.  Aug.  22,  1806,  d.  young. 

Lothrop  L,  b.  Jan.  19,  1808,  m.  Mary  P.  Merrill  of  Buxton,  1844;  d.  Sept.  27, 
1870,  leaving  no  chn. 

Salome  S.,  b.  Apr.  29,  iSri,  d.  unm.,  Sept.  25,  1869. 

Josiah  M.,  b   Aug.  29,  1813,  d.  young. 

William  E.,  b.  May  27,  181 5,  m.  Apphia  H.,  dau  of  Timothy  and  Susan  Blnke, 
Nov.,  1837.  Ch :  Almon  L.,  b.  Apr.  6,  1840,  m.  Eliza  Lombard; 
Lothrop  L.,  b.  1850,  m.  Mary  Whitney,  d.  Aug.  25,  1892,  she,  Oct.  16, 
i88.^  William  E.  Files,  Jr.,  d.  May  26,  1884;  Mrs.  Files  I'd  with  her 
son  Almon  on  the  old  homestead  which  had  been  owned  by  his  grand- 
father William  E.  Files,  where  she  d.  Feb.  21,  1897,  ag.  78. 

Francis,  b.  July  13,  1817,  m.  Hannah  Watts  of  Buxton,  Oct.  29,  1844.  Ch  : 
Frank  Augustus,  b.  May  26,  1846,  m.  Cornelia  A.  Watson,  Mar.  4,  1873; 
Henry  B.,  b.  July  10,  1851,  d.  Mar.  12,  1876;  Lewis  L.,  b.  May  24,  1856, 
m.  Nellie  J.  Douglass,  Dec.  30,  1878.  Mrs.  Hannah  Files  d.  Oct.  17, 
i860,  ag.  42,  and  Mr.  Files  m.  2d,  Harriet  Hasty.  Ch  :  Frederic  H.,  b. 
Dec.  I,  1862,  m.  Mary  H.  Meserve,  Feb.  11,  1890;  Anna  M.,  b.  Oct.  13, 
1867.     Francis  Files  d.  Nov.  26,  1880. 

Abigail  S.,  b.  Mar.  10,  1819,  d.  Aug.  i,  1863. 


494  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Mrs.  Abigail  Files  died  Mar.  13,  18 ig,  aged  39,  and  Mr.  Files 
married  Nov.  4,  18 19,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Simon  Moulton  of 
Standish.     Children : 

Lorenzo  D.,  b.  Oct.  31,  1821,  m.  Sarah  Sturgis,  June  17,  1855;  2d,  Mrs.  Etta 
Flood. 

Albion  K.  P.,  b.  May  19,  1824,  m.  Marilla  M.  Spear,  Nov.  30,  1854.  Ch : 
Hattie;  Mary  L.,  d.  Aug.  23,  1873,  ^S-  '5!  Emma,  m.  Ceo.  Evans  of 
Somerville,  Mass.;  Lizzie  S.,  d.  Nov.  17,  1882,  ag.  17.  Mr.  Files  repre- 
sented the  town  in  the  Legislature  in  1867-8.  He  d.  Oct.  21,  1872,  and 
his  widow  m.  Wm.  M.  Dyer. 

Elizabeth  M.,  b. ,  d.  young. 

Harriet  E.,  b.  Apr.  9,  1827,  d.  unm.  Aug.  31,  1849. 

Cyrus,  b.  Jan.  11,  1832. 

Juliette  M.,  b.  Jan.  2,  1838,  m.  William  E.  Files. 

Mr.  Files  lived  on  the  farm  since  owned  and  occupied  by  his  grand- 
son, Almon  L.  Files,  near  W.  Gorham.  He  died  Dec.  24,  1843. 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Files  died  Feb.  24,  1857,  aged  62. 

(3)  Ebenezer  Files,  Jr.,  son  of  Ebenezer,  lived  where  Everett  Files 
now  lives,  near  the  cemetery  at  West  Gorham.  He  married  Sarah, 
daughter  of  Wentworth  Stuart,  Jr.     Children  : 

Esther,  b.  Nov.  29,  1816,  m.  Ithiel  Blake,  Nov.  29,  1838. 

Katherine,  b.  Oct.  28,  1819,  m.  Edward  Hoynton ;  d.  about  1872  or  'J2- 

Eunice  M.,  b.  June  11,  1822,  m.  Solomon  Strout  of  Portland,  Dec.  29,  1845. 

Edward,  b.  July  28,  1825,  m.  Jane,  dau.  of  Edward  D.  and  Apphia  (Philbrick) 
Boynton,  of  Cornish,  1851.  Ch :  Adelaide,  b.  Sept.  25,  1851,  d.  Sept. 
29,  1870;  Charles  (r.,  b.  1853,  m.  Emma  Woodman;  Eugenia,  b.  1857, 
m.  James  Harmon;  Everett,  b.  Apr.  13,  1859,  m.  Sadie  Whitney;  Sarah, 
b.  Sept.  18,  1865,  m.  Levi  Bemis;  Ebenezer  S.,  b.  Sept.,  1S68,  m.  Bertha 
Vogal.  Edward  Files  I'd  where  his  father  had  I'd  He  d.  at  W.  Gorham, 
Oct.  26,  1874;  his  wife  d.  in  California  about  1891. 

Peter  W.,  b.  Sept.  14,  1828,  m.  Irene  C.  Higgins;  2d,  Mary  Pride;  3d,  Mrs, 
Mary  Crockett. 

Andrew  H.,  b.  June  9,  1832,  m.  Sarah.  Louise  Yeaton  of  Newcastle,  N.  H., 
Mar.  4,  185Q.  Mr.  Files  was  for  many  years  a  successful  teacher  in 
Portland.  He  d.  in  that  city,  May  7,  1894,  leaving  two  ch.,  Minnie  A., 
now  a  teacher  in  Portland,  and  George  Taylor  Files,  Professor  of  Ger- 
man in  Bowdoin  College. 

Ebenezer  Files,  Jr.,  died  May  3,  1872.     Mrs.  Files  died  Apr.  8, 

1873,  aged  78. 

(3)  Edward  Files,  son  of  Ebenezer,  lived  in  the  Whitney  neighbor- 
hood where  his  son  William  E.  now  lives.  He  married  Hannah 
Shaw  of  Standish.     Children  : 

Ebenezer,  b.  Dec.  22,  1810,  m.  Bethiah,  dau.  of  Joseph  and  Mary  Bangs,  May 
28,  1837.  Ch  :  James  Milton,  b.  Feb.  22,  1838;  Lucretia  A.,  h.  Jan.  5, 
1840,  m.  Samuel  Dingley.  Ebenezer  Files  d.  Nov.  8,  1842,  and  his  widow 
m.  William  S.  Elder. 

Sargent,  b.  Oct.  9,  1812,  d.  Aug.  9,  1818. 

Ann  S.,  b.  Sept.  12,  181 5,  m.  Ezekiel  Strout  of  Standish,  p.  Nov.  17,  1850. 

Edward,  b.  Feb.  26,  18 18,  m.  Hannah,  dau.  of  Enoch  and  Drusilla  Crockett, 
June  22,  1845.  Ch  :  Drusilla,  b.  Mar.  13,  1846,  m.  Henry  Spear  of 
Aroostook;  Ebenezer,  b.  Dec.  4,  1847  ;  Herbert  G.,  b.  June  3,  1851,  m. 


GENEALOGY.  495 

Nellie  Douglass,  2d,  Mrs.  Jennie  Manchester;  Horace  W.,  b.  Nov.  4, 
1S52 ;  Atwood  W.,  b.  Dec.  1855,  d.  y. ;  Sophia  J.,  b.  Mar.  22,  1857,  d.  Jan. 
27,  1895;  Sargent  S.,  b.  Sept.  20,  1861  ;  Frank  M.,  b.  Dec.  22,  1865. 
Mrs.  Hannah  Files  d.  June  11,  1891.  Mr.  Files  I's  in  the  Whitney  neigh- 
borhood on  a  part  of  his  father's  farm. 

Sargent  S.,  b.  Apr.  8,  1820,  d.  in  Saccarappa. 

Joseph  S.,  b.  Oct.  6,  1822,  d.  Dec.  3,  1846. 

Mary,  b.  Sept.  2,  1825,  m.  William  Willis  of  Bii.xton,  Apr.  7,  1853. 

Betsey,  b.  Feb.  13,  182S,  m.  Mitchell  Leavitt  of  Mass. 

Salome,         i  h   *;     t  s        J 

Hannah  L.,  f   °-  ^^^l""  '"'  ^^^°'   }  m.  Atwood  Wright  of  Mass.,  Nov.  8,  1858. 

William  E.,  b.  Dec.  22,  1S32,  m.  Juliette  M.  Files. 

Edward  Files  died  Aug.  3,   1867.     Mrs.  Hannah  Files  died  Nov. 
12,  1878. 

(3)  Robert  Files,  son  of  Samuel,  lived  on  Fort  Hill.     He  married 

Patience  Phinney,  daughter  of  Ebenezer,  and  sister  to  his  brother 

Thomas's  wife  :     Children  : 

Maria  M.,  b.  Apr.  9,  1819,  m.  Richard  Sanborn  of  Portland,  Nov.  21,  1847. 
Aurelia  C,  b.  Apr    12,  1821,  m.  John  Billings,  Dec.  9,  1841. 
Joan  M.,  b.  Jan.  10,  1823.  d.  Nov.  17,  1843. 
Melville  B.  C,  b.  May  14,  1825. 

Ebenezer  P.,  b.  July  6,  1827,  burned  to  death  with  powder,  Nov.  9,  1S37. 
Robert  J.,  b.  Dec.  10,  1831. 

W^illiam  H.  P.,  b.  Jan.  28,  1833,  m.  Ora  Holbrook  of  Rockland;   d.  at  Cumber- 
land Mills. 
Mary  Coleman,  b.  about  1835,  d.  young. 

Mrs.  Patience  Files  died  Sept.   16,   1850,   and  Mr.  Files  married 
Mrs.  Ann  (Berry)  Thomes.      He  died  Mar.  7,  i860,  aged  72. 

(3)  Ebenezer  Scott  Files,  son  of  Samuel,  married  Patience,  daugh- 
ter of  Joseph  and  Susan  Phinney.     Children  : 

Albert,  b.  Feb.  19,  1819,  m.  Sarah  Hill  of  Gorham;  d.  in  Bangor. 

Mary  A.,  b.  Apr.  27,  1821,  m.  Joseph  Temple. 

Adeline,  b.  May  10,  1823,  m.  Rufus  Roberts. 

Harriet  H.,  b.  Dec.  3,  1825,  m.  Trueman  Harmon. 

Joseph  P.,  b.  Mar.  24,  1828,  m.  Rebecca  Hill  of  Thorndike  ;  2d,  Kate  Libby, 

Oct.  19,  1855  ;  3d,  Ada  Roberts  of  Bangor. 
Nancy,  b.  Sept.  9,  1830,  m.  Levi  Temple;  2d,  Mr.  Hackett ;  d.  in  Brewer. 
Samuel,  b.  July  28,  1833,  d.  young. 

Esther,  b. ,  m.  I.  S.  Patten  of  Newport,  Me. 

Robert,  b.  — — — ,  m.  and  I's  in  Charlestown,  Mass. 
Ebenezer,  b. ,  m.  Mary  Plummer. 

Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Files  died  in  Detroit,  Me. 

(3)  Stephen  Files,  son  of   Samuel,  was  a  shoemaker.     He  lived 

between  West  Gorham  and  Fort  Hill  on  the  farm  now  owned  by 

Charles  E.  Rolfe.     He  married  Eunice  B.,  daughter  of  David  Freeman. 

Children  : 

David  F.,  b.  Mar.  3,  1830,  m.  Fannie  Curtis,  Jan.  i,  1857;  2d,  Morgie  Eastman. 
Hannah  H.,  b.  Nov.  16,  1832,  m.  Charles  S.  D.  Prince,  Mar.  28,  1850. 
Charles,  b.  1842,  d.  Apr.  21,  1843. 
Susan  A.,  b.  Nov.  19,  1844,  "i-  Paul  R.  Seavey  of  Bangor. 

Stephen  Files  died  Apr.  15,  1882,  and  Mrs.  Files  Jan.  6,  1885. 


496  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

(3)  Sylvanus  Files,  son  of  William,  Jr.,  was  a  carpenter  by  trade. 
He  married  Phebe,  daughter  of  Abial  and  Mary  Rounds.     Children: 

James  R.,  b.  May  29,  1828,  was  a  physician  ;  d.  in  Minroe,  agt-d  about  40. 
Cyrus  R.,  b.  May  23,  1831,  d.  unm.,  Oct.  18    i860;  Id  on  his  father's  place. 
Luciiuia  P.,  b.  Jan.  24,  18 ',5,  m.  Harvey  W.  Murch,  Mar.  31,  1863. 
Charle>  C,  b.  Oct.  11,  1842,  d.  Sept.  11,  1856. 

Mr.  Files  died  Sept.  19,  1892,  and  his  wife,  Aug.  5,  1868,  aged  63. 

(3)  Jonathan  S.  Files,  son  of  George,  lived  on  the  place  once  ow^ned 
by  his  father  in  the  Blake  neighborhood.  He  married  Levisa  A., 
daughter  of  Edmund  Whitney.     Children  : 

John  Wesley,  b.  Sept.  23,  1837,  m.  Mary  Susan  Whitney. 
Abra  Ann,  b.  Jan.  4,  1850,  ni.  Isaiah  Cobb. 

Jonathan  S.  Files  died  Oct.  g,  1890,  aged  79.  Mrs.  Files  d.  Mar. 
20,  1877,  aged  66. 

(3)  Merrill  T.  Files,  son  of  Joseph,  is  a  trader  at  White  Rock.     He 

has  been  a  member  of  the  school  committee,  one  of  the  Selectmen 

of  the  town,  and  Representative  to  the  Legislature  in    1873-4.     In 

1868  he  was  appointed  postmaster  at  White  Rock,  which  office  he 

held  until  1875.     He  married   Martha,  daughter  of  Solomon  Libby 

of  Naples.     Child : 

George;  Evans,  b.  May  18,  1854,  m.  Carrie   Bradeen  of  Limington  ;  2d,   Mattie 
Page  of  Plymouth,  Me. 

Mrs.   Martha   Files  died   Feb.   16,   1859,  aged  29,  and  Mr.  Files 

married  Nov.  10,  1861,  Mrs.  Mary  E.  (Meserve)  Merrill.     Child  : 

Annie  E.,  b.  Jan.  2,  1864,  is  a  school-teacher. 

Joseph  Files,  Jr.,  who  was  the  son  of  Joseph  and  grandson  of 
Samuel  and  Esther  Files,  was  born  in  Thorndike.  He  married  Hattie 
Holbrook  of  Rockland  and  moved  to  Gorham.  He  enlisted  in  the  25th 
Me.  regiment  during  the  Civil  War,  and  afterwards  was  sergeant  in 
the  32d.     He  was  killed  at  Spottsylvania,  Va.,  May  12,  1864,  aged  30. 

FLOOD. 

Edmund  Flood,  who  was  born  about  1760,  lived  several  years  in 
Gorham  when  a  young  man.  He  came  here  from  Portland  where  he 
had  a  mother.  His  father,  who  was  a  sheriff,  suddenly  disappeared 
—  it  was  supposed  by  some  foul  play.  Edmund  married  Aug.  10, 
1788,  Martha,  daughter  of  Calvin  Lombard,  and  moved  to  Buxton, 
where  he  reared  a  large  family  of  children.  Simon  E.  and  Lewis 
McLellan  are  grandsons  of  Edmund  and  Martha  Flood. 


GENEALOGY.  497 

Morris  Flood  came  to  Gorham  from  Buxton.     He  was  in  town  as 

early  as  1791-     He  lived  at  White  Rock,  where  Ashley  Phimmer  now 

lives.     June   17,  1793,   he    married    Lydia,   daughter  of   Joseph   and 

Hannah  Roberts.      Children: 

Samuel,  b    Dec.  28,  1794,  m.  Parmelia  Libby,  Dec.  4,  1817;  2d,  Mary . 

Hannah,  b.  Feb.  :8,  1797,  m.  Joseph  Snow,  p.  Nov.  12,  1814. 
Olive,  b.  May  14,  1799,  m   Capt.  Jethro  Libby,  Dec.  26,  1819. 

Isaac,  b.  May  14,  1801.  m.  Glines  of  N.  H. ;  2d,  Susan  Hicks. 

Anna,  b.  Oct.  17,  1804,  m.  Isaac  Parker,  p.  Sept    13,  1823. 

Ed'iiund,  b.  Sept.  16,  1806.  m.  Dilla  Hicks,  Sept.  11,  1831. 

Daniel,  b.  June  12,  180S,  m.  Harriet  Bartlett  of  Portland;  went  to  Portland. 

Silas,  b.  Nov.  10,  1812,  m.  Lmily  Parker,  p.  Nov.  4,   1838,  dan.  of    Kleazer  H. 

and  Betsey   Parker;  no  ch.      He  I'd  on  the  old  place;  d.  July  10,  1874; 

she  d.  at  Great  Falls,  June  23,  1882. 

Morris  Flood  died  Sept.  28,  185  i,  aged  80  years. 

FOGG. 

The  family  of  Fogg  is  of  Welch  origin  ;  Samuel,  the  first  one  of 
the  name  known  in  this  country,  having  come  from  Wales  to  Hamp- 
ton, N.  H. 

There  have  been  several  families  of  the  name  of  Fogg  among  the 

earlier    settlers    in    Gorham.     Jeremiah    Fogg,  son    of    Samuel    and 

Rachel  (Mariner)  Fogg,  born  in  Scarboro  June   11,   1744,  came  to 

Gorham  about  1776  and  lived  on  the  County  road  from   Portland  to 

Buxton,  between  the  farm  of  Chas.  Moulton  and  the  Roberts  place. 

He  moved  from  there  to  the  farm  now  owned  and  occupied  by  his 

grandson  Rufus.     He  married  Mary  Warren,  May  28,  1766.     Their 

children  were  : 

Sarah,  b.  June  20,  1768,  m.  James  Emery  of  Limington,  July  14,  1796. 
Jeremy,  b.  Oct.  30,  1770,  m.  Dorcas  Lombard,  Dec.   24,  1794;  I'd  in  Buxton; 

d.  Aug.  1 1,  1834. 
Betsey,  b.  Dec.  11,  1772,  m.  Christopher  Dunn,  Mar.  30,  1794. 
Esther,  b.  Feb.  24,   1775,  m.  Joseph  Waierhouse,  Sept.  13,  1795;  d.  Apr.  26, 

1826. 
Anna,  b.  Sept.  2,  1777.  d.  Dec.  17,  1793. 
Lois,  b.  Oct.  9,  1779,  m.  James  McLellan,  Dec.  5,  1802. 
George,  b.  Jan.  11,  1784,  m.  Joanna  Fogg,  May  24,  1807. 

Mrs.  Mary  Fogg  died  Dec.  19,  1800,  aged  58,  and  Mr.  Fogg 
married,  June  22,  1801,  Mrs.  Molly  Fickett  of  Falmouth.  Jeremiah 
Fogg  died  Oct.  25,  18 15,  aged  71. 

(2)  George  Fogg,  son  of  Jeremiah,  lived  on  his  father's  homestead. 
He  married  Joanna  Fogg  of  New  Gloucester.     Children  : 

Sylvester,  b.  Jan.  25,  1808,  m.  Dorcas  Edwards,  Oct.  9,  1834  ;  d.  in  1892. 
Harriet  S.,  b.  Aug.  8,  1809,  d.  Apr   12,  1810. 

Charles  S.,  b.  Jan.  15,  181 1,  m.  Rebekah  D.  Blake,  Dec.  25,  1834;  d.  in  Salmon 
Falls,  N.  H. 


498  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Asa  Rand,  b.  Dec.  6,  1812,  m.  Elizabeth  H.  Babb  in  1S40  ;  2d,  Isabella  Smith 
in  1845;  d.  in  Dayton. 

Mary  Ann,  b.  Aug.  8,  181 5,  d.  May  14,  1S16. 

George  W.,  b.  Apr.  19,  1817,  m.  Jane  McLellan,  Dec.  25,  1843;  d.  in  Litch- 
field. 

Grata  Rand,  b.  Oct.  31,  1819,  d.  unm.  May  27,  1847. 

Eliza  Ann,  b.  Dec.   15,  182 1,  d.  unm.  Sept.  6,  1855. 

Elizabeth  H.,  b.  Mar.  21,  1824,  d   Mar.  10,  1825. 

Samuel,  b.  Jan.  3,  1826,  d.  Aug.  3,  1850. 

Rufus  A.,  b.  June  2,  1828,  m.  Mary  Bray,  Sept.  16,  1863. 

George  Fogg  died  Feb.  11,  1863,  aged  79.  Mrs.  Fogg  died  April 
II,  1 86 1,  aged  74. 

(i)  Moses  Fogg,  son  of  Moses  and  Lydia  (Larrabee)  Fogg,  was 
born  in  Scarborough,  July  2,  1762.  He  was  a  farmer  and  lived  in 
the  north  part  of  Gorham,  opposite  where  the  late  Theodore  Shack- 
ford  lived.  .  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution,  a  lieutenant  in 
Capt.  Benjamin  Larrabee's  Scarborough  Company,  and  drew  a 
pension  in  his  latter  days.  He  married  Hannah,  daughter  of  Daniel 
Libby  of  Scarborough.     Children  : 

Dorothy,  b.  Aug.  25,  1789,  m.  Israel  Harmon  of  Standish,  Nov.  5.  18 12. 

David,  b.  July,  1791,  d.  unm.  June  27,  1865;  served  in  the  War  of  1812. 

Esther,  b. ,  m.  William  Carsley  of  Harrison,  July  2,  1823. 

Daniel,  b.  July  9,  1797,  m.  Joanna  Files,  Aug.  27,  1821. 

Sewell,  b. ,  m.  Dorcas  Moody.  Ch:  Franklin  E.,  b.  Nov.  25,  1854,  d.  in 

1865;  Hannah  F.,  b.  May  24,  1856;  Georgia  A.,  m.  Frank  LUwellyn 
Libby,  Sept.  8,  1880.  Sewell  Fogg  I'd  across  the  road  from  his  father's 
place.     He  d.  about  1865  ;  his  wife  d.  in  1898. 

Abiel,  b. ,  181 1,  m.  Eliza  A.,  dau.  of  Andrew  Mt-serve  of  Scarboro,  p.  May 

29,  1835.  Ch:  Esther  A.,  b.  Jan.  13,  1837,  d.  y. ;  Esther  Ann,  b.  Jan.  15, 
1838,  m.  W^m.  E.  Parsons  of  Vt.,  Sept  22.  1855;  Harmon,  b.  about 
1843,  m.  Frances  H.  Libby,  Feb.  7,  1867  ;  d.  June  8,  1875  ;  his  widow  m. 
Mar.  12,  1876,  Lewis  Douglass.  Abiel  Fogg  was  a  farmer  and  I'd  on  the 
farm  where  his  father  I'd,  until  two  or  three  y'rs  before  his  death.  He  d. 
May  9,  1888,  ag.  77  ;  Mrs.  Eliza  A.  Fogg  d.  Dec.  10,  1886,  ag.  80. 

Moses  Fogg  died  Jan.  14,  1828;  Mrs.  Fogg  died  Nov.  5,  1853, 
aged  87. 

(i)  Daniel  Fogg  was  a  half-brother  to  Moses  Fogg  above.  He 
was  the  son  of  Moses  Fogg  of  Scarborough,  and  his  second  wife, 
Catherine  Libby,  and  was  born  in  Scarborough,  Apr.  14,  1773.  He 
was  a  carpenter  by  trade.  After  coming  to  Gorham  he  lived  for 
many  years  on  the  Rice  place.  The  last  seven  years  of  his  life  he 
passed  at  Fort  Hill  with  his  son  Moses.  He  married  Hannah,  daugh- 
ter of  Daniel  and  Mary  Hanscom  of  Kittery.     Children  : 

Eliza,  b.  ,  m.  Samuel  Lincoln,  July  8,  1827. 

William,  b. ,  1804,  m.  Mary  A.  Bariett,  May  23,  1830;  d.  Mar.  23,  1831. 

Mary  G.,  b.  Oct.  31,  1805,  m.  Charles  Hunt,  Dec.  31,  1831. 
Moses,  b.  Mar.  16,  1809,  m.  Christiana  O.  Baker,  Feb.,  1839. 
Catharine   L.,  b.   Apr.    17,    1811,  m.    Moses   Starbird,  Nov.,  1831 ;  2d,  Samuel 
Libby. 


<^^ 


GENEALOGY.  499 

Hannah  H.,  b.  July  i8,  1813,  m.  Samuel  R.  Clement,  Jan.  30,  1838. 
Martha,  b.  Aug.  19,  1816,  m.  Marshall  Irish,  Oct.  26,  1846. 

Daniel  Fogg  died  Oct.  23,  1829.  His  widow  married  Dec.  30, 
1838,  Jacob  H.  Clement. 

(2)  Daniel  Fogg,  Jr.,  son  of  Moses,  lived  during  the  latter  part  of 
his  life  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  his  son  William.  He  had  pre- 
viously lived  about  half  a  mile  above,  nearer  to  Great  Falls.  He 
married  Joanna,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Anna  Files.     Children  : 

Joseph  F.,  b.  Nov.  25,  1822,  d.  Sept.  19,  1828. 

Eliza  Ann,  b.  Mar.  27,  1824,  m.  Peter  Hodgdon,  Jan.  i,  1843. 

Moses,  b.  Aug.  5,  1827,  m.  Rachel  Blackwell,  Dec,  1853. 

Joseph  H.,  b.  Aug.  9,  1830,  m.  Hannah  M.  Harding,  Sept.  11,  1851. 

Mary  Jane,  b.  Dec.  19,  1832,  m.  Everett  Cole,  Dec.  13,  1853;  2d,  Chas. 
Wescott. 

Tyng  W.,  b.  July  20,  1S34,  m.  Isa  Newhall  of  Vassalboro. 

John  H.,  b.  Oct.  19,  [836,  m.  Helen  Strout,  1864;  2d,  Mary  Bingham  of  West- 
brook;  3d,  Ada  Odiorn  of  Richmond,  Sept.  15,  1897. 

Almon  L.,  b.  Mar.  12,  1839,  was  captain  in  the  17th  Me.  Vols.;  wounded  at 
Gettysburg;  d.  July  4,  1863. 

Mark,  b.  Apr.  6,  1843,  '^'  Mary  Smith  of  Hollis,  Jan.  14,  1874. 

William  C,  b.  Jan.  6,  1846,  m.  Hattie  Heath,  Oct.  14,  1873. 

Daniel  Fogg  died  Sept.  27,  1880.  Mrs.  Fogg  died  Nov.  2,  1879, 
aged  80. 

(2)  Moses  Fogg,  son  of  Daniel,  Sr.,  was  a  farmer.     He  lived  on 

Fort  Hill,  on   the  thirty  acre  lot  No.  i,  where  Capt.   John    Phinney 

made  his  first  clearing.     He  married  Christiana  O.  Eaker  of  Somers- 

worth,  N.  H.     Children  : 

Elizabeth  B.,  b.  Mar.  6,  1843,  d,  Aug.  24,  1849. 
Caroline  B.,  b.  Feb.  14,  1846,  m.  Albert  Hussey,  Jan.  i,  1868. 
William  M.,b.  Apr.  10,  1851,  m.  Caroline  Tibbetts ;  d.  July  19,  1884;  his  widow 
married,  Sept.  6,  188S,  Dr.  Win.  Watson. 

Moses  Fogg  died  Jan.  5,  1892.     Mrs.  Fogg  died  June  7,  1865,  aged 

53- 

Daniel  Fogg,  son  of  Col.  Reuben  Fogg  of  Scarborough,  married, 
Sept.  6,  1789,  Eunice,  daughter  of  Col.  Samuel  March  of  Scar- 
borough.    Several  of  the  children  of  this  couple  lived  in  Gorham  : 

Jane,  m   William  Woodman  of  Buxton ;  I'd  for  some  y'rs  in  Gorham. 
Ivory,  d.  unm.  of  smallpox,  June  7,  1816,  aged  24. 

Margaret,  m. Sanborn  ;  I'd  in  Sebago. 

Lydia,  m. Scribner;  I'd  in  Boston. 

Elizabeth,  m.  Timoihy  Bacon,  Jr.,  of  Gorham. 
Daniel,  m.  Hannah  Whitney,  May  i,  1823. 
Desire,  d.  in  Boston,  unm.,  a  young  woman. 
Miriam,  m.  Elden  Gamman  of  Gorham,  May  13,  1832. 

Daniel  Fogg,  3d,  was  the  son  of  Daniel  and  Eunice  above.  He 
came  to  Gorham  when  quite  a  young  man,  and  worked  for  Saul  C. 


500  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Higgins.     He   afterwards   lived  in  the  north  part  of  the  town  on  a 

farm  not  far  from  Great  Falls.     He  was  frequently  known  as  "  Richard 

Daniel  "  to  distinguish  him  from  his  neighbors  of  the  same  name  as 

his  own.     He  married  Hannah,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Hannah' 

(Snow)  Whitney.     Children  : 

Elizabeth,  b.  — ■ — — ,  m.  James  O.  Longley  of  Waterford. 
Harriet  W.,  b.  June  17,  1825,  m.  Wm.  A.  Monroe  of  Waterford. 
Albert,  b.  Feb.  26,  1827,  m.  Addie  Cass  of  Bridgton  ;  d.  Jan.,  1890. 

Jane,  b. ,  m.  Isaac  Webb  of  Bridgton. 

Irene,  b.  Feb.  27,  1831,  m.  Geo.  W.  Bailey  of  Auburn. 

Emily,  b.  Jan.  22,  1834. 

Charles   B.,  b.  Dec.  27,   1835,  m.  Dorcas  Libby  of  Gorham,  July  11,  1861 ;  2d, 

Agnes  Coburn  of  Boston. 
Edwin  A.,  b.  Mar.  5,  1838,  m.  Myra  Dresser  of  Bridgton ;  2d,  M'O.hala  Cole. 

Daniel  Fogg  died  in  Bridgton,  and  his  wife  in  Waterford. 

FOLSOM. 

Dr.  Dudley  Folsoni  was  a  native  of  Exeter,  N.  H.     He  commenced 

practice  and  married  his  wife,  Miss  Lucretia  Swazey,  in  that  place, 

and  there  his  oldest  child  was  born.     He  came  to  Gorham  about 

1796,  and  was  for  many  years  a  prominent  and  successful  physician 

here,  and  a  valued  member  of  society.     He  was  a  Trustee  of  Gorham 

Academy,  and  represented  the  town  for  several  years  in  the  General 

Court  of  Massachusetts.     He  lived  on  South  St.,  where  Mrs.  Tolford 

now    lives.     (See    Chapter    XVII.)     I'he    children    of    Dudley    and 

Lucretia  Folsom  were  : 

Caroline,  b.  Jan.  17,  1796,  d.  unm. 

Lucretia,  b.  Jan.  15,  1799,  m.  Stephen  Waite,  Jr.,  of  Portland,  Jan.  i,  1821. 

Harriet,  b,  Sept.  19,  1800,  m.  Samuel  Crockett,  June  13,  1825. 

Martha  O.,  b.  Aug.  15,  1802,  m.  Stephen   Waite,  Jr.,  of  Poitland  (2d  wife),  p. 

Nov.  24,  1834. 
Rufus  D.,  b.  Aug.  16,  1804. 
Charles  B  ,  b.  Mar.  18,  1806. 

Dr.  Folsom  died  Nov.  21,  1836,  aged  67  ;  his  wife,  Sept.  27,  1837, 

aged  65. 

FOSTER. 

William  H.  Foster,  who  was  born  in  Boston,  Jan.  20,  1780,  came 
to  Gorham  when  about  twenty-one  years  of  age,  making  his  journey 
here  on  horseback.  He  was  a  cabinet  maker,  and  his  shop  which 
has  stood  until  within  a  few  years  was  close  to  the  sidewalk  and  east 
of  his  residence  on  Main  St.  His  house  which  he  built  is  now  owned 
and  occupied  by  his  grandson,  E.  H.  F.  Smith.  He  was  a  most  excel- 
lent citizen  and  an  exemplary  man.      He  was  town  clerk  of  Gorham 

I  Some  of  her  ilescendants  claim  her  name  to  have  been  Harriet,  but  the  C.orliam  town 
records  give  it  as  Hannah. 


GENEALOGY.  501 

from  1817  to  1833.     He  married,  May  20,  1804,  Betsey,  daughter  of 

Capt.  David  and  Temperance  Harding.     Children : 

Elizabeth  G.,  b.  Oct.  14,  1805,  m.  Gardiner  Kellogg,  Nov.  9,  1828. 
Mary  Ann,  b.  July  2,  1808,  d.  unm.,  Mar.  i,  1881. 

Temperance  H.,  b.  Sept.  i,  1810,  m.  Thomas  Shaw,  Sept.  7,  1835  ;  d.  in  Ban- 
gor, Feb.  II,  1866. 
Margaret  H.,  b.  Mar.  3,  1814,  m.  Gen.  E.  T.  Smith,  Nov.,  1837  ;  d.  in  1897. 

Mr.  Foster  died  Sept.  23,  1838,  aged  58,  and  his  wife  Betsey,  Apr. 
25,  1839,  aged  52. 

FREEMAN. 

Major  John  Freeman  of  Eastham,  Mass.,  a  very  prominent  man  in 
the  Colony  of  Plymouth,  was  one  of  the  soldiers  in  King  Philip's 
war,  and  to  him  (his  heirs)  belonged  the  right  No.  34  in  Narragan- 
sett  No,  7,  granted  to  the  Narragansett  soldiers  by  a  resolve  of  the 
General  Court.  These  rights  descended  to  the  control  of  the  eldest 
male  heir.  Nathaniel  Freeman  of  Eastham  was  the  son  of  John,  and 
to  him  the  right  came  by  heirship.  We  know  nothing  of  the  other 
children  of  Major  John,  if  any  there  were.  Nathaniel,  aforesaid,  by 
his  deed  dated  Aug.  i,  1739,  conveys  to  his  three  sons,  Nathaniel, 
John  and  Eleazer,  they  being  grandsons  of  Major  John,  the  aforesaid 
right  being  the  one  hundred  and  twentieth  part  of  the  township 
Narragansett,  No.  7  ;  and  the  deed  says,  '*  The  above  right  or  share 
being  granted  and  made  to  my  Honored  Father,  Major  John  Free- 
man of  Eastham,  deceased." 

The  thirty  acre  lot  34  is  on  the  road  leading  from  Fort  Hill  to 
West  Gorham,  being  the  second  lot  on  the  northerly  side,  adjoining 
the  Motley  lot.  John  freeman  settled  on  this  lot  about  the  close  of 
the  Indian  war.  April  30,  1754,  he  purchased  of  John  Phinney  a 
hundred  acres  of  land  lying  westerly  and  nearly  joining  by  the  cor- 
ners to  his  thirty  acre  lot  34.  This  John,  being  then  quite  an  old 
man,  we  think  must  have  been  the  son  of  Nathaniel  aforesaid.  By 
a  deed  dated  Oct.  17,  1754,  Nathaniel,  Jr.,  John  and  Eleazer,  all  of 
Eastham,  quitclaim  to  John  Freeman  of  Gorham  all  right,  title  and 
interest  in  the  thirty  acre  lot  No.  34  near  the  Fort  in  Gorhamtown. 
The  presumption  is  that  Nathaniel,  Jr.,  and  John,  last  above  said, 
were  the  sons  of  Nathaniel  the  grandson  of  Major  John,  and  had  the 
right  of  their  father,  which  they  together  with  their  uncle  Eleazer 
quitclaim  to  their  uncle  John.  From  the  foregoing  it  appears  that 
John  Freeman  who  settled  on  the  thirty  acre  lot  34  about  the  year 
1750  was  the  grandson  of  Major  John  Freeman  of  Eastham.  He 
was  also  the  first  of  the  name  who  settled  in  Gorham  and  the  ances. 


502  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

tor  of  all  the  Fort  Hill   families  of  that   name.     His  wife's   maiden 

name  was  Bethiah  Harding.     When  married  to  Mr.  Freeman  she  was 

the  widow  of  Nathan  Cobb  of  Eastham.     John    Freeman   came  with 

his  family  consisting  of  a  step-daughter  Mary  Cobb,  and  two  sons  and 

one  daughter  of  his  own. 

Nathan,  b.  Dec.  5,  1744,  m.  Hephzibeth  Whitney,  Oct.  15,  1766. 
Mercy,  b.  July  i6,  1746,  m.  John  Carsley,  Apr.  5,  1764. 
Betty,  b.  June  i,  1747,  d.  Dec.  7,  1748. 

Nathaniel,  b.  Jan.  7,  1749,  m.  Mary  Chase,  p.  Dec.  31,  1774. 
Hannah,  b.  Sept.  23,  1750,  m.  Samuel  Elder,  Mar.  3,  1774. 

The    step-daughter   of    John    Freeman,  Mary    Cobb,   daughter   of 

Nathan  Cobb  of  Eastham,  was  born  about   1736.     Her  father  died 

soon   after   her  birth.     In    1757   she  married   Joseph   Melcher  and 

moved  to  Brunswick  where  she  died  May  18,  1825. 

(2)  Nathan  Freeman,  son  of  John,  lived  on  his  father's  place. 
He  married  Hephzibeth,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  Hannah  Whit- 
ney.    Children  : 

Bethiah,  b.  Mar.  5,  1768,  d.  Mar.  29,  1768. 

Nathaniel,  b.  Dec.  4,  1769,  m.  Isabella  Dyer  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  Aug.  26,  1792  ; 

this    family    settled   in   Westbrook  ;    one   child   on   record  in   Gorham, 

Nathaniel,  b.  Aug.  27,  1794. 
Samuel,  b.  Jan.  2,  1772,  m.  Olive  Emery. 
Elizabeth,  b.  Aug.  9,  1773,  d.  Apr.  24,  1820. 

Nathan   Freeman  married   second,  July   i,  1775,  Lydia  Doane   of 

Gorham,  by  whom  he  had  : 

Hannah,  b.  Aug.  11,  1776. 
Ebenezer,  b.  July  12,  1780. 
Nathan,  b.  Oct.  31, 1782,  was  a  sea  captain. 

Nathan  Freeman  joined  the  Shakers  with  his  family  and  lived  at 
Alfred  where  he  and  his  wife  died.  Two  of  his  children,  Nathaniel 
and  Samuel,  left  the  Community  and  married. 

(2)  Nathaniel  Freeman,  son  of  John,  married  Mary,  daughter  of 
Eleazer  and  Jane  (Elder)  Chase  of  Standish.  He  lived  above  Fort 
Hill  on  the  old  cross  road  which  runs  westerly  between  the  thirty 
acre  lots  6:  and  63,  nearly  opposite  the  place  where  Woodbury 
Davis  now  lives.     Children  : 

Jenny,  b.  Nov.  5,  1775,  m.  Ebenezer  Lombard,  Nov.  12,  1794. 

Mary,  b.  Jan.  10,  1778,  m.  Joseph  Whitney,  Aug.  2,  1801. 

Lydia,  b.  Aug.  5,  1780,  m.   Gershom    Hamblen,    Sept.    12,   1802;  2d, 

Vincent. 

David,  b.  Nov.  26,  1782,  m.  Bethia  Bangs,  July  14,  1806. 

Bethia,  b.  Sept.  12,  1785,  m.  Enoch  Shaw,  Apr.  26,  1812. 

Hannah,  b.  Dec.  25,  1789,  m.  Stephen  Whitney,  p.  Nov.  24,  1810. 

Betsey,  b.  Sept.  4,  1792,  m.  Cyrus  Hamblen,  June  13,  1816. 

Eunice,  b.  Dec.  26,  1794,  probably  d.  young. 

John,  b.  July  31,  1797,  m.  Sally  Hamblen,  Oct.  20,  1816;  I'd  in  Standish,  Gor- 
ham and  Poland. 


GENEALOGY.  503 

(3)  Samuel  Freeman,  son  of  Nathan,  when  a  young  man  lived 
with  the  Shakers.  His  wife,  who  was  Olive,  daughter  of  Zachariah 
and  liuldah  (Bean)  Emery,  was  also  brought  up  by  the  Shakers. 
The  young  couple  having  fallen  in  love  with  each  other  ran  away 
from  the  Society  and  were  married.  Mr.  Freeman  lived  on  the  spot 
where  Woodbury  Davis  now  lives  above  Fort  Hill.  He  had  a  brick- 
yard on  his  farm.     Beside  being  a  farmer  he  was  also  a  sailor. 

Children  : 

John,  b.  June  2,  1802,  d.  young. 

John,  b.  July  14,  1S03,  d.  when  quite  a  boy. 

Huldah,  b.  Apr.  23,  1805,  m.  Rev.  Andrew  Rollins;  I'd  in   Richmond,  Me. 

Samuel,  b.  Dec.  3,  1S06,  m.  Martha  K.  Harding;  I'd  in  Portland;  d.  Mar.   16, 

1870. 
Nancy,  b.  Feb.  19,  1808,  m.  Duncan  Ross  of  Portland. 
Jane,  b.  May  6,  1810,  d.  young. 
Jane,  b.  May  6,  1S12,  m.  Nathaniel  Stevens  of  Portland. 

Samuel  Freeman  moved  to  Windham,  where  he  died  July  15,  1842. 

(3)  David  Freeman,  son  of  Nathaniel,  lived  above  Fort  Hill  on 
the  west  side  of  the  road,  on  the  farm  where  his  son  William  B.  after- 
wards lived.  He  married  Bethiah,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Hannah 
Bangs.     Children  : 

Eunice,  b.  Feb.  4,  1808,  m.  Stephen  Files,  Oct.  21,  1827. 

William  B.,  b.  July  i,  181 1,  m.  Mary,  dau.  of  Robert  and  Hannah  Johnson  ,  Dec, 
1835.  Ch:  Hannah  Frances,  b.  Sept.  9,  1841,  m.  Joseph  Hanson,  1890, 
d.  Oct.  6,  1894;  Robert  J.,  b.  June  26,  1846,  d.  y.  Col.  Wm.  B.  Free- 
man d.  Feb.  28,  1894;  his  wife  d.  June  8,  1888. 

Mrs.  Bethiah  Freeman  died  May  21,  1875,  aged  92. 

Jonathan  Freeman  who  married,  Nov.  28,  1759,  Sarah  Parker  of 
Falmouth,  was  the  son  of  Jonathan,  who  was  born  in  Truro,  Mass., 
June  9,  17 10,  and  married  Rebecca  Binney  Sept.  23,  1731.  Jona- 
than, Jr.,  was  born  May  18,  1739.  -^^  came  with  his  family  from 
Falmouth  to  Gorham  about  Nov.  25,  1762.  His  father  and  mother 
also  came  with  him  at  this  time. 

Frederick  Freeman  in  his  "  Freeman  Genealogy"  traces  the  line  of 
Jonathan  Freeman  whose  wife  was  Rebecca  Binney  to  Samuel  Free- 
man of  Watertown  (probably  brother  to  Edmund)  who  came  from 
England  in  1630;  but  several  authorities  and  the  traditions  of  the 
family  say  that  this  same  Jonathan  Freeman,  whose  wife  was  Rebecca 

Binney,  was  the  son  of  Jonathan  Freeman  and  wife  Mary , 

and  was  born  in  Eastham,  Mass.  The  parents  of  this  elder  Jonathan 
were  Thomas  and  Rebecca  (Sparrow)  Freeman  ;  and  this  Thomas 
was  the  son  of  Maj.  John  Freeman,  whose  wife  was  Mercy,  daughter 
of  Gov.  Prence.     This  John  was  born  in  England  in   1622,  the  son 


504  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

of  Edmund  and  Elizabeth  Freeman,  who  came  over  from  London  in 
the  ship  Abigail,  Capt.  Robert  Hackwell,  in  1635,  to  Lynn,  going 
from  there  to  Sandwich,  Mass.,  in  1637.  It  is  probable  that  similar- 
ity of  names  leads  to  this  difference  of  opinion  in  genealogy. 

Jonathan  Freeman  and  his  wife,  Sarah  Parker,  settled  in  the  south 
part  of  this  town,  near  Stroudwater  (Curtis's)  river.  Mr.  Freeman 
purchased  his  farm  of  Mr.  Morton,  who  lived  on  the  Curtis  farm 
(now  owned  by  John  Sanborn)  and  who  was  one  of  the  old  Proprie- 
tors ;  deed  dated  November,  1762.  This  land  remained  in  the  Freeman 
name  over  one  hundred  years.  Alexander,  son  of  Joshua,  sold  the 
place  in  1870  to  Keuben  Deering.  Jonathan  Freeman  was  a  soldier 
of  the  Revolution,  arid  was  at  Bunker  Hill.  The  children  of  Jonathan 
and  Sarah  Freeman  were : 

Sarah,  b.  May  9,  1761,  m.  Isaac  Larrabee  of  Scarboro,  Apr.  19,  1781. 

Jenny,  b.  July  28,  1763,  d.  unm. 

Benjamin,  b.  June  18,  1765,  m.  Eunice  Seavey,  p.  Dec.  15,  17S7;  I'd  in  Scar- 
boro. 

Rebecca,  b.  July  28,  1767,  m.  Josiah  Harmon  of  Scarboro,  Oct.  27,  1785. 

Susanna,  b.  Oct.  8,  1769,  m.  Uominicus  Harmon  of  Scarboro,  Apr.  23,  1788. 

Jonathan,  b.  Feb.  8,  1773,  m.  Hannah  Thompson  of  Fahnouth,  1794.  Ch : 
Samuel  and  William,  both  d.  y.,  and  were  buried  in  Gorham ;  Gardner,  b. 
Mar.  22, 1799,  d.  unm.,  in  Gray  ;  Polly,  b.  Aug.  25,  1801,  m.  Rufus  Knight, 
d.  in  Gray.  The  family  moved  to  Windham  where  a  son,  George,  was 
born;  other  children,  Nancy,  Samuel  and  Ellen,  were  bom  in  West 
Gray.  Jonathan  Freeman  was  the  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Gardner  Weeks, 
late  of  Gorham. 

Ebenezer,  b.  Apr.  8,  1775,  m.  Polly  Prentiss,  Feb.  3,  1799.  Ch:  Betsey,  b.  July 
12,  1799,  m. Plummer;  Prentiss,  b.  May  25,  1801  ;  Mary;  Wil- 
liam ;  Ebenezer;  Benjamin  ;  Samuel.  Ebenezer  Freeman  d.  in  Parsons- 
field,  while  still  a  young  man. 

Affia,  b.  Dec.  6,  1777,  d.  imm. 

Joshua,  b.  May  4,  17S0,  m.  Hannah  Harmon,  Aug.  30,  1804. 

(2)  Joshua  Freeman,  son  of  Jonathan,  married  Hannah  Harmon 
of  Scarboro.  Both  he  and  his  wife  were  members  of  the  Free  Bap- 
tist church  on  Fort  Hill,  and  charter  members  of  the  Free  Baptist 
church  at  S.  Gorham.  He  was  a  deacon  of  this  latter  church.  He 
lived  on  the  old  homestead.     Children  : 

Arthur,  m.  Martha  Davis  of  Boston  ;  I'd  in  Boston. 

Cyrus,  m.  Elizabeth  Mosher ;  I'd  and  d.  in  Farmington. 

Daniel,  m.  Martha  J.  Goldthwaite,  of  Biddeford,    1S37  ;  had   two  dau's,  Sarah 

C,  b  Aug.  25,  1839,  m.  Mr.  Waterhouse  of  Fryeburg ;  and  Martha  E.,  b. 

May  20,   1 84 1,  m.  Melville  C.   Burnell.     Daniel  Freeman  was   born  in 

181 1,  and  d.  in  Gorham,  Feb.  16,  1870. 
Moses,  m.  Rebecca  Ohver  of  Boston ;  d.  in  Somerville. 
Alexander,  m.  Sally  Waterhouse,   1843;  moved  to  Wayland,  Mass.,  where  he 

and  his  wife  died. 
Samuel,  d.  Oct.  i,  1835,  aged  iS. 
Sarah,  d.  Oct.  15,  1819,  aged  6  months. 

Dea.  Freeman  died  June  22,  1853,  and  his  wife,  June  27,  1868. 


GENEALOGY.  505 

Joshua  Freeman  of  Harwich  purchased  of  John  Phinney  a  half 
share  of  right  No.  88  in  Gorham,  it  l^eing  the  Bartholomew  Hamblen 
share  which  Phinney  had  of  Samuel  Hamblen,  dated  Nov.  25,  1742. 

FROST. 

The  first  person  by  the  name  of  Frost  that  came  to  Gorham  was 

probably  Nathaniel.     It  is  supposed  that  he  came  to  Gorham  from 

Falmouth.     He  purchased  the  thirty  acre   lot   No.    7   of   Abraham 

Anderson  and  his  wife  Anna,  (who  was  the  widow  Cloudman,)  by 

deed  dated  Feb.  28,  1757.     He  was  probably  born    Aug.  13,  17 13, 

the  son  of  James  and  Margaret  (Goodwin)  Frost  of  Berwick,  and 

grandson  of  William  Frost  who  was  the  son  of  George  Frost  who 

came  from  England  to  America.      The  name  of  Nathaniel  Frost's 

wife  was  Elizabeth .     Children  : 

Abigail,  b.  about  1741,  m.  James  Mosher,  Dec,  1758. 
Benjamin,  b.  about  1742,  m.  Susanna  Frost,  p.  June  24,  1764. 
David,  b.  about;  1744,  m.  Mary  Johnson,  p.  Apr.  10,  1766. 

Peter,  b.  about  1746,  m.  Margaret  . 

Nathaniel,  b.  about  174S,  m.  Polly  Berr\',  June  3,  1780. 

Enoch,  b.  about  1750,  m.  Alice  Davis,  April  24,  17S0. 

Elizabeth,  b.  about  1752,  m.  Benj.  Adams,  Nov.  26,  1778;  2d,  Chailes  Patrick, 

Jan.  19,  1810. 
Hannah,  b.  about  1754,  m.  Joshua  Adams,  Feb.  3,  1775. 

Nathaniel  Frost  died  Apr.  24,  1762.      His  wife  survived  him  a  few 

years,    and  was  known  as  "Madam  Frost."     She  died  somewhere 

about  1768. 

(2)   Benjamin  Frost,  son  of  Nathaniel,  owned   and   lived  on   the 

thirty  acre  lot  No.  5,  next  north  of  his  brother  Col.  Nathaniel,  on  the 

Fort  Hill  road.     He  married  Susanna  Frost,  who  is  published  as  of 

Gorham  but  is  said  to  have  come  from  Falmouth.     Children  : 

Samuel,  b.  Oct.  3,  1765,  m.  Rebecca  Hamblen,  Apr.  5,  1792. 
Betty,  b.  Aug.  31,  1767,  m.  Thomas  Morton,  Aug.  23,  1787. 
Benjamin,  b.  Oct.  31,  1768,  m.  Pelina  Rackley,  p.  Nov.  27,  1793. 
Nathaniel,  b.  Nov.  5,  1769,  m.  Esther  Hamblen,  Feb.  16,  1797  ;  I'd  in  the  Elwell 
neighborhood  in  the  north  part  of  the  town. 

Benjamin  Frost  was  drowned  in  the  Presumpscot  river  in   1769 

while  engaged  in  driving  logs.     Dea.  Alden  records  his  burial  on 

Oct.  19,  1769.     After  his  death  his  administrator  sold  Nov.  16,  1774 

his  lot  to  Nathaniel.     These  two  lots  (7   and  5)  continued  in  the 

family  till  about  1846.     Benjamin's  widow  married  Lemuel   Hicks 

Nov.  5,  1778. 

(2)  David  Frost,  son   of   Nathaniel,  lived  north  of  the  brook,  on 
the   road   that  passes  northerly   from  the  house  of  the   late   Capt. 


506  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Nathaniel  Frost  past  the  Dyer  and  Jacob  Hamblen  houses,  in  the 
latter  of  which  Henry  B.  Johnson  now  lives.  He  married  Mary 
Johnson  of  Falmouth,  probably  daughter  of  John  and  Mar}^  (Ander- 
son) Johnson.     Children  : 

Polly,  b.  Apr.  17,  1767,  m.  Joseph  Hamblen,  Dec.  18,  178S. 

John,  b.  Dec.  28,  1768,  m.  Jane  Richmond;  went  to  Norway. 

David,  b.  Feb.  5,  1771,  moved  to  Machias. 

Jenny,  b.  Feb.  13,  1773,  "^-  Nathaniel  Webster,  Oct.  13,  1799. 

Nancy,  b.  May  13,  1775,  m.  Zachariah  Weston  of  Norway. 

Nathaniel,    (  ^    ,   ^^  ^  J  m.  Content  Hamblen,  Apr.  4,  1802. 

Benjamin,    \  "'"^'    ''''    }  d.  July  20,  1779. 

Eunice,  b.  Jan.  8,  1780,  m.  Samuel  Andrews  of  Norway. 

Robert,  b.  Mar.  28,  1782,  m.  Betsey  Jordan  of  Otisfield ;  d.  in  Norway,  Mar.  14, 

1868. 
Charles,  b.  Aug.  6,  1784,  moved  to  Portland. 
Peter,  b.  Apr.  26,  1788,  m.  Sarah  Perkins;  went  to  Norway. 
William,  b.  Oct.  24,  1790,  m.  Abigail  H.  Stevens  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  July  2, 

1815;  2d,  Sally  Haskell,  Feb.  26,  1836;  3d,  Mary  Files,  June  3,   1839; 

4th,  Eliza  Hamblen,  Feb.  9,  185 1  ;  5th,  Lucy  Witt  of  Norway,  Mar,  9, 

1855;  I'd  in  Norway. 

David  Frost  when  quite  an  old  man  moved  to  Norway. 

(2)  Peter  Frost,  son  of  Nathaniel,  settled  on  the  thirty  acre  lot  89, 
near  the  old  Shaker  farm.  JJis  farm  is  now  owned  by  Ezra  Rich- 
ardson.    He  married  Margaret .     Children  : 

Mary,  b.  Nov.  26,  1772,  m.  Samuel  Lord,  June  14,  1809. 
Betty,  b.  Jan.  6,  1774,  m.  James  Mosher,  Jr  ,  p.  Oct.  5,  1793. 
Benjamin,  b.  Apr.  9,  1775,  m,  Mercy  Hamblen,  Aug.  25,  1810. 
Sarah,  b.  Nov.  19,  1777,  m.  Thomas  Blake  of  Westbrook,  Apr.  26,  1823. 

(2)  Nathaniel  Frost,  son  of  Nathaniel,  lived  on  the  old  homestead 
of  Nathaniel  his  father  on  the  Fort  Hill  road,  the  farm  recently 
owned  by  Daniel  Billings.  Col.  Frost  built  the  house  now  standing 
on  the  place.  The  former  house  is  still  standing  on  the  premises 
having  been  moved  back.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  the  Rev- 
olution, being  commissioned  May  10,  1776,  as  second  lieutenant  in 
Capt.  Alexander  McLellan's  company  in  the  3d  Cumberland  Co. 
regt.,  and  marched  to  Boston  in  August  of  that  year.  He  was  after- 
wards an  ensign  in  Capt.  Richard  Mayberry's  company.  On  June  i, 
1787,  he  was  commissioned  Lieut.-colonel  in  the  State  militia,  a 
position  which  he  held  for  twenty-one  years.  He  married  Polly 
Berry  of  Falmouth,  by  whom  he  had  : 

Jeremiah,  b.  Aug.  31,  17S0,  m.  Hannah  A.  Higgins,  May  26,  1804. 
Elizabeth,  b.  Feb.  28,  1782,  m.  Colman  P.  Watson,  July  25,  1S02. 
Miriam,  b.  Jan.  23,  1785. 

Col.  Frost  married  second,  Sally  Brown  of  Falmouth,  (pub.  June 

16,  1787).      His  third  wife  was  Mrs.  Rebecca   Higgins  of  Standish, 

whom  he  married  Nov.  7,  1801.     She  was   the  widow  of  Ebenezer 


GENEALOGY.  "  507 

Higgins  of  Standish,  and  came  from  Cape  Cod.     She  died  Dec.  25, 
1820.     Col.  Nathaniel  Frost  died  in  May,  1838,  aged  90. 

(2)  Enoch  Frost,  son  of  Nathaniel,  lived  at  Gorham  village.  He 
was  a  carpenter  by  trade  and  built  and  lived  in  the  Nathaniel  Gould 
house  (now  Mrs.  Sawyer's).  In  1779  he  served  as  sergeant  major 
in  Col.  Jonathan  Mitchell's  regiment,  and  took  part  in  the  unfortu- 
nate Penobscot  expedition.  He  married  Alice,  daughter  of  Prince 
and  Sarah  Davis,     ("hildren  : 

Rufus,  b.  Nov.  9,  1 78 1. 

Cyrus,  b.  May  i,  1784,  d.  young. 

Rebecca,  b.  May  26,  1786,  m.  Silas  White,  July  10,  1804. 

Polly,  b.  Oct.  20,  1788. 

Mason,  b.  Dec.  19,  1790,  m.  Sarah  Knight,  May  18,  1817  ;  2d,  Mary  Knight. 

Colman,  b.  Apr.  13,  1793. 

Nathaniel  B.,  b.  Nov.  25,  1797,  m.  Mary  Elden  of  Portland,  p.  Apr.  17,  1824. 

Patty,  b.  June  29,  1799,  m.  Edward  Cobb,  Nov.  24,  1825. 

Cyrus,  b.  June  23,  1802. 

Mrs,  Alice  Frost  died  in  1802,  aged  about  45  years. 

(3)  Samuel  Frost,  son  of  Benjamin,  lived  on  South  St.,  in  the  old 
Waterman  house.  He  married  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Daniel  and 
Dilla  Hamblen.     Children  : 

Susanna,  b.  May  15,  1793,  m.  Moses  Stone,  p.  Oct.  10,  1819;  2d,  James  M. 
Edwards. 

Daniel  H.,  b.  Mar.  13,  1795,  m.  Sally  G.  Smith,  Dec.  16,  18 18. 

William,  b.  Aug.  19,  1797,  m.  Abigail  Crockett,  p.  Jan.  16,  1819. 

Benjamin,  b.  May  8,  i8oo,  m.  Sarah  Davis,  p.  Mar.  22,  1828. 

Nathaniel,  b.  Mar.  19,  1803,  m.  Eunice,  dau.  of  Samuel  and  Tabitha  Cobb, 
Dec.  28,  1826.  Ch  :  Naaman,  b.  July  31,  1827,  d.  Oct.  22,  1846; 
Charles,  b.  Apr.  12,  1S29;  Sarah,  b.  Aug.  29,  1831  ;  Martha,  b.  Jan.  8, 
1833;  Samuel  C,  b.  Jan.  11,  1837,  m.  a  dau.  of  Edward  and  Patty 
(Frost)  Cobb;  Betsey  L.,  b.  Feb.  17,  1840;  Franklin  P.,  b.  May  31, 
1842,  d.  in  Chelsea,  Mass.,  Jan.  26,  1864;  Ann  M.,  b.  July  25.  1844. 
Mr.  Frost  was  a  carpenter  and  joiner  ;  he  d.  in  Gorham  ;  his  wife  Eunice 
d.  in  Chelsea,  Mass.,  Sept.  29,  1880,  ag.  74. 

James,  b.  Oct.  18,  1808,  m. Libby  of  Westbrook. 

Samuel  Frost  died  Nov.  17,  1836.  Mrs.  Rebecca  Frost  died  in 
1841,  aged  76. 

(3)  Nathaniel  Frost,  son  of  David,  lived  on  the  southerly  side  of 
Main  St.,  half  a  mile  below  the  village.  The  two-story  house  which 
he  built  and  in  which  he  lived  stood  in  what  is  now  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  cemetery.  When  the  lot  was  bought  by  the  town  and 
added  to  the  burying  yard  the  house  was  purchased  by  the  late  John 
A.  Waterman,  Esq.,  and  moved  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  street. 
Capt.  Frost  married  Content,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth 
Hamblen,  and  their  children  were  : 


508  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Martha,  b.  Feb.  12,  1803,  m.  Meshach  Rust,  Nov.  25,  1821. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Aug.  24,  1804,  m,  John  Meserve,  Feb.  28,  1830. 

Johnson,  b.  July  4,  1806,  m.  Sarah  C.  Ross,  p.  Aug.  30,  1828. 

Jacob,  b    Apr.  13,  1808,  m.  Susan  Wiggin,  p.  Oct.  19,  1834. 

Nathaniel,  b.  July  31,   1810,  m. ;  d.  in  Charleston,  S.  C,  Mar.  25, 

1835- 

Almira,  b.  Apr.  10,  181 2,  d.  Feb.  20,  1813. 

Charles,  b.  Feb.  20,  1814,  d.  Sept.  29,  181 5. 

Aloiira,  b.  June  5,  1816,  d.  unm.  Mar.  28,  1S98. 

Charles,  b.  Sept.  15,  1818,  m.  Eunice  J.,  dau.  of  Ai  and  Eunice  Staples,  Aug. 
14,  1848.  Ch:  Ellen  S.,  b.  May,  1849,  d.  Jan.  17,  1851  ;  Charles  F.,  b. 
May  17,  1851,  d.  July  12,  1S71  ;  George  Ai,  b.  Jan.  19,  1853,  d.  Feb.  2, 
1873,  in  Boston,  Mass.;  Ellen  S.,  m.  Walter  Austin,  d.  in  Boston.  Capt. 
Frost  was  a  sea  captain ;  he  built  the  house  on  State  St.,  since  occupied 
by  his  widow,  and  now  owned  by  Mr.  Adams ;  he  d.  in  Liverpool,  Eng., 
May  29,  1859. 

David  F.,  b.  July  31,  1820,  m.  Margaret  J.  (Libby)  Cates,  dau.  of  Jona.  and 
Abigail  Libby,  and  widow  of  James  P.  Cates.  Ch :  Howard  S.,  b.  May 
12,  1849  ;  Margaret  A.,  b.  1853,  m  Wm.  Ridlon,  d.  Nov.  9,  1874.  David 
F.  Frost  I'd  on  his  father's  place ;  he  d.  Apr.  8,  1859. 

Mary  J.,  b.  Feb.  13,  1824,  m.  Henry  L.  McNish,  June  17,  1862. 

Capt.  Nathaniel  Frost  died  Feb.  9,  1830,  aged  53  ;  Mrs.  Content 
Frost  died  Dec.  4,  1845,  aged  67. 

(3)  Benjamin  Frost  lived  and  died  on  the  farm  of  his  father,  Peter. 
He  married  Mercy,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  Hamblen. 
Children  : 

Peter,  b.  Feb.  i,  1812,  d.  June,  1816. 

Benjamin,  b.  Oct.  12,  1813,  d.  Feb.  7,  1836. 

Randall,  b.  Nov.  5,  1815,  d.  May  13,  1840. 

Joseph  H.,  b.  June   12,   1818,   m.  Francina  Jackson,  Dec.  6,  1840 ;  d.  July  12, 

1845. 
Margaret  A.,  b.  Mar.  30,  1S20,  d.  Nov.  12,  1842. 
Peter,  b.  June  10,  1822. 

Benjamin  Frost  died  Mar.  7,  1833,  aged  58  years. 

(3)  Jeremiah  Frost,  son  of  Nathaniel,  lived  and  died  on  the  farm 

owned   by    his   father    and    grandfather    before    him.     He   married 

Hannah  A.,  daughter  of  Ebenezer  and  Rebecca  Higgins  of  Standish, 

and  step-daughter  to  Mr.  Frost's  father,  Col.  Nathaniel.     Children  : 

Mary,  b.  Aug.  4,  1804,  m.  James  Paine,  May  4,  183 1. 

Harriet,  b.  Feb.  16.  1806,  m.  Charles  Wyman,  Jan.  14,  1836. 

Elizabeth  W.,  b.  Nov.  17,  1807,  m.  William  E.  Brown,  June  23,  1829. 

Abigail  H.,  b.  Dec.  6,  1809,  m.  Isaac  Johnson,  Aug.  20,  1829  ;  d.  Apr.  15,  1852. 

Hannah,  b.  May  5,  1812,  m.  Abner  Wescott,  1836. 

Miriam,  b.  June  15,  1814,  d.  Jan.  9,  1816. 

Miriam,  b.  July  12,  1S16,  m.  William  Merrill,  Jan.  9,  1840. 

Emeline,  b.  July  20,  1818,  m.  Asa  Leavitt,  Jan.  13,  1839;   he  d.  in  1857,  and  she 

m.  Isaac  Johnson  (2d  wife). 
Francis  S.,  b.  Apr.  23,    1820,  m.  Rebecca  Libby,  Oct.  15,  1842  ;  d.  in  Scarboro, 

Nov.  23,  1900. 
Catherine,  b.  Feb.  17,  1823,  d.  unm.  Dec.  20,  1848. 
Charles  H.,  b.  Aug.  8.  1826,  d.  unm.  Oct.  29,  1855. 

Jeremiah  Frost  died  Feb.  7,   1845,  aged  64.     His  wife   Hannah 

died  Sept.  27,  1856,  aged  74. 


GENEALOGY.  509 

(3)  Mason  Frost,  son  of  Enoch,  was  a  carriage  maker  at  Gorham 
village.  He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  George  and  Rebecca  (Davis) 
Knight  of  Windham. 

Alice,  b.  June  16,  1819,  m.  Ezekiel  Bradbury,  1847. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Frost  died  in  May,  1820,  aged  29,  and  Mr.  Frost 
married.  May  20,  1821,  her  sister  Mary  Knight,  by  whom  also  he  had 
one  child : 

George,  b.  Apr.  i,  1822,  d.  Aug.  31,  1840. 

Mrs.  Mary  Frost  died  Sept.  16,  1838,  aged  45. 

Moses  Frost  came  from  Berwick  to  Gorham.     He  was  born  June 

3,  1766,  the  son  of  Thomas  who  was  born  July  17,  1744,  and  was  of 

the  sixth  generation  in  descent  from  George  Frost  the  emigrant.     He 

lived  about  a  mile  from  West  Gorham  on  the  western  line  of  the  town. 

His  farm  joined  the  old  Ward  farm,  where  Abraham  Dow  and  Albion 

Wood  afterwards  lived,  and  it  also  joined  the  farm  of  Timothy  Bacon. 

He    married,  April   15,    1790,    Sarah,  daughter  of    Humphrey    and 

Elizabeth  McKenney  of  Limington,  who  was  born   Mar.   10,   1766. 

Children  : 

Dorcas,  b.  Mar.  2,  1791,  m.  Nahum   Patterson  of  Saco ;  d.  Oct.  19,  1832. 
Thomas,  b.  July  18,  1792,  m.  Esther  Harmon,  Nov.  i,  1815  ;  I'd  in   Limington  ; 

d.  in  Cornville. 
Dominicus,  b.  Feb.    15,    1794,  m.   Susan   Parker,  Oct.   17,    1S16;  2d,   Mai^  A. 

Harding ;  3d,  Susan  Benson 
Charles,  b.  Jan.  12,  1796,  m.  Lydia  Feriiald,  May  11.  1819;   2d,  I.ucinda  Smith 

of  Portland ;  d.  in  Bethel,  where  for  thirty  y'rs  he  was  a  Cong'l  minister. 
Henry,  b.  Jan.  8,  179S,  m.  Sophronia  Irish,  Nov.  28,  1821. 
Eliza,  b.  Nov.  3,  1799,  d.  May  28,  1814. 
James,  b.  Jan.  11,  1802,  m.  Ruth  Pennell,  Mar.  31,  1826;  I'd  and  d.  in   Skow- 

hegan. 
Susan,  b.  May  10,  1804,  m.  Calvin  Kinsman,  Oct.  8,  1840;  d.  in  Gorham,  May 

7,  1842. 
Mary  Ann,  b.  June  5,  1806,  m.  James  Bickford ;  d.   at  Buxton  Centre,  Aug.  7, 

1868. 

Moses  Frost  died  Sept.  20,  1850,  and  his  wife  Sarah,  Nov.  10, 
1S39. 

(2)    Dominicus    Frost,    son    of    Moses,    married     Susan    Parker. 

Children,  the  oldest  born  in  Waterford,  the  others  in  Standish  : 

Charles,  b.  Dec,  1818,  m    Mary  Jones  of  Brooks;  d.  in  Morrill,  Oct.  12.  1875. 
Samuel  P.,  b.  Apr.  i,  1820,  m.  Harriet  Hooper  in  Bangor,  1853  ;  d.  in  Rockland, 

July,  1871. 

Whitman  S.,  b. ,  1822,  I'd  in  lona,  Mich. 

Sarah  Jane,b.  Apr.  16,  1826,  m.  Isaac  C.  Walker  in  Bangor,  Nov.  19,  1S49;  -d' 

Thomas  T.  Tabor. 
Maria  F.,  b.  June  12,  1829,  d.  in  Oakland,  Cal.,  Jan.,  1886. 
Isaac,  b.  Apr.  i,  1833,  d.  in  Iowa. 
Moses  W.,  b.  Oct.  26,  1835,  m.  Margaret  Smith;  d.  in  Belfast,  Jan.  10,  1900. 


510  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Mrs.  Susan  Frost  died  in  Thorndike  about  1838,  aged  41,  and 
Mr.  Frost  married,  Mary  A.  Harding  of  Jackson.  She  lived  but  a  few 
months,  and  he  married,  Sept.  12,  1843,  Susan,  daughter  of  James 
and  Abigail  (Dow)  Benson  of  Limington.     Children: 

James  B.,  b.  in  Gorham,  July  20,  1845. 

Justin,    ).•/-!  T   1     ^    xQ.Q    i  d.  June  6,  1849. 

■Lj    .      ;  b.  in  Gorham,  July  g   1840,  <       ■'  ^      -^y       r  t,  ir    .. 

Edwm,  S  1  J     :  y       ^  '  (  m. Jones  of  Belfast. 

Mary  Susan,  b.  in  Gorham, ,  m.  Albion  Rowe ;  d.  in  Gorham. 

Dominicus  Frost  died  in  Gorham  Dec.  6,  1862,  aged  69.  Mrs. 
Susan  B.  Frost  died  Feb.  6,  1897,  aged  83. 

(2)  Henry  Frost,  son  of  Moses,  married  Sophronia,  daughter  of 

Gen.  James  and  Rebecca  Irish.     Children  : 

Elizabeth,  b.  Aug.  4,  1822,  m.  Theophilus    \Yaterhouse    of    Standish,  Feb.  25, 

1845;  d.  in  1848. 
Caroline  E.,  b.  Aug.  17,  1824. 

Henry  Frost  died  July  13,  1826,  aged  28.  His  widow  married, 
Sept.  23,  1829,  Capt.  John  Wingate. 

Love  Frost,  who  married,  Dec.  25,  1791,  Nathaniel  Wing  of 
Limington,  was  probably  a  daughter  of  James  Frost  who  lived  for  a 
short  time  in  Gorham,  and  who  was  an  uncle  to  Moses.  She  was 
born  Dec.  i,  1771. 

GAMMON. 

Philip  and  Joseph  Gammon,  brothers,  came  from  England  to 
America,  when  quite  young,  and  lived  for  a  while  in  Cape  Elizabeth. 
In  1757,  Philip,  then  of  Scarborough,  moved  to  Gorham,  where  he 
bought,  July  7,  1757,  the  hundred  acre  lot,  45,  of  David  Gorham. 
His  wife  was  Joanna ,  We  find  no  perfect  record  of  his  fam- 
ily, but  there  were  : 

Philip,  m.  Sarah  Crockett,  p.  Feb.  i,  1777;  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution;  on 
Windham  tax  list  of  1790. 

Nathaniel,  bought  land  of  Uriah  Nason  and  I'd  for  a  time  in  the  upper  part  of 
the  town  ;  left  Gorham  in  1781,  going  to  Raymond.  He  m.  Mary  Lowell, 
Nov.  20,  1777  ;  3d,  Sarah  Hodgdon  (?) ;  had  three  sons  and  a  dau.  Sally. 
Mr.  Gammon  died  in  the  town  of  Naples. 

Joseph,  b.  in  Gorham  in  August,  175S,  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  and  a 
member  of  Capt.  McLellan's  company  in  the  expedition  against  Baga- 
duce.  After  the  defeat,  he  and  John  Lombard  made  their  way  to  Gorham 
through  the  wilderness ;  they  were  without  arms,  and  suffered  great 
hardships,  but  finally,  after  a  long  time  reached  home  in  safety.  Mr. 
Gammon  and  Mr.  Lombard  went  together  from  Gorham  to  C>tisfield,  and 
afterwards  to  Norway,  where  they  settled  on  adjoining  farms,  and  there 
spent  the  remainder  of  their  days.  Mr.  Gammon  m.  in  Otisfield,  Drusilla 
Reed,  who  was  b.  in  Groton,  Mass.,  in  1769.  Ch  :  Charles,  Harriet, 
Seba,  Maria,  Pomelia  and  Joseph.     Mr.  G.  d.  in  Norway,  in  1855,  ag.  97. 

Ruth,  m.  Thomas  Clay,  p.  Oct.  15,  17S1. 


GENEALOGY.  511 

Jonathan,  m.  Lydia  Millett  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  p.  Dec.  31,  1785;  one  child  on 

record,  Pelina,  b.  in  Cape  Elizabeth,  Dec.  12, 1788,  m.  Thomas  Akers,  Sept. 

25,   1S06.     Mr.  Gammon  prob.  m.  2d,  (p.  Mar.  3,  1796,)  Nabby  Gammon 

of  Cape  Elizabeth. 
Benjamin,  m.  Betty,  dau.  of  Joshua  and  Hannah  Crockett,  Oct.  21,  1787  ;  two 

ch.  recorded.  Hannah  and  Betty.     Mr.  Gammon  left  town  about  1792. 
Betsey,  m.  Benjamin  Bodge  of  Windham,  Jan.  29,  1789. 

Aug.  10,  1770,  Philip  Gammon  sold  to  David  Gorham  his  hundred 
acre  lot  45,  and  bought  of  Gorham  the  thirty  acre  lot  96  and  the 
hundred  acre  lot  49,  and  apparently  moved  on  to  the  former  lot,  for 
in  1784  he  deeded  to  his  sons  Jonathan  and  Benjamin  one-half  of 
this  lot  with  half  of  his  dwelling  house  and  barn.  The  hundred  acre 
lot  49  he  sold  in  177 1  to  John  Brackett  of  Falmouth.  He  afterwards 
owned  and  lived  on  the  seventy  acre  lot  63,  which  lot  he  and  Thomas 
Clay  bought  of  David  Harding,  Jr.,  in  1797.  His  half  he  and  his 
wife  Joanna  gave  in  1801  to  their  daughter  Ruth  Clay,  "in  consider- 
tion  of  the  love  he  bore  her."  Philip  Gammon  moved  to  Windham, 
where  his  old  cellar  may  still  be  seen.  From  Windham  he  went  with 
his  son  Nathaniel  to  Raymondtown. 

Joseph  Gammon  lived  on  a  farm  of  twenty  acres  adjoining  that  of 
his  brother  Philip.  This  land  he  bought  on  Jan.  26,  1763  of  John 
Phinney,  it  being  a  part  of  the  hundred  acre  lot  44.  This  lot  was 
one  which  was  laid  out  to  Phinney  by  the  Proprietors,  Sept.  26,  175 1. 
Capt.  Phinney  had  previously  sold  the  northern  half  of  this  lot  to  a 
William  Gammon  of  Falmouth  who  sold  the  land  the  following  year, 
and  of  whom  we  have  found  no  further  record.  Joseph  Gammon  and 
his  wife  Elizabeth  were  living  on  this  farm  (No.  44)  as  late  as  1801. 
This  is  the  farm  afterwards  owned  by  Daniel  Gammon,  and  since 
known  as  the  David  Elder  place.  About  the  year  1792  Mr.  Gammon 
purchased  of  Dr.  Barker  his  dwelling  house,  which  he  hauled  across 
the  fields  to  his  farm  where  it  stood  till  destroyed  by  fire  Dec.  21, 
1889.  For  several  years  Joseph  Gammon  was  constable  and  tax 
collector  of  Gorham.     His  children  were  : 

Samuel,  m.  Susanna  Perkins,  p.  Oct.  5,  1776. 

David,  m.  Mary,  dau.  of  Ebenezer  and  Elizabeth  (Skillings)   Doane,  of  Cape 

Elizabeth,  p.  May  3,  1777.    One  ch.  on  Gorham  records :    Daniel,  b.  Apr. 

I,  1779.     David  Gammon  was  a  soldier  of  the   Revolution  —  a  member 

of  Capt.  Whitmore's  militia  company  in  1777.     He  left  Gorham  about 

1782.     He  d.  in  Buckfield. 
Daniel,  m.  Mary  Blanchard,  Apr.  8,  1781  ;   2d,  Polly  Elder. 
Joshua,  m.  Elizabeth  Millet  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  May  17,  17S7. 
Joseph,  m.  Polly  Patriik,  p.  Mar.  i,  1795;  d.  in  Norway. 
Chr  stiana,  m.  Robert  Knight  of  Otisfield,  Dec.  22,  1796. 
William,  m.  Molly  Hasty  of  .Scarborough,  Dec.  8,  179S;  d.  in  Stoneham. 
John,  m.  Sarah  Cook  of  Windham,  June  15,  1797  ;  d.  in  Casco. 


512  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Mary,  m.  John  Brown,  Nov.  29,  iSoi  ;  d.  in  Turner. 
Abigail,  d.  in  Buckfield. 

Apr.  29,  1799,  Joseph  Gammon  gave  to  his  son  John  Gammon  of 
Gorham  thirty  acres,  parts  of  the  hundred  acre  lots  44  and  46. 

(2)  Samuel  Gammon,  son  of  Joseph,  served  in  the  Revolutionary 
army.  In  1775  he  was  a  corporal  in  Capt.  Williams'  company.  He 
married  Susanna,  daughter  of  John  and  Charlotte  Perkins.  A  few 
years  after  his  marriage  he  moved  to  Otisfield,  and  from  thence  to 
Hartford,  Me.,  where  he  resided  many  years  and  where  he  probably 
died.     His  children  were  Edmund,  married,   Dec.  24,   1809,   Sarah 

Whitney;  Stephen,  married ■  Beard  of  Yarmouth  ;  Samuel ;  John  ; 

Perkins,  went  South  ;  Susan,  died,  unmarried  ;  Lavina,  married  Mr. 
Spurr  of  Otisfield  ;  and  Nancy,  married,  May  4,  1809,  John  Phinney. 

(2)  Daniel  Gammon,  son  of  Joseph,  was  a  member  of  Capt.  Whit- 
more's  militia  company  in  1777,  and  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution.  He 
lived  on  the  hundred  acre  lot  44  on  the  east  side  of  the  road  leading 
from  James  Phinney,  Jr.'s  to  Queen  street.  He  married  Polly  Blan- 
chard.     They  had  one  child  : 

Simeon,  b.  June  13,  1782. 

Mr.  Gammon  married,  Jan.  4,  1787,  Polly,  daughter  of  Isaac  Elder, 

by  whom  he  had  : 

Hannali,  b.  Mar.  17,  1788.  _ 

James,  b.  July  8,  1790,  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812. 

Isaac,  b.  July  21,  1792. 

•  Anna,  b.  Mar.  13,  1794,  m. Thomas. 

Samuel,  b.  May   14,   1797,  m. ;  had  four  sons  and  one  daughter; 

son   Elijah  H.  Gammon  was  the  founder  of  the  Gammon  Theological 

School  at  Atlanta,  Ga. 
Elijah,  b.  Jan.  6,   1799,  m. ;  moved  to  Wilton  and  afterwards  to 

Weld ;  had  three  sons  and  two  daughters. 
Ansel,  b.  Feb.,  1806,  m.  Mehi'able  Young  of  Palermo,  1824;  2d,  1S34-5,  Elinor 

Young;  had  nineteen  children,  sixteen  of  whom  lived  to  maturity. 
Eliza;  b. ,  m.  Eben  Stowers. 

In  18 10  Daniel  Gammon  sold  his  farm  to  Elijah  and  David  Elder, 
brothers  of  his  wife,  and  moved  from  town. 

(3)  Edmund  Gamman,  son  of  Samuel,  and  grandson  of  Joseph, 
was  born  in  Gorham  Apr.  7,  1778.  About  the  year  1805  he  returned 
to  Gorham  from  Hartford,  Me.,  where  his  father  was  then  living.  He 
opened  a  grocery  store  near  the  mouth  of  the  Black  Brook  road  and 
nearly  opposite  the  house  of  the  late  Rufus  Mosher,  where  was  quite 
a  settlement  at  that  time.  He  afterwards  removed  to  the  village  and 
lived  for  many  years  in  the  old  Jacob  Hamblen  house,  which  stood 


GENEALOGY.  513 

east  of  the  house  of  the  late  Mrs.   Stephen  Hinkley.     He  married 
Sarah,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Betty  Whitney.     Their  children  were  : 

Elden,  b.  Nov.  5, 181 1,  m.  May  13, 1832,  Miriam,  dau.  of  Daniel  and  Eunice  (March) 
Fogg  of  Scarborough.  Ch  :  Helen,  b.  Apr.  21,  1833,  d.  Aug.  25,  1849; 
Edwin,  b.  Aug.  14,  1835.  d.  July  26,  1900,  unm.  Mr.  Gamman  was  a 
skilled  machinist,  noted  for  the  fine  quality  and  accuracy  of  his  work. 
He  d.  Mar.  15,  1884;  his  wife  d.  Feb.  10,  1895,  ^R-  ^7- 

Elizabeth,  b.  Feb.  20,  1824. 

Edmund  Gamman  died  Aug.  4,  1841.  Mrs.  Gamman  died  Mar. 
19,  1875,  aged  86. 

GILKEY. 

James  Gilkey,  who  came  here  about  the  year  1750,  was  the  first  of 
the  name  in  town.  He  married,  Sept.  11,  1748,  Martha  Morton.  He 
was  a  weaver  by  trade,  came  from  the  north  of  Ireland,  and  in  relig- 
ious belief  was  a  strong  Presbyterian.  At  the  time  he  came  here  he 
was  probably  about  forty  years  of  age.  He  first  settled  on  the  thirty 
acre  lot,  29,  which  is  the  second  lot  westerly  from  the  Fort  Hill  road, 
on  the  southerly  side  of  the  two  rod  road  running  westerly  above  the 
Isaac  Dyer  farm.  Here  marks  of  the  old  house  and  cellar  are  still 
to  be  seen.  By  his  deed  to  Wentworth  Stuart,  then  of  Berwick,  dated 
Jan.  23,  1753,  he  conveys  to  said  Stuart  this  thirty  acre  lot,  with  the 
building  and  fences  on  the  same.  After  this  he  settled  on  South  St., 
on  the  thirty  acre  lot,  18,  where  he  built  a  house,  the  same  occupied*  by 
the  late  Dr.  Dudley  Folsom.  This  house  was  burned  while  occupied 
by  Dr.  Folsom.     Mr.  Gilkey's  children  by  his  first  wife  were  : 

Joseph,  b.  Apr.  27,  1751,  m.  Phebe  Larrabee,  Aug.  18,  1774. 
Rebecca,  b.  Nov.  17,  1753,  m.  James  Small,  Apr.  4,  1787. 
James,  b.  Apr.  29,  1756,  m.  Polly  Marr,  May  17,  1782. 

Nov.  9,  1759,  he  married  Mrs.  Margaret  Watts,  widow  of  Samuel 

Watts  of  Falmouth,  and  daughter  of  Samuel  Elder.     By  her  he  had  : 

Samuel,  b.  Oct.  21,  1761,  d.  at  sea,  unm. 

John,  b.  Jan.  23,  1764,  m.  Susan  Bacon,  Mar.  14,  1789. 

Isaac,  b.  July  14,  1768,  m.  Catherine  Staples,  Aug.  26,  1792. 

Mr.  Gilkey,  a  short  time  before  his  death,  deeded  half  of  his  lot, 
18,  to  his  son  John,  who  probably  owned  it  with  his  mother,  for  in 
1797,  Mrs.  Margaret  Gilkey,  with  her  son  John,  deeded  to  her  son 
Isaac  an  acre  from  this  lot  near  where  the  railroad  bridge  now  is.  On 
this  acre  Isaac  built  the  two-story  house  known  as  the  Baxter  house, 
lately  owned  by  Jonathan  Fogg.  This  house  Isaac  Gilkey  sold  to  Rev. 
Jeremiah  Noyes,  the  fourth  settled  minister  in  the  town  of  Gorham. 
Then  Isaac  built  the  two-story  house  on  the  thirty  acre  lot,  17,  on  the 
easterly  side  of  South  St.,  which  he  sold  to  Rev.  Asa  Rand.  This 
house  is  the  same  lately  owned  by  Dr.  H.  H.  Hunt. 


514  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

James  Gilkey  died  at  his  own  house  on  South  St.,  about  the  year  1790, 
being  over  eighty  years  of  age  ;  and  his  wife  Margaret  soon  after,  or 
about  the  year  1800,  aged  about  eighty-two  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Gilkey  were  honest  Christian  people  and  members  of  the  old  church, 
but  becoming  much  dissatisfied  under  the  ministrations  of  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Thacher,  they  joined  the  Free  Will  Baptists. 

(2)  Joseph  Gilkey,  son  of  James,  married  Phebe  Larrabee  : 

Betty,  b.  July  29,  1775,  m.  Frederick  Stevens  of  25  Mile  Pond,  Mar.  3,  iSoi. 
Manila,  b.  Apr.   23,   1777,  m.   Benjamin  Chandler  of   Pepperellboro,  Oct.  20, 

1799. 
Sarah,  b.  Sept.  27,  1779,  m.  Hezekiah  Chase  of  Sandy  Stream,  p.  June  17,  1803. 

Phebe,  b.  June  3,  1782,  m. Whitney  ;  I'd  in  W.  Troy,  Me. 

Samuel,  b.  May  25,  1784,  I'd  in  Troy,  Me. 

James,  b.  June  4,  17S6. 

Mary,  b.  June  11,  1788,  m.  James  Patterson,  Jan.  18,  1813. 

William,  |  ,     ,,r 

Isaac,     'jb.  May  17,  1790. 

Joseph  settled  on  a  part  of  the  thirty  acre  lot  115,  and  built  a 
large  two-story  house  a  little  east  of  where  Mrs.  Rufus  Mosher  now 
lives.  This  house  was  taken  down  soon  after  the  death  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Gilkey,  about  the  year  18 15. 

Mr.    Small,   who    married    Rebecca,    daughter    of    James    Gilkey, 

moved   to   Gray.     These  are  the   ancestors   of  Samuel  Small,  Esq., 

now  (1878)  cashier  of  the  Cumberland  Nat'l  Bank,  Portland.    James 

Gilkey,  Sr.,  who   married  Polly   Marr,   moved  to   Limington.     John 

Gilkey,  who  married  Susan  Bacon  of  Barnstable,  had  three  children 

born  in  Gorham. 

Ebenezer  B.,  b.  Sept.  14,  1790. 
Sally,  b.  Aug.  8,  1792. 
John,  b.  Aug.  10,  1794. 

About  the  year  1794  John,  with  his  family,  moved  to  New  Port- 
land, where  he  had  descendants  living,  a  few  years  since. 

(2)  Isaac  Gilkey,  who  married  Catherine  Staples,  lived  in  his  house 
on  South  St.,  till  he  sold  it,  about  the  year  18 10,  to  Rev.  Asa  Rand, 
the  tifth  minister  settled  in  Gorham.  He  then  moved  on  to  his  farm 
above  Fort  Hill  where  Ezra  Thomes  lately  lived,  the  old  place  of  Dr. 
Stephen  Swett.     The  children  of  Isaac  and  Catherine  Gilkey  were  : 

Samuel,  b.  Sept.  22,  1793,  n^-  Hannah  Phinney,  May  5,  1816. 

Joseph,  b.  July  26,  1795,  m.  Mary  Johnson,  Jan.  5,  1S24. 

Charles,  b.  July  1 1 ,  1797,  d.  Nov.  12,  1827. 

Harriet,  b.  Sept.  2,  1799,  d.  young. 

Frederick,  b.  May  22,  1802,  m.,  1829,  Lydia  Bangs;  I'd  at  the  north  part  of  the 

town.     Ch  :  Isaac,   b.  Jan.   7,  1830;  Mary  M.,  b.  Oct.  19,   1832,  m.   Mr. 

Nason  at  Great  Falls,  d.  leaving  no  chn. ;  Charles,  b.  Apr.  19,  1834,  m. 

Elder  of  Portland;     Harriet,  b.  May,  1845,  d.  unm.  Nov.  7,  1885. 


GENEALOGY.  515 

Mrs.   Gilkey  d.  Apr.   6,   1851,  ag.  45,  and  in  1856,  Mr.  G.  m.  Margaret 
Wescott,  by   whom  he   had:   Carrie,  m.  George   Perkins  of  Kennebunk. 
Mr.  G.  d.  in  May,  1S77. 
Harriet,  b.  May  2,  1S04,  m.  David  Johnson,  Jan.  31,  1825;   2d,  Enoch  Boothby 
of  Buxton,  in  1828. 

Isaac  Gilkey  was  in  his  day  a  famous  carpenter  or  joiner.  He 
was  second  under  Wentworth  Stuart  in  framing  the  First  Parish 
meeting  house,  in  Gorham,  in  1797.  He  built  a  number  of  the  old- 
fashioned  ropewalks  in  Portland.  The  long-vvalk  that  stood  on  the 
shore  of  Back  Cove,  under  the  hill,  was  built  by  him,  and  framed  at 
Gorham  in  the  road  (now  South  St.),  in  front  of  his  house,  in  three 
sections,  each  reaching  from  his  house  to  the  old  hay  scales,  which 
stood  in  the  road  opposite  to  where  the  new  schoolhouse  now  stands. 
In  those  days  there  was  no  square  rule,  or  framing  by  patterns  :  each 
stick  had  to  be  framed  and  fitted  to  its  place,  marked  and  draw- 
bored,  separately. 

Mr.  Gilkey  died  on  his  farm  May  14,  18 14.  His  wife  Catherine 
died  Nov.  27,  1845,  at  the  age  of  75. 

(3)  Reuben,  the  son  of  James  and  Polly  (Marr)  Gilkey,  was  born 

in  Limington,  Dec.    19,   1788.     He  moved  to  Gorham  in  1838,  and 

built  and  occupied  the  cottage  house  at  West  Gorham,  just  southeast 

of  the  house  of  the  late  Reuben  Lowell.     He  married   first,  Eliza 

Marr,  by   whom   he   had    several   children  born   in  Limington.      His 

second  wife  was  Phebe  Marr,  sister  of  Eliza,  whom  he  married  May 

8,  1831.     Their  children  were: 

Eliza  C.,  b.  in  Limington, ,  1S33,  m.  Albion  Sawyer. 

Mary,  b.  in  Limington,  July,  1836,  d.  young. 

Capt.  Gilkey  died  in  Portland,  May  25,  1868.  Mrs.  Phebe  Gilkey 
died  in  Gorham,  Dec.  22,  1867,  aged  62. 

(3)  Joseph  Gilkey,  brother  to  Reuben,  married  Louisa,  daughter 
of  Zebediah  F.  and  Margaret  (Clark)  Jackson  of  Limington.  Mr. 
Gilkey  and  his  father-in-law  Jackson  came  to  Gorham  in  1835  and 
purchased  of  Thomas  S.  Bowles  the  old  Prentiss  place  at  West 
Gorham. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jackson  had  a  family  of  six  daughters  : 

Salome,  m.  Abner  Libby ;  I'd  in  Limerick. 

Almira,  m.  Peletiah  Gove,  of  Limington. 

Louisa,  m.  Joseph  Gilkey. 

Tryphena  S.,  m.  Chesley  D.  Gove  of  Limington. 

Olive  F.,  m.  Micajah  C.  Strout ;  I'd  in  Limington.  Gorham  and  Portland. 

Jane,  m.  George  Waterhouse  of  Gorham ;  d.  in  Portland. 

Mr.  Jackson  died  in  Portland,  Jan.  14,  1862,  aged  87.     His  wife 

Maro-aret   died   Jan.  17,  1864,  at   West  Gorham,  with  her  daughter 


516  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Tryphena.     The  old  place  descended  to  Mrs.  Gove's  daughter,  Mrs. 
Cyrus  Cressey,  who  sold  it  to  Joseph  Harrison. 

Joseph  Gilkey  and  his  wife  Louisa  had  but  one  child,  Alphonso  L., 
who  was  born  in  Limington,  Nov.  7,  1829,  married  Susan  Bradford 
Cook  Jan.  i,  1856,  and  lives  in  Portland,  where  he  has  been  a  fur 
dealer.  Joseph  Gilkey  died  in  Gorham,  and  his  wife  in  Portland, 
Sept.  30,  1888,  aged  82. 

'There  was  a  Mary  Gilkey  in  town  at  an  early  date,  but  of  what 
family  we  do  not  know.  She  married,  Dec.  7,  1775,  Daniel  Moxey, 
or  Mussey. 

GORHAM. 

Capt.  John  Gorham,  who  commanded  a  company  of  the  colonial 
troops  in  the  King  Philip  war,  and  was  at  the  taking  of  the  fort  in 
the  swamp  in  the  Narragansett  country,  Dec.  19,  1675,  the  capture 
of  which  crushed  the  hopes  of  King  Philip  and  his  allies,  was  the  son 
of  Ralph  Gorham. 

The  Gorhams  trace  their  genealogy  back  to  the  De  Gorrams,  of 
La  Tanniere,  near  Gorram  in  Maine,  on  the  borders  of  Brittany, 
where  William,  son  of  Ralph  de  Gorram,  built  a  castle  in  11 28. 
During  the  reign  of  William  the  Conqueror  several  of  the  family 
removed  to  England,  where  certain  ones  of  the  name  became  persons 
of  some  standing;  but  the  immediate  ancestors  of  Captain  John  do 
not  appear  to  have  been  of  much  note.  James  Gorham  of  Benefield, 
Northamptonshire,  England,  who  was  born  in  1550,  married  Agnes 
Bernington  in  1572  and  died  1576.  Ralph  Gorham  his  son  was 
born  in  1575.  He  married  in  England  and  came  with  his  family  in 
ship  Philip  to  New  England  about  1635.  Of  his  family  but  little  is 
known  ;  the  only  record  being  of  his  son  John.  It  is  probable  he  had 
other  children,  and  a  son  by  the  name  of  Ralph,  as  he  was  called 
the  "  elder,"  which  shows  that  there  must  have  been  one  other  of  the 
same  name.  Ralph  Gorham  died  about  the  year  1643,  leaving  no 
widow  and  only  one  son,  John,  ijvho  inherited  his  father's  estate.  No 
other  Gorhams  are  known  to  have  been  in  the  colony  during  the 
seventeenth  centuiy,  after  the  death  of  Ralph,  besides  John  and  his 
descendants. 

W^e  have  no  record  of  the  birth  of  Capt.  John  Gorham,  but  he  was 
baptized  in  Benefield,  Northamptonshire,  England,  Jan.  28,  1621.  Of 
his  early  history,  little  is  known.  He  had  a  good  common  school 
education,  was  brought  up  in  the  Puritan  faith,  and  during  life  was  a 


GENEALOGY.  517 

consistent  and  exemplary  Christian.  His  occupation  was  tliat  of 
a  tanner  and  currier  of  leather,  which  business  he  attended  to  in  the 
winter,  and  carried  on  his  farm  in  the  summer.  He  w-as  an  honest 
boy,  and  grew  up  to  be  an  honest  man.  In  1643,  when  about 
twenty-two  years  of  age,  he.  married  Desire  Howland  of  Plymouth, 
daughter  of  John  Howland,  and  granddaughter  of  John  Tilley,  both 
of  whom  came  over  in  the  Mayflower.  Desire  was  one  of  the  first 
children  born  at  Plymouth  ;  she  was  a  Christian  woman  both  in  name 
and  spirit. 

John  Gorham  moved  from  Plymouth  to  Marshneld  in  1646  ;  June 
4,  1650,  he  was  made  a  freeman  of  the  colony.  In  1652,  he  moved 
to  Yarmouth,  where  he  purchased  a  house  lot  adjoining  the  line  of 
Barnstable.  From  this  time  we  find  him  adding  to  his  estate  until 
he  became  a  large  land  owner,  w^hich  with  his  grist  mill  and  tannery 
must  have  kept  him  w^ell  employed.  In  1677,  in  consequence  of  the 
good  service  Capt.  Gorham  had  rendered  the  country  in  the  war  in 
which  he  lost  his  life,  the  Court  confirmed  to  his  heirs  and  succes- 
sors forever  the  hundred  acres  of  land  at  Papasquash  Neck,  in 
Swanzey,  which  had  been  selected  by  him  in  his  lifetime.  He  was 
one  of  the  selectmen  of  Barnstable  in  the  year  1674,  and  was 
appointed  a  Lieutenant  of  the  Plymouth  forces  in  the  Dutch  war  in 
1673.  Oct.  4,  1675,  he  was  appointed  Captain  of  the  second  com- 
pany of  the  Plymouth  forces  in  the  King  Philip  war,  and  ordered  to 
rendezvous  his  company  at  Providence,  Dec.  10,  1675.  The  battle 
was  fought  Dec.  19,  1675,  and  was  decisive  in  its  result.  This  was 
the  second  expedition  sent  against  the  Narragansetts  in  which  Capt. 
Gorham  bore  a  part.  The  first  was  not  successful,  the  English  suf- 
fering a  defeat,  a  fuller  account  of  which  can  be  found  in  the  histories 
of  the  times.  To  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  this  war  the  grant  of 
seven  townships  of  land  was  made  by  the  General  Court  of  Massa- 
chusetts about  the  years  1728  and  1732.  Capt.  Gorham  did  not  live 
long  after  the  battle.  He  was  seized  with  a  fever,  brought  on  in 
consequence  of  fatigue  and  exposure,  and  died,  while  in  command  of 
his  company,  in  Swanzey,  where  he  was  buried,  Feb.  5,  1676.  His 
wife  Desire  survived  him,  and  died  in  Barnstable,  Oct.  13,  1683. 

In  the  distribution  of  the  seven  townships  amongst  the  Narragan- 
sett  soldiers.  No.  7  was  awarded  to  Capt.  John  Gorham  and  one 
hundred  and  nineteen  others,  to  their  heirs  and  assigns  forever, 
according  to  the  rules  fixed  by  the  General  Court  providing  for 
descent  or  heirship.  For  a  list  of  the  co-holders  in  the  proprietary, 
reference  may  be  had  to  Chapter  II  of  this  work. 


518  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

The  children  of  Capt.  John  and  his  wife  Desire  (Rowland)  Gorham 
were  Desire,  Temperance,  Elizabeth,  James,  John  (born  in  Marsh- 
field,  Feb.  20,  1652),  Joseph,  Jabez,  Mercy,  Lydia,  Hannah  and 
Shubael.  Lieut.  Col.  John  Gorham,  the  fifth  child  of  Capt.  John  and 
Desire,  was  brought  up  to  work  at  the  trade  of  his  father.  His  tan- 
nery was  near  his  father's  grist  mill.  He  inherited  a  part  of  his 
father's  estate,  and  became  wealthy,  ranking  second  in  town,  next  to 
his  brother  James.  He  was  with  his  father  in  the  King  Philip  war. 
He  was  afterwards  much  engaged  during  the  French  and  Indian ' 
wars,  from  1689  to  1704,  on  the  eastern  coast,  under  Col.  Benjamin 
Church.  Connected  with  these  expeditions  there  was  a  whaleboat 
fleet,  manned  by  whalemen,  sailors  and  friendly  Indians,  which  dur- 
ing most  of  the  time  was  under  the  sole  management  and  command 
of  Col.  Gorham.  During  the  fourth  and  fifth  of  these  expeditions,  he 
was  commissioned  Lieut.  Colonel  and  second  in  command,  and  in 
case  of  accident  was  named  as  commander.  This  fleet  was  of  great 
service  in  transporting  supplies,  and  in  moving  the  troops  from  point 
to  point  when  marching  through  the  wilderness,  which  was  nearly 
impassable.  Lieut.  Col.  Gorham  ranked  as  a  captain  in  the  unfortu- 
nate Canada  expedition  in  1690,  under  Maj.  Walley.  In  this  expedi- 
tion he  commanded  the  whaleboat  fleet,  without  which  it  would  have 
been  still  more  disastrous.  Subsequently  he  was  a  Lieut.  Colonel 
in  the  militia.  He  was  a  man  of  sound  judgment,  good  business 
capacity,  much  employed  by  his  fellow-townsmen  as  a  conveyancer, 
writing  wills,  and  in  drawing  public  documents.  He  married,  Feb. 
16,  1674,  Mary  Otis,  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Otis.  Their  children 
were  born  in  Barnstable,  and  were  as  follows  :  John,  Temperance, 
Mary,  Stephen,  Shubael  (born  Sept.  2,  1686),  John,  Thankful,  Job, 
and  Mercy.  Col.  John  Gorham  died  Dec.  9,  17 16,  in  the  65th  year 
of  his  age.     His  widow  Mary  died  April  i,  1733. 

Col.  Shubael  Gorham,  who  was  the  fifth  child  of  Lieut.  Col.  John 
and  Mary  (Otis)  Gorham,  was  like  his  father,  something  of  a  military 
man.  He  was  Colonel  of  the  7  th  Mass.  in  the  Louisburg  expedition  ; 
his  commission  bearing  the  date  of  Feb.  2,  1744;  and  he  was  also 
Captain  of  the  First  company.  His  son  John  was  Lieut.  Colonel 
and  Captain  of  the  Second  company.  Shubael  Gorham  was  a  man 
of  enterprise,  who  persevered  in  whatever  he  vindertook  till  he  failed 
or  succeeded.  Much  in  public  business,  he  was  esteemed  by  all  who 
knew  him.  It  was  principally  through  his  instrumentalit}^  and  the 
efficient  part  he  took,  that  the  grants  were  made  by  the  General 
Court,  of  the  seven  townships  of  land  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  of 


GENEALOGY.  519 

the  Narragansett,  or  King  Philip  war,  or  their  lawful  representatives. 
When  the  assembly  of  grantees  was  held  on  Boston  Common,  June 
6,  1733,  Hon.  Shubael  Gorham  was  made  chairman  of  the  Committee 
for  Narragansett  No.  7.  By  an  order  in  Council,  Shubael  Gorham 
was  empowered,  July  5,  1736,  to  call  together  the  grantees  of  Narra- 
gansett No.  7.  Col.  Gorham  spent  much  time  and  money  in  for- 
warding and  fostering  the  settlement  of  Gorhamtown.  He  bought  a 
great  many  shares  of  those  who  did  not  wish  to  emigrate,  but  his 
speculation  proved  unfortunate.  He  died  insolvent  in  the  year  1746, 
his  children  being  his  principal  creditors.  He  married  his  cousin 
Mary,  daughter  of  Col.  John  and  Lydia  (Gorham)  Thacher  of  Yar- 
mouth. Their  children  were  John,  born  Dec.  12,  1709,  married 
Elizabeth  Allyn  ;  David,  born  April  6,  17 12,  married  Abigail  Sturgis  ; 
Mary;  William;  Lydia:  Hannah;  Hannah;  Shubael;  Joseph;  Ben- 
jamin.    Mrs.  Mary  Gorham  died  June  28,  1778,  aged  89. 

Daniel  Gorham,  born  Sept.  24,  1708,  was  the  son  of  Shubael 
Gorham  (the  youngest  son  of  Capt.  John  Gorham)  and  his  wife 
Puella  Hussey,  and  bore  the  same  degree  of  relationship  to  John  the 
elder  as  the  Hon.  Shubael,  viz.,  that  of  a  grandson,  but  by  a  different 
branch.  He  was  a  mariner  by  profession.  He  was  the  owner  of 
four  rights  in  Gorhamtown.  On  Aug.  9,  1739,  he  was  in  Gorham- 
town, and  acted  as  Proprietors'  Clerk  at  a  meeting  when  two  hundred 
acres  of  land  were  voted  and  granted  to  Edmund  and  Stephen  Phin- 
ney.  He  died  in  London,  of  the  small  pox,  in  1745.  He  was 
unmarried,  and  by  his  will  left  his  estate  of  land  in  Gorhamtown  to 
his  brother  and  sisters,  George,  Abigail,  Lydia,  Hannah,  Theodate, 
Desire,  Ruth  and  Deborah.  It  does  not  appear  that  any  of  them 
came  to  Gorham. 

Col.  John  Gorham,  the  first  child  of  the  Hon,  Shubael  Gorham, 
was  a  distinguished  officer  in  the  colonial  forces  in  the  later  French 
wars.  He  was  present  at  the  capture  of  Louisburg,  and  rendered 
efficient  service  to  the  country  during  the  war.  In  the  Louisburg 
expedition  he  was  Lieut,  Colonel  of  the  7th  Mass.  and  Captain  of  the 
Second  company.  His  commission  was  dated  Feb.  20,  1744.  Col, 
Gorham  resided  in  Barnstable  till  the  year  1742,  when  he  removed 
to  Falmouth,  Me.,  now  Portland.  While  his  residence  was  in  P'al- 
mouth,  he  spent  much  of  his  time  in  Gorhamtown  attending  to  his 
lands,  and  promoting  the  interests  of  the  settlers.  He  married, 
Mar.  9,  1 73 1,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  James  Allyn,  who  is  said  to 
have  been  one  of  the  most  accomplished  ladies  of  her  time.  They 
had  fifteen  children.  No  complete  list  of  them  is  on  record.  Those 
born  in  Barnstable  were : 


520  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Susannah,  b.  Nov.  21,  1732,  d.  Mar.,  1733. 

Mary,  b.  Dec.  3,  1733,  d.  Jan.  8,  1738. 

Anna,  b.  July  28,  1735. 

John,  b.  Dec.  26,  1736. 

Christopher,  b.  Jan.  10,  1738,  d.  at  sea  unm. 

EHzabeth,  bapt.  Dec.  16,  1739,  m.  Daniel  Rogers  of  Gloucester. 

Daniel,  bapt.  Mar.  i,  1741. 

The  other  children  were  born  after  their  removal,  in  1742,  to 
Falmouth.  The  eighth  child  was  Sea  Deliverance,  a  daughter, 
named  thus  as  she  was  born  at  sea ;  she  was  christened  at  Barnstable, 
July  22,  1744.  Three  of  the  other  children  were:  Mary,  married 
Eben  Parsons,  Susannah,  and  Solomon,  who  died  Dec.  20,  1795. 

It  does  not  appear  that  any  of  Col.  John  Gorham's  family  settled 
in  Gorham.  After  the  close  of  the  French  war,  Col.  Gorham  and 
his  wife  visited  Europe,  were  presented  at  the  court  of  St.  James,  and 
had  an  audience  with  the  King,  a  distinction  then  attained  to  by  but 
few  of  the  subjects  of  royalt}-.  In  1749  Col.  Gorham  was  a  resident 
of  Boston.  He  died  about  the  year  1750,  of  the  small  pox,  in  Lon- 
don, while  engaged  in  prosecuting  his  claim  for  expenses  in  the 
Louisbiu-g  expedition.  His  widow  Elizabeth  married,  in  1775,  Col. 
John  Stevens  of  Gloucester,  and  died  Dec.  25,  1786,  in  her  73d  year. 

Col.  David  Gorham,  the  second  child  of  the  Hon.  Shubael  Gorham, 
had  three  wives,  namely  :  Abigail  Sturgis,  whom  he  married  Aug.  2, 
1733,  and  who  died  Feb.  11,  1775,  aged  63;  second,  Elizabeth 
Stevens  of  Truro,  in  1775  ;  third,  Hannah  Davis,  whom  he  married 
June  17,  1783,  and  who  died  Oct.  3.  1810,  aged  79.  David  Gorham 
died  in  Barnstable,  in  1789,  aged  77.  He  resided  on  the  old  home- 
stead in  Barnstable.  He  was  with  his  brother  John  at  Cape  Breton 
and  the  taking  of  Louisburg,  and  was  engaged  in  other  military 
services.  In  the  time  of  the  Revolution  some  charged  him  with 
being  a  tory,  as  he  Avould  not  advocate  some  extreme  measures,  but 
the  charge  was  unjust.  For  many  years  he  was  Register  of  Probate 
for  the  County  of  Barnstable,  was  much  in  public  life,  and  was  an 
energetic  and  capable  man.  The  children  of  David  Gorham,  Esq., 
were  : 

David,  b.  Aug.  24,  1735,  d.  young. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Aug.  22,  1737,  d.  young. 

Edward,  b.  Aug.  23,  1739,  d.  about  1756. 

Lydia,  b.  May  30,  1741,  m.  Edward  Bacon.  Jr. 

William,  b.  July  12,  1743,  m.  Temperance  White;  2d,  Temperance  Garret. 

Shubael,  b.  Feb.  3,  1745,  d.  in  174S. 

Benjamin,  b.  Feb.  23,  1747,  m.  Desire  Thacher,  Oct.  15,  1775. 

Abigail,  b.  Mar.  5,  1749,  m.  Jeremiah  Barker. 

Shubael,  b.  Feb.  18,  1752,  d.  at  sea,  unm. 

Mar}-,  b.  May  21,  1754,  m.  Wm.  Prentiss  of  Barnstable,  1778;  d.  July  8,  1784. 

Lydia  married  Capt.  Edward  Bacon,  Jr. ;  she  died  in  Gorham  at 
the  house  of  her  brother,  Hon.  William  Gorham,  Apr.  14,  1803,  a 


GENEALOGY.  521 

widow.  William  married,  in  1769,  widow  Temperance  White  of 
Scituate,  who  died  in  Gorham,  Apr.  14,  1788;  for  his  second  wife 
he  married  Miss  Temperance  Garret  of  Gorham,  Mar.  8,  1789. 
Abigail  married,  Oct.  12,  1775,  Dr.  Jeremiah  Barker,  and  died  in 
1790. 

It  appears  that  the  contract  made,  Mar.  28,  1743,  by  the  Proprie- 
tors with  Col.  John  Gorham  to  complete  the  mills  was  not  fulfilled  by 
him  in  consequence  of  his  decease,  and  the  mills  were  finished  by  his 
brother  David,  when  the  following  proceedings  were  had  by  the 
Proprietors  : 
York  ss. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  proprietors  of  Gorhamtown,  or  Narragansett 
No.  7,  held  at  the  house  of  Jacob  Hamblin,  in  said  town,  January 
nth,  1759  — 

Voted,  The  report  of  the  Committee  be  accepted,  VIZ : 
We  the  subscribers  being  a  Committee  chosen  by  the  Proprietors 
of  Gorhamtown  or  Naraganset  Township  No.  7,  at  their  meeting  held 
at  said  township  on  thursday  last,  the  eleventh  instant,  to  search 
the  records  of  said  Proprietors  with  regard  to  Four  hundred  acres  of 
land  formerly  granted  to  Jn''  Gorham  by  way  of  exchange  on  condi- 
tions, having  fully  enquired  and  examined  the  Records,  and  find  that 
it  stands  clear  for  the  proprietors,  to  grant  the  same  to  his  brother 
David  Gorham,  Esq.,  according  to  the  following  draft  of  a  vote,  and 
do  report  that  the  proprietors  vote  accordingly,  VIZ :  Whereas 
on  the  28"^  of  March  1743,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Proprietors, 
it  was  voted  and  granted  to  Jn°  Gorham,  four  hundred  acres  of  the 
common  land  in  Gorhamtown  or  Naraganset  township  No.  7,  on 
Presumpscot  river  next  Falmouth  line.  Upon  certain  conditions  &S 
as  per  said  proprietors  records  fully  appears;  and  whereas  the  said 
Jn°  Gorham  since  deceased  not  having  fulfilled  said  conditions,  in 
said  vote  mentioned,  and  whereas  David  Gorham  of  Barnstable  in  the 
county  of  Barnstable,  Esquire,  has  done  and  performed  all  and  every 
article  that  was  enjoined  the  said  Jn°  Gorham  to  entitle  him  to  said 
grant,  and  has  given  surety  to  lay  down  and  remit  four  hundred  acres 
of  his  land  in  the  last  division,  and  also  having  been  at  great  charge 
in  bringing  forward  the  settlement  and  of  great  advantage  thereto  at 
his  own  cost  and  charge  :  therefore,  for  and  in  consideration  of  said 
services,  and  giving  security  as  aforesaid.  Voted  and  Granted  to  him 
the  said  David  Gorham,  Esq.,  his  heirs  and  assigns  forever,  the  said 
Four  hundred  acres  of  Land  adjoining  to  Falmouth  line,  as  the  same 
is  surveyed.  Delineated  and  planned,  on  the  plan  of  the  township 
now  on  file  in  y'^  Clerks  Oftice  of  said  Proprietors  Oflice,  Falmouth. 
January  13th  1759  Enoch  Freeman 

Ephraim  Jones 
Wm  Cotton 
j ere  pote 
Jno  Waite. 


522  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Benjamin  Haskell,  in  behalf  of  his  father  Th"s.   Haskell  dissented 
against  the  foregoing  Report  and  Vote  of  acceptance  thereof. 
Recorded  Per  Moses  Pearson,  Clerk. 

David  Gorham,  of  Barnstable,  sold  to  Lemuel  Rich,  of  Truro, 
thirty  acres  in  the  whole  (thirty  acre  lot  64),  with  one-half  of  the  mill, 
mill-dam,  stream,  and  all  material  for  building  mills  on  said  thirty 
acre  lot,  and  one  half  the  privilege  of  the  stream  running  through 
part  of  said  lot,  also  the  whole  of  the  thirty  acre  lot  laying  opposite 
the  first  63.     The  sale  was  completed  Feb.  11,  1762. 

Hon.  William  Gorham,  the  son  of  David  Gorham,  Esq.,  came  to 
the  town  of  Gorham  about  the  year  1760,  when  he  was  eighteen 
years  of  age,  several  years  previous  to  his  marriage,  and  settled  on  the 
thirty  acre  lot  114.  His  house  was  near  the  corner  made  by  the  Port- 
land road  and  what  was  called  the  Black  Brook  road,  the  then  principal 
road  to  Horse  Beef  Falls,  opposite  the  house  where  Mrs.  Rufus 
Mosher  now  lives.  His  home  farm  consisted  of  the  thirty  acre  lot 
114  and  the  hundred  acre  lot  45,  lying  northerly  of  the  thirty  acre 
lot.  His  large  two-story  house  and  out-buildings,  with  the  improve- 
ments thereto  pertaining,  constituted  one  of  the  best  appointed  estab- 
lishments to  be  found  on  the  road  from  Gorham  to  Portland.  The 
Hon.  William  Gorham  was  a  gentleman  in  his  manners,  hospitable, 
and  polite  to  all,  a  good  neighbor  much  beloved  and  respected  by  his 
fellow  townsmen.  He  had  a  good  common  school  education.  In 
his  early  life,  by  aiding  his  father  in  his  office,  Register  of  Probate, 
he  became  a  good  penman  well  versed  in  law  proceedings,  and 
understood  the  import  and  meaning  of  law  and  public .  documents, 
which  fitted  him  to  fill  a  conspicuous  and  useful  place  in  the  town  of 
his  adoption.  He  was  chosen  Proprietors'  Clerk  and  Treasurer,  and 
after  the  incorporation  of  the  town  held  more  or  less  of  the  municipal 
offices,  till  his  Judgeship  and  other  engagements  compelled  him  to 
decline.  He  was  often  chosen  to  the  several  offices  of  town  clerk, 
treasurer,  selectman  and  committee  on  accounts.  He  was  chosen 
a  Delegate,  with  Col.  Edmund  Phinney  and  Stephen  Longfellow, 
Esq.,  to  attend  Conventions  held  at  Portland,  in  the  years  1785  and 
1786,  to  take  into  consideration  the  separation  of  the  then  District  of 
Maine  from  Massachusetts.  He  was  President  of  the  Conventions. 
During  the  Revolutionary  struggle,  in  1776,  Solomon  Lombard,  Esq., 
being  on  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  and  Safety,  was  thought 
to  be  not  sound  and  true.  He  was  immediately  censured  and 
deposed  by  the  town,  and  the  Hon.  William  Gorham  put  in  his  place, 
where  he  made  himself  an  active  and  efficient  man.     In  1782  he  was 


GENEALOGY.  523 

appointed  Judge  of  Probate,  and  in  1787  was  made  Judge  of  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas,  which  offices  he  filled  acceptably  until  his 
death. 

Judge  Ciorham  was  occasionally  inspired  by  the  Muse  of  Poetry,  as 
this  little  poem,  written  by  him,  and  published  in  the  Falmouth 
Gazette  and  Weekly  Advertiser  of  ¥ch.  19,  1785,  will  show  : 

"  Of  wealth,  ye  Powers,  I  want  but  little  store, 

One  cent  per  annum,  and  I  ask  no  more  ; 
Give  me  content  enougli  thro'  life  to  pass  ; 

By  turns  a  friend,  a  thought,  a  book,  a  glass  ; 
A  verdant  walk  inductive  to  some  shade. 

Not  formed  by  art,  but  by  kind  nature  made, 
A  pond,  and  on  its  bank  a  wood -bine  bower, 

A  little  garden,  stock'd  with  every  flower ; 
A  female  mate,  with  virtue  sparkling  eyes. 

Her  face  not  handsome,  let  her  mind  be  wise  ; 
Of  conversation  innocently  gay. 

And  manners  gentle  as  the  breath  of  May; 
Friend  to  my  friends,  a  bitter  foe  to  strife. 

Kind  to  my  children,  and  to  me  a  wife." 

Judge  Gorham  had  but  one  child,  a  daughter,  Frances,  by  his  first 
wife,  born  Apr.  22,  1774.  She  married  James  Tyler,  Dec.  11,  1796. 
The  Hon.  William  Gorham  died  at  his  house  in  Gorham,  July  22, 
1804,  aged  61.  His  second  wife  survived  him,  and  married  Dr. 
Barker. 

Benjamin  Gorham,  the  son  of  David  Gorham,  Esq.,  to  distinguish 
him  from  the  other  Ben  Gorhams,  there  being  five  of  the  same  name 
in  town  (Barnstable)  was  called  "  Ben  the  Turkey-Foot."  After  his 
marriage  w'ith  Miss  Thacher,  his  father  built  him  a  house  on  Dimmock 
Lane,  where  he  lived  a  while.  In  the  year  1789  he  l^d  removed  to 
Gorham,  and  in  January,  1791,  had  returned  to  Barnstable,  and  died 
soon  after.  His  children  are  not  named  in  the  Records  of  Barn- 
stable ;  some  of  them  were  probably  born  while  the  family  were  in 
Maine.  The  first,  Edward,  bapt.  Apr.  28,  1776,  married  widow 
Joanna  Poland  (Webb).  The  second,  William,  bapt.  Jan.  25,  1778, 
married  Charlotte  Beals,  resided  in  Portland,  and  kept  a  grocery 
store  for  many  years  on  the  north  side  of  Middle  St.,  near  where  the 
hardware  store  of  King  and  Dexter  now  is,  and  had  William, 
Charlotte,  and  Joseph  B.  The  third,  Christopher,  died  at  sea 
unmarried.  The  fourth,  Polly,  died  unmarried.  The  fifth,  David-, 
bapt.  April,  1786,  resided  in  Maine.  The  sixth,  Shubael,  bapt.  July 
II,  1790,  died  unmarried  in  1840. 

There  was  a  Hannah  Gorham,  who  was  in  some  degree  related  to 
the  Hon.  William  Gorham,  and  lived  in  his  family.  She  married, 
Nov.  19,  1789,  Sylvanus  Davis,  son  of  Mr.  Josiah  Davis. 


524  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

GOULD. 

Nathaniel  Gould  was  the  son  of  Mager  and  Abigail  (Goodhue) 
Gould.  He  was  born  Feb.  3,  1767,  in  Ipswich,  Mass.,  in  the  Che- 
bacco  District,  now  Essex.  In  1792  he  settled  in  Gorham.  Mr. 
Gould  was  a  saddler,  harness  maker  and  chaise  trimmer  by  trade. 
His  shop  stood  where  the  house  of  Mrs.  Geo.  W.  Lowell  now  stands, 
and  his  house  was  the  one  built  by  Enoch  Frost  and  now  occupied 
by  Mrs.  Martha  Sawyer. 

Mr.  Gould  had  a  brother  Moses  Gould  (senior)  who  married,  Sept. 
28,  1805,  Susanna,  daughter  of  George  and  Sarah  Hamblen  of  Gor- 
ham, and  lived  in  Portland.  They  were  the  parents  of  Moses  Gould, 
Esq.,  and  Daniel  Gould  of  Portland. 

Nathaniel  Gould  married,  Nov.  28,  1793,  Betsey,  daughter  of  Rev. 
Paul  Coffin  of  Buxton.  She  died  Oct.  2,  1794,  aged  26,  leaving  no 
children,  and  Mr.  Gould  married,  May  6,  1798,  Elizabeth,  daughter 
of  Samuel  and  Ann  (Dyer)  McLellan  of  Cape  Elizabeth.  Mr.  Gould 
was  a  member  of  the  Congregational  Church  for  many  years.  He 
died  Nov.  12,  1853.  Mrs.  Gould  was  a  most  exemplary  Christian 
wife  and  mother,  beloved  by  all  who  knew  her.  She  died  Feb.  8, 
1836,  aged  62.  The  children  of  Nathaniel  and  Elizabeth  Gould 
were  : 

Eliza,  b.  Feb.  12,  1799,  m.  Humphrey  Hight  of  Wayne,  Jan.  22,  1822  ;  d.  May 

24,  1888. 
Jane  McL.,  b.  Feb.  4,  1801,  d.  Sept.,  1801. 
Jane,  b.  Sept.  20,  1802,  m.  Rev.  Asa  Mead,  May  9,  1825.     After  the  death  of 

her  hnsbciRd  and  her  little  son,  John  Mooney  Mead,  she  came  back  to 

Gorham  with  her  two  daughters  in  1831.     One  of  these,  Maria,  m.  July 

10,  1850,  Thomas  C.  Welch  of  Buffalo,  N.   Y. ;    the  other,  Isabella,   m. 

May  3,  1855,  Rev.  I.aurentine  Hamilton  of  Western  New  York,  and  d. 

in  Oakland,  Cal.,  June  24,  1870.     The  noted  Mt.  Hamilton  of  California 

was  named  for  Rev.  Mr.  Hamilton,  the  husband  of  Isabella  Mead.    Mrs. 

Mead  d.  at  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  Sept.  2,  1893. 
Edward,  b.  Jan.  27,  1805,  m.  Althea  Chase. 

Nathaniel,  b. ,  i8o7,_d.  in  1807. 

Samuel  McL.,  b.   Jan.  24,1809,  was   a    Presbyterian   minister;  d.  in    Ambler, 

Penn.,  Apr.  11,  1894,  and  was  buried  in  Norristown,  Penn.,  the  scene  of 

his  longest  pastorate. 
Margaret  McL.,  b.  Oct.  iS,  181 2,  drowned  at  Wayne,  June  21,  1822. 

Edward  Gould,  son  of  Nathaniel,  was  married  to  Althea  Chase, 
Jtuie  18,  1834.  He  was  a  deacon  of  the  Third  Parish  Church  in 
Portland,  Me.,  from  1847  till  the  disbanding  of  the  church,,  a  year  or 
two  after  the  great  fire  of  1866.  Dea.  Gould  was  the  cashier  for 
sixty  years  (i 833-1893)  of  the  Manufacturers  and  Traders  Bank, 
and  its  successor,  the  National  Traders  Bank,  of  Portland.  He  died 
May  II,  1894. 


jm'^ 


EDWARD    (iCJULD. 


GENEALOGY.  525 

GREEN. 

John  Green  was  the  first  school-master  in  the  town  of  Gorham.  He 
was  an  Englishman,  and  came  to  this  country  when  about  eighteen 
years  of  age.  In  the  time  of  the  Revolution  he  enlisted  in  the  Amer- 
ican army,  in  Col.  Patterson's  regiment.  During  the  war  he  was 
wounded  in  the  face  by  a  musket  ball,  which  made  a  hole  into  his 
mouth  through  his  cheek,  and  this  did  not  close  up  for  many  years. 
His  enlistment  was  for  the  war,  but  on  account  of  his  wound  he  was 
invalided  and  honorably  discharged  at  West  Point,  two  years  prior  to 
the  close  of  hostilities.  He  lived  on  the  Scarborough  road,  on  a  part 
of  what  is  now  the  Burnell  farm,  nearly  opposite-  the  house  of  Dea. 
Rufus  A.  Fogg.  His  wife,  whom  he  married  Mar.  5,  1760,  was  Eliz- 
abeth, daughter  of  John  Sharp  of  Biddeford.     Children  : 

Jonathan,  b.  Aug.  29,  1761,  m.  Joanna .     Ch  :  Rebecca,  b.  in  Falmouth, 

July  3,  17S0,  m.  Elijah  Evans  (?)  of  Portland,  Mar.  19,  1799;  Samuel, 
b.  in  Gorham,  Aug.  6,  1784  ;  John,  b.  in  Gorham,  Oct.  2,  17S6;  Hannah, 
b.  in  No.  Yarmouth,  Oct.  15,  1791.  Mrs.  Joanna  Green  d.  Jan.  24, 
1794.  We  find  on  record  the  marriage  of  Jonathan  Green  and  Rebecca 
Young,  Sept.  18,  1796.  Mr.  Green  moved  to  eastern  Maine  and  d.  in 
Jackson,  May  26,  1834. 

Thomas,  b.  Mar.  11,  1763,  m.  Oct.  i,  1787,  Mary  Uurgin  of  Scarborough.  Ch: 
Jeremiah,  b  June  16,  1788;  Polly,  b.  Aug.  16,  1792;  Josiah,  b  Mar.  13, 
1794. 

Josiah,  b.  Dec.  26,  1767,  m.  Eunice  Newcomb,  Aug.  26,  1790.     Ch  :  Betsey,  b. 

in  New  Gloucester,  Jime  16,  1791,  m.  Gould  of  Portland,  had  a 

son  Josiah;   William,  b.  in   Gorham,  Apr.  4,  1793;  Abigail,  b.  Sept.  30, 

1794,  m.  her  cousin,  Parker  ;  Sarah,  b.  in  Gorham,  Aug.  29,  1798, 

d.  Nov.  22,  1798;  John,  b.  in  Gorham,  Sept.  22,  1799  ;  Thomas,  b. , 

m.  Polly  Libby;  Alpheus  and  Abner,  twins,  went  to  Portland.  Josiah 
Green  was  a  blind  man.     He  died  in  Scarborough. 

Moses,  b.  Mar.  5,  1769. 

Cary,  b.  ,  d.  young. 

Isaac,  b.  ,  m.  Susanna  Rowe,  Nov.  15,  1801  ;  went  l^^ast. 

Mr.  Green  married  second,  Nov.  27,  1802,  Elizabeth  Rand  of 
Scarborough,  by  whom  he  had  one  child,  Hannah,  born  May  20, 
1804,  who  married,  Sept.  10,  1826,  Samuel  Meserve  of  Scarborough  ; 
Mrs.  Gardner  M.  Parker  and  Mrs.  Merrill  T.  Files  of  Gorham  are 
among  her  children. 

John  Green  died  in  Scarborough,  Oct.  25,  1809,  aged  about  84. 

In  1770  Joseph  Libby  of  Gorham  sold  the  seventy  acre  lot  109  in 
equal  shares  to  John  Green  and  Benjamin  Green,  both  of  Gorham. 
What  the  relationship  of  John  and  Benjamin  was,  and  who  were 
their  parents  is  not  certain,  but  the  supposition  is  that  they  were 
brothers,  and  the  sons  of  Joseph  and  Hannah  (Conant)  Green, 
whose  marriage  at  Cape  Cod,  Mar.  8,  1749,  is  recorded  on  the  Gor- 
ham town  records. 


526  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

John  Green  married,  July  3,  1770,  Maiy,  daughter  of  Wentworth 
Stuart.     Children : 

Salome,  b.  Feb,  3,  1771,111.  Ebenezer  Shaw  of  Standish  (2d  wife).  Mar.  4,  1793  ! 
d.  in  Bangor,  in  1847. 

Stuart,  b.  May  27,  1773,  m.  Apr.  14,  1806,  Patience,  dau.  of  Decker  and  Han- 
nali  Phinney.  Ch  :  James  P.,  b.  Jan.  2,  1808,  was  a  sea  captain,  d.  on 
board  ship;  Martha  P.,.b.  Jan.,  1810,  m.  Dr.  Dow  of  Hiram;  Gardner, 
d.  at  sea ;  Infant,  b.  1814,  d.  1815.  Mrs.  Green  d.  Oct.  22,  1814,  ag.  32, 
and  Mr.  Green  ni.  Sept.  13,  1S35,  Susan  Thomes  of  Gorham.  Mr. 
Green  I'd  on  Fort  Hill,  in  the  house  since  occupied  by  Dea.  Chas. 
Jordan. 

Wyer,  b.  Apr.  30,  1775,  ^-  Ruhamah  Morton;  I'd  on  Standish  Neck. 

John,  b.  June  12.  1777,  m.  Esther  Shaw  of  Standish,  Nov.  2,  1799;  I'd  on  Ray- 
mond Cape  ;  m.  2d, ,  and  went  down  East. 

Molly,  b.  Dec.  15,  1779,  m.  Nathan  C.  Penfield,  Dec.  11,  1800. 

Rebecca,  b.  May  26,  1782,  m.  Philip  Cannell  of  Standish;  d.  in  Canton,  aged 
about  92. 

Joseph,  b.  Aug.  24,  1786,  m.  Eliza  Marean  of  -Standish,  Nov.,  181 1  ;  d.  in 
Standish,  Nov.,  1836. 

Elizabeth,  b.  May  6,  1789. 

Sarah,  b. ,  m.  Benj.  Morton  of  Standish,  Aug.  15,  181S  ;  d.,  aged  about 

90.     Mr.  Morton  d;  Nov.,  1858. 

.Susan,  b.  — — - ,  m. Pierce. 

Benjamin  Green  purchased  from  the  executors  of  the  Rev.  Solomon 

Lombard  the  thirty  acre  lot  94,  and  on  this  lot  he  made  his  home. 

In  May,   1783,  he  sold  this  land  to  Josiah  Lakeman.     Mr.   Green 

married,  "Sept.  29,   1774,   Sarah,   daughter  of  Jedediah    and   Susan 

Lombard.     Children  : 

Joseph,  b.  Mar.  3,  1775. 

Benjamin,  b.  May  15,  1777. 

Jedediah,  b.  Jan.  30,  1780. 

Hannah,  b.  Oct.  4,  1781. 

Hezekiah,  b.  Feb.  22,  1784,  m.  Lydia  Lombard,  July  18,  1807. 

This  family  moved  to  Harrison  and  Otisfield. 

GUTHRIE. 

The  Guthrie  family  is  of  Scottish  descent.  Michael  Guthrie  was 
born  in  the  south  of  Ireland  in  1800.  He  came  to  this  country  when 
a  young  man,  and  lived  many  years  in  Gorham,  where  his  brother 
Thomas  also  resided  for  a  time.  Michael  Guthrie  married  Mary- 
Fitzpatrick.  Their  children  were  Bridget,  Daniel,  Thomas,  Roger, 
Simon  B.,  Mary,  Kate,  Michael  and  Lizzie.  Mr.  Guthrie  died  in 
1883.     His  wife  died  Dec.  13,  1898,  aged  73. 

Simon  B.  Guthrie,  son  of  Michael,  was  born  in  Gorham,  Dec.  10, 
1853.  For  many  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  retail  shoe  business 
at  the  village,  at  one  time  in  partnership  with  his  brother  Daniel. 
In  1893  he  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Gorham  village,  and  when 
this  office  was  made  a  presidential  one  he  received  a  commission 


GENEALOGY.  527 

from  President  Cleveland.  He  also  served  two  terms  as  an  assessor  of 
the  Gorham  Village  Corporation.  He  married  Margaret  E.  Manning 
of  Augusta.  Children:  Roger  Hunt  and  Annie  Elizabeth.  Mr. 
Guthrie  died  Aug.  30,  1901. 

HALL. 

As  early  as  1741  an  Ebenezer  Hall  and  family  were  living  in 
Gorham,  where  he  owned  the  thirty  acre  lot  No.  31.  At  the  time  of 
the  breaking  out  of  the  French  and  Indian  war  in  1745  he  left  the 
town,  going  probably  to  Falmouth.  Who  this  Ebenezer  Hall  was  is 
not  quite  certain,  but  the  weight  of  such  evidence  as  we  have  been 
able  to  procure  seems  to  point  to  his  being  identical  with  Ebenezer, 
son  of  Samuel,  and  grandson  of  George  Hall.  This  Ebenezer  was 
born  in  1677,  married  Jane  Rumpus  in  1714,  and  in  1735  was  living 
in  Falmouth.  He  was  a  member  of  Capt.  Moses  Pearson's  Falmouth 
company,  raised  in  March,  1745,  to  take  part  in  the  expedition 
against  Louisburg.  Parson  Smith  records  in  his  Journal,  under  date 
of  Feb.  25,  1747,  "We  hear  father  Hall  of  this  place  lately  died  at 
Annapolis."  His  estate  was  settled  by  his  widow  Jane  in  October, 
1747.  There  is  no  record  of  his  family,  but  there  was  a  Charles 
Hall  living  in  Gorham  in  1756  who  may  possibly  have  been  his  son. 
In  1765  this  Charles  was  living  in  Standish. 

Hatevil  Hall  and  his  wife,  who  was  Sarah  Furbish,  came  from 
Dover,  N.  H.,  to  Falmouth  about  1753  or  1754.  He  was  of  the 
fourth  generation  from  John  Hall,  who  came  from  England  and 
settled  in  Connecticut. 

Ebenezer  Hall  was  the  son  of  Hatevil  and  Sarah  (Furbish)  Hall 
and  was  born  July  20,  1741.  In  1764  he  purchased  in  Gorham  the 
hundred  acre  lot  104,  one-half  of  which  he  bought  of  Seth  Webb 
and  the  remainder  of  Joseph  Whitney.  This  was  wild  land,  on  the 
east  side  of  King  street,  and  is  now  a  part  of  the  farm  owned  by  the 
late  Albion  Johnson.  In  1769  he  bought  of  Ephraim  Jones  of  Fal- 
mouth one-third  of  the  whole  right  No.  66,  which  Jones  purchased  in 
1744  of  John  Waite.  Oct.  18,  1764,  Ebenezer  Hall  married  Hannah, 
daughter  of  Abraham  Anderson  of  Windham.     Children  : 

Abraham,  b.  Dec.  29, 1765,  m.  Elizabeth  Sanborn,  Apr.  18,  1790;  2d,  Mary  Giles. 

Bathshuali,  b   Aug.  14,  1768,  d.  young. 

Isaac,  b.  May  23,  1770,  m.  Anna  Whitney,  May  19,  1793. 

Dorothy,  b.  Mar.  9,  1772,  m.  John  Woodward,  Oct.  6,  1791  ;  2d,  Joshua  Emery. 

Israel,  b.  Mar.  10,  1774,  m.  Aljigail  Hutchinson,  p.  .Sept.  11,  1795. 

Ebenezer,  b.  Sept.  19,  1777,  m.  Susanna  Hunnervvell,  Dec.  i,  1799. 

Bathshuah,  b.  Feb.  21,  1781,  m.  Edmund  Hall  of  Falmouth,  Mar.  2,  1805. 

Daniel,  b.  July  29,  1783,  m.  Abigail  Bragdon. 


528  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

In  1774  Ebenezer  Hall  was  licensed  as  an  inn-holder  in  Gorham. 
He  died  in  this  town,  Aug.  26,  1807. 

(2)  Abraham  Hall,  son  of  Ebenezer,  married  Elizabeth,  daughter 

of  Joseph  and  Esther  Sanborn.     Children  : 

Hannah,  b.  Sept.  2,  1790,  m.  William  Smith  of  Buxton,  Nov.  14,  1816. 

Esther,  b.  Jan.  12,  1793,  m.  Moses  Hanscom,  Apr.  10,  1814. 

Achsah,  b.  June  15,  1795,  m.  Sewall  Libby,  May   18,  1817;  I'd  ir*  Durham;  d. 

Feb.  13,  1869. 
Dorcas,  b.  July  6,  1798. 
Joanna,  b.  Feb.  11,  1800. 
Elizabeth,  b.  Mar.  23,  1802. 
James,  b.  Apr.  8,  1806. 

Abraham  Hall  married  second,  Maiy  Giles. 

(2)  Isaac  Hall,  son  of  Ebenezer,  married  Anna,  daughter  of  Joseph 

and  Mehitable  Whitney.     Children  : 

Mehitable,  b.  Nov.  6,  1793. 
Mercy,  b.  Jan.  31,  1796. 
Mary,  b.  Oct.  16,  1798. 
Joseph  W.,  b.  June  29,  1801. 
Betty,  b.  Mar.  18,  1803. 

(2)  Israel  Hall,  son  of  Ebenezer,  lived  in  the  corner  of  the  road, 
opposite  where  the  house  of  Albion  Johnson  now  stands.  He  mar- 
ried Abigail  Hutchinson.     Children : 

John,  b.  Apr.  14,  1796. 

Stephen,  b.  Jan.  19,  179S. 

Sarah,  b.  Mar.  23,  1800,  m.  Ebenezer  Spencer  of  Buxton,  Oct.  14,  1821. 

Levi  Half,  the  eldest  son  of  Winslow  and  Mary  (Hussey)  Hall  of 

Windham,  Avas  born  Jan.  28,  1787.     His  grandfather  was  Daniel  Hall 

(brother  to   Ebenezer,   and  son  of   Hatevil  Hall  spoken   of  above) 

who  married  Lorana  Winslow,  and  lived  in    Falmouth.     Col.  Levi 

Hall  settled  in  Great  Falls,  (North  Gorham,)  and  was  an  influential 

citizen  of  this  town.     He  was  one  of  the  selectmen   in  1828.     He 

married  Hannah  Harmon  of  Standish,  May  31,  1812.     She  died  July 

25,   1813,  aged  27,  and  he  married,  Jane,  daughter  of  Joshua  and 

Tirzah  Emery.     Children  : 

Winslow,  b.  Mar.  i,  181 5,  m.  in  Dover,  N.  H.;  I'd  and  d.  there. 

Cyrus,  b.  Dec.  27,  1816,  went  West  in  1S38;  d.  in  California. 

Hannah  N.,  b.  Jan.  20,  1819,  m.  Rev.  Almon  Libby  of  Poland,  Jan.  19,  1842  ;  d. 

in  Stroudwater  about  1897. 
Emeline,  b.  June  5,  182 1,  d.  Sept.  29,  1828. 
Joshua  E.,  b.  Dec.  15,  1823,  m.  Lucy  A.  Kilborn,  1S51. 
Ellen  Jane,  b.  1826,  d.  Oct.  10,  1828. 

Erneline,  b. ,  m.  Wm.  R.  Tapley  of  Dover,  N.  H.,  Nov.  26,  1857. 

Levi,  b.  Apr.  20,  1S32,  m.  Caroline  Harding  of  Goiham;  I'd  in  Mass.;  d.  Dec. 

24.  1895. 
Freeman,  b.  1834,  I's  in  Kalamazoo,  Mich. 
John  Milton,  b.  Oct.  25,  1836,  m.  Marion  Whipple;  I's  in  Providence,  R.  L 


GENEALOGY.  529 

Mrs.  Jane  Hall  died  Jan.  19,  1845,  aged  50,  and  Col.  Hall  married 
in  1845  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Leavitt)  White  of  Standish,  widow  of  Rev. 
Joseph  White.     Col.  Levi  Hall  died  Feb.  9,  185 1,  aged  64. 

(2)  Joshua  E.  Hall,  son  of  Levi,  lived  at  Great  Falls.     He  was  on 

the  board  of  selectmen  in  1854,  '55  and  '56  ;  and  was  Representative 

to  the  State  Legislature  in  1857-58.     He  was  a  man  of  considerable 

prominence,  and  a  respected  citizen.     He  married  Lucy  A.  Kilborn 

of  Minot.     Children : 

Augusta,  b.  1S53,  d.  Dec.  i,  1864. 

Edwin  H.,  1).  Nov.  7,  1855,  is  a  professor  at  Harvard  College. 

Emeline  T.,  b.  1858,  d.  June  i,  1859. 

Frederick,  b.  about  i860,  I's  in  Oakland,  Cal. ;  is  a  lawyer. 

Horace  G.,  b.  about  1862,  d.  Feb.  28,  1865. 

Col.  Joshua  E.  Hall  died  Apr.  12,  1864,  aged  40,  and  his  widow 
moved  to  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Daniel  Hall,  brother  of  Col.  Levi,  was  born  Aug.  17,  1789.  He 
married  in  1815,  Margaret  Harmon  of  Standish.  He  resided  for 
some  years  in  Windham,  where  he  held  various  town  offices,  and  was 
also  State  Senator.  At  one  time  he  was  a  general  in  the  militia. 
He  removed  to  Gorham  about  1S36-40,  and  in  185  i  was  a  member 
of  the  board  of  selectmen  of  this  town.  He  carried  on  the  business  of 
brick  making  at  the  brick  yard  about  half  a  mile  from  Great  Falls. 
Children  of  Daniel  and  Margaret  Hall  : 

William  M.,  b.  Dec.  31,  181 5,  m.  Ann  E.  Reed  of  Westbrook. 

J.  Porter,  b.  June  26,  181 7,  m.  Sarah  J.  Gammon.  Ch  :  James  H.,  b.  Aug.  14, 
1839,  m.  Julia  Bu.xton ;  Cyrus  M.,  b.  Mar.  28,  1841,  k'd  at  Gettysburg, 
July  3,  1863;  .Sarah  L.,  b.  Dec.  27,  1843;  Lydia  J.,  b.  Mar.  11,  1847.  Mr. 
Hall  I'd  for  some  time  in  Naples;  then  went  to  the  State  of  New 
York,  where  he  and  his  wife  died. 

Otis  T.,  b.  Apr.  30,  1819,  m.  in  1844,  Sarah  Maria,  dau.  of  William  and  Annie 
Harris.  Ch:  Anna  H.,  b.  Nov.  5,  1846,  d.  y. ;  William  H.,  b.  Nov.  29, 
1849,  d.  July  5  1850;  Flora  E..  b.  Nov.  10.  1851,  m.  Mr.  Foote  of  Port 
Henry,  N.  Y.  Mrs.  Sarah  M.  Hall  d.  Nov.  13,  1854,  ag.  32,  and  Mr.  Hall 
m.  htr  sister,  Harriet  E.  Harris.  She  d.  at  Port  Henry,  N.  Y.,  May  21, 
1895.     Mr.  Hall  d.  some  y'rs  ago. 

Valentine  M.,  b.  Apr.  8,  1821,  d.  Aug.  22,  i84r. 

Abigail  H.,  b.  May  31,  1824,  d.  Aug.  18,  1841. 

Esther,      )  ■     q  ^   ,       o^^     \  d.  young. 

Peter  R.,  J     '         '  "•^'      ~  '    (  d.  in  Portland,  July  28,  1869;  was  a  lawyer. 

Frances,  b.  Dec.  25,  1828,  m.  in  Dover,  N.  H. 

Maria,  b.  July  26,  1831,  d.  in  Saco. 

Helen  M.,  b.  Nov.  13,  1834,  d.  Nov.  23,  1852. 

Sarah  C,  b.  Aug.  27,  1839,  m.  Noah  Ladd,  July  4,  1856. 

Daniel  Hall  moved  to  Sebago  and  went  into  the  lumbering  busi- 
ness. He  died  Jan.  9,  1864.  His  wife  Margaret  died  July  31,  i860, 
aged  68. 


530  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

David  Hall  of  Windham  moved  to  Gorham,  and  lived  for  about 
twenty  years  on  the  Ephraim  Lombard  place.  His  wife  died  soon 
after  moving  to  Gorham.     Their  children,  born  in  Windham,  were  : 

Porter,  m. 


Benaiah,  m.  Ann  S.  Cummings  of  Norway,  Mar.  20,  1849;  -d-  Sarah  Hawkes ; 
returned  to  Gorham  about  1850,  and  I'd  at  Great  Falls.  He  was  dep- 
uty sheriff  and  tax  collector  at  one  time.  Mr.  Hall  d.  June  8,  1872. 
Mrs.  Sarah  Hall  d.  May  31,  1884,  ag.  57. 

Mary,  m.  Elder  James  Crockett. 

Harriet,  m. Luce ;  I'd  in  the  eastern  part  of  Me. 

Sarah  M.,  m.  Daniel  H.  Baker,  1846. 

Alonzo,  m.  Mrs.  O'Neil. 

Lawson,  killed  by  a  falling  tree. 

Elizabeth,  m. -^  Nelson  ;  I'd  at  Westbrook. 

Lucius,  b. . 

Ebenezer  Hall,  son  of  Thomas,  lived  in  Gorham  on  Hall's  Hill. 

He  married  Christiana  Knox,  Dec.  26,  1832.     Children: 

Iraac  M.,  b.  Apr.  4,  1834,  went  into  the  army. 
Harriet  S.,  b.  Nov.  13,  1838,  d.  Sept.  13,  1842. 
Ebenezer  W.,  b.  Oct.  5,  1844. 
Daniel  R.,  b.  1851,  d.  Sept.  4,  1851. 

Mrs.  Hall  died  Nov.  28,  1851,  aged  44,  and  Mr.  Hall  married  Mrs. 
Nason  of  Saccarappa,  and  moved  West.  He  had  a  sister  Hannah, 
and  a  brother  Isaac.  Hannah  married,  May  26,  1832,  Isaac  Morton 
of  Gorham.     Isaac  Hall  went  West. 

HAMBLEN. 

Jacob  Hamblen,  who  was  cotemporary  with  the  Phinneys, 
McLellans  and  Moshers  in  the  early  settlement  of  Narragansett  No. 
7,  or  Gorhamtown,  was  the  grandson  of  James  and  Anna  Hamblen, 
who  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  Barnstable,  Mass.,  and  probably 
the  first  of  the  name  in  America.  They  came  from  London  about  the 
year  1639.  It  was  the  fashion  of  the  day  for  all  good  people  to  have 
their  children  baptized  as  soon  as  convenient  after  their  birth.  Mr. 
Hamblen  appears  to  have  been  one  of  those  who  conformed  strictly 
to  the  ordinances  of  the  church.  His  first  child  that  received  bap- 
tism in  Barnstable  was  Bartholomew,  Apr.  24,  1642.  He  had  older 
children  who,  we  presume,  were  baptized  before  they  left  England. 
There  were  probably  ten  children :  James,  Sarah,  Mary,  James, 
Hannah,  Bartholomew,  John,  Sarah,  Eleazer,  and  Israel,  who  was 
baptized  June  25,  1652,  the  same  day  he  was  born.  Bartholomew 
and  Eleazer,  two  of  the  sons,  were  soldiers  in  Capt.  John  Gorham's 
company,  in  the  Narragansett,  or  King  Philip's  war,  and  their  names 
appear  on  the  list  of  names  of  the  original  proprietors  of  Gorhamtown. 


GENEALOGY,  531 

Israel,  the  aforesaid  tenth  child  of  James  and  Anna,  resided  in  the 
east  parish  of  Barnstable.  His  house  stood  by  a  pond  yet  known  as 
Israel's  pond,  on  Dimmock's  lane,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  south  of 
the  county  road.  Mis  nearest  neighbor  was  more  than  half  a  mile 
distant.  He  lived  in  a  solitary  spot,  and  had  but  a  small  clearing 
which  has  again  grown  over  with  trees.  Farming  could  not  have 
been  his  principal  occupation  ;  the  fact  that  he  was  entitled  to  be 
called  "  Mr.,"  in  those  days  would  indicate  that  he  was  a  man  of 
property,  and  a  person  of  some  note.  As  he  did  not  come  to  this 
distinction  from  any  civil  employment,  or  office  held  by  him,  it  is  pre- 
sumed that  he  was  employed  as  Master,  or  Captain,  of  some  of  the 
numerous  fishing  or  whaling  vessels  employed  on  the  coast  of  Maine 
in  the  summer,  and  in  trading  voyages  to  the  West  Indies  in  the 
winter. 

Israel  was  twice  married  ;  first  to  Abigail,  probably  a  daughter  of 
Joshua  Lombard.  She  must  have  died  about  the  year  1700,  when 
for  his  second  wife  he  married  Jemima,  whose  surname  is  not 
recorded.  By  his  first  wife  he  had  six  children,  first  a  child  not  named, 
then  Thankful,  Prudence,  Israel,  Joseph  and  Jemima.  By  his  second 
wife  he  had  two,  Jacob  and  Anna.  Jacob  was  born  May  28,  1702. 
He  married  Content,  the  daughter  of  Jonathan  Hamblen,  the  son  of 
James  the  second;  consequently  she  was  his  second  cousin.  She 
was  born  Dec.  12,  1707  ;  they  were  married  Aug.  18,  1731.  They 
both  joined  the  East  Church  in  Barnstable,  March  4,  1733,  and  were 
dismissed  from  that  church  and  recommended  to  the  church  in  Gor- 
ham,  Oct.  28,  1750,  to  which  town,  as  the  records  say,  they  had  pre- 
viously removed.  The  name  of  Jacob  Hamblen  disappears  from  the 
records  of  Barnstable  about  the  year  1733,  and  it  was  said  he  moved 
to  the  eastern  country.  He  could  not  have  moved  direct  from  Barn- 
stable to  Gorham,  for  at  that  time  (1733)  there  was  no  settlement  in 
Gorham.  It  is  probable  that  he  remained  in  Falmouth,  or  some  of 
the  adjoining  towns,  a  few  years  ;  for  the  first  we  find  of  him  as  a 
proprietor  and  resident  of  Gorhamtown  is  about  the  year  1743.  We 
cannot  fix  the  number  of  his  first  lot  or  right,  but  his  final  settlement 
was  on  Nos.  16  and  25.  These  were  not  his  lots  by  a  proprietor's 
right,  but  were  purchased  by  him  at  auction,  at  a  tax  sale,  July  2, 
1752,  for  the  sum  of  five  pounds,  eighteen  shillings,  being  three  shil- 
lings, four  pence  less  than  the  tax.  The  purchase  of  these  two  lots 
or  rights  would  indicate  him  to  be  the  proprietor  of  at  least  four 
hundred  acres,  even  if  he  owned  no  right  previous  to  this 
purchase. 


532  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Jacob  Hamblen  was  one  of  the  early  settlers.  He  was  here 
certainly  as  early  as  1743,  and  was  here  during  the  Indian  war  of 
1745.  He  and  his  family,  with  the  other  settlers,  were  confined  to 
the  fort  nearly  seven  years,  where  they  suffered  great  privation  and 
hardship.  They  had  not  only  the  Indians,  and  at  times  nearly  a 
famine,  to  contend  with,  but  a  dreadful  disease  broke  out  in  the  fort, 
said  to  have  been  brought  on  in  consequence  of  lack  of  food :  many 
of  the  children  died,  and  every  dweller  in  the  fort  was  affected  by  it. 

We  should  judge  that  Mr.  Hamblen  was  a  good  business  man  and 
a  useful  citizen,  one  in  whom  his  fellow  settlers  had  confidence.  His 
name  is  prominent  on  the  old  Proprietors'  records ;  he  was  always  at 
their  meetings,  often  on  the  important  committees  for  surveying  the 
lands,  running  lines,  fixing  boundaries,  making  roads,  getting  min- 
isters, and  the  general  business  of  the  proprietary.  His  homestead 
consisted  of  the  two  thirty  acre  lots,  16  and  25.  By  the  old  plan  of 
the  thirty  acre  lots,  they  were  bounded  northerly  by  Hamblen  street 
and  easterly  by  King  street  (now  High  and  School  streets),  extending 
southerly  from  the  corner  now  occupied  by  Joseph  Ridlon's  store,  to 
the  line  of  the  railroad,  and  westerly  to  Harding's  Hill,  so  called. 
His  dwelling  house  was  on  16,  where  the  store  of  R.  G.  Harding 
lately  stood.  Here  he  kept  a  "house  of  entertainment"  from  1757 
to  the  time  of  his  death.  The  meetings  of  the  old  Proprietors  were 
often  held  at  his  house.  A  part  of  this  old  tavern  house  was  moved, 
and  with  some  additions,  used  by  Maj.  Simeon  Farnham  as  a  dwelling 
house.  The  old  house  of  late  years  was  known  as  the  old  Gammon 
house,  and  stood  near  where  the  late  Mrs.  Stephen  Hinkley's  house 
now  stands. 

Mr.  Hamblen,  in  the  year  1770,  made  a  present  to  the  town  of 
the  burial  ground  at  Gorham  village,  which  has  since  become  the 
quiet  resting  place  of  so  many  of  the  worthy  old  proprietors.  Near 
the  northeasterly  corner  of  this  lot  stands  a  time-worn  and  broken 
monument  of  slate  stone,  bearing  the  following  inscription  : 

In  Memory  of 

M--  JACOB  HAMBLEN, 

Who  Died  June  3^ 

1774, 
Aged  72   Years. 

Mrs.  Hamblen  in  her  day  was  a  famous  comber  of  wool  for  the 
purpose  of  making  worsted.  Few  of  the  present  generation  have 
ever  seen  this  operation  of  combing  wool  on  the  old-fashioned  ketchel, 
or  fiax  comb,  laying  the  fibers  all  one  way,  straight  and  smooth,  and 


f-. 


GENEALOGY.  533 

winding  it  into  balls  in  order  to  spin  it  on  the  small,  or  flax  wheel, 
into  very  fine  thread.  In  an  old  account  book  we  find  Mrs.  Hamblen 
has  credit  for  combing  worsted,  five  shillings,  and  for  one  hundred 
cabbage  plants,  two  shillings.  At  this  time  there  were  no  factories, 
and  imported  cloth  was  rare  and  expensive.  Every  household  was 
expected  to  manufacture  its  own  cloth  and  clothing,  and  the  lady  who 
came  to  the  possession  of  a  worsted  gown,  colored  with  dye  made 
from  the  bark  of  trees  or  roots  of  the  forest,  and  manufactured  by 
her  own  hand,  had  a  treasure  of  which  she  was  deservedly  proud,  and 
was  thought  to  be  well  dressed. 

In  our  notices  of  the  early  settlers  of  Gorham  it  is  possible  we  may 
sometimes  not  do  them  justice  in  relation  to  their  religion  and  piety. 
In  those  days  matters  of  neglect  and  dereliction  were  subject  to 
penalties  of  the  civil  law,  and  we  fear  sometimes,  conscience  had  but 
little  to  do  in  those  matters.  But  in  speaking  of  old  Mrs.  Content, 
the  wife  of  Mr.  Jacob  Hamblen,  from  what  we  have  heard  of  the  old 
lady  we  are  incl.ined  to  believe  her  conscientious  in  some  things. 
She  made  it  strictly  the  rule  of  her  house,  for  herself  and  every 
member  of  her  family,  to  attend  all  the  meetings  on  the  Sabbath 
day,  or  keep  close  within  doors.  Fast  and  feast  days  were  rigidly 
observed  according  to  law  and  the  ordinances  of  the  church.  No 
person  within  her  house  was  allowed  to  eat  a  morsel  of  food  on  fast 
days  between  early  morning  and  evening,  if  she  could  prevent  it. 
Even  the  cattle  within  her  barns  had  to  come  under  the  rule  ;  they 
were  fed  the  night  before,  and  allowed  no  more  till  the  day  had 
passed,  and  consequently  were  allowed  an  abundance  of  feed  on 
Thanksgiving  day.  Whether  the  old  lady  was  one  of  those  who 
believed  that  all  dumb  animals  would  be  found  on  their  knees  at 
twelve  o'clock  on  Christmas  eve,  in  thanksgiving  for  the  birth  of  the 
Savior,  we  cannot  say;  nevertheless  it  was  once  the  current  belief  of 
the  day,  and  some  there  be  at  this  time  who  are  unwilling  to  give  it 
up. 

Of  the  children  of  Jacob  and  Content  Hamblen,  there  is  no 
record.  They  had  two  sons,  Joseph  and  Daniel.  Tabitha,  who 
married  Samuel  Crockett,  Jr.,  of  Gorham  (pub.  Feb.  2,  1771),  is 
believed  to  have  been  their  daughter. 

Mrs.  Content  Hamblen,  the  widow  of  Jacob,  married.  Mar.  1,  1780, 
Mr.  James  Miller,  from  Cape  Elizabeth.  She  lived  with  her  husband. 
Miller,  in  a  house  which  stood  in  the  Alexander  McLellan  garden, 
directly  back  of  what  is  now  the  Joseph  Ridlon  store.  In  an  old 
record,  kept  by  the  Rev.  Caleb  Jewett,  we  find  that  "  Mr.  Miller  died 


534  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

May  i6,  1787."  After  his  death  Mrs.  Miller  lived  alone  in  her  house 
for  several  years,  and  was  held  as  a  fortune  teller.  She  was  often 
visited  by  the  young  people  to  learn  their  future  destiny.  Of  her 
decease  there  is  no  record,  but  we  conclude  that  she  died  about  the 
year  1790,  certainly  before  1800. 

Soon  after  Mrs.  Miller's  death,  the  old  house  was  torn  down,  leav- 
ing the  cellar  open.  Old  Mr.  Trundy,  who  lived  in  Buxton,  came  to 
meeting  one  Sunday,  making  his  horse  fast  to  a  post  near  by.  The 
old  horse  became  frightened,  and  in  his  struggles  broke  his  fastening 
and  went  over  backwards  into  the  cellar,  where  he  remained  till 
meeting  was  over,  and  he  was  found  by  his  owner.  As  Trundy  was 
a  quaint,  queer  old  character,  his  talk  to  his  horse  and  efforts  to  get 
him  out  afforded  much  amusement  to  the  boys.  When  he  came  out  of 
the  meeting-house,  and  discovered  his  animal  looking  out  over  the 
cellar  wall,  a  similarity  between  his  situation  and  that  of  the  Rev. 
Minister  looking  out  over  his  pulpit,  seemed  to  strike  the  old  man. 
He  walked  up  to  his  head  and  addressed  him :  "  Faith,  and  old 
horse,  you  have  got  a  pulpit  of  y'r  own,  but  to  my  mind  it's  not  half 
so  fine  as  Parson  Jewett's  and  yer  can't  preach  half  the  sermon  he 
can,  and  yer  had  better  get  out  of  that  before  the  tithing-man  gets 
after  yer."  (The  pulpit  in  the  old  church  in  those  days  was  thought 
to  be  a  fine  affair  and  a  nice  piece  of  workmanship,  with  the  big 
sounding  board  hanging  overhead.)  After  procuring  ropes,  and 
throwing  in  a  part  of  the  wall,  by  the  aid  of  the  men  and  the  pulling 
back  of  the  boys,  the  horse  was  extricated  from  his  pulpit,  much  to 
the  satisfaction  of  his  owner.' 

(2)  Joseph   Hamblen,   son   of  Jacob  and  Content,  was  probably 

born  in  Barnstable.      He  was  married  by  the  Rev.  Solomon  Lombard 

in  October,  1755,  to   Hannah,    daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  Hannah 

Whitney.     Children : 

Jacob,  b.  Aug.  6,  1756,  m.  Elizabeth  Watson,  p.  Oct.  4,  1777. 

Esther,  b.  June  30,  175S,  m.  Joseph  Roberts  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  Nov.  28,  1777. 

Sarah,  b.  Dec.  7,  1759,  m.  Edmund  Phinney,  Mar.  26,  1780. 

Joseph,  b.  June  10,  1763,  m.  Polly  Frost,  Dec.  i8,  1788. 

Joseph  Hamblen  lived  on  the  hundred  acre  lot  42,  below  the  village, 

through  a  part  of  which  the  Gray  road  now  passes.     His  house  was 

I  The  Mr.  Trundy  mentionetl  here  was  a  sea-faring  man.  He  lived  in  Buxton,  but  con- 
stantly attended  church  at  Gorham  village,  riding  on  horseback,  with  his  wife  behind 
him  on  a  pillion.  There  were  no  wagons  or  carriages  in  town  at  that  time.  Mr.  Trundy 
was  a  native  of  Cape  Cod,  but  when  quite  young  moved  to  Cape  Elizabeth.  He  followed 
fishing,  coasting,  and  making  voyages  to  the  West  Indies,  till  quite  along  in  years,  when 
he  moved  to  Buxton,  The  Cape  rocks  which  lie  about  two  miles  and  one-fourth  south  of 
Portland  Head  Lighthouse,  known  as  Trundy' s  Reef,  are  supposed  to  have  been  named 
from  him. 


GENEALOGY.  535 

on  the  high  land  over  the  brook,  on  the  northerly  side  of  the  lot,  near 
Queen  street.  It  was  near  the  route  usually  traveled  by  the  early 
settlers  through  the  woods  in  going  from  the  fort  to  Falmouth.  The 
Hamblen  brook  at  that  time  was  much  more  of  a  stream  than  now, 
and  was  spanned  by  a  footbridge  made  of  a  log.  It  is  said  that 
once,  when  one  of  the  sellers  was  crossing  this  bridge  with  his  gun 
on  his  shoulder,  he  was  fired  upon  by  an  Indian  lying  in  ambush  ;  he 
was  not  hit,  but  knowing  his  danger,  immediately  fell  as  if  shot,  when 
the  Indian  came  running  to  secure  his  scalp.  That  Indian  never 
returned  to  his  tribe. 

Mr.  Hamblen' died  when  comparatively  a  young  man,  June  17, 
1763.  His  widow  Hannah,  married,  June  27,  1765,  Moses  Fowler 
of  Falmouth,  and  third,  Apr.  21,  1804,  Dea.  Andrew  Cobb  of  Gor- 
ham,  and  died  in  Limington,  Feb.  10,  1820,  aged  8^. 

(2)  Daniel  Hamblen,  son  of  Jacob  and  Content,  lived  previous  to 
the  year  1779,  on  the  thirty  acre  lot  16,  either  in  the  house  of  his 
father,  or  in  one  near  by.  Probably  his  house  was  just  back  of  the 
spot  where  R.  G.  Harding's  store  lately  stood,  and  a  part  of  it  was 
used  by  Cary  McLellan  in  building  the  old  tavern  house,  which  with 
some  additions  constituted  the  Harding  store.  At  the  decease  of  his 
father,  his  mother,  Content  Hamblen,  had  a  right  in  this  estate,  either 
by  dower  or  by  will,  and  when  Daniel  exchanged  farms  with  Cary 
McLellan,  Apr.  5,  1779,  he  reserved  to  her  all  her  rights  in  and  to 
the  two  lots  and  the  buildings  during  her  lifetime.  He  also  made  a 
reserve  of  the  land  occupied  by  the  town  as  a  burying-ground,  one 
acre,  beginning  at  the  southeasterly  corner  of  the  orchard,  and  run- 
ning southerly  twenty  rods,  eight  rods  wide.  He  exchanged  farms 
with  Cary  McLellan  because  he  thought  the  land  of  the  latter  was 
easier  to  cultivate,  and  more  productive  than  the  land  of  his  father's 
old  farm  at  the  village,  and  for  many  years  believed  he  had  made  the 
best  trade.  He  always  boasted  that  one  bushel  of  corn  cost  Cary 
more  than  two  did  him.  At  that  time  there  were  but  few  men  that 
had  any  way  of  living  except  by  their  crops.  Mr.  Hamblen  moved 
to  the  one  hundred  acre  lot  No.  i,  which  he  had  of  McLellan,  where 
he  lived  for  many  years  in  the  house  built  by  Cary  McLellan  in  1767. 
He  died  in  a  fit,  supposed  to  have  been  heart  disease,  in  Samuel 
Edwards's  wood  lot,  while  felling  a  tree  in  the  year  1805.  His  wife 
survived  him  and  lived  with  her  daughter  Mrs.  Rebecca  Frost,  in  the 
same  house,  and  died  Feb.  9,  1812,  at  the  age  of  73.  Samuel  Frost 
and  his  wife  continued  to  occupy  the  old  Hamblen  house  till  their 
death,  when  the  property  went  out  of  the  family. 


536  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

The  mj'sterious  well  found  a  few  years  since  under  the  sidewalk 
in  the  village  was  the  same  used  in  early  times  by  the  Hamblen 
family,  and  by  an  old  lady  known  as  Grandmother  Cole,  whose  house 
stood  in  the  road  near  the  brick  store  owned  by  Lewis  McLellan. 

Daniel  Hamblen  married  Dilla  Pettengill,  about  the  year  1761. 
Children  : 

Ruth,  b.  Jan.  24,  1763,  m.  Nathaniel  Lombard,  June  7,  1783. 
Rebecca,  b.  Mar.  13,  1765,  m.  Samuel  Frost.  Apr.  5,  1792. 

Abigail,  b. ,  1767,  m.  Stephen  Larry,  Nov.  29,  1788. 

Hannah,  b.  Mar.  22,  1770,  m.  Jeremiah   Jones,  Aug.  26,   1798;  was   the  grand- 
mother of  the  sculptors  Paul  and  Charles  Akers. 
Dilla,  b.  June  30,  1776,  m.  Stephen  Edwards,  Oct.  4,  1798. 
Betsey,  b. ,  m.  Chandler  (3akes  of  Canaan. 

(3)  Jacob  Hamblen,  son  of  Joseph  and  Hannah,  married  Elizabeth, 
datighter  of  Dea.  Eliphalet  Watson,  and  lived  on  the  hundred  acre  lot 
42,  the  same  owned  by  his  father,  and  recently  by  Wm.  Johnson  who 
came  to  Gorham  from  Cornish.  Jacob  Hamblen  built  the  two-storied 
house  iiow  standing  on  the  farm.  He  was  not  much  in  public  busi- 
ness; he  was  an  honest  man,  a  successful  farmer,  and  a  good  citizen. 
He  died  Oct.  15,  1826,  at  the  age  of  70.  His  wife  died  Sept.  7,  1838, 
aged  81.     Their  children  were : 

Content,  b.  Jan.  5,  1779,  m.  Nathaniel  Frost,  Jr.,  Apr.  4,  1802. 

Eliphalet,  b.  Feb.  17,  1781,  m.  Eliza  Edgley  of  Buxton. 

Mercy,  b.  July  8,  1783,  m.  Benjamin  Frost,  Aug.  25,  1810. 

Joseph,  b.  Apr.  25,  1785,  m.  Mary  Burton,  p.  July  iS,  1812;  2d,  Kliza  Elder, 

May  21,  1844. 
Martha,  b.  May  6,  1787,  m.  John  Bradbury,  Dec.  2,  1S21. 
James,  b.  May  i,  1789,  m.  Lucretia  Carsley,  of  Scarborough. 
Jacob,  b.  Nov.  19,  1792,  m.  Sarah  Hopkinson,  Mar.  26,  18 17. 
Eliza,  b.  Apr.  19,  1796,  m.  Moses  Hopkinson,  Mar.  6,  1821. 

(3)  Joseph  Hamblen,  son  of  Joseph  and   Hannah,  married  Polly, 

daughter  of  David  Frost.     He  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  and  worked 

many  years  at  the  business  at  Gorham  village.     His  shop  stood  near 

where  Mr.  Benson's  house  now  stands.     His  house  was  a  little  easterly 

from  his  shop,  near  where  the  late  Stephen  Hinkley,  Jr.,  lived.     The 

Hinkley    house    was    then    called    the    Dr.    Bowman    house.      Mr. 

Hamblen's  old  house  now  stands  above  the  Seminary,  and  is  owned 

and  occupied  by  Mrs.  Eli  Clay.     After  he  gave  up  business  at  the 

village  he  moved  to  his  farm  at  Fort  Hill  which  he  bought  in   1805 

of  James  Phinney.     His  homestead  was  the  thirty-acre  lot  No.  4,  the 

same  which  was  first  taken  up  by  Daniel  Mosher  about  the  year  1739. 

Here  Mr.  Hamblen  brought  up  a  large  family,  and  by  industry  and 

prudence  became  quite  wealthy.     Mr.  Hamblen  died  on  his  farm  Oct. 

21,    1833,  aged  69.     His  wife  survived  him  many  years,  and  died 

March   8,    i860,   at    the    good  old   age  of  93,  much  respected  and 

esteemed  by  all  who  knew  her.     Children  : 


GENEALOGY.  537 

Cyrus,  b.  Oct.  5,  17S9,  m.  Betsey  Freeman,  June  13,  1816;  2d,  Martha  Themes. 

Charles,  1).  Sept.  19,  1791,  m.  Susan  Cotton,  May  25,  1817. 

Sarah,  b.  July  7,  1793,  m.  John  Freeman,  Oct.  20,  1S16. 

Nathaniel,  b.  Nov.  8,  1794.  m.  Sally  Shane,  Nov.  6,  1826. 

Mary,  b.  Sept.  7,  1796,  m.  Thomas  Johnson,  Nov.  28,  18 14. 

Isaac,  b.  Sept.  6,  1798,  m.  Martha  Phinney,  Oct.  27,  1825;  2cl,  Temperance  St  urgis, 

of  Danville,  1842  ;  moved  to  111.  and  died  in  the  West. 
Joseph  F.,  b.  Nov.  26,  1800,  m.  Phebe   Libby,  June   14,   1827;  was  a  sailor;  d. 

Sept.  18,  1831  ;  his  widow  m.  Thomas  Davis. 
Levi,  b.  Apr.  12,  1803,  m.  and  lived  in  Oldtown. 
Hannah,  h.  July  15,  1805,  d.  unm.  Sept.  13.  1877. 
Sabrina,  b.  July  7,  1809,  m.  John  Lewis,  Jan.  26,  1833. 
Eleanor,  b.  1812,  d.  Aug.  14,  1814. 

(4)  Joseph   Hamblen,   son   of  Jacob   and   Elizabeth,    owned  and 

occtipied  the  homestead  after  the  decease  of  his  father  :    he  was  a 

prominent  citizen,  and  held  several  offices  in   town,  and  represented 

the  town  in  the  Legislature.     ?Ie  married  Mary,  daughter  of  William 

and  Maiy  Burton,     ('hildren  : 

Sewall,  b.  May  17,  1816,  d.  Mar.  21,  1846. 

Esther  R.,  b.  May  26,  1818,  m.  William  M.  Harding,  July  i,  1844. 

Arthur  M.,  b.  July  12,  1820,  d.  Dec.  13,  1845. 

Martha  B.,  b.  Nov.  4,   1822,  m.  Marshall  H.  Woodman,  Dec.  4,  1844;  d.  May 

13,  1848. 
Mary  E.,  b.  July  20,  1826,  d.  May  30,  1845. 
Emeline  L.,  b.  Sept.  11,  1828,  d.  Nov.  6,  1840. 

Mrs.  Mary  Hamblen  died  April  26,  1843,  aged  49,  and  Mr.  Hamblen 
married  May  21,  1844,  Eliza  (Thomas)  Elder,  daughter  of  William 
and  Anna  Thomas,  and  widow  of  John  Elder,  by  whom  he  had  one 
child  Mary,  born  April  8,  1845.  Mr.  Hamblen  died  Jan.  30,  1849,  aged 
64,  and  his  widow  Eliza  married,  in  185 1,  William  Erost  of  Norway. 
She  died  Aug.  22,  185 1,  aged  48. 

(4)  Jacob  Hamblen,  son  of  Jacob,  lived  in  Buxton  just  over  the 
Gorham  line,  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  John  McLellan.  He  was  a 
farmer,  an  honest  man,  well-to-do  in  the  world.  He  married  Sarah 
Hopkinson,  and  had  a  family  of  sons  and  daughters.  One  of  the 
sons  lives  in  Portland,  James  H.  Hamlen,'  of  the  firm  of  Hamlen 
and  Son.  Another  son,  Frank  A.,  lived  for  a  time  on  State  St.,  in 
Gorham  village.  Mr.  Hamblen  died  Dec.  18,  1874,  aged  82.  His 
wife  Sarah  died  in  Gorham,  at  the  house  of  her  son  Erank,  Dec.  3, 
1893,  aged  96. 

(4)  Cyrus   Hamblen,  son  of  Joseph,   married  Elizabeth,  daughter 

of  Nathaniel  and  Mary  Ereeman.     Children  : 

Joseph  F.,  b.  May  6, 1817,  m.  Temperance  Sturgis  of  Danville;  2d, Hall; 

is  a  clergyman  ;  I's  in  the  West. 
Mary,  b.  June  7,  1820,  m.  Daniel  Clay  of  Buxton,  1840. 


I  We  find  the  name  variously  written  by  the  several  branches  of  the  Hamblen  family,  as 
Hamblen,  HamhUn,  Hamlen,  Hamlin  and  Ham,Ming. 


538  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Hamblen  died  Nov.  30,  1844,  aged  52.  Mr. 
Hamblen  married,  April  29,  1846,  Martha  B.,  daughter  of  Charles 
and  Anna  Thomes.  He  died  Dec.  25,  1853,  aged  64,  and  his  wife 
Martha  Feb.  13,  1872,  aged  77. 

(4)  Nathaniel  Hamblen,  son  of  Joseph,  lived  on  his  father's  farm, 

which  is  now  owned  by  his  son  Archelaus  L.  Hamblen.     He  married 

Sally  H.  Shane.     Their  children  were  : 

Cyrus,  b.  Jan.  23,  1S27,  d.  Dec.  27,  1895. 

Levi,  b.  June  30,  1S28,  m.  Sarah  Catll  of  Buxton,  July  8,  1855.     Ch  :     George, 

is  dead;  Maria  C. ;  Lewis,  m.  Jessie  Belknap;  Lillian  G.  ni.  Chas.  Elkins ; 

Henry  S.,  d.  Apr.   i,  1S97,  ag.  28.     Mr.  Hamblen  lived  on  the   Daniel 

Hanscom  place  opposite  to  where  Chas.  A.  Brackett  now  I's.     He  d.  Feb. 

8,  1871,  and  his  wife  d.  Jan.  14,  1896,  ag.  61. 
Archelaus  L.,  b.  Aug.  31,  1831,  m.  Harriet  E.  Carll,  sister  to  his  brother  Levi's 

wife,  Jan.  29,  1865.    Ch :    Ida  M.,  b.  Jan.  21,  1866,  m.  Frank  H.  Rumery, 

May  7,  1S90  ;  Fred  L.,  b.  July  10,  1868,  m.  Mary  E.  Blake,  Dec.  24,  1892  ; 

Sarah  M.,  b.  Dec.  23,  1871,  m.  William  Howe;  Eva  C,  b.  Apr.  15,  1882. 

Mrs.  Hamblen  d.  Nov.  i,  1889,  ag.  47. 
Maria  L.,  b.  Nov.  13,  1836,  m.  Leonard  Roberts,  Jan.  i,  1857. 

Nathaniel  Hamblen  died  May  7,  1867,  aged  73  ;  his  wife  died  May 
6,  1880,  aged  80. 

In  the  old  burial-ground  at  Gorham  village  there  is  a  stone  with 
the  following  inscription  : 

Here  lies  the  body 
of  Hannah  Hamblen 

wife  of 

Gershom  Hamblen 

of  Barnstable 

who  died  April  14th  1797 

Aged  77  years 

Ebenezer  Hamblen  who  was  born  May  12,  1683,  was  the  son  of 
John,  and  the  grandson  of  James  and  Anna,  the  first  settlers  of  the 
name  in  Barnstable.  He  married.  May  11,  17 10,  his  cousin.  Thankful 
Hamblen,  who  was  born,  Aug.  24,  1689,  and  who  was  the  daughter 
of  Israel,  and  half  sister  of  Jacob,  who  settled  in  Gorham.  He  died 
in  1736,  at  the  age  of  53.  In  his  will  he  names  his  wife  Thankful, 
sons  Gershom,  Ebenezer,  Timothy,  Nathan,  Daniel  and  Samuel,  and 
daughters  Elizabeth,  Dorcas,  and  Thankful  Bangs.  His  widow 
Thankful  died  Jan.  15,  1768,  aged  78. 

Gershom,  the  aforesaid  son  of  Ebenezer,  and  husband  of  Hannah, 
from  whose  monument  we  have  copied,  was  born  July  19,  17 13.  He 
was  a  shoemaker  and  fisherman.  He  served  four  campaigns  in  the 
old  French  and  Indian  wars  —  one  for  himself,  and  one  for  each  of 
his  sons.  He  was  married  in  Barnstable,  Aug.  9,  1739,  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Green  to  Hannah  Almony.  They  had  five  children  born  in 
Barnstable,  four  of  whom  are  there  recorded  : 


GENEALOGY.  539 

Martha,  b.  May  ii,  1740,  ra.  James  Phinney,  Jan.  12,  1763. 
Timothy,'  b.  Jan.  3,  1742/3,  m.  Anna  Harding,  Sept.  14,  1769. 
Gershom,  b.  Sept.  16,  1745,  m.  Deborah  Jenkins,  p.  Dei".  17,  1774. 
George,  b.  Feb.  3,  1749/50,  m.  Sarah  Rich,  J)ec.  20,  1773. 
Hannah,  b.  Mar.  22,  1753,  m.  Decker  Phinney,  Dec.  30,  1773. 

Gershom    Hamblen,    the  father,  died,  probably  of    small  pox,  in 

Barnstable,  about  1756.     About  the  year  1763,  Mrs.  Hamblen  moved 

with  her  family  to  Gorham.     They  came  from  Barnstable  in  a  sail 

boat,  and  sailed  up  the  Presumpscot  river.     It  is  said  that  the  family 

made  their  first  settlement  near  the  foot  of  Fort  Hill,  on  the  road 

leading  to  West  Gorham,  on  the  thirty  acre  lot  34,  west  of  what  is 

now  the  Motley  farm.     The  house  in  which  they  lived  was  the  same 

which  was  afterwards  hauled  by  Gershom  Hamblen  across  the  fields 

to  his  farm  on  the  Gray  road. 

(2)  Timothy  Hamblen,  the  second  child  of  Gershom  and  Hannah, 
purchased  in  1765  the  thirty  acre  lot  121  ;  but  made  his  first  settle- 
ment on  the  northerly  half  of  the  hundred  acre  lot  92,  which  he 
purchased  of  Mr.  Ross  of  Portland  in  1767.  This  lot  he  sold  to  Mr. 
Rich  ;  afterwards  it  was  owned  by  Robert  R.  Johnson,  afterwards 
occupied  by  Wm.  S.  Brown,  and  is  now  owned  by  Charles  Rolfe  ; 
it  is  situated  on  the  road  leading  from  Fort  Hill  to  West  Gorham. 
When  he  sold  the  lot.  No.  92,  to  Rich,  he  purchased  of  him,  probably 
in  exchange,  the  thirty  acre  lot  No.  63,  which  joined  his  other  lot, 
and  built  his  house  on  the  hill  above  the  bridge,  on  the  westerly  side 
of  the  road  on  No.  121.  In  this  house,  it  is  said,  was  the  second 
plastered  room  in  town.  The  old  house  was  taken  down,  about  the 
year  1850,  by  Jacob  C.  Baker,  Esq.  About  the  time  Mr.  Hamblen 
built  his  house  he  purchased  the  northerly  half  of  the  mill  privilege 
at  the  bridge,  where  he  built  a  saw  mill  and  a  grist  mill.  On  the  hill 
near  his  house  Mr.  Hamblen  built  a  store  where  he  did  quite  an 
extensive  business.  The  road  passing  his  store  was  then  the  only 
road  to  the  Pequawket  country  and  the  White  Mountains.  He  was 
much  engaged  in  the  lumber  business,  and  was  a  smart,  energetic 
man.  He  married  Anna,  daughter  of  John  and  Thankful  Harding. 
Children  : 

Martha,  b.  July  17,  1770,  d.  unm.  June  10,  1787. 

Esther,  b.  July  22,  1772,  m.  Nathaniel  Frost,  Feb.  16,  1797. 

Enoch,  b.  June  7,  1773,  m.  Happy  Whitney,  June  6,  1802. 

Timothy,  b.  Jan.   18,  1775,  m.  Pomley;  I'd  in  New  Portland;  d.  May  15, 

1857,  and  is  buried  in  Gorham. 

Nicholas,  b.  June  29,  1777,  m.  Gates;  2d, Rich. 

Gershom,  b.  Jan.  22,   1779,  m.    Lydia    Freeman,    Sept.   12,   1S02 ;  I'd  in    New 

Portland. 

1  Erroneously  recorded  "  Enoch." 


540  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

John,  b.  Feb.  21,  1781,  m.  Olive  Murch,  March,  1S06. 
Anna,  b.  Jan.  16,  1783,  m.  Benjamin  Skillings,  Mar.  14,  1804. 
Allen,  b.  Dec.  14,  1784,  d.  May  10,  1806. 

Timothy  Hamblen  died  suddenly  at  New  Portland  while  on  a  visit 

to  his  son  Timothy,  and  while  aiding  him  in  putting  up  buildings  on 

his  farm,  June  4,   1805,  at  the  age  of  63.     His  wife  Anna  died  in 

Gorham  at  the  house  of  her  son  John,  July  9,  1820,  at  about  the  age 

of  73- 

(2)  Gershom  Hamblen,  the  third  child  of  Gershom  and  Hannah, 
settled  on  a  piece  of  what  was  called  common  land,  near  and  adjoin- 
ing Little  river.  (The  common  lands  were  gores  and  other  pieces 
of  land  that  were  left  after  lotting  the  town  into  one  hundred  and 
twenty-two  thirty  acre  lots,  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  one  hundred 
acre  lots,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  seventy  acre  lots.  One  of 
each  of  these  lots  constituted  a  proprietor's  share  of  two  hundred 
acres.)  Mr.  Hamblen's  farm  contained  about  sixty  acres  of  excel- 
lent land.  It  is  the  same,  or  a  part  of  that,  now  owned  and  occupied 
by  William  Cloudman,  whose  house  is  the  old  Hamblen  house  which 
stood  when  Gershom  owned  it  and  for  many  years  afterwards  on  the 
low  ground  about  forty  rods  northerly  from  the  place  where  Albert 
Hamblen  lives.  This  old  house  dates  far  back  in  the  history  of  the 
town.  It  was  built  by  the  Hamblen  family  (Hannah  Almory 
Hamblen)  on  the  land  owned  by  them  on  the  road  from  Fort  Hill  to 
West  Gorham,  probably  soon  after  their  settlement  in  town  (1763), 
and  was  hauled  by  Gershom  from  thence  to  his  farm  near  Little 
river.  Any  one  examining  into  the  topography  of  the  country 
between  the  two  points  would  at  once  say  that  it  was  a  job  that 
would  not  pay,  and  no  sane  man  of  the  present  generation  would 
undertake  it ;  but  the  thing  was  done,  and  the  old  house  still  makes 
a  respectable  habitation.  When  this  hauling  took  place,  cold  water 
was  not  considered  a  respectable  drink  to  be  used  on  such  an  occa- 
sion. Gershom's  farm  was  separated  from  that  of  his  brother  George 
by  the  two  rod  road,  the  same  being  the  old  road  to  Horse  Beef  Falls 
that  was  used  before  the  Gray  road  was  made.  In  April,  1797, 
Gershom  sold  his  farm  to  Almery,  the  son  of  his  brother  George,  and 
with  his  family  moved  to  Limington,  where  he  purchased  a  large 
tract  of  land  on  the  western  side  of  Saco  river,  where  he  and  his 
wife  lived  and  died  :  they  were  buried  side  by  side,  with  other  mem- 
bers of  the  family,  near  what  is  called  the  Wheelwright  place. 

Gershom  Hamblen  married  Deborah,  daughter  of  Samuel  and 
Mary  Jenkins,  by  whom  he  had  nine  children,  probably  all  born  in 
Gorham.     They  were  : 


GENEALOGY.  541 

Hannah,  b.  Nov.  14,  1775,  ni.  Joab  Black. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Mar.  12,  1778,  ni.  Daniel  Mann.     (2d  wife.) 

Ebenezer,  b.  July  9,  1780,;  soldier  in    War  of    1812  ;  d.   unm.   in   Canada  while 

in  the  .service  of  his  country. 
Samuel,    i  1     . .  j,      (  m.  Hannah  Whitmore. 

Jacob,       i  "■  ^^^y  4'  ^J'^S^   }  rn.  Jane    Small,  Nov.  24,  1808;  2d,  Mrs.  Susan 

(  Usher,  Mar.  18,  1838. 

Daniel,  b.  Dec.  7,  1785,  m.  Mary  Clark. 
Mary,  b.  June  18,  1788,  d.  nnm. 

Ichabod,  not  recorded,  m.  I-ydia  Fickett  ;  d.  in  Lovell  about  1874. 
Statira,  not  recorded,  m.  Andrew  Hobson,  then  of  Buxton. 

Of  these  children  of  Gershom  and  Deborah,  Daniel,  the  fourth 
son,  who  married  Maiy  Clark,  daughter  of  Ebenezer  Clark  of  Lim- 
ington,  died  Aug.  27,  1841,  aged  56;  his  wife  Mary  died  in  Lovell 
(to  which  town  the  family  had  removed),  March  27,  1845,  aged  59. 
Their  children  were :  Julianna,  Ebenezer,  Henry,  Moses,  Andrew 
and  Daniel.  Hannah,  who  married  Joab  Black  had  seven  children, 
Elizabeth  four,  Samuel  seven,  Jacob  ten  (all  by  his  first  wife),  Icha- 
bod ten,  and  Statira  five. 

(2)  George  Hamblen,  fourth  child  of  Gershom  and  Hannah,  came 
with  the  other  members  of  the  family  to  Gorham.  We  put  the  date 
of  their  arrival  at  about  1 763.  Of  the  precise  date  we  are  not  certain, 
but  Martha  married  James  Phinney  in  that  year,  and  she  was  mar- 
ried as  of  Gorham.  Consequently  George  was  then  thirteen  years 
old.  Before  he  left  Barnstable,  he  served  awhile  to  learn  the  painter 
and  glazier's  trade,  which  business  he  followed  in  Gorham  when  not 
engaged  in  his  farming  operations.  He  lived  with  his  mother  on  the 
lot  near  Eort  Hill  about  ten  years  after  his  marriage.  Dec.  5.  1772, 
he  purchased  of  John  Cotton  by  deed  a  part  of  the  hundred  acre  lot 
78.  This  land  was  adjoining  to  the  lot  owned  by  his  brother  Timo- 
thy, and  near  to  his  mother's  residence ;  but  it  does  not  appear  that 
he  ever  settled  on  this  land.  He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Lemuel 
Rich.  The  marriage  ceremony  was  performed  by  William  Gorham, 
Justice  of  the  Peace.  He  purchased  of  Gary  McLellan  and  Decker 
Phinney,  by  deed  dated  Jan.  30,  1783,  the  one  hundred  acre  lot  50, 
near  Little  river,  where  he  built  a  log  house  and  commenced  farm- 
ing. In  this  deed  he  is  styled  a  "glazier."  The  same  farm  is  now 
owned  by  Albert  M.  Hamblen,  the  great-grandson  of  George.  When 
he  moved  on  to  his  new  farm  his  son  Joseph  was  an  infant  about 
three  weeks  old.  He  took  his  mother  with  him,  where  she  died  at 
the  time  stated  on  the  monument  in  the  old  cemetery.  She  was  of 
Scotch  descent,  and  was  a  woman  of  strong  mind  and  great  energy, 
and  by  her  counsel  and  example  endeavored  to  bring  up  her  children 
to  be  good  citizens  and  honest  people,  and  \*e  think  by  the  record  we 


542  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

are  enabled  to  show  of  them,  that  her  care  and  attention  were  not 
lost.  Mrs.  Hamblen's  name  on  the  old  records  of  Barnstable  is 
Hannah  Almony  ;  the  surname  probably  should  be  Abnory.  The 
family  in  naming  children  have  somewhat  changed  the  spelling,  and 
now  have  it  Almery.  The  children  of  George  and  Sarah  Hamblen 
were : 

Almery,  b.  Jan.  24,  1775,  m.  SaJly  Clark,  Oct.  8,  1797  ;  I'd  in  Portland;  was  a 
prominent  mechanic  and  painter,  as  were  also  his  sons.  Mr.  Hamblen 
d.  in  Portland,  Jan.  25,  1830;  his  wife  Sally  d.  May  19,  1822;  they  were 
buried  in  Portland,  but  at  the  death  of  George  their  remains  were  removed. 
to  Gorham,  and  buried  on  the  old  farm  in  a  place  near  the  orchard.  The 
Hamblen  block  on  Danforth  St.  was  built  in  1835  and  1836,  by 
Nathaniel,  Eli,  and  Joseph  G.  Hamblen,  Almery's  sons  ;  and  that  on 
State  St.  by  the  same  in  1S38.  Soon  after  this  they  bought  a  large  farm 
in  Scarborough,  where  Eli  d.,  and  very  soon  afterwards  the  brothers, 
Nathaniel  (who  contributed  this  item),  J.  G.,  and  Sturtevant  J.  Hamblen 
(a  younger  brother)  removed  to  Boston  ;  two  of  them  residing  in  East 
Boston,  and  the  other,  Joseph  G.,  at  Hyde  Park,  near  Boston. 

Susanna,  b.  Nov.  21,  1776,  m.  Moses  Gould,  Sept.  28,  1805 

George,  b.  Apr.  15,  1779,  d.  unm   Sept.  16,  1805. 

John,  b.  May  7,  1781,  m.  Hannah  Bangs,  p.  Jan.  12,  1804. 

Joseph,  b.  Feb.  5,  1783,  m.  Esther  Bangs,  p.  Nov.  28,  1S07. 

Sarah,  b.  May  19,  1785,  m.  William  Cloudman,  p.  Jan.  12,  1804. 

Amos,  b.  Apr.  8,  1787,  m.  Betsey  Burton,  181 1  ;  I'd  in  Farmington. 

Allen,  b.  Feb.  27,  1789,  m.  Lydia  Winslow;  I'd  in  Windham ;  parents  of  Byron 
Hamblen,  late  of  Gorham. 

Solomon,  b.  Feb.  24,  I79i,m.  Sally  Russ  ;  d.  May  22,  1825. 

Patty,  b.  May  16,  1793,  m.  John  Russ  ;  d.  Aug.  12,  1828. 

William,  b.  Aug.  16,  1796,  m.  Susan  Bartlett ;  d.  Nov.  19,  1S62. 

Gorham  in  its  early  days  was  one  of  the  old-fashioned  territorial 
parishes,  compelled  by  law  to  settle  and  support  a  "  learned  orthodox 
minister."  Kvery  inhabitant  was  taxed  for  that  purpose,  no  matter 
what  his  religious  belief  might  be.  During  the  ministrations  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Thacher,  he  became  very  unpopular,  and  there  was  much 
trouble  in  collecting  the  minister's  tax;  often  distraint  had  to  be 
resorted  to,  which,  instead  of  decreasing  the  troubles,  only  made 
them  worse.  A  large  congregation  of  Come-outers,  or  New  Lights, 
as  they  were  called,  embracing  many  of  the  best  citizens,  was  formed  ; 
their  meetings  were  generally  held  around  at  the  dwelling  houses  in 
different  parts  of  the  town,  —  mostly,  however,  at  Fort  Hill,  or  in  that 
neighborhood.  Time  and  place  seemed  to  be  but  a  small  object ; 
the  meetings  were  held  day  and  night,  and  carried  on  with  great 
energy  and  zeal.  No  doubt  speakers  and  hearers  thought  themselves 
honest  and  right ;  they  certainly  were  earnest  and  zealous.  They 
would  travel  miles  to  attend  the  meetings  ;  rain  or  sunshine  made  no 
difference.  Men  would  start  on  the  run  from  their  fields,  without 
coat,  hat,  or  shoes,  warning  all  they  met  on  the  way  to  go  with  them  ; 
excitement  would  begef  excitement,   and    soon  a   crowd    would   be 


GENEALOGY.  543 

raised.  Women  have  been  known  to  travel  three  miles  on  snow- 
shoes  to  attend  the  meetings.  It  is  not  our  intention  or  wish  to 
make  any  misstatements,  or  give  too  high  a  coloring  to  these  doings, 
for  they  were  high  enough  and  singular  enough  in  themselves.  (See 
article  on  the  "  Come-outers,  or  New  Lights.") 

George  Hamblen  and  some  of  his  family  were  greatly  wrought 
upon,  and  took  a  deep  interest  in  this  movement,  and  we  have 
reason  to  think  that  they  conscientiously  believed  it  was  all  right. 
On  the  blowing  over  and  cooling  down  of  the  excitement,  there  appears 
to  have  been  a  division  even  among  the  faithful.  The  old  society 
having  settled  the  Rev.  Caleb  Jewett,  who  was  a  very  popular  man, 
some  returned  to  their  old  home,  but  the  Free  Will  Baptists  took  the 
largest  share,  and  a  large  and  flourishing  society  grew  up  on  Fort 
Hill,  which  included  many  of  our  best  and  most  substantial  citizens. 
The  Shakers  carried  off  quite  a  number,  and  some  joined  the  Society 
of  Friends,  among  whom  were  George  Hamblen  and  his  family, 
where  he  and  his  wife  were  honest  and  upright  members  as  long  as 
they  lived.  Mr.  Hamblen,  being  a  Quaker,  did  not  aspire  to  any 
military  office ;  and  being  an  honest  man,  had  but  little  to  do  with 
political  affairs.  Living  quietl}'  on  his  farm,  his  whole  aim  seemed 
to  be  to  love  his  neighbor  as  himself,  and  to  do  justice  to  all,  and  to 
serve  his  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience  and 
the  rules  laid  down  in  the  Scriptures. 

Mrs.  Hamblen  died  Sept.  2,  1830,  at  the  age  of  74,  and  Mr. 
Hamblen,  Dec.  18,  1834,  aged  85.  Their  graves  are  side  by  side  on 
the  old  farm,  and  on  the  spot  where  they  erected  their  first  log  house, 
and  commenced  their  clearing,  more  than  fifty  years  before  the  death 
of  Mr.  Hamblen. 

(3)  Enoch    Hamblen,    son    of    Timothy,   lived  for  many    years  in 

Gorham,  where  he  and  his  brother  John  carried  on  the  mills  above 

Fort  Hill,  which  had  formerly  belonged  to  their  father.     He  was  also 

a  farmer  and  sailor.      He  married   Happy,  daughter  of  Zebulon  and 

Hannah  Whitney.     Children  : 

Abigail,  b.  Mar.  21,  1803. 
Martha,  b.  Dec.  16,  1805. 
Allen  T.,  b.  Aug.  8,  1807,  m.  Hannah  J.  Wentworth;  was  a  cooper  in  Gorham; 

d.  in  1888. 
Eunice  S.,  b.  Apr.  2,  1809. 
Hannah,  b.  Sept.  21,  181 1. 

Esther,  b.  Sept.  11,  1814,  m.  Daniel  Wentworih,  June  3,  1S40 
Mary  E.,  b.  Feb.  4,  1820,  d.  July,  1821. 

Enoch   Hamblen  moved  to   Baldwin.      He    died    Nov.    28,    1843, 

aged  70.     His  wife  Happy  died  July  20,  1852,  aged  74. 


544  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

(3)  John  Hamblen,  son  of  Timothy,   lived  on  the  north  side   of 

Horse    Meadow   road,  in    the  two-story   house    still    known    as   the 

Hamblen  house.     He  married  Olive  Murch  of  Buxton.     Children  : 

Hannah,  b.  May  20,  1808,  d.  unm.  Dec.  13,  1879. 

Susan,  b.  Oct.  21,  1809. 

William,  b.  Apr.  15,  181 1. 

Stephen,  b.  Feb.  10,  1813,  d.  Aug.  i,  1814. 

Grata  R.,  b.  May  9,  181 5,  d.  Feb.  27,  1816. 

Grata  R.,  b.  Nov.  17,  1816,  d.  Dec.  23,  1853. 

Rebecca,  b.  Dec.  11,  1818,  m.  Royal  Whitney  of  Buxton,  Apr.  29,  1846. 

Timothy,  b.  Dec.  17,  1820,  d.  Nov.  17,  1861. 

Arthur,  b.  Jan.  11,  1823,  d.  Oct.  27,  1895. 

Martha  Ann,  b.  Feb.  12,  1825,  m.  Henry  Murch  of  Biddeford;  d.  Aug.  19,  1865. 

Emeline,  b.  Jan.  i,  1827. 

John  Hamblen  died  Feb.  28,  1842,  aged  61.  Mrs.  Hamblen  died 
March  17,  1845,  aged  55. 

(3)  John   Hamblen,  son  of  George,  married  Hannah,  daughter  of 

James  and  Deborah   Bangs.     He  lived  on  the  Gray  road,  where  his 

son  George  afterwards  lived.     Children  : 

James,  b.  Jan.  9,  1805,  lost  at  sea,  Feb.  i,  1833. 

Decker  P.,  b.  Sept.  18,  1S06,  d.  July  16,  1828. 

Caroline,  b.  Sept.  6,  1808. 

Manha,  b.  July  17,  1810. 

Elias,  b.  Mar.  3,  181 2,  d.  April,  1838. 

George,  b.  Apr.  3,  1814,  m.  Sarah  J.,  dau.  of  Morrill  and  Hannah  Elder  of 

Windham.      Ch:    Edwin,   b.  Aug.   2,    1844;  Ellen,  b.   Sept.    17,    1848; 

Martha,  b.  June  23,  1850;  Nathan  D.,  b.  Jan.  7,  1853,  I's  in  Winthrop. 

Mr.   Hamblen  I'd   on   the   Gray  road  on   the  farm   lately  occupied  by 

Melville  C.  Johnson.     Mrs.  Hamblen  d.  in  Gorham,  Jan.  4.  1854,  ag.  36. 

Mr.  Hamblen  m.  2d,  Christiana  Farr  of  Winthrop,  and  moved  to  that 

town. 
Ehzabeth,  b.  Feb.  18,  18 16,  m.  William  B.  Libby,  1838. 
Ruth,  b.  Oct.  21,  1818,  d.  Oct.  9,  1850. 
Sarah,  b.  Aug.  28,  1820. 
Hannah,  b.  Oct.  25,  1823,  m.  and  d.  in  Winthrop. 

John  Hamblen  died  in  Winthrop,  Dec.  22,  1858,  and  his  wife, 
Feb.  7,  1847,  aged  65. 

(3)  Joseph  Hamblen,  son  of  George,  lived  on  the  old  farm  which 
his  father  cleared.  He  married  Esther  Bangs,  sister  of  his  brother 
John's  wife.     Children,  from  their  family  Bible  : 

Evelina,  b.  Dec.  19,   1809,  m.  Jacob  Coburn. 

Almery,  b.  July  31,  t8i2,  m.  Betsey  Butterfield  of  Farmington;  I'd  in  Gorham 
on  the  old  George  Hamblen  place.  Ch:  Adeline,  b.  Nov.  5,  1835; 
Esther,   b.   Mar.  26,  1837;   Emily,  b.  Dec.  i,  1838;  Eveline,  b.  June    14, 

1842;  Elizabeth  Jenette,  b. -;  Marshall  Smith,  b.  Sept,  1847;    Mary 

Louisa,  b.  in  P'armington.  This  family  moved  to  Farmington.  Mr. 
Hamblen  d.  in  Windliam,  Feb.  26,  1862. 

Allen,  b.  May  6,  1814,  m.  Mary  I.unt  of  Westbrook  ;  d.  in  Minneapolis. 

Adeline,  b.  Oct.  15,  1816,  d.  Oct.  15,  1S34. 

Albert,  b.  Sept.  to,  1819,  m.  Cynihia  W.,  dau.  of  David  and  Hannah  Silla,  Oct. 
30,   1842.     Ch  :  Henreich,  b.  Sept.  23,  1843,  d.  ^^c.  3,  1843;  Eliza  J., 


GENEALOGY.  545 

b.  Nov.  23,  1S44,  d.  Mar.  19,  1845;  Hannah  M.,  b.  Felx  3,  1846,  d.  Sept. 
8.  1847;  Albert  M.,  b.  Aug.  5,  184S,  m.  Ida  O.  M.  Libby,  Jan.  6,  1875; 
Marcena,  b.  Nov.  18,  1S50,  d.  Apr.  29,  1857;  Eveline  M.,  b.  Dec.  25, 
1852,  m.  Edward  B.  True  of  Windham  ;  Infant  son,  b.  May  2,  1S56,  d.  y. ; 
Adella,  b.  Oct.  5,  1857,  m.  Lorenzo  F.  Davis  of  Cumberland  Mills,  Oct. 
5,  1881  ;  Joseph  E.,  b.  Feb.  17,  1S63,  d.  Mar.  24,  1864.  Mr.  ITamblen 
I'd  on  the  old  place.  He  d.  Apr.  2,  1890;  .Airs.  Hamblen  d.  Mav  14, 
1889. 
Andrew  R.,  b.  Sept.,  1828,  d.  Oct.  4,  1831. 

Joseph  Hamblen  died  Aug.  3,  1851,  aged  68,  and  hi.s  wife,  April  12, 
1867,  aged  80  years,  11  months. 

The  family  of  Samuel  Hamblen  claim  to  be  cousins  to  Timothy, 
George  and  Gershom.  It  is  known  that  the  father  of  Samuel  and 
Prince  was  a  deaf  mute,  and  that  his  name  was  Samuel  ;  none  seem 
to  remember  the  name  of  his  wife,  but  there  is  a  tradition  in 
the  family  that  they  had  a  maternal  ancestor  who  was  a  Lewis.  The 
records  are  somewhat  complicated  as  to  the  Samuels,  but  we  find  a 
Samuel  Hamblen,  son  of  Ebenezer,  born  Jan.  7,  1722.  In  the  will 
of  John  Hamblen,  dated  Oct.  25,  1735,  he  says  :  "  I  give  to  my  three 
deaf  cousins  (children  of  my  brother  Ebenezer,  viz  :  Nathan,  Samuel 
and  Dorcas  Hamblen)  "  &c.  We  also  find  a  Samuel  Hamblen  who 
married,  Dec.  13,  1750,  Temperance  Lewis.  She  was  probably  the 
daughter  of  Seth  and  Sarah  (Revis)  Lewis  of  Barnstable,  and  was 
baptized  April  7,  1734.  From  the  foregoing  facts  we  must  infer  that 
the  Samuel  Hamblen  who  came  to  Gorham  with  his  family  about  the 
year  176S  was  the  seventh  child  of  Ebenezer  Hamblen  and  his  wife 
Thankful,  and  the  brother  of  Gershom  Hamblen,  the  husband  of 
Hannah  Almor}^ 

The  name  of  Samuel  Hamblen  is  not  on  a  Gorham  tax  bill  for 
1763.  It  is  probable  that  he  came  here  about  the  year  1768".  Mrs. 
Hamblen  died  soon  after  the  family  came  to  Gorham,  and  it  is  said 
she  was  buried  on  the  old  Prentiss  lot,  near  the  place  where  the 
Afethodist  church  now  stands.  As  there  were  no  monuments  erected 
to  mark  the  place,  all  traces  of  her  grave  and  others  of  the  early 
settlers  (among  which  was  the  grave  of  one  of  the  early  ministers, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Townsend ),  are  now  entirely  obliterated  by  the  plow 
and  spade.  The  last  recorded  baptism  in  Barnstable  of  a  child  of 
Samuel  and  Temperance  Hamblen  is  Mar.  10,  1765.  Mr.  Hamblen 
was  alive  in  1779,  for  in  that  year  we  find  Samuel  and  Samuel, 
Jr.,  but  do  not  find  his  name  after  that  date,  which  is  probably 
near  the  time  of  his  death.  Children  of  Samuel  and  Temperance 
Hamblen  were  : 


546  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


Tabitha,  b. 


Samuel,  bap.  Apr.  ii,  1753,  m.  Molly  Clay,  p.  Nov.  29,  1777. 

Ebenezer, ,  m.  Deborah  Crockett  orLovell. 

Elijah,  bap.  Nov.  28,   1756,  was  a  Revolutionary  soldier;  d.  in  the  army,  Apr. 

12,1778. 
Prince,  b.  Mar.  4,  1758,  m.  Bethiah  Webb,  Mar.  22,  1781. 

Nathan,  b. ,  d.  at  sea,  in  Revolution;  unm. 

Temperance,  bap.  Apr.  18,  1762,  m.  Richard  Dresser  of  Saco,  Apr.  5,  1796;  I'd 

in  Buxton. 
Seth  L.,  b.  Jan.  i,  1765,  m.  Jerusha  Sawyer  of  Buxton,  in  1791 ;  Revolutionary 

soldier;  I'd  in  Brownfield ;  went  to  Shenango,  N.  Y. ;  d.  Nov.  10,  1834. 
Sarah,  b.  Mar.  31,  1767,  m.  Joshua  Crockett,  Jr.,  Nov.  29,  1787. 

The  first  settlement  of  Samuel  Hamblen  and  his  son  Samuel,  for 
they  seem  to  have  lived  together,  was  on  the  thirty  acre  lot,  situated 
one  range  westerly  from  South  St.,  on  the  right-hand  side  of  the 
Weeks  road,  so  called.  This  lot  was  common  land  and  not  num- 
bered, and  has  since  been  owned  by  the  late  Nathaniel  Gould.  The 
old  house  stood  near  the  head  of  the  brook  which  we  used  to  know 
in  our  younger  days  as  the  first,  or  Samuel  Hamblen  brook,  and 
where  is  the  man  or  boy  that  has  been  raised  at  Gorham  village,  that 
does  not  know  where  to  find  the  first,  second  or  third  brook,  always 
famous  for  little  speckled  trout  ?  Here  Mr.  Hamblen  and  his  wife 
died. 

(2)  The  son  Samuel,  after  the  death  of  his  father,  moved  the  old 
house  out  to  the  main  road,  where  it  now  stands  about  half  a  mile 
from  the  village,  on  South  St.  ;  and  is  owned  by  William  Hanscom. 
He  married  Molly,  daughter  of  Richard  and  Rachel  Clay  of  Buxton. 
Children  : 

Elijah,  b.  Apr.  2,    1779,  "i.  Jane,  dau.  of  Daniel  Murch  of  Buxton,  Nov.  12, 

1801 ,  d.  in  Raymond  Mar.  20,  1866  ;  she  in  Sept.,  1870. 
Jonathan,  b.  Jan.  3,  1781,  m.   Deborah,  dau.  of  Daniel  Murch  of  Buxton,  June 

17,  1 8 10;  2d,  her  sister  Hannah,  widow  of  Phineas  Parker,  I'd  in  Raymond; 

d.  in  Gorham,  and  she,  in  Otisfield,  Dec.  10,  i860. 
Rachel,  b.  Dec.  21,  1782,  m.  Toppan  Sawyer,  Apr.  12,  i8or. 
Temperance  L.,  Jan.  11,  1785,  d.  young. 

Samuel,  b.  May  13,  1787,  m.  Mary  Davis  Hayden ;  I'd  in  Raymond  and  Bridgton. 
Stephen  S.,  b.  June  1 1,  1789,  m.  Rachel  Dunbar  of  Hingham,  Mass.,  p.  Mar.  U), 

1814;  she  d.  Oct.,  1844;  he  d.  in  Top-ham,  Me. 
Polly,  b.  Oct.  7,  1791,  m.  Robert  Weeks,  July  10,  1843. 

Benjamin,  b.  Nov.  29,  1793,  ^-  I^arbara  Hamblen  in  Paris,  Me.,  Nov.  19,  1818. 
Temperance  L.,  b.  Jan.  30,  1796,  m.  Richard  Lombard,  Mar.  17,  1818. 
Sophia,  b.  Mar.  13,  1798,  m.  Jonathan  Bean  of  HoUis,  p.  May  20,  183S. 
Rebecca,  b.  Sept.  16,  1800,  m.  Stephen  Larry,  Oct.  20,  1822;  d.  in  Paris. 

Samuel  Hamblen,   Jr.,  died  Dec.  24,  1834,  aged  about  82,  and  his 

wife,  Aug.  12,  1833,  aged  77. 

(2)  Ebenezer  Hamblen,  son  of  Samuel,  came  to  Gorham  from 
Barnstable  about  the  year  1773.  We  find  that  he  purchased  Jan.  8, 
1773,  of  Jacob  Hamblen  the  seventy  acre  lot  40,  on  which  it  is  prob- 


GENEALOGY.  .  547 

able  he  afterwards  lived.  Aug.  12,  1805,  he  purchased  of  Judith 
(Jorham  of  Boston,  an  undivided  half  of  the  seventy  acre  lot  41. 
He  was  published  in  Barnstable,  Nov.  21,  1772,  to  Deborah  Lovell, 
but  is  said  to  have  married  Deborah  Crockett  of  Otisfield.  Possibly 
she  was  a  widow,  and  one  and  the  same  person.      Children  : 

Susannah,  b.  Aug.  7,  1774,  m.  John  Sawyer,  Jr.,  of  Standisli,  Jan.  22,  1797  ;  d. 

in  Knox,  Me.,  June  i,  1825. 
Sarah,  b.  Aug.  13,  1776,  m.  Robert  Mayo,  Jan.  17,  1796. 
Dorcas,  b.  Aug.  15,  1778,  m.  Michael  Rand,  Oct.  18,  1798  ;  d.  in  Buxton,  Dec, 

1801. 
Ebenezer,  b.  Sept.  13,  1780,  m.  Betty  McCorrison,  Jan.  23,  1799;  I'd  in   Knox 

and  Orono. 
Dennis,  b.  Oct.  19,  1782,  m.  Eunice  Carsley,  Apr.  7,   1805;  moved  to   Wayne 

Co.,  N.  Y.;  d.  in  Angola,  Ind.,  Sept.,  1851. 
Betty,  b.  Aug.  12,  17S4,  m.  Benjamin  Brown,  p.  Nov.  27,  1803. 
Lovell,  b.  Sept.  4,  1786,  d.  Apr.  20,  1787. 
Love,b.  Mar.  17,  1788,  d.  young. 
Levi,  b.  Aug.  13,  1789,  m.  Susanna  Hamblen  of  Otisfield,  Oct.  24,  181 2  ;  went 

to  Ohio. 

Temperance,    I  u   -kt       i:  ( 

\\--ir  •  t>-  Nov.  6,  1791,  <  J 

\\  illiam,  )  '  ^  '    I  d.  young. 

William  G.,  b.  Feb.  23,  1794,  m.  Relief  Tuell,  Dec.  3,  1818;  a  cooper  in  Bath  ; 

d.  June  9,  1853,  in  Watertown,  N.  Y. 

Deborah,  b.  Mar.  29,  1796. 

We  suppose  that  Ebenezer  Hamblen  died  in  18 12.  Jan.  29,  18 12, 
he  made  his  last  conveyance  of  property;  and  March  16,  1812,  his 
widow  relinquished  her  right  of  dowser  in  "Knox  Plantation,"  in 
favor  of  her  son  Ebenezer.  The  family,  a  few  years  afterward,  sold 
out  and  left  town.  They  settled  somewhere  near  Belfast,  probably 
on  the  Knox  land. 

A  story  is  told  of  Sarah,  daughter  of  Ebenezer,  who  married 
Robert  Mayo  and  lived  in  Gorham  near  the  old  folks.  They  had  no 
children,  but  a  waif  was  found  one  Sunday  morning  on  their  door- 
step in  the  shape  of  a  fine  male  child,  good  looking,  healthy  and 
well  dressed,  and  what  was  more,  an  accompaniment  of  cash,  to  the 
amount  of  five  hundred  dollars.  This,  under  the  circumstances, 
made  everything  pleasant.  The  child  was  at  once  adopted  and  well 
cared  for  and  grew  up  to  be  a  good  man.  It  is  said  that  he  lived  in 
\^'indham  or  Standish.  The  old  lady  was  of  rather  grasping  dispo- 
sition, and  when  she  found  that  there  was  money  in  this  transaction, 
she  wanted  it,  and  at  once  claimed  the  child  :  she  said  there  was  a 
mistake,  and  that  the  intention  of  the  parents  was  evidently  to  leave 
the  boy  to  her.  It  made  quite  a  stir  in  the  family,  but  Sarah  kept 
the  boy  and  the  money.  No  one  ever  knew  who  were  the  parents 
of  the  child. 

(2)  Prince  Hamblen,  son  of  Samuel,  senior,  lived  for  many  years 
on  the  old   Portland  road  about  two  miles  from  the  village,  where  he 


548  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

occupied  a   small  piece   of  land.      He  purchased  the   old  Thurrell 

house  and  moved  it  on  to  this.     This  house  was  recently  standing  in 

a   dilapidated   condition,   nearly   opposite  the  house   of    Merrill   W. 

Mosher.     We  do  not  know  its  age,  but  it  was  one  of  the  oldest  houses 

in  the  town.     When  owned  and  occupied  by  the  Thurrells  it  stood 

near  to   the   place   where  the   house  of   Freeman    Richardson  now 

stands ;  some  say  on  land  which  is  now   Mr.   Richardson's  garden. 

Prince  Hamblen  married  Bethiah,  daughter  of  David   and  Dorothy 

Webb,  who  lived  near  the  Westbrook  town  line.     Children  : 

Dorothy,  b.  Mar.  25,  1782,  m.  John  Wallace  of  Falmouth,  p.  July  27,  181 1. 

Nancy,  b.  June  20,  17S3,  m.  Ezekiel  Bishop,  Aug.  18,  1804. 

Joseph,  b.  July  4,  1784,  d.  in  1784. 

Solomon,  b.  Apr.  27,  1785,  d.  in  1785. 

Fanny,  b.  Mar.  12,  1786,  m.  Isaac  Chesley,  in  1803;  d.  in  Sept.,  1856. 

Sally,  b.  June  17,  1788,  m.  Levi  Wallace  of  Falmouth,  Apr.  10,  1808. 

Katy,  b.  Sept.  3,  1791,  m.  Thos.  Wallace  of  Falmouth,  Feb.  7,  181 1. 

Bethia,  b.  Oct.  22,  1795,  n^-  Nathaniel  Watson,  Mar.  24,  1825. 

David,  b.  June  13,  1797,  d.  unm.  in  Gorham  at  his  sister's  (Mrs.  Partridge's). 

Dennis,  b.  Apr.  12,  1799,  m.  Sally  Crockett,  1824;  d.  in  Wilton,  Sept.  12,  1846. 

Mary,  b.  Dec.  16,  1800,  m.  John  W.  Partridge,  Oct.  13,  1825. 

Prince  Hamblen  probably  died  Dec.  19,  1834,  aged  about  76. 
Mrs.  Hamblen  survived  her  husband,  dying  April  18,  1836,  aged  78. 
He  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  a  private  in  Capt.  Williams' 
company,  and  marched  to  Ticonderoga,  under  Col.  Phinne}^  in  1776  ; 
he  also  served  in  Capt.  l^IcLellan's  company  in  1779,  in  the  Bagaduce 
expedition.  In  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  received  a  pension  from 
the  General  Government. 

HANSCOM. 

George  Hanscom  came  to  Gorham  from   Scarborough  about  the 

year  1760,  and  settled  on  the  thirty  acre  lot  109,  which  he  purchased 

of  John  Williams.     His  wife  was  Abigail,  daughter  of  John  and  Mary 

(Hanscom)   Fogg.     She  was  born   in   Scarborough,   July   20,    1736. 

Children,  the  two  oldest  born  in  Scarborough  : 

George,  b.  Oct.  6,  1754,  m.  Eunice  Whitney,  p.  Jan.  27,  1776. 

Moses,  b.  Jan.  15,  1759,  m.  Phebe  Crockett,  Apr.  23,  1781 ;  2d,  Esther  Hall. 

Hannah,  b.  Mar.  12,  1761,  m.  Josiah  Swett,  Apr.  27,  1783;  2d,  John  Martin,  Nov. 

5.  1794- 
John,  b.  May  19,  1763,  m.  Mary  Hanscom,  p.  June  2,  1792. 
Katherine,  b.  Aug.  9,  1765,  m.  Ezra  Hanson  of  Windham,  Aug.  3,  1788. 
Joseph,  b.  Apr.  30,  1774,  m.  Polly  Bacon,  June  3,  179S. 

(2)  George  Hanscom,  son  of   George,  married   Eunice  Whitney. 

Children  : 

Abigail,  b.  Sept.  16,  1776,  d.  young. 

Abigail,  b.  Oct.  8,  1778. 

Eunice,  b.  Oct.  25,  1780,  m.  Elisha  Sanborn,  Dec.  22,  1799.  (.'') 


GENEALOGY.  549 

Patience,  b.  1782. 

John,  b.  June  10,  1784. 

Nancy,  b.  May  3,  1786,  m.  vSolomon  Newbegin,  p.  Apr.  3,  1813. 

Catherine,  b.  June  8,  178S,  m.  Meltiah  Bourne,  p.  May  28,  1808. 

Cyrus,  b.  Oct.  2,  1790,  m.  Abigail  Ilutchins  of  Gorham,  Dec.  29,  1816. 

Lewis,  b.  Oct.  26,  1792,  m.  Rebecca  Johnson,  Apr.  14,  1S16. 

Mattie,  b.  Oct.  10,  1794. 

George,  b.  Dec.  7,  1797. 

Marrett,  b.  Dec.  27,  1799,  "^-  Polly  Thompson,  of  Buxton,  p.  Oct.  22,  1819. 

Mrs.  Eunice  Hanscom  died  May  22,  1820. 

(2)   Moses  Hanscom,  son  of  George,  at  one  time  owned  a  farm 

near  the  North  meeting  house.     This  he  sold,  and  then  moved  on 

to  the  farm,  now  occupied  by  Mr.   Fenderson,  near  the  Westbrook 

town  line.     He  married  Phebe,  the  daughter  of  Pelatiah  Crockett. 

Children  : 

Sally,  b.  June  16,  1782. 

Hannah,  b.  Sept.  8,  17SS,  m.  George  Rice,  p.  Apr.  8,  1807. 
Mary,  b.  July  23,  1791,  m.  John  Rice,  Nov.  12,  1812. 
Rebecca,  b.  1797,  m.  Almon  Hanscom,  Oct.  26,  1826. 

Moses  Hanscom  married,  April  10,  18 14,  Esther,  daughter  of 
Abraham  and  Elizabeth  Hall.     He  died  Oct.  2,  1841. 

(2)  John  Hanscom,  son  of  George,  lived  on  the  farm  now  owned 

by  Chas.  A.  Brackett.     His  son  Daniel  lived  on  the  place  just  across 

the  road  where  Mrs.  Levi  Hamblen  lately  lived.    John  married  Mary 

Hanscom  of  Kittery,  and  their  children  were  : 

Betsey  Hill,  b.  Sept.  26,  1795,  "^-  ^""^  Baker,  Oct.  23,  1825. 
Daniel,  b.  June  15,  1799,  m.  Mahala  Virgin  ;  d.  Mar.  18,  1833. 
Rufus,  b.  Dec.  23,  1801,  d.  Nov.  20,  1873. 

John  Hanscom  died  May  10,  1836,  aged  73,  and  his  wife  Mary, 
Feb.  20,  1830,  aged  56. 

(2)  Joseph  Hanscom,  son  of  George,  lived  on  the  Moses  Hanscom 
place.  He  married  Polly,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Bacon,  Jr.,  by  whom 
he  had  two  children  : 

Almon,  b.  Mar.  18,  1799,  "^-  ^^^^-  -^>  1826,  his  cousin  Rebecca  Hanscom;  I'd  on 
his  father's  place,  near  Saccarappa.  Ch. :  Mary  Ann,  b.  Jan.  5,  1829, 
m.  Joseph  Ellsworth  of  Ellsworth,  d.  in  1870;  Almon  \V.,  b.  Apr.  2, 
1831,  m.  Abby  H.  Strout,  Dec.  3,  1857.  Mrs.  Hanscom  d.  July  4,  1835, 
and  Mr.  Hanscom  m.  Oct.  9,  1836,  Isabella,  dau.  of  Jeremiah  and  Mary 
Deering;  she  d.  May  17,  1S70,  aged  60.    Mr.  H.  d.  Sept.  28,  1868. 

Miranda,  b.  Sept.  14,  1800,  d.  young. 

Humphrey  Hanscom,  son  of  Elisha  and  Keturah  (Fogg)  Hanscom, 
was  born  in  Scarboro,  Jan.  28,  1754.  In  November,  1791,  he  bought 
of  Briant  Morton,  then  of  Berwick,  forty-seven  acres  of  land  in  the 
south  part  of  the  town  of  Gorham,  near  the  land  of  Chas.  Morris  and 
Wm.    McLellan.     The   place   is  on  the  cross-road  running  easterly 


550  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

from  near  Chas.   Strout's,  and  is  now  owned  by  Mr.  Barker.     Mr. 

Hanscom  moved  on  to  this  farm  sliortly  after  purchasing  it.     His 

wife  was   Esther,  daughter  of   Dea.  Joshua   and  Hannah  Libby,  of 

Scarboro,  whom  he  married  Sept.  20,  1781.    They  had  four  children  : 

Joshua,  b.  1782,  m.  Abigail  Libby. 

Keturah,  b.  1784,  m.  William  Libby,  May  iS,  1806. 

Hannah,  b.  1787,  m.  John  Bradbury. 

John,  b. ,  m.  Fanny  Riggs,  Oct.,  1813,  and  2d,  Eunice  Sloane. 

Humphrey  Hanscom  died  Sept.  19,  1836,  aged  82,  and  his  wife 
Esther,  July  3,  1830,  aged  72. 

(2)  John  Hanscom,  son  of  Humphrey,  married  Fanny,  daughter  of 

William  and  Polly  (Parker)  Riggs,  by  whom  he  had  : 

William,  m.  Eunice  Hanson;  2d,  Mrs.  Charlotte  Flynn  ;  d.  Sept.  6,  igoo. 
Humphrey,  d.  young;  and  another  Humphrey  who  also  d.  young. 

Mrs.    Fanny  Hanscom   died   Nov.    22,    1823,    aged   40,    and    Mr. 

Hanscom  married  Mrs.  Eunice  Sloane  o.f  Westbrook,  by  whom  he 

had  four  children,  all  born  in  Westbrook.     He  was  a  soldier  in  the 

War  of  18 12,  serving  as  a  private  in  Capt.  Toppan  Robie's  company. 

He  drew  a  pension  from  Government  for  his  services  at  Portland  in 

18 1 4.     After  living  for  a  time  in  Westbrook,  he  returned  to  Gorham 

and  lived  on   the  old  Hamblen  place  on   South  St.,  where  his  son 

William  afterwards  resided.     He  died  there  Nov.  27,  1880,  aged  89. 

His  wife  Eunice  died  June  27,  i860,  aged  69. 

Nathan  Hanscom's  name  appears  on  the  Gorham  tax  bills  as  early 

as  1773-     He  married,  Nov.  14,  1776,  Abigail  Moody  of  Scarborough. 

Children  : 

Molly,  b.  Feb.  27,  1778. 
Edward,  b.  Sept.  27,  1779. 

HARDING. 

John  Harding,  who  settled  on  the  thirty  acre  lot,  46,  lately  owned 
by  Mr.  E.  P.  Weston,  on  the  Flaggy  Meadow  road,  and  Seth  who 
settled  on  the  hundred  acre  lot,  12,  on  South  St.,  lately  owned  by  Mr. 
Phillips,  were  brothers.  They  came  to  Gorham  from  Eastham,  Mass., 
about  the  year  1750. 

John  Harding  was  a  man  of  busines  capacity.  After  coming  to 
Gorham  he  was  for  several  years  Collector  of  the  Province  taxes, 
assessed  before  the  incorporation  of  the  town ;  and  quite  a  land 
owner.  In  the  year  1757  he  was  a  private  in  Capt.  Woodman's  com- 
pany of  Provincials  in  the  Northern  Army,  in  the  French  war.     In 


GENEALOGY.  551 

the  drawing  of  the  seventy  acre  lots,  Mr.   Harding  drew  No.  gi,  on 

which  Great  Falls  is  located.     This  lot  he  sold  to  his  son  Zephaniah. 

In  1767  Mr.  Harding  and  his  son   John  were  the  possessors  of  the 

thirty  acre  lot  24,  known  till  the  present  day  as  "  Harding's  woods." 

June   26,    1735,   Mr.    Harding   married   Thankful   Rich  of   Eastham. 

She  died  there,  and  he  married,  Mar.  24,  1757,  Margaret  Cole  of  the 

same  place,  who  came  to  Gorham  with  him.     Children  of  John  and 

Thankful  Harding: 

Zephaniah,  b.  1737,  m.  Mary  Davis,  Nov.,  1759;   2d,  Lucy  Harding. 

Nicholas,  b.  1739,  d.  in  the  army  at  Lake  George,  about  1759. 

Anna,  b.  1747,  m.  Timothy  Hamblen,  Sept.  14,  1769. 

John,  b.  174S,  m.  Abigail  Harding,  p.  Sept.  13,  1777. 

Mary,  b.  1750,  m.  John  Butterfield,  Nov.  25,  1773;  d.  Sept.  3,  1830. 

Thankful,  b.  1752,  m.  William  Murch,  Jan.  20,  1774. 

There  is  no  record  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Harding,  or  of  his  wives, 
but  from  examination  of  the  tax  bills  and  other  documents,  it  is  prob- 
able that  he  died  in  1792,  aged  about  90. 

(2)  Zephaniah  Harding,  son  of  John,  was  probably  a  native  of 
Eastham,  Mass.  He  married  his  first  wife  in  Gorham  in  1759.  It  is 
not  now  known  at  what  time  he  came  into  town,  but  from  certain  cir- 
cumstances it  is  probable  that  it  was  at  the  same  time  with  his  father 
John.  Zephaniah  Harding  was  one  of  the  levies  from  the  town  of 
Gorham  in  the  Colonial  or  British  army  at  Fort  William  Henry  on 
Lake  George,  at  the  unfortunate  and  disastrous  surrender  of  that  fort 
to  the  French  in  the  year  1757.  He  and  William  Files  of  Gorham 
were  together  in  the  same  company,  and  were  marched  out  of  the 
fort  at  the  same  time  with  the  other  troops.  The  disgraceful  neglect 
of  the  French  commander,  Gen.  Montcalm,  to  furnish  the  guard  sol- 
emnly stipulated  for  in  the  capitulation,  and  the  awful  massacre  and 
butchery  committed  in  consequence  of  this  neglect  by  the  Indians, 
their  allies,  on  the  unarmed  prisoners,  are  matters  of  history  ;  but 
the  personal  and  providential  escape  of  our  townsmen  are  matters  in 
which  we  may  be  pardoned  for  having  an  extra  interest. 

In  the  general  assault  on  the  unarmed  and  comparatively  helpless 
prisoners  the  utmost  confusion  and  terror  took  possession  of  all. 
No  one  had  any  definite  idea  of  what  was  the  best  course  to  pursue. 
Some  stood  still  and  were  coolly  cut  down,  some  were  made  captives, 
as  the  whim  took  their  Indian  butchers;  some  made  a  rush  for  the 
woods  through  the  Indian  lines  ;  in  this  many  were  cut  down  or  cap- 
tured. Harding  and  Files  succeeded  in  breaking  through  their  foes, 
but  not  without  being  twice  in  the  power  of  the  enemy  as  prisoners ; 
by  powerful  efforts,  however,  they  shook  them  off,  and  in  the  confu- 


552  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

sion  finally  reached  the  woods.  The  Indians  pursued  them  and  they 
were  often  on  the  point  of  again  falling  into  their  hands,  but  being 
young  and  powerful  men  they  were  able  to  keep  ahead,  and  as  night 
came  on  they  secreted  themselves  in  a  large  hollow  tree  that  had 
fallen  to  the  ground.  This  they  had  hardly  accomplished  before  they 
heard  the  much  dreaded  footsteps  of  their  pursuers  in  full  chase. 
The  Indians  passed  directly  over  their  hiding  place,  and  on  farther 
into  the  woods.  Harding  and  Files  knew  that  the  most  prudent 
course  for  them  was  to  remain  still,  as  their  pursuers  not  finding 
them  would  early  return  and  beat  the  woods,  and  if  they  cqme  out 
their  capture  would  be  certain  ;  it  could  be  no  more  where  they  were. 
Their  predictions  and  calculations  proved  true,  for  soon  the  enemy, 
finding  they  had  lost  the  trail,  came  back  with  a  dreadful  howl  or 
whoop.  Harding  said  it  was  enough  to  freeze  any  man's  blood,  and 
turn  black  hair  gray,  and  he  said  that  although  Files  was  a  remark- 
ably dark-skinned  man,  he  was  quite  white  for  a  while.  When  the 
Indians  returned,  one  of  them  immediately  came  to  the  log,  and  after 
looking  about  him  for  a  minute  raised  his  voice  in  one  of  the  whoops 
which  only  an  Indian  can  make,  which  brought  all  his  companions 
around  him  —  some  six  or  eight  in  all  —  when  a  most  exciting  con- 
versation was  carried  on  by  them  in  their  own  language,  accompanied 
by  a  continual  stamping  on  and  running  around  and  over  the  log;  all 
this  time  the  prisoners  hardly  let  a  breath  escape  them  ;  their  suspense 
was  dreadful ;  they  thought  there  was  barely  the  thickness  of  rotten 
hemlock  bark  between  them  and  an  awful  death,  but  it  was  no  time  for 
exposure,  they  lay  still.  Soon  operations  were  commenced  by  their 
enemies.  Holes  were  cut  and  poles  run  in,  but  fortunately  the  pris- 
oners were  not  hit  by  them,  and  they  were  not  discovered.  Still  their 
enemies  could  not  give  it  up ;  they  had  been  through  the  woods  and 
had  not  found  them  —  if  they  were  not  in  the  log,  where  were  they? 
Another  consultation  was  held  ;  the  result  was  soon  known.  By  a 
process  known  to  the  natives,  fire  was  quickly  made,  wood  and  com- 
bustible materials  were  then  procured  and  smart  fires  made  at  the 
ends  of  the  log,  which  were  kept  up  till  well  into  the  night,  when  as 
no  victim  was  smoked  out,  the  Indians  became  convinced  that  they 
had  fairly  lost  their  game  and  slowly  left  for  the  neighborhood  of  the 
fort  to  join  their  friends  and  find  other  victims  on  whom  to  wreak 
their  vengeance. 

After  waiting  till  all  was  still,  and  becoming  sure  that  all  their  pur- 
suers had  left,  the  prisoners  crept  out  of  their  hiding  place,  not  in  the 
least  injured  by  the  smoke  as  none  of  it  had  found  its  way  into  the 


GENEALOGY.  553 

log,  and  the  holes  cut  by  their  enemies  had  afforded  sufficient  air  for 
perfect  respiration.  In  their  rapid  flight  they  hardly  knew  the  posi- 
tion of  their  hiding  place  ;  after  looking  about  they  found  themselves 
on  the  side  of  a  mountain  or  hill,  but  a  short  distance  from  the  fort ; 
the  plain,  fort,  and  Indian  camp  fires  were  plainly  in  sight :  this  view 
they  did  not  remain  long  to  enjoy.  They  were  more  dead  than  alive 
but  they  knew  that  much  was  still  before  them  before  life  and  liberty 
would  be  sure  things,  nor  were  they  certain  that  another  hunt  would 
not  be  made  for  them  in  the  morning.  After  a  hurried  consultation 
and  observation,  they  took  their  way  toward  home,  as  near  as  they 
could  judge,  with  all  the  speed  they  could  make  in  order  to  put  all 
the  distance  possible  between  themselves  and  their  enemies  before  the 
time  came  for  another  pursuit,  should  the  Indians  conclude  upon  one  ; 
nor  did  they  relax  as  long  as  their  strength  held  out.  They  had  not 
a  mouthful  of  anything  to  eat,  nor  any  arms  by  which  to  procure  pro- 
visions, and  their  clothing  was  nearly  torn  from  their  bodies  in  the 
many  encounters  they  had  had  with  the  enemy,  but  they  were  all 
the  lighter  to  travel.  They  made  their  way,  suffering  incredible 
hardships  and  privations,  through  the  woods  to  Boston  and  from 
thence  home,  living  on  berries,  bark  of  trees,  roots  and  even  browse. 
They  were  obliged  to  swim  rivers  and  make  long  marches  to  get 
around  ponds  and  lakes.  They  were  about  a  month  in  the  woods ; 
their  shoes  were  worn  from  their  feet,  and  they  had  scarcely  a  rag  to 
cover  their  nakedness  when  they  arrived  among  civilization,  emaciated 
skeletons  with  just  the  form  of  men.  Notwithstanding  all  this,  they 
lived  to  a  good  age,  much  respected  men,  and  both  Mr.  Harding  and 
Mr.  Files  died  at  their  homes  in  Gorham.  Mr.  Harding  during  all 
his  life  took  no  pains  to  make  any  one  believe  that  he  loved  an  Indian. 
He  did  not  disguise  the  thing  in  the  least,  that  he  had  in  him  a  mortal 
hatred  to  the  whole  race  :  he  was  a  good  husband,  kind  father,  oblig- 
ing neighbor,  but  wanting,  as  he  said,  "nothing  to  do  with  Indians." 
Zephaniah  Harding  lived  on  the  cross  road,  where  Charles  Whitney 
lately  lived.  He  was  married  in  Gorham  by  Rev.  Solomon  Lombard 
to  Mary,  daughter  of  Capt.  Simon  Davis  of  Barnstable,  Mass. 
Children  : 

Priscilla,  b.  Dec.  i6,  1760,  m.  John  Lombard,  Jr.,  Aug.  13,  1780. 

Thankful,  b.  Jan.  14,  1763,  d.  unm.  at  Gorham,  June  2,  1843. 

Nicholas,  b.  Feb.  28,  1765,  m.  Miriam  Bacon,  June  14,  1789;  2d,  Annah  Bacon. 

Barnabas,  b.  July  5,  1767,  m.  Apr.  19,  1798,  Mehitable,  dau.  of  Dr.  Clement  Jordan 
of  Portland,  andhis  second  wife,  Mrs.  Sally  (Gray)  Dunham.  Ch  :  Achsah 
H.,  b.  Feb.  6,  1799,  d.  in  181 1  ;  Jos.  Davis,  b.  Feb.  20,  iSoi,  d.  in  181 1  ; 
Sally  Gray,  b,  Jan.  24,  1803,  d.  at  Samuel  Ward's  in  1812  ;  Edward  P., 
b.  Feb,  6,  1807.  Mr.  Harding  moved  to  Portland,  where  he  d.  in  1809, 
and  his  wife  in  1807. 

John,  b.  Dec.  16,  1769. 


554  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Mrs.  Mary  Harding  died  Oct.  27,  1770,  aged  30  and  Mr.  Harding 

married,    January,    1773,    Lucy    Harding,    sister    of    Capt.    Samuel 

Harding  of  Buxton.      Children  : 

Mary,  b. ,  d.  young. 

Lucy,  b.  Oct.  5,  1774,  m.  Elias  Fogg  of  Buxton,  Sept.  29,  1799. 

Content,  b.  Apr.  24,  1776,  m.  Daniel  Meserve  of  Scarboro,  Dec.  11,  1796. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Feb.  4,  1778,  d.  in  Gorham,  unm. 

Zephaniah,  b.  Feb.  17,  1780. 

Samuel,  b.  Dec.  16,  1783,  left  home  and  was  never  heard  from. 

Joseph,  b.  Dec.  18,  1785,  m.  Louisa  Bryant,  Nov.  8,  1821. 

Zephaniah  Harding  died  Feb.   13,  1807,  and  his  wife  Lucy,  July 
15,  1828,  aged  83. 

(2)  John  Harding,  son  of  John,  lived  on  the  Flaggy  Meadow  road, 

on   the   place   now   owned  by  Samuel  Dolley.     The  hill  where  the 

Water  Company's  standjDipe  is  located  was  on    his  farm,  and  is  still 

called  Harding's  Hill.     Mr.  Harding  was  a  man  having  considerable 

ability  for  business,  and  died  worth  quite  a  property.     He  was  very 

religious    and    eccentric,  and    desired    solitude.     For    several  years 

previous   to   his   death   he   would  not  remain  with  his  family  unless 

compelled  by  force  of  circumstances.     His  farm  extended  back  from 

the  road  nearly  a  mile.     On  the  back  end,  about  a  mile  from  any 

inhabitant  of  the  town,  whatever,  he  cleared  a  field  and  built  a  camp, 

cultivating  a  small  piece  of  land,  and  holding  no  communication  with 

any    one.     He    married    his    cousin    Abigail,  daughter  of  Seth  and 

Elizabeth  Harding.     Children: 

Nicholas,  b.  Jan.  3,  1779,  d.  unm.  Apr.  14,  1829. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Mar.  30,  1781,  d.  unm.  Mar.  22,  1864. 

John,b.  Feb.  15,  1783,(1.  unm.  Jan.  6,  1855. 

Abigail,  b.  Mar.  8,  1785,  d.  unm.  May  i,  1842. 

Seth,  b.  July  23,  1787,  d.  unm.  Nov.  2,  1831. 

Anna,  b.  Dec.  10,  1789,  d.  unm.  July  26,  1865. 

William,  b.  Nov.  28,  1792,  d.  June  28,  1796. 

Salome,  b.  Dec.  28,  1794,  d.  Aug.,  1796. 

Joseph,  b.  June   17,   1797,  m.  Lydia  Varney  of  Windham,  1843;  "o  '^'^- !  ^^  ^^ 

Feb.  8,  1878;  shed.  June  8,  1899,  aged  92. 
Hannah,  b.  June  22,  1800,  d.  unm.  Dec.  27,  1838. 

John    Harding    died   Jan.  20,  1818,  and  his  wife  Abigail,  Oct.   2, 

1829,  aged  73  years. 

(3)  Nicholas,  son  of  Zephaniah  Harding,  was  a  farmer.     He  lived 

on   the   farm   now   owned   and    occupied  by  his  grandson,  Frank  C. 

Harding.     He    married    Miriam,  daughter    of   Joseph    and    Miriam 

Bacon.      Children  : 

Alexander,  b.  Jan.  12,  1790,  m.  Mrs.  Roxanna  Smith,  May  22,  1831. 
Edward,  b.  Jan.  28,  1792,  d.  young. 

Polly,  b.  Aug.  31,  1794,  m.  Joseph  Rice  of  Buxton,  Nov.  20,  1S17;  d.  in  S.Paris, 
Dec.  4,  1868. 


GENEALOGY.  555 

Peggy,  b.  Dec.  17,  1797,  m.  Horton  Adams  of  Buxton,  Feb.  22,  1826. 

Robert,  b.  Apr.  11,  1800,  d.  unm. 

William  B.,  b.  July  23,  1802,  m.  Mary  Ann  Edwards,  Dec.  21,  1826. 

Charles,  b.  Jan.  15,  1S05,  m.  Eliza  A.  Bailey,  June,  1833. 

Lucy,  b.  July  15,  1808,  m.  Holmes  Thomas,  May  11,  1828. 

Colman,  b.  Dec.  17,  181 1,  m.  Mrs.  Angelina  Chadwell,  1842. 

Mrs.  Miriam  Harding  died  July  27,  1818,  aged  53  years,  and  Mr. 
Harding  married,  July  22,  1819,  her  sister  Annah.  He  died  Mar.  16, 
1837,  and  his  wife  Annah,  Feb.  14,  186 1,  aged  93  years. 

Mrs.  Miriam  Harding  recollected  distinctly  the  night,  Dec.  26, 
1778,  when  the  American  privateer.  General  Arnold,  commanded  by 
Capt.  James  McGee,  went  on  shore  in  Plymouth  harbor,  and  all,  or 
nearly  all,  perished  with  the  cold.  ,  She  was  at  a  party,  or  as  they 
were  in  those  days  called,  company,  on  the  floor  dancing  with  the 
others  of  the  young  people,  when  they  heard  the  alarm  guns.  All 
the  men  rushed  to  the  shore,  but  on  account  of  the  storm  and  cold, 
no  succor  could  be  gotten  to  the  poor  fellows,  till,  in  the  morning, 
the  storm  abating,  boats  got  ofif  to  the  vessel  and  found  all,  or  nearly 
all,  frozen  to  death.  She  recollected  seeing  the  dead  bodies  brought 
on  shore  the  next  day,  and  laid  in  rows  along  the  beach.  She  said 
that  it  was  a  horrible  sight  to  see  the  dead  bodies  of  the  strong  men, 
lying  as  they  died,  frozen  hard  as  stones;  some  with  distorted  coun- 
tenances ;  some  placid,  as  if  they  died  perfectly  at  peace  ;  some 
straight  and  comely ;  others  bent  into  all  manner  of  forms  ;  many 
locked  in  each  others'  arms  and  thus  frozen.  Those  who  drank 
spirits  froze.  Some  put  the  rum  in  their  boots  and  shoes.  There 
were  over  one  hundred  men  ;  few  of  them  were  saved,  and  these  by 
the  loss  of  limbs  were  maimed  for  life. 

(3)  Joseph    Harding,  son    of   Zephaniah,  married  Louisa  Bryant. 

They  lived  on  the  hundred  acre  lot  No.  62,  which  John  Harding,  Sr. 

bought   of  Joseph  Weston   in   1754.     This   was  the  same  place  on 

which  his  father  Zephaniah  lived  before  him.     Children  : 

Rebecca,  b.  Aug.  22,  1822,  m.  Samuel  Cressey,  June,  1S47. 

Lucy,b.  Mar.  30,  1824,  d.  young. 

Eunice,  b.  Aug.  i,  1826,  m.  Charles  Whitney,  Jan.  21,  1844. 

Lucy,  b.  June  26,  1827,  m.  William  Prince  of  Yarmouth. 

Mary,  b.  Mar.  15,  1829,  m.  Albion   Paine  of  Mass. ;  d.  in  Gorham,  Jan.  3,  1899. 

Infant,  b.  Feb.,  1831,  d.  young. 

Samuel  F.,  b.  June  9,  1833,  went  West,  and  is  probably  dead. 

Josiah,  b.  vSept.  25,  1835,  d.  May  6,  1842. 

Edward,  b.  Dec.  24,  1837,  d.  May  6,  1842. 

Frederic,  b.  Mar.  13,  1S40,  d.  May  6,  1S42. 

Josiah,  b.  June  6,  1843,  ''s  on  the  old  place. 

Joseph  Harding  died  Feb.  8,  1845,  aged  59,  and  his  wife  Louisa 
June  4,  1875,  aged  71. 


556  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

(4)  Alexander  Harding,  son  of  Nicholas,  married  Mrs.  Roxanna 

(Adams)  Smith,  daughter  of  William   Adams,  and  widow  of  Elliot 

Smith.     Children : 

Robert  B.,  b.  June   12,  1833,  m.  Nancy    Lewis,  Feb.  24,  1852.     She  d.  Nov.  9, 

1868,  ag.  31.     Son  Alexander  who  m.  Emma  Bean  of  Buxton. 
Trueman  W.,  b.  July  16,  1835,  d.  young. 
Angelina  T.,  b.  Apr.  i.  1839,  ni.  John  Wallace. 

Frances  E.,  b.  Jan.  2,  1844,  m.  Joseph  Baker  of  Portland,  Aug.  30,  1859. 
Eliza  E.,  b.  Mar.  17,  1847,  d.  prob.  Aug.  27,  1853. 

Alexander    Harding    died    Oct.    8,    1862,   aged    72,  and   his  wife 

Roxanna,  Jan.  19,  1873,  aged  69. 

( 4)  William  B.  Harding,  son  of  "Nicholas,  was  a  much  respected 
citizen  of  Gorham.  He  was  a  contractor  and  builder.  He  served  nine 
years  as  town  clerk.  In  the  militia  he  held  the  rank  of  Colonel.  Col. 
Harding  married  Mary  Ann,  daughter  of  Samuel  Edwards.     Children  : 

Martha  E.,  b.  Jan.  21,  1828,  m.  William  W.  Lowe  of  Buckfield  (2d  wife). 

Mary  C,  b.  May  *23,  1832,  m.  William  W.  Lowe,  Feb.  9,  1S57;  d.  Mar.,  1858. 

Roscoe  G.,  b.  July  10,  1834,  m.  Mar.  4,  1857,  Mary  Elizabeth  Higgins  of  Thorn - 
dike,  dau.  of  Wm.  F.,  and  g.  dau.  of  Rev.  Jos.  Higgins.  Ch:  Fred  W.. 
m.  Emma  Pike  of  Cornish;  Mary  C.  ;  Harry  L.  Mr.  Harding  was  in 
trade  at  Gorham  village  from  1854  to  1898;  previous  to  this  he  was 
station  agent  here  on  the  York  and  Cumberland  railroad.  For  over 
thirty  years  he  has  been  a  trustee  of  Gorham  Savings  Bank,  and  for  some 
thirty  years  a  trustee  of  Gorham  Academy  and  Seminary ;  he  has  been  a 
member  of  the  board  of  selectmen,  represented  the  town  in  the  Legis- 
lature, was  elected  treasurer  of  Cumberland  County  for  two  years,  and 
was  appointed  County  Commissioner  by  Governor  Plaisted  in  1881. 

Col.  William  B.  Harding  died  Sept.  21,  1859,  at  his  house,  now 
occupied  by  his  son.     His  wife  died  Dec.  i,  1881. 

(4)  Charles  Harding,  son  of  Nicholas,  was  a  mason  by  trade.  He 
married  Eliza  Ann,  daughter  of  Levi  and  Mary  Bailey.     Children  : 

Emeline  M.,  b.  Dec.  25,  1833,  m.  Edwin  F.  Elder. 

Miriam  R.,  b.  June  28,  1836,  m.  John  C.  Summersides,  Sept.  2,  1855. 

Charles  G.,  b.  June  23,  1838,  d.  Feb.  i,  1854. 

Edward,  b.  Jan.  10,  1841,  m.  Iza  A.  Carlton,  of  Pelham,  N.  H.,  w^ho  d.  Jan.  15, 
1872  ;  m.  2d,  Mrs.  Sarah  Putnam  of  Salem,  Mass.  Mr.  Harding  has 
been  prominent  in  political  life ;  has  been  State  Senator ;  is  present 
postmaster;  and  has  for  two  years  represented  the  town  in  the  Legisla- 
ture. 

Caroline,  b.  Nov.  10,  1S43,  m.  Levi  Llall. 

George  B.,  b.  Jan.  22,  1846,  m.  Ella  F.  Lowe;  I'd  in  Chelsea,  Mass. ;  d.  Nov.  9, 
1S95. 

Walter,  b.  Jan.  28,  1849,  m.  Etta  Packard. 

May,  b.  May,  1853,  d.  young. 

Capt.  Charles  Harding  died  May  25,  1886,  and  his  wife,  Septem- 
ber, 1894. 

(4)  Colman  Harding,  son  of  Nicholas,  lived  on  the  farm  which 
had  belonged  to  his  father,  and  where  his  son  Frank  now  lives.     Mr. 


ROSCOE   G.    HARDING. 


MRS.  ANGELINA    (TUKRSBURY)    HARDING 


GENEALOGY.  557 

Harding  was  a  thorough  military  man,  and  a  prominent  man  in  the 
miUtia,  in  which  he  rose  to  the  rank  of  Colonel.  When  the  Civil  War 
broke  out.  Capt.  Colman  Harding,  in  September,  1861,  left  Gorham 
for  Augusta,  in  command  of  his  company,  K,  of  the  Ninth  Regiment. 
On  the  organization  of  the  regiment,  Capt.  Harding  was  elected 
Lieut.  Colonel.  He  took  part  in  the  capture  and  occupation  of 
Hilton  Head,  S.  C,  which  took  place  during  the  following  Novem- 
ber. Colman  Harding  married  Mrs.  Angelina  (Tukesbury)  Chad- 
well,  whose  picture  is  given  on  the  opposite  page.  There  is  no 
portrait  of  Col.  Harding  in  existence.  His  children  were:  Margaret 
Eleanor;  and  Francis  Colman,  who  married  Annie  Chambers.  Col. 
Colman  Harding  died  July  15,  1885,  and  Mrs.  Harding,  Aug.  6,  1900. 

Seth  Harding,  brother  of  John,  the  first,  as  has  been  said,  came 
from  Eastham.  Mass.,  and  settled  on  South  St.  He  also  lived  for 
a  short  time  on  a  part  of  the  hundred  acre  lot  No.  2.  He  was  a 
private  in  Capt.  McLellan's  company  in  the  Penobscot  expedition. 
He  married  Elizabeth  Wilkit.     Children  : 

Elizabeth,   b.    about    1751,  m.    Josiah    Whitney,    Sept.    16,    1775;  joined   the 

Shakers;  d.  in  Alfred,  Apr.  26,  1841. 
Samuel,  b.  July  15,  1754,  m.  prob.  Susanna  Freeman,  p.  May  2,  1781  ;  joined 

the  Shakers.     She  d.  Sept.  24,  1836,  ag.  81. 
Abigail,  b.  July  14,  1756,  m.  John  Harding,  p.  Sept.  13,  1777. 
Martha,  b.  July  14,  1759,  m.  Jeremiah  Towle,  Jan.  20,  1791. 
Seth,  b.  Feb.  3,  1763,  d.  in  Gorham,  unm.,  Jan.  4,  1839. 

The  name  of  Joshua  Harding  appears  as  witness  to  a  deed  in 
Gorham,  April  10,  1754.     His  wife  signs  her  name  "  Lesabeth." 

Joshua  Harding  married  Hannah  Freeman,  Jan.  2,  1766,  in  East- 
ham,  Mass.     He  married  another  wife.  Thankful .     He  had 

two  children  born  in  Gorham  : 

Joseph,  b.  Feb.  4,  1776. 
Joshua,  b.  Aug.  5,  1778. 

There  is  no  further  mention  of  this  family  on  record.  They  are 
said  to  have  joined  the  Shakers. 

Capt.  Samuel  Harding  and  his  brother  Simon  came  from  Eastham, 

Mass.     Samuel  settled  on  the  farm,  recently  owned  by  Rev.  James 

Lewis,  at  West  Gorham.      He  married  Martha  Ann  Brown,  who  was 

the  sister  of  Sylvan  us  and  Samuel   Brown,  and  came  from   Eastham, 

Mass.     Children  : 

Hannah,  b.  .Sept.  28,  1775,  m.  James  Lewis,  Sept.  24,  1793. 
Rebecca,  b.  July  5,  1777,  d.  young. 

Capt.  Samuel  Harding  died  at  sea  June  17,  1789.  Mrs.  Harding 
died  at  the  house  of  her  son-in-law  at  West  Gorham,  Jan.  21,  1826. 


558  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Simon  Harding,  brother  of  Samuel,  settled  in  Gorham  but  after- 
wards moved  to  Baldwin.  He  married,  January,  1775,  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  John  and  Deborah  Cressey.  One  child,  on  Gorham 
records  :  Noah,  b.  Nov.  27,  1777.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Harding  died 
Feb.  17,  1823,  aged  66. 

Jesse  Harding  and  his  wife  Jerusha came  from  Wellfleet, 

Mass  ,  where  he  had  been  engaged  in  whaling.      He  bought  land  in 

Gorham  in  1769.    April  23,  1773,  he  purchased  of  Jonathan  Freeman 

and  his  son  Jonathan,  Jr.,  the  western   half  of  the  hundred  acre  lot 

8  ;  at  which  time   Harding  was  of  Gorham,  and  still  a  sailor.     Mrs. 

Jerusha   Harding   died   May   27,    1774,  aged  37,   and    Mr.  Harding 

married,    Mar.    27,    1777,   Elizabeth,   daughter  of    Austin   Alden   of 

Gorham.     Children  : 

Elizabeth,  b.  Jan.  17,  1778,  m.  John   Pumroy  ;  had  several  children  b.  in  Gor- 
ham ;  moved  to  Hampden. 
Jesse,  b.  Sept.  21,  1779,  d.  in  Gorham,  Dec,  1781. 
Samuel,  b.  July  14,  1781. 
Austin,  b.  May  i,  1784,  in  Hampden. 
Eunice,  b.  Oct.  3,  178S,  in  Hampden. 
Salome,  b.  June  26,  1790,  in  Elampden. 
Josiah,  b   Jan.  21,  1794,  in  Hampden. 

This  family  moved  from  Gorham  to  Hampden  between  December, 
1 78 1,  and  May,  1784.  Mrs.  Harding  died  at  Hampden,  May  4, 
1824,  aged  64. 

Samuel  Harding  came  to  Gorham  from  Eastham,  Mass.,  and 
learned  the  trade  of  a  blacksmith  of  Richard  Paine  who  had  married 
his  sister  Thankful.  After  going  to  sea  for  thirty  years  he  bought  a 
farm  in  Buxton,  about  two  and  a  half  miles  from  Gorham  village. 
He  married,  Aug.  5,  1790,  Eunice,  daughter  of  Simon  Huston.  Their 
children,  all  born  in  Buxton,  were  Simon,  Samuel,  Eunice  and  Mary. 
Simon,  the  eldest  child,  married  Eliza,  daughter  of  William  and  Han- 
nah Paine  of  Gorham,  and  was  the  father  of  our  late  townsman, 
Samuel  J-Jarding.  Simon  Harding  was  drowned  at  Stroudwater,  Oct. 
8,  1825,  and  his  widow  married  Stephen  A.  Patrick  of  Buxton. 
Simon  Harding  left  two  children  : 

William,  b.  July  8,  1822,  d.  in  the  Army,  at  Washington. 

Samuel,  b.  Apr.  15,  1824,  m.  Joanna  Brown,  1846;  had  two  children  both  -now 

living  in   Gorham,  Edwin    S.,   m.   Mary   A.    Lombard,  and  Charles   B. 

Samuel  Harding  d.  July  20,  1899. 

David  Harding,  son  of  Abiah  and  Rebecca  Harding,  was  born  in 
Eastham,  Mass.,  in  1732.  He  was  a  descendant  of  Joseph  Harding 
who  came  to  Massachusetts  from  England  in  1623.  His  grand- 
mother was  a  descendant  of  Francis  Cook  who  came  over   in   the 


GENEALOGY.  559 

Mayflower.     David   Harding  settled  first  in   Wellfleet,  Mass.,  where 

all  his  children  were  born.     "He  sold  his  property  there  for  S6,ooo 

Continental  money,  and  settled  in  Gorham  in    1780.      He  paid   S400 

for  a  cow,  S70  for  seven  yards  of  calico  for  a  wedding  dress  for  his 

daughter  Jane,  $30  for  leather  to  tap  his  boots,  and  $5  a  pound  for 

coffee  ;   but  could  buy  no  land  for  Continental   money."     His  home 

in  Gorham  was  near  Gambo,  on  the  farm  where  Clarence  Ward   now 

lives.      He  married  Sarah  Brown.      Children  : 

Elizabeth,  b.  about  1756,  m.  Ephraim  Smith,  about  1776. 
Jane,  b.  about  1757,  m.  William  McLellan,  Aug.  27,  1782. 
Elkanah,  b.  July  7,  1759,  m.  Martha  Knight,  Feb.  5,  1789;   2d,  Mrs.  Hannah 

Brown. 
David,  b.  Mar.  14,  1762,  m.  Temperance  Davis,  Aug.  19,  1781  ;  2d,  Mrs.  Rebecca 

Knight. 

David  Harding  was  a  soldier  in  the  I^evolution,  and  a  pensioner 
from  18 iS  till  he  died.  Mar.  2,  1828,  aged  96.  Mrs.  Sarah  Harding 
died  June  4,  1804. 

(2)   Elkanah   Harding,  son  of   David,  married  Martha,  daughter  of 

William  Knight,  Jr.,  of  Windham.      He  lived  on  his  father's  place  at 

Gambo.      Children  : 

William,  b.  Jan.  30,  1  790,  m.  Agnes  Moulton  of  Standish. 

James,  b.  July  25,  1792,  m.  Martha  McLellan,  Jan.  21,  1S19;  2d,  Dorcas  Libby, 

Oct.  13,  1857;  I'd  in  Standish. 
Mary,  b.  Nov.  21,  1794,  m.  Owen  Harris,  June  10,  1S21. 
Hannah,  b.  Mar.  23,  1798,  m.  Benjamin  Moulton  of  Standish,  Sept.  6,  1S18. 

Mrs.  Martha  Harding  died  May  30,  1801,  aged  t,^.  Mr.  Harding 
married,  Mar.  12,  1802,  Mrs.  Hannah  (Elder)  Brown,  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Hannah  Elder,  and  widow  of  Joseph  Brown.  By  her  he 
had  : 

Samuel,  b.  June  5,  1803,  d.  May  26,  1822. 

Joseph  B.,  b.  May  14,  1805,  m.  Mary  Ann  Melcher  of  Brunswick,  Oct.  27,  1832. 

Freeman,  b.  Aug.  i,  1807,  m.  Frances  Huston,  p.  Apr.  ii,  1832;  2d,  Mrs.  Jane 

Mosher. 
Martha  K.,  b.  Oct.  7,  1S09,  m.  Samuel  Freeman  ;  d.  Mar.  15,  1874. 
George  K ,  b.  Aug.  9,   181 1,  m.  Lavina  Boody  ;  I'd  in  Windham;  d.  Oct.  22, 

1842. 
Sarah  A.,  b.  Oct.  25,  1813,  m.  William  T.  Morris  of  Limerick,  Nov.  27,  1834. 
Eunice  ^L,  b.  May  4,  1816,  m.  Winslow  Hall ;   I'd  in  Portland  and  Waterville. 
Charles  W.,  b.  Sept.  10,  1818,  m.  Mrs.  Jane  (Hanson)   Woodford;  d.  Mar.  22, 

1856,  and  she,  Oct.  25,  1886. 

Elkanah  Harding  died  Aug.  27,  1850,  aged  91.  Hannah,  his  wife, 
died  July  19,  1828,  aged  51. 

(2)  David  Harding,  Jr..  son  of  David,  was  born  in  Wellfleet,  Mass. 
He  was  a  sailor  in  his  younger  days,  and  became  master  of  a  ship.  In 
January,  1800,  while  in  command  of  the  ship  "  Portland  "  of  Portland, 
bound  on  a  voyage  from  Berbice,  S.  A.,  to  Portland,  he  was  captured 


560  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

by  a  French  privateer  after  a  chase  of  eighteen  hours.  The  ship, 
however,  was  retaken  a  few  clays  later  by  the  U.  S.  Brig  "Pickering" 
and  enabled  to  continue  her  voyage.  After  leaving  the  sea,  he 
settled  in  Gorham  village,  and  lived  in  the  house  on  Main  St.,  which 
was  purchased  and  altered  a  few  years  ago  by  the  late  Gardner  D. 
Weeks.  Capt.  Harding  was  a  trader,  and  his  store  stood  on  the 
north  side  of  Main  St.,  just  west  of  the  house  now  owned  by  Llewellyn 
Brown.  This  store  was  moved  to  South  St.,  and  made  into  the 
dwelling  house  lately  occupied  by  Mrs.  Eunice  M.  Perry.  Capt. 
Harding  was  a  man  of  much  prominence  in  town.  He  was  one  of 
the  trustees  of  Gorham  Academy,  also  of  the  Ministerial  Fund,  and 
was  for  many  years  treasurer  of  both  Boards.  He  was  eleven  years 
a  Representative  from  this  town  to  the  General  Court  of  Massa- 
chusetts, two  years  to  the  Maine  Legislature,  and  was  for  four  years 
one  of  the  town's  board  of  selectmen.  He  married  Temperance, 
daughter  of  Prince  and  Sarah  Davis.     Children  : 

Thomas,  b.  Aug.  25,  1784,  m.  Mary  Ann  McLellan,  Jan.   18,   1810;   2d,  Jane 

McLellan. 
Betsey,  b.  Nov.  14,  1786,  m.  William  H.  Foster,  May  20,  1804. 
Temperance,  b.  Dec.  8,  1789,  m.  Capt.  John  Fenno  of  Boston,  June  14,  1S13. 
Robert,  b.  Sept.  16,    1791,  m.  Sally  Ryan,  May  i,  1814. 
Stephen  D.,  b.  Oct.  25,  1793,  "^-  Sally  Phinney,  Dec.  26,  1816. 
David,  b.  Mar.  19,  1796,  m.  Jane  Blake  of  Portland,  p.  Sept.  4,  1824. 
Charles,  b.  June  26,  1798,  m.  Martha  W.  Ryan,  Oct.  11,  1827. 
Emtline,  b.  Mar.  27,  1801,  m.  Eben  Libby  of  Portland,  Nov.  3,  1825. 

Mrs.  Temperance  Harding  died  Aug.  29,  1810,  aged  50,  and  Capt. 
Harding  married,  March  10,  181 1,  Mrs.  Rebecca  (Davis)  Knight, 
sister  to  his  first  wife,  and  widow  of  George  Knight.  Capt.  Harding 
died  suddenly,  of  apoplexy,  at  his  wood  lot  on  Little  river,  Jan.  10, 
183 1.     Mrs.  Rebecca  Harding  died  June  18,  1836,  aged  70. 

(3)  William  Harding,  son  of  Elkanah,  mai-ried  Agnes  Moulton  of 

Standish,  in  which  town  he  settled,  and  where  his  children  were  born. 

Children  : 

Mary  Ann,  b.  Jan.  23,  1819,  d.  m  Gorham,  Apr.  9,  1847. 

Horace  M.,  b.  Oct.  13,  1820,  d.  m  Gorham  Jan.  12,  1848. 

Samuel,  b.  Sept.  i,  1822,  d.  in  Gorham,  Jan.  21,  1846. 

Thomas,  b.  Sept.  26,  1824,  m.  Julia  Smith. 

Lydia  S.,  b.  Feb.  15,  1827,  m.  Orin  K.  Phinney. 

Hannah  M.,  b.  June  5,  1830,  m.  Jos.  H.  Fogg,  Sept.  11,  1S51;  d.  in  Standish, 

Oct.,  1896. 
Agnes  M.,  b.  June  4,  1832,  d.  in  Standish,  Jan.  18,  1834. 
Charles  B.,  b.  Dec.  31,  1835,  m.  Lucy  A.  Bacon. 
Jane  F,  b.  July  17,  1840, m.  Wesley  Spear;  d.  in  Standish,  Sept.  16,  1872. 

William  Harding  about  1842  returned  to  Gorham,  where  he  lived 

on   his  father's  place.      He  died   April  13,    1844,   aged   54,   and  his 

widow  in  1846  married  Joseph  McDonald.     She  died  Sept.  25,  1870, 

aged  72. 


CAPT.  DAVID  HARDING,  JR. 


MRS.  TEMPERANCE    (DAVIS)    HARDING 


GENEALOGY.  561 

(3)  Freeman  Harding,  son  of  Elkanah,  traded  for  a  time  at  Little 
Falls.  He  owned  the  house  and  farm  near  the  graveyard,  where 
Wm.  H.  McLellan  now  lives.  He  was  selectman  in  1852  and  1855, 
and  was  at  one  time  tax  collector.  His  first  wife  was  Frances  Huston. 
She  died  Aug.  3,  1852,  aged  52.  Aug.  29,  1853,  he  married  Mrs. 
Jane  (Morton)  Mosher,  widow  of  Hugh  \V.  Mosher.  Both  Mr. 
Harding  and  his  wife  Jane  died  in  Mass. 

(3)  Thomas,  son  of  Capt.  David  Harding,  Jr.,  lived  next  to  his 
father's  house,  in  the  house  which  he  built  where  Elden  Gamman 
has  lately  lived.  He  married  Mary  Ann,  daughter  of  Thomas  and 
Jane  McLellan.     Children  : 

Thomas  P.,  b.  Feb.  22,  1811,  m.  Alice  Frink,  p.  Aug.  13,  1836. 
William  M.,  b.  Dec.  8,  1812,  m.  Esther  R.  Hamblen,  July  i,  1S44. 
Albert  S.,  b.  Oct.  4,  1814,  m.  Martina  Lowe;  d.  in  Earlville,  III.,  1857. 
Mary  Ann,  b.  Mar.  28,  181 7,  m.  Charles  R.  Morris,  Jan.  27,  1840. 

Mrs.  Mary  A.  Harding  died  Jan.  6,  18 18,  and  Mr.  Harding  mar- 
ried, Aug.  30,  18 1 8,  her  sister,  Jane  McLellan.     Children  : 

Jane,  b.  July  3,  18 19,  m.  Clark  Chick  of  Cornish. 
Sewall,  b.  June  10,  1822,  d.  young. 

Thomas  Harding  died  July  6,  1822,  and  his  wife  Jane,  Sept.  5, 
1822,  aged  ;^;^. 

(3)   Robert   Harding,  son  of  Capt.  David,  Jr.,  lived  in  the  house 

now  owned   by  Llewellyn  Brown.     He   married   Sally,   daughter  of 

John  B.  and  Hannah  Ryan.      Children  : 

Charles,  b.  July  24,  1814,  I'd  in  the  West;  d.  about  1883. 
Mary,  b.  May  4,  i8i8,  m.  Amos  Tukesbury. 
Helen  L.,  b.  July  24,  1820,  d.  unm. 
Thomas,  b.  Aug.  23,  1822,  d.  Jan.  17,  1S40. 

Capt.  Robert  Harding  was  a  sea  captain,  and  was  lost  in  the  Baltic 
in  1824.  His  widow  married  Nathan  Harris  of  Westbrook,  and 
lived  at  Cumberland  Mills. 

(3)  Stephen   D.   Harding,  son  of  Capt.  David,  Jr.,  married  Sally, 

daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  Mary  Phinney.      Children  : 

Nathaniel,  b.  Dec.  16,  1817. 

David,  b.  May  18,  1820,  m.  Charlotte  Crockett. 

Mary  Ann,  b.  Sept.  20,  1822,  d.  Nov.  3,  1826. 

Sarah  Jane,  b.  Sept.  10,  1S24,  d.  Nov.  23,  1826. 

William  F.,  b.  May  10,  1827. 

Mary  Jane,  b.  Oct.  18,  1828. 

(3)  David  Harding,  3d,  son  of  Capt.  David,  Jr.,  was  a  trader  for 
some  time  in  Gorham.  He  moved  to  Portland  in  1826,  but  returned 
later.      His  store  here  was  in  the  "row,"  next  to  Capt.  Hatch's,  and 


562  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM, 

was  destroyed  in  the  fire  of  1846.     He  married  Jane  Blake  of  Port- 
land.    Children  : 

Robert  Augustus,  b.  July  28,  1825. 
Frederic,  b.  Jan.  20,  18 — . 

David  Harding,  3d,  died  in  Gorham,  Feb.  5,  1834,  aged  32. 

(4)  William  McLellan  Harding,  son  of  Thomas,  married  Esther  R., 
daughter  of  Joseph  and  Mary  Hamblen,  and  lived  at  Gorham  village. 
Children  : 

Arthur  H.,  b.  Sept.  13,  1845,  m.  Sarah  O.  Atwood  of  Wellfleet,  Mass.,  July  29, 
1872.  Ch:  Willis  F.,  b.  May  29,  1S73,  d.  June  17,  1885,  and  Sarah  A., 
b.  Aug.  25,  1874,  d.  Nov.  30,  1879. 

Charles  W.,  b.  Nov.  27,  1854,  m.  Clara  Garland. 

William  M.  Harding  died  Aug.  26,  1866,  aged  53.  Mrs.  Esther 
Harding  died  Aug.  5,  1891,  aged  73. 

HARMON. 

Rufus  Harmon  was  a  native  of  Standish.  He  was  a  farmer  and 
cooper.  He  settled  in  Gorham,  at  the  north  part  of  the  town,  nearly 
up  to  the  Standish  line.  March  14,  1798,  he  married  Eunice,  daugh- 
ter of  Joel  and  Elizabeth  Sawyer  of  Gorham.     Children  :   - 

Jonathan,  m.  Hannah  Crammore;  I'd  and  d.  in  Bridgton.  . 

Beisey,  m.  James  Brown  of  Harrison,  Mar.  20,  1830;  2d,  Wm.  I.  Lewis. 

Rufus,  Jr.,  m.  Lu.;y  Higgins  of  Standish,  May  28,  1826;  I'd  and  d.  in  Corinna. 

Wealthy  S.,  m.  Isaac  Moody,  of  Standish,  Dec.  7,  1834. 

Reuben,  m.  Axina  Chase  ;   I'd  and  d.  in  Buxton. 

Ann,  b.  Oct.  5,  180S,  in  Standish,  m.  Alvah  I.ibby,  June  28,  1831. 

Eunice,  b.  in  1813,  m.  Hezekiah  Crockett,  p.  Nov.  28,  1839. 

Mary  J.,  b.  June  10,  18 14,  in  Standish,  m.  Peter  Elder,  Nov.  25,  1839. 

Isaa-;,  b.  in  1S16,  m.  Abby  Hodgdon  of  Corinna;  d.  in  Brunswick. 

Rufus  Harmon  died  in  Harrison.  Mrs.  Harmon  died  in  Gorham 
at  the  house  of  her  daughter  Betsey,  Nov.  29,  1850,  aged  74. 

Israel  Harmon  born  in  Standish,  Jan.  17,  1790,  the  son  of  Eliot 
Harmon,  and  a  nephew  to  Rufus  Harmon,  above,  married,  Nov.  5, 
18 1 2,  Dorothy,  daughter  of  Moses  and  Hannah  Fogg  of  Gorham. 
Not  long  after  his  marriage  he  removed  from  Standish  to  Harrison, 
where  he  resided  for  some  years.  From  Harrison  he  came  to  Gor- 
ham, where  he  lived  in  the  north  part  of  the  town.  His  farm  joined 
the  Standish  line.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  also  kept  a  store  for  many 
years  near  his  house.  The  children  of  Israel  and  Dorothy  Harmon 
were  : 

Moses,  b,  in  Standish,  July  8,  iSi4,l'd  on  his  father's  farm  ;  was  deaf  and  dumb; 

d.  June  1 1,  1897. 
Hannah,  b.  in  Harrison,  Nov.  8,  1816,  m.  Alvah  McDonald,  Apr.  14,  1844. 


GENEALOGY.  563 

Mary  H.,  b.  in  Harrison,  Aug.  31,  1821,  m.  Jos.  M.  I'lunimer,  Sept.  22,  1843. 
Franklin,  b.  in  Harrison,  Feb.  24,  1825,  d.  in  Harrison,  July  11,  1828. 

Israel  Harmon  died  at  his  home  in  Gorham,  Dec.  19,  1876,  aged 
87.  Mrs.  Harmon  died  Sept.  27,  1875,  aged  86.  Mr.  Harmon's 
place  is  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Rev.  John  A.  Bodge,  who  mar- 
ried his  sister,  Esther  A.  Harmon. 

HARRIS. 

Stephen  Harris  probably  came  to  Gorham  from  Windham.  He 
enlisted  from  Windham  in  the  Revolutionary  army  as  a  private  in 
Capt.  Mayberry's  company.  Col.  Francis'  regiment.  In  1783,  Mr. 
Hams,  being  then  of  Gorham,  bought  of  Decker  Phinney  and  Gary 
McLellan  the  seventy  acre  lot  No.  60,  which  Phinney  and  McLellan 
had  purchased  of  his  Excellency,  John  Hancock.  He  also  owned 
lots  58  and  73.  His  home  and  buildings  were  on  lot  58,  situated 
about  one-half  mile  from  Sapling  Hill.  The  place  is  now  owned  by 
Frank  Mayberry.  Mr.  Harris  was  a  member  of  the  Society  of 
Friends  in  Gorham.  He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  William  and 
jemima  (Proctor)  Gennis  of  \Mndham.      Children  : 

Mary,  b.  Feb.  25,  17S6. 

William,  b.  Mar.  17,  178S,  m.  Annie  Collins,  Oct.  i,  1817. 

Levi,  b.  May  27,  1790,  m.  Betsey  Waterhouse,  July  27,  1S17. 

John,  b.  Oct.  15,  1792. 

Rebecca,  b.  May  3,  1795,  'i-  tinm. 

Owen,  b.  July  15,  1797,  m.  Mary  Harding,  June  10,  1821  ;  I'd  in  Oshkosh,  Wis. 

Nathaniel,  b.  Aug.  3,  1800,  m. Foster;  2d,  Mrs.  Sally  Harding;  d.  Nov. 

5,  1847. 

Mr.  Harris  died  Aug.  i,  1831,  and  his  wife  Sarah,  March  3,  1852, 
aged  95. 

(2)  William  Harris,  son  of  Stephen,  lived  near  his  father,  not  far 
from  Sapling  Hill.  He  married  Annie  Collins  of  Portland.  The 
marriage  took  place  in  the  Friends'  Meeting  House  in  Gorham. 
Their  children  were  : 

William  Cobb,  b.  Aug.  10,  1818,  d.  Jan.  25,  1821. 

Huldah  A.,  b.  July  8,  182 1,  d.  Oct.  11,  1832. 

Sarah  M.,  b.  Oct.  4,  1822,  m.  Otis  T.  Hall. 

Phebe  S.,  b.  June  23,  1824,  d.  Feb.  3.  1825. 

Harriet  E.,  b.  Oct.  4,  1829,  m.  Otis  T.  Hall  (2d  wife). 

Isaiah  W.,  b.  Apr.  17,  1835,  d.  young. 

Huldah  Ann,  b.  Nov.  13,  1836,  d.  young. 

William  Harris  died  June  25,  1845,  and  his  wife,  Jan.  19,  1839, 
aged  39. 


564  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

HASKELL. 

William,  Roger  and  Mark  Haskell  came  from  England  in  1656. 
William  settled  at  Cape  Ann.  His  son  Benjamin,  born  in  1648, 
married  Mary,  daughter  of  Thomas  Riggs  of  Gloucester,  Mass. 
Thomas,  son  of  Benjamin  and  Mary,  was  born  in  Gloucester  in  1689 
and  came  in  the  year  1726  to  Falmouth  Neck.  From  him  the  Has- 
kells  of  Gorham  descend.  He  was  one  of  the  first  embodied  into 
the  church  on  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Smith  in  1727,  and  was  one  of 
the  selectmen  of  Falmouth  in  1 731  ;  a  very  respectable,  worthy  and 
influential  citizen.  Parson  Smith  in  his  Diary  for  1726,  in  speaking 
of  his  coming  to  Falmouth,  says,  "One  Haskell,  a  sober  sort  of  man 
with  his  family."  We  find  that  he  was  a  Proprietor  in  Gorham  in 
1758,  in  which  year  he  sold  the  right  No.  76  to  Solomon  Haskell. 
He  married  Maiy  Parsons  of  Cape  Ann.     Children  : 

Hannah,  b.  in  1 720,  m.  Joseph  Scott ;   2d,  Zeiubbabel  Hunnerwell  of  Windham  ; 

d.  July  27,  1753. 
Mary,  b.  Apr.  22,  1722,  m.  Joseph  Quimby,  p.  Sept.  28,  1740. 
Benjamin,  b.  about  1725,  m.  Abigail  Parsons  of  Gloucester,  Mar.  10,  1752  ;  2d, 

Lydia  Freeman  of  Cape  Cod  ;  was  a  Proprietor  in  Gorham  in   1764  ;  d. 

Oct.  14,  1785,  aged  60. 
Solomon,  b.  about  1726,  according  to  his  own  deposition  given  in   1805.     His 

name  often  appears  in  town  affairs  in  that  part  of  Falmouth,  now  Sacca- 

rappa.     He  d.  May  22,  18 16. 

Thomas,  b. ,  m.  Isabel  Winship  of  Windham,  May  10,  1766. 

William,  b.  July  25,  1728,  m.  Margaret  Frost,  June  t8,  1752  ;  2d,  Mrs.  Weston. 

Rachel,  b.  July  12,  1730,  m.  Wm.  Bolton,  Mar.  17,  1757. 

Sarah,  b.  Nov.  27,  1732,  m.  Samuel  Gookin,  1754. 

John,  b.  Aug.  25,  1735,  m.  Abigail  Libby,  June   15,  1758. 

Anna,  b.  Apr.  27,  1737,  m.  Peter  Babb  of  Saccarappa,  June  24,  1760. 

Thomas  Haskell  moved  from  Falmouth  to  Gorham,  and  lived 
nearly  opposite  the  Col.  Tyng  place,  very  near  the  spot  now  occupied 
by  the  house  built  by  the  late  Samuel  E.  McLellan.  It  seems 
probable  that  he  lived  with  one  of  his  sons,  William  or  John,  prob- 
ably with  the  latter.  He  owned  a  negro  slave.  Prince,  baptized  July 
21,  175 1,  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wight  of  Windham.  Mr.  Haskell  died 
Feb.  10,  1785,  aged  96,  leaving,  it  is  said,  seventy-nine  grandchildren 
and  fifty-eight  great-grandchildren. 

(2)  William  Haskell,  son  of  Thomas,  lived  on  a  lot  near  that  of 
his  brother  John,  and  just  west  of  David  Webb's.  He  married 
Margaret,  daughter  of  James  and  Margaret  (Goodwin)  Frost  of  Ber- 
wick. They  were  married  in  what  is  now  South  Berwick,  by  the 
Rev.  Jeremiah  Wise.  We  have  been  unable  to  find  any  perfect 
record  of  his  children,  but  there  were  : 

Anna,  m.  Thomas  Paine,  Uec.  6,  1781  ;  I'd  in   Pownal. 
Enoch,  m.  Hitty  Swett ;  I'd  in  N.  Harrison. 


GENEALOGY.  565 

John,  m.  Mary  Paine,  p.  Feb.  lo,  17S1. 

Jacob,  m.  Mary  Whitmore,  Dec.  29,  17S5. 

Stephen,  m.  Rebecca  Marston  of  N.  Yarnioutli,  p.  ^^ar.  5,  1791. 

Daniel,  m.  Mar)'  Bolton,  Apr.  10,  1794. 

William  Haskell  married  second,  Feb.  11,  1773,  Mrs.  Katherine 
('Mosher)  Weston,  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Jane  Mosher,  and  widow 
of  Joseph  Weston.     One  child  was  born  to  them  in  Gorham  : 

Susanna,  b.  Jan.  22,  1775,  m.  Oliver  Pierce  of  Harrison. 

Mr.  Haskell  died  April  6,  1777.  His  name  is  on  the  tax  list  in 
1777  for  two  polls,  and  in  1779  his  widow  Katherine  is  charged  for 
two  polls.  In  1779  also,  his  widow  Katherine  executed  a  mortgage 
on  her  late  husband's  farm  in  Gorham,  and  settled  his  estate. 

(2)  John  Haskell,  son  of  Thomas,  lived  in  Gorham  as  early  as 
1765.  The  house  in  which  he  lived  stood  on  the  old  road,  just  west 
of  the  town  line  between  Gorham  and  Westbrook.  It  has  since  been 
moved  to  Cumberland  Mills,  and  is  still  standing,  just  west  of  Kim- 
ball Eastman's  store.  John  Haskell  married  Abigail,  datighter  of 
John  and  Mary  (Miller)  Libby  of  Scarborough.  She  was  born  Dec. 
18,  1739.     Children  : 

Samuel,  b.  Mar.  24,  1759,  d.  Dec.  25,  1775. 

Benjamin,  b.  Feb.  14,  1761,  m.  Sally  Berry,  p.  July  24,  17S4  ;  I'd  in  Standish. 
John,  b.  Dec.  24,  1762. 

Jonathan,  b.  Mar.  24,  1765,  m.  Martha  Phinney,  Sept.  19,  1793. 
Mary  P.,  b.  Apr.  10,  1767,  d.  Dec.  26,  1781. 
Thomas,  b.  May  i,  1769,  I'd  and  d.  in  Pownal. 
Reuben,  b.  Mar.  24,  1771,  I'd  and  d.  in  Pownal. 
Abigail,  b.  June  18,  1773,  "^-  David  Plumer,  July  2,  1799. 
Rebecca,  b.  Aug.  7,  1775,  d.  Dec.  24,  1776. 

Samuel  D.,  b.  Sept.  12,  1777,  m.  Lydia  Plumer,  Mar.  17,  1799;  I'd  in  Wilton. 
Infant,  b.  Aug.  18,  1770,  d.  Aug.  28,  1779. 
Rebecca,  b.  May  15,  1781,  d.  July  18,  1783. 
Mary  P.,  b.  Apr.  19,  1783,  d.  Apr.  6,  17S6. 

Rachel,  b.    Jan.  i,    1786,  m.    David   Grant   of    Falmouth,    Nov.    14,    1802;  2d, 
Michael  Dyer  of  Pownal;  d.  Aug.,  18S5. 

(3)  John  Haskell,  son  of  William,  lived  in  Gorham  in  the  White 
Rock  district.  He  was  a  Revolutionary  soldier.  On  April  i,  1776, 
he  enlisted  to  serve  one  year  under  Capt.  Paul  Ellis  in  Col.  French's 
regiment,  and  participated  in  the  siege  of  Boston.  He  was  after- 
wards a  member  of  Capt.  Mayberry's  company,  of  the  nth  Mass. 
He  married  Mary  Paine.      Children  : 

Anna,  b.  Feb.  23,  1782,  m.  Joseph  Files,  p.  Dec.  22,  1798. 

John,  b  ,  m.  Anna  Harmon  of  Standish,  Feb.  7,  1805. 

Nathaniel,  b. ,  m.  and  I'd  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State. 

Joseph,  b. ,  m.  Mrs.  Jerusha  Moore  of  Otisfield. 

Susan,  b. ,  m.  Joseph  Cram  of  Thorndike. 

Mary,  b. ,  m.  Jacob  Sovereign  of  Thorndike. 

A  daughter,  b. ,  m.  a  Mr.  Roberts  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State. 

Jacob,  b. ,  I'd  and  d.  in  Kansas. 


506  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

John  Haskell  and  most  of  his  family  moved  to  Thorndike.  John 
Haskell  died  in  Knox  Sept.  22,  1819. 

(3)  Jacob  Haskell,  son  of  William,  married  Maiy,  daughter  of  Capt. 

Samuel  and  Mary  Whitmore.     Children  : 

Samuel,  b.  Oct.  3,  1786. 

Eunice,  b.  Oct.  7,  17SS,  m.  Nathaniel  H.  Elden  of  Buxton,  Nov.  29,  1810. 

Jacob,  b.  Oct.  3,  1790. 

William,  b.  Feb.  28,  1793. 

Sally,  b.  May  18,  1795. 

Joel,  b.  June  8,  1797. 

Eliza,  b.  May  13,  1799. 

(3)  Daniel  Haskell,  son  of  William,  was  born  Oct.  11,  1768.  He 
married  his  cousin  Mary,  daughter  of  William  and  Rachel  (Haskell) 
Bolton,  and, settled  on  a  farm  on  the  Hurricane  road.  This  place  he 
exchanged  with  Daniel  Purinton  for  the  place  in  Windham  now  occu- 
pied by  the  family  of  his  son  Oliver.  The  Gorham  farm  is  now 
owned  by  Israel  Kemp.  The  buildings  are  unoccupied,  and  are  fast 
going  to  decay.     Children  : 

James,  b.  Feb.  10,  1796,  m.  Lydia  Elliott  of  Portland,  Nov.  5, 1823.  Ch  :  Gilbert 
M.,  b.  Aug.  30,  1824,  d.  in  Florida,  about  1897  ;  Mary  Ann,  b.  Mar.  29, 
1826,  d.  Apr.  18,  1849;  Wm.  Nelson,  b.  Sept.  15,  1828,  k'd  by  Indians 
while  on  the  way  to  Cal. ;  John  L.,  b.  Mar.  12,  1838,  m.  Harriet  Libby, 
1861,  went  to  the  Black  Hills;  Jas.  Edwin,  b.  June  i,  1842,  k'd  at  Fred- 
ericksburg, Dec.  13,  1862.  James  Haskell  I'd  on  the  Webb  place,  at 
Winship's  Corner;  he  was  a  Free  Mason,  and  a  charter  member  of 
Harmony  Lodge;  he  d.  in  Florida,  Feb.  21,  1878;  Mrs.  Haskell  d.  in 
Deering,  Jan.  8,  1895. 

Betsey,  b.  June  8,  1798,  m.  Oliver  Mayberry  ;  d.  Jan.  21,  1879. 

William,  b.  Jan.  17,  1802,  d.  Feb.  10,  1S03. 

William,  b.  Dec.  27,  1803,  m.  Margaret  McGill ;  d.  Feb.  i,  1840. 

Anna,  b.  Feb.  26,  1806,  d.  unm.  May  30,  1829. 

Oliver,  b.  Feb.  26,  1808,  m.  Charity  Mayberry,  Nov.  22,  1835  ;  2d,  Nancy  G. 
Phinney,  May  25,  1840;  d.  Jan.  8,  1893. 

Everline,  b.  July  25,  1810,  d.  unm.  Apr.  26,  1888. 

Daniel  M.,  b.  Jan.  7,  1813,  d.  Apr.  25,  1838. 

Rachel,  b.  Nov.  16,  1814,  m.  Marshall  Thomes ;  d.  June  i,  1840. 

Daniel  Haskell  died  in  Windham,  April  2,  1845,  and  his  wife 
Mary,  June  22,  1863. 

HASTY. 

William  and  Thomas  J.  Hasty,  sons  of  Robert  and  Margaret 
(Patterson)  Hasty,  were  born  in  Scarborough;  William,  June  6,  1799, 
and  Thomas,  Aug.  6,  1804.  Their  great-grandfather,  Daniel  Hasty, 
was  probably  the  first  of  the  name  in  New  England,  certainly  the 
first  in  Maine  and  New  Hampshire.  He  came  from  Ireland  with  his 
wife  and  family  to  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  and  removed  thence  to  Scar- 
borough about  1 73 1-2. 


GENEALOGY.  567 

William  Hasty  went  into  the  tanning  and  leather  business  in 
Gorham  with  John  Wilson,  a  native  of  Londonderry,  N.  H.  The 
remains  of  their  tan-pits  have  been  in  existence  until  very  recently 
on  the  east  side  of  School  St.,  just  north  of  the  residence  of  Mrs. 
Harmon.      Mr.  Hasty  died  in  Gorham. 

Thomas  J.  Hasty  lived  at  West  Gorham,  where  he  kept  a  store  for 
some  years.  He  took  an  active  part  in  town  affairs,  and  was  at  one 
time  town  collector.  He  was  postmaster  at  West  Gorham  at  the  time 
of  his  death,  Mar.  i,  1873  ;  —  his  wife  died  Sept.  7,  1883.  He  mar- 
ried, Nov.  25,  1832,  Sally  D.  Watts  of  Buxton.     Children: 

Edward,  m.  Lizzie  Copp  of  Cumberland. 

Thomas  J.,  Jr.,  m.  Edith  Lombard;  d.  Oct.  12,  1876. 

Harriet  iL,  m.  Francis  Files. 

William,  m.  Lettie  Varley. 

Eliza  Ella. 

Sarah,  m.  Frank  Hoyt  of  Winthrop. 

HATCH. 

The  descendants  of  Joseph  Hatch  claim  descent  from  Elder 
William  Hatch  of  Kent  County,  England,  who  came  with  his  wife 
Jane  and  five  children  to  New  England  in  1634  in  the  ship  "  Hercules," 
and  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Scituate,  Mass.  He  died  in 
1651. 

Joseph  Hatch  came  to  Gorham  from  Barnstable.     His  wife  was 

Sarah,   daughter  of  John   and  Sarah    Sawyer,    and   sister   of   Capt. 

Jonathan  Sawyer  of  Gorham.    Their  children,  recorded  as  being  born 

in  Gorham,  were  : 

Nathaniel,  b.  Sept.  27,   1749,  m.  Elizabeth  Hatch,  June  12,  1777;  2d,  Abigail 

Nason, 
Ezekiel,  b.  Nov.  16,  1754,  joined  the  Shakers. 

Asa,  b.  Jan.  30,  1757,  m.  Rebecca  Crockett,  May  6,  1783  ;  2d,  Jane   Mcintosh. 
David,  b.  Apr.  6,  1759. 

Mary,  b.  Aug.  10,  1764,  joined  the  Shakers  at  Alfred;  d.  Oct.  12,  1817. 
Ebenezer,  b.  May  13,  i767,m.  Elizabeth  McLellan,  Feb.  7,  1802. 
Elizabeth,  b.  Sept.  13,  1770. 

Find  no  record  of  the  death  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hatch. 

(2)  Nathaniel  Hatch,  son  of  Joseph,  was  for  many  years  a  sea 
captain.  In  1777  he  sold  to  Joseph  Gilkey  the  half-house,  farm,  etc., 
which  he  had  purchased  a  few  months  before  of  his  grandfather, 
John  Sawyer.  This  was  one-half  of  the  thirty  acre  lot  113.  About 
1779  he  moved  to  Falmouth  (Cape  Elizabeth),  but  returned  after 
some  years  to  Gorham,  living  probably  on  the  hundred  acre  lot  41. 
This  lot  he  sold  in  1787  to  his  brother  Asa.  Capt.  Hatch  afterwards 
removed  to  that  part  of  Falmouth  which  is  now  Westbrook,  where  he 


568  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

built  the  two-story  brick  house  on  the  Saco  road,  still  known  as  the 
Hatch  house,  and  occupied  until  very  recently  by  his  descendants. 
In  his  later  years  he  became  a  preacher  of  the  Methodist  denomination. 
Children  of  Nathaniel  and  Elizabeth  (Hatch)  Hatch  were: 

Betsey,  b.  in  Gorham,  Apr.  14,  1778,  m.  Wm.  Roberts;  d.  Dec.  7,  1815. 

Hannah,  b.  in  Cape  Elizabeth,  Apr.  22,  1780,  m.  Jeremiah  Johnson  of  West- 
brook. 

Sally,  b.  in  Cape  Elizabeth,  Jan.  10,  1783,  m.  Reuben  Cobb,  Apr.  5,  1801. 

Nathaniel,  b.  in  Gorham,  Sept.  30,  1789,  m. ;  d.  in  Virginia. 

Harriet,  b.  Sept.  5,  1794,  d.  Nov.  4,  181 1. 

George,  b.  Nov.  3,  1797,  m.  Mary  Staples;  2d,  Emily  Higgins  ;  I'd  in  West- 
brook. 

After  the  death   of  his   wife  Betsey,  May   24,   181 2,   Mr.   Hatch 

married  Abigail  Nason.      He  died,  Apr.  2,  1832,  aged  82. 

(2)  Asa    Hatch,  son   of   Joseph,    married    Rebecca,   daughter  of 
Peletiah  and  Mary  Crockett.     Children  : 

Nathaniel,  b.  Nov.  30,  1783,  m.  Anna,  dau.  of  David  and  Phebe  McDougall,  p. 
Apr.  10,  181 2.  Ch:  the  five  oldest  b.  in  Gorham,  the  remainder  in 
Eastport,  to  which  place  Mr.  Hatch  removed  :  David,  b.  1814  ;  Nathaniel, 
b.  1815,  taught  school  at  one  time  in  Gorham;  Ann,  b.  1817;  Rebecca, 
b.  1818;  Ezekiel,  b.  1820;  Phebe,  b.  1822,  m.  Simon  Stevens;  Mary 
Jane,  b.  1825;  Catherine,  b.  1827;  William,  b.  1830;  James,  b.  1832; 
Elizabeth,  b.  1834;  George,  b.  1837.  Mr.  Hatch  was  for  some  years  a 
trader  in  Gorham.     He  d.  in  1853,  and  his  wife  Anna,  in  1S67,  ag.  73. 

Stephen,  b.  May  10,  1786,  m.  Mercy  Dyer,  p.  Feb.  14,  1807. 

Mrs.  Rebecca  Hatch  died  about   1790,  and  Mr.  Hatch  married, 

Dec.  9,  1792,  Jane  Mcintosh,  by  whom  he  had  : 

Catherine  L.,  b.  1793,  m.  Clark  Dyer,  Jan.  29,  1814. 
Mary,  b.  1796,  m.  Simon  Elder,  Apr.  10,  1819. 
Jane,  b.  1798,  d.  unm.  Dec.  16,  1834. 

Asa   Hatch  died  Dec.  25,   1798,  and  his  wife  Jane,  June  5,  1844, 
aged  85. 

(2 )   Ebenezer,  son  of  Joseph  Hatch,  was  for  many  years  a  sea 

captain.     After  leaving  the  sea  he  went  into  trade  at  Gorham  village. 

The   Hatch    store   built  by   Capt.    Hatch    about   18 10  was    burned 

Aug.  15,  1846.     Capt.   Hatch    owned  and    occupied    the    house    on 

Main  St.  lately  occupied  by  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Emily  (Hatch)  Bangs. 

He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Thomas   and  Jenny    McLellan. 

Children  : 

Joseph  McL.,  b.  May  13,  1806,  m.  Sarah ;  d.  in  Boston,  1869. 

Thomas  McL.,  b.  Mar.  9,  180S,  d.  young. 

Hugh  McL.,  b.  Dec.  12,  1810,  d.  Aug.  19,  1831. 

David,  b.  Nov.  5,  1812,  d.  Oct.  2,  1815. 

Emily,  b.  June  13,  i8i5,m.  Charles  C.  Bangs,  June  18,  1835. 

Angelina,  b.  Oct.  11,  1818,  d.  Dec.  3,  1824. 

Capt.  Ebenezer  Hatch  died  July  6,  1818,  and  Mrs  Hatch  married 
in  1822  Nathaniel  Phinney,  Esq.     She  died  Oct.  i,  1864,  aged  84. 


GENEALOGY.  569 

HERSEY. 

Seth  Hersey  came  to  Gorham  from  Hingham,  Mass.,  about  1810, 
and  purchased  of  Gen.  James  Irish  the  farm  on  the  Flaggy  Meadow 
road  which  had  been  Gen.  Irish's  homestead,  and  is  now  owned  by 
Mr.  Grouard.  He  married  Tamsin  Gushing,  and  their  children 
were  : 

Rebecca,  b. ,  m.  John  McLellan  of  Cornish,  Mar.  31,  1831. 

Seth,  b. ,  m.  Nancy  Davis,   p.   Dec.   5,    1832  ;  I'd   on   his  father's  place. 

Ch  :  William  P.,  b.  Aug.,  183^,  m.  Lydia  M.  Fuller;  Seth  C,  b.  Dec.  13, 
1837,  d.  May  28,  1842  ;  Thomas  II.,  b.  Dec.  31,  1839;  Rebecca,  b.  July 
22,  1842,  d.  Feb.  15,  1850 ;  Mary,  b.  Dec.  7,  1844,  m.  Edward  Estes  ; 
Clarissa  A.,  b.  Nov.  29,  1847,  d.  Feb.  17,  1S50.  Seth  Hersey,  Jr.,  d.  Aug. 
18,  1857,  aged  50,  and  his  wife  d.  in  August,  1893. 
Theophilus  C,  b.  Dec.  12,  1812,  a  merchant  in  Portland,  where  he  died. 
Thomas  C,  b.  Oct.  29,  1816,  d.  Apr.  11,  1841. 

Mrs.  Tamsin  Hersey  died  Dec.  28,  1839,  aged  60,  and  Mr.  Hersey 
married  in  1840  Mrs.  Rebecca  Whitten  of  Hingham.  She  died  Jan. 
12,  1853,  aged  70,  and  Mr.  Hersey  died  Dec.  5,  of  the  same  year, 
aged  78. 

HICKS. 

Lemuel   Hicks   came   from   that   part  of  Falmouth  which  is  now 

Woodfords  Corner.     He  lived  in  the  north  part  of  Gorham  in  what 

is  known  as  the  Nason  district.     The  house  is  gone  and  the  place  is 

now   owned    by   Henry   Plaisted.     He   married    Mary,   daughter  of 

Lemuel  Rich,  (pub.  Apr.  20,  177 1).     Children  : 

Elizabeth,  b.  Apr.  9,  1774,  m.  Heman  M.  Brown,  Dec.  20,  1802. 
Lemuel,  b.  May  9,  1776. 

Mr.  Hicks  married,  second,  Mrs.  Susanna  (Frost)  Frost,  Nov.  5, 

1778,  widow  of  Benjamin  Frost.     Children  : 

Hannah,  b.  Mar.  4,  1781,  m.  William  Wood,  Jan.  28,  1807. 
Ephraim,  b.  Mar.  23,  1783,  m.  Rachel  Morton,  July  10,  1804. 
Nathaniel,  b.  Sept.  27,  1784,  m.  Lucy  Ward,  p.  Dec.  12,  1812. 
Isaac,  b.  Apr.  15,  1786. 
Abigail,  b.  Apr.  25,  1789,  d.  May  28,  1827. 

(2 )  Ephraim  Hicks,  son  of  Lemuel,  lived  toward  White  Rock,  in 
the  Nason  district.     He  married  Rachel  Morton.     Children  : 

■t^i  ^  (  m.  .Susan   Parker,   Dec.    11,    1825;   d.   May  21, 

I  emueT''     [  ^-  ^^""y  ^^'^  '^°5.  i844  1  she,  Sept.  5,  1873. 

^^"^^*^''        )  (  m.  Esther  Files  of  Thorndike;  d.  Dec.  15,  1863. 

Susan,    j  ,    ^  (.  S  m.  Isaac  Flood,  Apr.  i,  1837. 

Dilla,     j  i^-  ^ec. -7,  ic)07,     j  m.  Edmund  Flood,  Sept.  11,  1831. 

Martha,  b.  July  5,  1810,  m.  Chas.  H.  Anderson  of  Windham,  Feb.  15,  1829. 

Eliza,  b.  Jan.  9,  1820,  m. Cole  of  Windham. 

Ephraim  Hicks  died  Dec,  14,  1835,  aged  52,  and  his  widow  mar- 
ried, second,  Edward  Harmon  of  Gray, 


570  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

(2)  Nathaniel    Hicks,    son    of    Lemuel,    lived    near    his    brother 

Ephraim,  on  the  old  Ward  place.      He  married  Lucy,  daughter  of 

John  Ward.     Children  : 

Mark,  m.  Sally  Hooper.     She  d.  July  27,  1895,  ag.  71. 
Isaac,  m.  in  Norway  ;  d.  there. 

Mary  Ann,  d.  unm.  Jan.  9,  1S88,  ag.  62  ;  I'd  in  AYindham. 
Joseph,  d.  Aug.  23,  1821. 

Nathaniel  Hicks  died  Feb.  17,  1870,  aged  86,  and  his  wife  Lucy, 
Feb.  28,  1837,  aged  57. 

HIGGINS. 

Capt.  Joseph   Higgins,  born  Nov.  20,  1750,  came  from  Eastham, 

Mass.,  to  Gorham  in    177S.     His   wife's  maiden  name   was   Mercy 

Cook,  and  she  was  born  Jan.  6,    1755.     Joseph  Higgins  was  a  sea 

captain,  and  was  lost  at  sea  by  the  foundering  of  his  vessel  in  January, 

1804.     He  left  a  wife  and  ten  children;  the  oldest,  Joseph,  born  in 

Eastham,  the  others  in  Gorham : 

Joseph,  b.  Aug.  16,  1776,  m.  Elizabeth  Files,  Jan.  3,  1804. 

Mercy,  b.  Aug.  6,  1778,  m.  Daniel  Lowell,  Jr.  of  Standish,  Mar.   18,  1799:  d. 

Jan.  15,  1814. 
Isaac,  b.  Dec.   16,  1780,    m.    Esther    Parker,    Nov.    27,    1800;  2d,    Mrs.    Ruth 

(Prince)  (Langworthy)  Kent;  d.  in  Thorndike,  Dec.  19,  1855. 
Barnabas,  b.  Jan.  28,  1783,  d.  unm.  Feb.  16,   1816. 
Dorcas,  b.  May  12,  1785,  m.  Moses  Rich,  p.  Oct.  21,  1806. 
Mary,  b.  Apr.  2,  1787,  m.  Nathaniel  Thomes,  Jan.  29,  1807. 
Enoch  F.,  b.  July  13,  1789,  m.  Miriam  Deane,  Nov.  6,  1813. 
Abigail  F.,  b.  Sept.  23,  1791,  m.  Amos  Thomes,  Mar.  29,  i8ic. 
Saul  Cook,  b.  May  1 1,  1794,  m.  Fanny  Blake,  Mar.  25,  1816. 
Elmira,  b.  Apr.  21,  1797,  m.   Sylvanus    Bangs  of  Limington,  May  6,    1817;  d. 

July  16,  1825, 

Mrs.  Mercy  Higgins  died  in  Gorham,  Dec.  19,  1843,  leaving  one 
hundred  and  twenty-eight  descendants. 

The  oldest  son,  Joseph,  became  a  minister  of  the  Free  Baptist 
denomination.  In  1797  he  went  to  Thorndike,  then  Lincoln  Planta- 
tion, where  he  died  Feb.  5,  1867.  His  wife,  who  was  Elizabeth  Files 
of  Gorham,  also  died  in  Thorndike.  Mrs.  Roscoe  G.  Harding  and 
Miss  Sibyl  Higgins  of  Gorham  are  their  grandchildren.  Capt. 
Barnabas  Higgins  commanded  one  of  the  Gorham  companies  of 
militia  that  were  called  out  for  the  defence  of  Portland  in  1814. 
Enoch  Freeman  Higgins  moved  to  Standish,  and  married  Miriam 
Deane  of  that  place.  He  was  the  father  of  the  late  Mrs.  Mary  Tyler 
and  Mrs.  Lucian  Hunt  of  Gorham. 

Saul  C.  Higgins,  the  youngest  son,  married  Fanny  Blake  of  Gor- 
ham. He  lived  and  died  on  the  old  homestead  above  West  Gorham 
which  was  cleared  by  his  father  about  1794.     During  the  War  of 


GENEALOGY.  571 

i8i2  he  was  a  sergeant  in  his  brother  Barnabas'  company  of  militia, 
and  went  to  Portland  with  the  rest  of  the  regiment  to  repel  the 
threatened  attack  of  the  British  in  1814.  He  was  an  earnest,  faith- 
ful member  of  the  Methodist  church  for  forty-five  years.  He  died 
Feb.  16,  1895,  having  reached  the  age  of  100  years  and  9  mos.,  and 
having  enjoyed  almost  perfect  possession  of  his  faculties  to  the  end. 
His  wife  Fanny  died  June  22,  1878,  aged  85.  Capt.  Saul  Higgins 
and  his  wife  had  no  children,  but  left  an  adopted  son,  John  Lowell 
Higgins,  who  resides  on  the  old  homestead. 

John  L.  Higgins,  who  was  born  in  November,  1829,  was  the  son  of 
John  Lowell,  and  grandson  of  Daniel  and  Mercy  (Higgins)  Lowell 
of  Standish.  He  was  left  an  orphan  at  the  age  of  six  months,  and 
was  adopted  by  his  uncle,  Saul  C.  Higgins.  When  a  young  man  he 
went  to  the  West  where  he  remained  until  1877  when  he  returned  to 
Gorham  and  settled  on  the  old  farm.  He  married,  June  15,  185 1, 
Sarah  A.,  daughter  of  Maj.  William  Warren  of  Gorham.  They  have 
had  four  children,  of  whom  one,  Fannie,  is  now  living.  She  married, 
Jan.  9,  1897,  Leander  M.  Boothby  of  Gorham. 

Ebenezer  Higgins  came  to  Pearsonstown  from  Cape  Cod  about 
1781-82.     His  wife's  name  was  Rebecca .     Children  : 

Ebenezer,  b.  in  Truro,  July  24,  1775,  I'd  at  Castine  ;  was  a  sea  captain,  and  was 
lost  at  sea. 

Rebecca,  b.  in  Provincetown,  Apr.  11,  17S0,  m.  Nathaniel  Blake  of  Gorham, 
Nov.  26,  i8or. 

Hannah  A.,  b.  in  Pearsonstown,  Aug.  20,  1782,  m.  Jeremiah  Frost  of  Gorham, 
May  26,  1804. 

Martha,  b.  June  2r,  17S1,  m.  John  Cressey  of  Gorham,  Apr  8,  1812. 

David,  b.  Nov.  3,  17S7,  m.  Catherine  Jordan  of  Otisfield ;  I'd  on  the  Fort  Hill 
road,  just  north  of  the  old  Col.  Nathaniel  Frost  place.  Ch.  b.  in  Gor- 
ham:  Jolin  C,  b.  Aug.  4,  1827;  Samuel  H.,  b.  June  i,  1831  ;  Tabitha, 
b.  June  II,  1833.  This  family  moved  to  Illinois,  where  other  ch.wereb. ; 
a  son,  David,  Jr.,  was  a  clergyman. 

Susanna,  b.  Apr.  14,  1789,  m.  Timothy  Ulake  of  Gorhatn,  Nov.  29,  18 10. 

Desire  P.,  bapt.  May  19,  1793,  m.  Ephraim  Blake  of  Gorham,  Dec,  1813. 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  Higgins,  his  widow  Rebecca  married,  Nov, 
7,  1 801,  Col.  Nathaniel  Frost  of  Gorham.     She  died  Dec.  25,  1820. 

John  and  Seth  Higgins  were  brothers,  and  sons  of  Seth  and 
Experience  (Higgins)  Higgins.  Seth  Higgins  was  born  in  Septem- 
ber, 1776,  and  was  the  son  of  Seth  and  grandson  of  Ebenezer 
Higgins.  Experience  Higgins  was  the  daughter  of  Timothy  and 
Reliance  Hopkins  (Yates)  Higgins,  and  granddaughter  of  Freeman 
Higgins.  The  family  came  to  Standish  from  Eastham,  Mass. 
Seth  Higgins,  the  husband  of  Experience,  was  lost  at  sea,  on  the 


572  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

same  vessel  with  Capt.  Hinkley,  and  his  widow  married,  July  7,  18 14, 

Daniel  Lowell,  Jr.,  of  Buxton. 

John  Higgins  was  born  in  September,  1803.     He  lived  in  Gorham, 

where  he  ran  the  mill  near  Stephenson's  bridge.    The  house  in  which 

he  lived  has  since  been  removed.     He  married  Martha,  daughter  of 

Luther  and  Mary  Tappan  of  Baldwin.     Children  : 

Mary  E.,  b.  Aug.  i,  1837,  m.  Edmund  Clement  of  Baldwin. 
Julia  M.,  b.  Nov.  25,  1841,  I's  with  her  sister,  Mrs.  Bean. 
Emeline,  b.  Mar.  13,  1845,  ""i-  Levi  H.  Bean. 

John  Higgins  died  Sept.  27,  1885,  aged  82.  Mrs.  Martha  Higgins 
died  Mar.  26,  1880,  aged  66. 

Seth  Higgins,  brother  to  John  above,  was  born  in  1805.  He  Avas 
a  blacksmith  at  West  Gorham,  and  built  the  brick  house  on  the  road 
which  runs  from  that  village  to  Fort  Hill.  He  married  Rebecca 
Shaw.  They  have  two  children  now  living,  Henry  A.,  born  in  1836, 
married  Maggie  Chase,  and  Albert,  born  in  1840.  Seth  Higgins 
moved  from  Gorham  to  Standish  in  April,  1844. 

HIGHT. 

George  Hight,  son  of  George  and  Eliza  (Pike)  Hight,  was  born 
April  27,  1792,  in  Scarboro.  From  that  place  he  removed  to  Gorham 
about  181 5.  He  was  a  blacksmith,  and  worked  in  a  shop  which 
stood  on  School  St.,  opposite  the  Congregational  church.  This  build- 
ing formerly  stood  on  the  Parish  lot  and  was  the  old  schoolhouse 
which  was  built  and  used  as  a  meeting  house  by  the  Townsend  party. 
It  has  been  removed  for  many. years.  Mr.  Hight  built  the  house  on 
High  St.,  lately  occupied  by  Dr.  John  Waterman.  He  afterwards 
built  the  house  on  Church  St.,  which  is  the  present  Congregational 
parsonage.  Here  he  lived  until  his  removal  to  Castleton,  Vt.,  about 
1859.  He  and  his  wife  were  most  worthy  Christian  people.  He 
married,  Nov.  25,  1815,  Mary  R.  Haines  of  Scarboro.     Children: 

Martha,  b.  Dec.  30,  1816,  m.  E.  A.  Holmes  of  Paris,  June  i,  1853;  d.  in  Norway, 

June  3,  1887. 
George,  b.  Aug.  25,  1819,  d.  young. 
William  H.,  b.  Dec.  i,  182 1,  d.  young. 
Mary  E.,  b.  Mar.  9,  1826,  m.  William  Guernsey,  of  Castleton,  Vt.,  Dec.  25,  1855  ; 

d.  Apr.  16,  1873. 
Sarah  K.,  b.  Nov.  2r,  1829,  d.  at  Castleton,  Oct.  23,  1858. 
Ellen  A.,  b.  Mar.  24,  1831,  m.  William  A.  Upton  of  Cal.,  Aug.  10,  1859;  d.  in 

Cherryfield,  June  9,  1861. 

Mr.  Hight  died  at  Castleton,  Vt.,  at  the  house  of  his  daughter, 
Mrs.  Guernsey,  Dec.  26,  1870,  aged  80.  Mrs.  Hight  died  in  Castle- 
ton, Oct.  25,  1859. 


GENEALOGY.  573 


MILLIARD. 


Rev.  Timothy  Jlilliard,  born  in  Barnstable,  Mass.,  July  2  i,  1776, 
was  the  son  of  Rev.  Timothy  and  Mary  (Foster)  Hilliard.  His 
father  was  for  some  years  pastor  of  the  Congregational  church  at 
Barnstable,  and  afterwards  installed  pastor  at  Cambridge,  Mass.,  as 
colleague  of  Dr.  Appleton. 

Timothy  Hilliard,  the  .son,  was  stated  preacher  from  1801  to  1809 

of  St.   Paul's  Episcopal  church  in   Portland.     He  married,  July  2 1, 

1 80 1,   Eliza  Heddle,  the  adopted  daughter  of    Col.  and  Mrs.  Wm. 

Tyng,  and  niece  of  Mrs.  Tyng,  with  whom  he  and  his  wife  made  their 

home  during  Mrs.  Tyng's  life.     Their  children  were  : 

Elizabeth  T.,  b.  Nov.  13,  1802,  d.  in  Bangor,  Nov.  8,  1891. 

Mary,  b.  Mar  24,   1S04,  m.   Rev.  Henry  S.  .Smith,  1834;  I'd  in  Claremont;  d. 

Jan.  7,  1892. 
William  T.,  b.  Feb.  21,  1806,  m.  F.  O.  Smith;  was  a  lawyer  in  Bangor;  d.  Nov. 

19,  1881. 
John  H.,  b.  Jan.   13,   1S08,  m.  Anna  Hayes;  was  a  lawyer  in  Old  Town;  d.  in 

1S80. 
Harriet  S.  W.,  b.  Nov.  5,  1809,  d.  Aug.  17,  181 1. 
Maria  W.,  b.  Aug.  3,  1812,  d.  in  Bangor,  Aug.  2,  1879. 

Rev.  Timothy  Hilliard  died  Jan.  21,  1842,  aged  65,  at  Claremont, 
N.  H.     Mrs.  Hilliard  died  July  15.  1837,  aged  62. 

HINKLEY. 

Stephen  Hinkley,  son  of  Stephen  and  Mary  (Coss)  Hinkley,  was 
born  in  Standish,  May  5,  1799.  His  father,  Capt.  Stephen  Hinkley, 
who  was  a  sea  captain,  was  the  son  of  Stephen  and  Martha  (Sawyer) 
Hinkley,  and  was  born  Dec.  3,  1774,  in  Falmouth,  now  Portland. 
He  was  lost  at  sea  in  a  hurricane,  Dec.  25,  1804,  when  starting  on  a 
voyage,  and  when  but  one  night  out  from  Portland.  His  wife  Mary, 
whom  he  married  Nov.  5,  1797,  was  born  in  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  Jan. 
4,  r778,  and  died  in  Pearsonstown  (Standish)  May  12,  18 12.  By  her 
death  the  son  Stephen  was  left,  a  lad  of  thirteen,  to  make  his  own 
way  in  the  world.  Diligent,  honest  and  persevering,  he  made  a  place 
for  himself,  and  succeeded  in  winning  the  respect  and  confidence  of 
all  who  knew  him.  When  only  a  youth  he  came  to  Gorham  and 
learned  the  tanner's  trade  of  John  R.  Clark.  After  completing  his 
apprenticeship  he  spent  some  years  in  Massachusetts  in  perfecting 
his  knowledge  of  the  work.  He  then  returned  to  Gorham  in  1829, 
and  in  1832  bought  out  Mr.  Clark  and  established  himself  here  in 
the  tanner's  business,  which  he  carried  on  until  his  death.  Mr. 
Hinkley  was  town  treasurer  from  1855  to  1859.  He  married,  Nov. 
8,  1829,  Sophronia  Shedd  of  Chelmsford,  Mass.     Children  : 


574  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Rufus  H.,  b.  Oct.  12,  1830,  m.  Frances  E.   Prindle ;  was  a  broker  in   Portland; 

d.  Mar.  5,  1900. 
Mary  C,  b.  Jan.  20,  1833. 
Susan  S.,  b.  May  31,  1835. 

Stephen,  b  Feb.  ic,  1838,  m.  Mary  Carter;  2d,  Maria  Paine. 
William  H.,  b.  May  17,  1840,  d.  July  8,  1842. 
Charles  K.,  b.  Nov.  16,  1843. 
John  A.,  b.  Mar.  12,  1848,  m.  Mary  E.  Tolford,  Oct.   12,  1892;  she  d.  May  31, 

1900.  I 

Mr.  Hinkleydied  April  19,  1867.     Mrs.  Hinkley  died  Jan.  5,  1890. 

(2)  Stephen  Hinkley,  son  of  Stephen  and  Sophronia,  was  a  prom- 
inent, influential  and  valued  citizen  of  Gorham.  He  took  an  active 
part  and  filled  a  prominent  place  in  the  affairs  of  the  town.  He 
was  Representative  in  the  State  Legislature  in  1883.  He  was  a 
director  of  the  Gorham  Savings  Bank  from  the  time  of  its  foundation. 
From  1865  to  1898  he  was  town  treasurer.  For  more  than  thirty 
years  he  was  a  consistent  member  of  the  Congregational  church,  and 
for  twenty-iive  years  clerk  of  the  First  parish.  He  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  Enos  and  Martha  (Haines)  Carter,  by  whom  he  had 
Caroline  H.,  Stephen,  William  F.,  Clifford  C,  Frederic  H.,  and  Maria 
E.  Mrs.  Hinkley  died  Feb.  17,  1877.  and  Mr.  Hinkley  married,  sec- 
ond, Maria,  daughter  of  Charles  Paine.  There  are  two  children  by 
this  marriage,  Mary  C.  and  Robert  L.  Stephen  Hinkley  died  sud- 
denly, Jan.  4,  1898. 

HODGDON. 

Jeremiah  Hodgdon  came  from  Falmouth,  and  was  a  housewright. 
He  was  in  the  fort  during  the  Indian  war,  and  must  have  had  a 
family.  We  have  no  account  as  to  what  became  of  him,  but  find 
his  estate  administered  upon  in  October,  1749,  by  his  wife  Mary,  so 
that  we  know  he  died  previous  to  that  time.  We  find  the  Hodgdon 
family  in  town  as  late  as  1784.  Jeremiah  Hodgdon  paid  a  tax  on 
property  that  year.  This  was  probably  the  son  of  the  Jeremiah  of 
the  fort.  By  administrator's  papers  and  deeds  on  record  it  would 
appear  that  the  given  name  of  the  wife  of  the  first  Jeremiah  Hodgdon 
was  Mary,  and  it  is  probable  her  name  was  Cotton.  She  was  alive 
as  late  as  1777,  when  she  deeds  land  to  Jeremiah,  who  was  probably 
her  son.  This  was  the  northerly  half  of  the  hundred  acre  lot  81,  at 
what  is  now  West  Gorham,  being  the  farm  owned  later  by  Zebediah 
Jackson  and  Joseph  Gilkey,  and  included  the  old  Jacob  Clement's 
lot,  on  which  the  tavern  now  stands.  How  many  children  Jeremiah 
and  Mary  had  we  have  no  means  of  knowing,  but  we  find  the  follow- 
ing recorded  as  baptized  by  Parson  Smith  of  Falmouth  : 


STEPHKX   HINKLEV,  JR. 


GENEALOGY.  575 

James,  bapt.  Aug.  20,  1732. 

Benjamin,  bapt.  Aug.  20,  1732. 

Elizabeth,  bapt.  Aug.  20,  1732,  m.  Benjamin  Donnell  of  Bu.xton,  Nov.  13,  1755. 

Setli,  bapt.  Sept.  17,  1732. 

John,  bapt.  1734,  m.  Su.sanna  Brown,  Apr.  6,  1770. 

Jeremiah,  bapt.  1737,  m.  Abigail ,  about  1760;  2d,  Thankful  Keen. 

Polly,  bapt.  1740,  was  living,  unm.,  in  Josiah  Davis's  family  in  17S0. 

William  Cotton  of  Falmouth  was  guardian  to  minor  children  — 
Jeremiah,  John  and  Mary  Hodgdon,  late  of  Gorham. 

It  is  probable  that  the  homestead  lot  of  Jeremiah,  the  first,  was 
the  thirty  acre  lot  93,  being  the  easterly  part  of  the  farm  lately 
owned  by  Ichabod  Leighton,  near  the  house  of  the  late  William 
Burton.  This  lot,  Mrs.  Mary  Hodgdon,  widow,  sold  to  William  Lake- 
man,  weaver,  Sept.  10,  1763;  on  the  southerly  side  of  Queen  street, 
and  westerly  side  of  the  Black  Brook  road,  so  called. 

It  is  also  probable  that  Jeremiah,  the  second,  who  married  Abigail 

,  lived  at  \\'est  Gorham,  on  the  northerly  half  of  the  hundred 

acre  lot.  No.  81,  six  acres  of  which  he  sold  to  Samuel  Brown,  where 
the  old  Brown  house  now  stands,  also  three  acres  to  Colman  P.  Wat- 
son, where  the  old  hotel  now  stands,  and  in  the  year  1782,  April  22, 
he  sold  the  remainder  of  his  lot  to  Maj.  George  Lewis  of  Barnstable. 
In  1778  he  was  a  private  in  Capt.  Richard  Maybeny's  company  of 
Massachusetts  Bay  forces,  under  Col.  Tupper,  mustered  out  at  West 
Point,  Jan.  i,  1779.  In  the  year  1779  Jeremiah  Hodgdon  was  a 
corporal  in  Capt.  McLellan's  company,  in  the  Penobscot  Expedition. 
In  1 78 1  he  was  one  of  the  dissenters,  and  signed  the  petition  to  the 
town,  asking  to  be  exempted  from  paying  the  ministerial  tax,  claiming 
to  be  a  Baptist.     His  children  by  his  wife  Abigail  were  : 

Mary,  b.  Aug.  2,  1762. 

James,  b.  Jan.  17,  1765. 

Joseph,  b.  Jan.  20,  1768,  m.  Mary  Snow,  Feb.  24,  1789;  moved  to  Orrington, 

and  died  there. 
Mehitable,  b.  July  22,  1770. 
Sarah,  b.  Sept.  19,  1772. 
Elizabeth,  b.  Aug.  i,  1774. 
Jeremiah,  b.  Sept.  9,  1776. 
Ebenezer,  b.  May  17,  178 1. 

Jeremiah  Hodgdon  moved  to  Bucktown,  now  Buckfield.  He 
married  a  second  wife.  Thankful  Keen,  by  whom  he  had  four  children, 
Abigail,  Israel,  who  married  Lucy  Snow,  sister  to  his  brother  Joseph's 
wife,  John,  and  Lydia. 

Jeremiah  Hodgdon  died  in  Hebron,  Aug.  24,  1823. 

Caleb  Hodgdon,  son  of  Israel  Hodgdon  of  Standish,  lived  in  the 
White  Rock  school  district  about  a  third  of  a  mile  from  the  Standish 
line.     He  was  Representative  from  Gorham  to  the  State  Legislature 


576  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

in    1838-39.      He  married   Nabby,  daughter  of  Josiah    Harmon   of 

Standish.     Children : 

Joanna,  b.  Dec.  6,  181 2,  m.  Jonathan  Leavitt,  Jr.,  of  Windham,  1845. 
Peter,  b.  May  3,  1818,  m.  Eliza  A.  Fogg,  Jan.  i,  1843  '<  2d,  Elizabeth  A.  Cars- 
ley  of  Harrison  ;  d.  July  2,  1891. 

Mr.  Hodgdon  also  had  an  adopted  son,  Charles.  Mrs.  Nabby 
Hodgdon  died  May  11,  1834,  aged  46,  and  Mr.  Hodgdon  married, 
Oct.  5,  1834,  Martha,  daughter  of  William  and  Anna  Bolton.  Esquire 
Hodgdon  died  June  10,  1875,  aged  83.  His  wife  Martha  died  June 
7,  1882,  aged  90. 

HOLBROOK. 

The  name  of  Mrs.  Margaret  Holbrook  appears  on  the  tax  list  as 
early  as  1773  as  an  owner  of  real  estate  in  Gorham.  In  1777  she, 
then  of  Wellfleet,  Mass.,  and  a  widow,  purchased  of  John  Burn  all  of 
Gorham  the  west  half  of  the  hundred  acre  lot  No.  7,  and  there  made 
her  residence.  In  1783  she  sold  to  'Anthony  Murray  the  east  half 
of  the  west  half  of  No.  7,  together  with  the  house  and  barn  where 
Murray  then  resided.  Mrs.  Holbrook  was  the  daughter  of  Isaac 
Doane.  She  was  born  at  Eastham,  Mass.,  Mar.  6,  1710/11,  and  mar- 
ried, Jan.  2,  1734/5,  Thomas  Holbrook  of  Wellfleet.  Thomas  and 
Margaret  Holbrook  had  several  children  : 

Thomas,  b.  Jan.  30,  1739/40,  m.  Hannah  Harding;  d.  in  1S06. 

Isaiah,  b.  May  23,  1742,  m.  Price  Hatch;  was  drowned. 

John,  b.  Oct.  18,  1748,  m.  Ruth  Hamblen  and  removed  to  Maine,  177 1. 

Isaac  D.,  b.  Feb.  18,  1751. 

Jerusha. 

Margaret. 

Isaac  Doane   Holbrook,  son   of  Thomas  and    Margaret  (Doane) 

Holbrook,  was  born  in   Wellfleet  (Billingsgate),  Mass.      He  was  a 

sailor.     He   came  to   Gorham   from    Eastham  about  1778,  in  which 

year  he  purchased  of  Caleb  Chase  the  thirty  acre  lot  No.  15,  which 

covers  the  whole  south  side  of  Main  St.,  beginning  at  the  corner  of 

South    St.,   and   running  to   the    eastern   line    of    the    late    Stephen 

Hinkley's  land,  where  the  new  road  to  Westbrook  enters  Main  St., 

and  running  also  down  South  St.,  sixty  rods  to  the  lot  where  the  late 

Dr.  Henry  H.  Hunt  resided.     At  the  same  time  he  purchased  on  the 

opposite  side   of  the  road  a  strip,  which  was  bounded  by   Main   and 

Kmg  (now  School)  Sts.,  and  ran  north  as  far  as  the  present  Church 

I  Anthony  Murray  and  his  wife  Abiel  proliably  came  to  Gorham  about  1770.  Their 
Chihlren  were  Anthony,  b.  Dec.  28,  1767,  m.  Betty  Preston,  Feb.  27,  1789;  Mary,  b.  Dec.  5, 
17G'.),  ni.  Isaac  Murch,  Sept.  12,  1790;  Miriam,  b.  in  Corhani.  June  Hi,  1772;  James,  b.  in 
Gorham,  Oct.  27,  1775;  Thomas,  b.  in  (iorhani,  Mar.29,  1778,  and  Arnold,  b.  in  Gorham, 
Dec.  8,  1780.    Antliony  Murray  left  town  in  17y-l,  going  probably  to  Standish. 


GENEALOGY.  577 

St.,  and  east  eighty  rods,  to  the  land  of  Silas  Chadbourn,  about  to 

the  east  line  of  the  tannery  lot.     On  this  strip  or  lot  at  that  time  was 

a  house,  barn  and  shed.     In  1782  Mr.  Holbrook  bought  of  Thomas 

Pote  the  western  half  of  the  hundred  acre  lot  No.  9.     This  he  sold 

in    1783   to  John    Perkins.     It  is  the   farm   since  owned  by  Horace 

Meserve.      Isaac  Doane  Holbrook  married   at   Eastham,    P'eb.    18, 

1773,  Lucy  Doane.     Children: 

Isaac,  b.  in  Eastham,  Nov.  i,  1773,  d.  young. 
Martha,  b.  in  Eastham,  May  4,  1778. 
Hephzibah,  b.  in  Gorham,  Jan.  15,  1780. 
Lucy,  b.  in  Gorham,  Jan.  11,  1782,  d.  young. 
Isaac  D.,  b.  Aug.  15,  1783. 
Lucy,  b.  in  Gorham,  June  13,  1785. 

Mr.  Holbrook  died  soon  after  the  birth  of  his  last  child,  and  in 
March,  1787,  his  widow,  Lucy  Holbrook,  bought  of  Simon  Harding 
seven  acres  of  land  from  the  hundred  acre  lot  75,  with  the  buildings 
thereon,  and  a  share  in  the  grist  mill,  dam,  and  privileges  of  the  river 
at  Stephenson's  bridge.  On  this  land,  which  lies  on  the  west  bank 
of  the  river,  Mrs.  Lucy  Holbrook  and  her  mother-in-law  Margaret 
resided.  Jan.  27,  1789,  Mrs.  Lucy  Holbrook  married  James  Rolfe, 
and  Aug.  20,  1789,  James  and  Lucy  Rolfe,  both  of  Gorham,  sold  to 
Capt.  John  Stephenson  the  eighth  part  of  the  grist  mill,  dam  and 
privileges  above  mentioned. 

Mrs.  Margaret  Holbrook  was  living  as  late  as  1793,  when  she  sold 
the  remaining  twenty-five  acres  of  her  lot.  No.  7,  to  James  Lombard 
of.  Gorham.  She  is  said  to  have  returned  to  Wellfleet,  and  to  have 
died  about  1808,  aged  97. 

There  was  a  Jane  Holbrook,  who  married  John  Burnall  of  Gorham, 
Jan.  25,  1787,  a  Nancy,  who  married  Mark  Dresser  of  Scarborough, 
Aug.  9,  1789,  and  a  Sally,  who  was  published  to  Charles  Cavano, 
Feb.  12,  1790.  These  were  perhaps  granddaughters  of  Mrs.  Margaret 
Holbrook. 

HORTON. 

John  Horton,  .son  of  Benjamin  and  Patience  Horton  of  Milton, 
Mass.,  was  a  land  owner  and  trader  at  Gorham  village  in  1798  and 
1799.  His  store  stood  on  Main  St.,  just  west  of  where  the  house  of 
Llewellyn  Brown  now  stands.  About  the  year  1800  he  removed  to 
Portland  where  he  was  in  bu.siness  with  his  brother  Rufus  for  a  few 
years.  He  married.  Jan.  28,  1807,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Estes)  Bangs  of 
Gorham,  daughter  of  Henry  Estes  of  Berwick,  and  widow  of  James 
Bangs.     Mrs.  Bangs  lived  on  the  farm  known  as  the  Robert  Meserve 


578  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

place,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Horton  after  their  marriage  resided  on  this 
farm.  They  were  prominent  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and 
were  the  first  couple  to  be  married  in  the  Friends'  new  meeting 
house,  built  in  Gorham  in  1805.  Mr.  Horton  had  several  children  by 
a  former  wife,  Elizabeth  : 

John,  was  a  mason  ;  I'd  in  Philadelphia. 

Nancy,  m.  John  Read  of  Windham,  Jan.  28,  1S18. 

Charles,  b.  Mar.  3,  1796,  m.  Esther,  dau.  of  William  Cobb.  Ch:  Lydia  C,  b. 
Dec.  14,  1820,  m.  George  Nichols,  Oct.  4,  1843  ;  John,  b.  Dec.  5,  1822  ; 
Phebe  C,  b.  May  8,  1824,  m.  Luther  Whitney,  1848;  Elizabeth  W.,  b. 
Mar.  ID,  1826;  Charles  E.,  b.  May  7,  1828,  m.  Harriet  Allen  of  Liming- 
ton,  June,  1847;  William  C,  b.  Aug.  29,  1830;  Esther  A.,  b.  Sept.  29, 
1832;  Uaniel  C.,  b.  July  27,  1839  Charles  Horton  I'd  on  the  Jedediah 
Cobb  place,  where  Stephen  B.  Anderson  now  I's.  In  1878  or  '79,  after 
Mr.  H.  had  left  town,  his  house  was  burned. 

Ruth,  b.  Oct.  31,  1797,  m.  Nathan  Read  of  Windham,  Jan  28,  1824. 

Patience,  b. ,  d.  unm.  with  her  sister  Ruth  in  Windham. 

John  Horton  died  July  7,  1829,  aged  76  years. 

HUNT. 

Among  the  original  proprietors  of  Gorham  we  find  the  name  of 
Thomas  Hvmt  of  Duxbury,  Mass.  The  claim  to  his  right  was  made 
in  his  name  by  his  heirs,  as  he  was  slain  on  Sunday,  March  26,  1675, 
in  the  battle  with  the  Narragansetts,  at  Pawtucket.  This  Thomas 
was  a  soldier  in  Capt.  Pierce's  company,  and  a  descendant  from 
Edmund  Hunt,  the  original  emigrant  from  England  who  founded  the 
Duxbur}'  line  of  the  family.  Thomas  was  probably  of  the  third 
generation.     We  do  not  find  that  any  of  his  heirs  settled  in  Gorham. 

Ichabod  Hunt  and  his  family  lived  in  Falmouth,  as  early  as  1760. 
He  was  a  shipwright,  and  by  deeds  his  land  was  described  as  being 
at  a  place  called  Meeting-House  Point,  on  Mountjoy  Neck.  He  and 
his  wife  Susanna  on  Oct.  3,  1760,  conveyed  land  in  that  locality  to 
Ilsley  and  Waite.  Jan.  1.1768,  Moses  Pearson  conveys  to  Ichabod 
Hunt  and  his  son  Ephraim  the  hundred  acre  lot  27,  in  Gorham. 
Ephraim  was  also  a  shipwright.  They  were  at  this  date  of  Falmouth, 
but  by  records  it  appears  they  were  in  Gorham,  July  19,  1789.  They 
probably  came  from  Amesbury,  or  that  neighborhood,  as  they  were 
from  the  Amesbury  line  of  the  family  and  descendants  of  Edmund 
Hunt,  who  took  the  oath  of  fidelity  in  1677.  This  family  was  the 
first  of  the  name  that  settled  in  Gorham,  and  probably  in  this  county. 

Of  the  children  of  Ichabod  and  Susanna  Ilunt  we  find  no  perfect 
record,  showing  date  or  place  of  birth.  Their  names,  as  far  as  we 
can  find,  were  as  follows :  Ephraim  (who  must  have  been  born  as 
early    as    1746),    Ichabod,  William,  George,  Daniel,  Enoch,   Sarah, 


GENEALOGY.  ,        579 

Susanna,  Polly,  and  Rebecca.  Of  these  children,  Sarah  married 
Nathaniel  Edwards,  Sept.  i6,  1775,  in  Gorham.  Three  of  Ichabod's 
sons  were  in  the  army  of  the  Revolution  —  Daniel,  Ichabod  and 
George, — -all  in  Capt.  Hart  Williams'  company,  Col.  Phinney's 
regiment,  in  1776  at  Cambridge,  Ticonderoga  and  Fort  George. 
George  died  at  Fort  George,  March  14  ,1776.  We  do  not  know  if  he 
was  married,  but  he  paid  a  poll  tax  in  1772  in  Gorham.  Daniel  was 
a  corporal  in  Williams'  company.  Of  him  and  Ichabod  we  find  no 
more  war  record ;  probably  they  served  out  their  time  and  were 
discharged.  William  was  a  seafaring  man,  and  when  on  land  is  said 
to  have  made  his  home  in  Gorham.  He  joined  the  naval  service  in 
the  Revolutionary  war,  was  taken  prisoner  nine  times  by  the  enemy, 
and  is  said  to  have  been  finally  lost  at  sea  after  the  close  of  the  war. 
Nor  do  we  find  any  record  of  Enoch,  or  know  what  became  of  him. 
Rebecca  married  in  1764  Andrew  Crockett  of  Gorham. 

Ephraim,  who  was  probably  the  oldest  son  of  Ichabod  and  Susanna, 
married  Abigail,  daughter  of  Elder  Joseph  Gates  of  Gorham.  Oct.  6, 
1769,  and  settled  in  Gorham  on  the  lot  purchased  by  his  father  and 
himself  of  Mr.  Pearson.  This  farm  descended  to  his  son  Daniel, 
and  was  lately  owned  by  the  heirs  of  Mr.  David  McLellan.  It  is 
situated  on  the  road  leading  from  the  Scarboro  road  to  Saccarappa. 

The  children  of  Ephraim  and  Abigail  Hunt  were  : 

Lydia.  b.  Apr.  2,  1770,  d.  Sept.  16,  1771. 
Lydia,  b.  Oct.  9,  1771,  d.  Feb.  23,  1773. 

Francis,  b.  June  3,  1773,  m.  Nancy  Merrill,  Mar.  i,  1796;  had  three  chn. 
Daniel,  b  June  28,  1775,  m.  Mrs.  Angelina  (Griffin)  Hastie  of  Philadelphia. 
Susanna,  b.  June  12,  1777,  m.  Solomon  Lombard,  Jr.,  June  26,  1796 
Betsey,  b.  Oct.  9,  1779,  m.  John  Crockett,  Dec.  15,  1796. 
Ephraim,  b.  Apr.  9,  1781,  d.  Nov.  8,  1782. 
Abigail,  b.  Sept.  18,  1783,  m.  James  Lord,  p.  Feb.  18,  1804. 
John,  b.  Jan.  5,  1785,  m.  Mrs.  Augusta  (Hilton)  Shaw,  widow  of  Capt.  Sam'l 
Shaw. 

Nancy,  b.  June  7,  1788,  m. Johnson. 

Polly,  b.  Oct.  I,  1790,  m. Kent. 

Katherine,  b.  Sept.  3,  1792,  m.  Cochran. 

Of  this  family,  Daniel,  who  married  Mrs.  Hastie  (who  had  one  son 
by  her  first  husband),  was  a  seafaring  man  and  master  of  a  vessel 
many  years.  He  afterwards  kept  a  hotel  at  Gorham  village,  where 
he  died  April  20,  1833.  His  wife  died  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  leaving 
three  children,  Mrs.  Angelina  Prentiss,  born  Jan.  24,  1810;  Mrs. 
Ellen  Augusta  Atkins;  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Edwards.  John  was  a  sea 
captain,  and  died  in  New  Orleans  many  years  since,  leaving  his  wife 
and  one  daughter. 

Ichabod  Hunt,  son  of  Ichabod,  and  brother  of  Ephraim,  was,  as 
we  have   said,  a   soldier  of  the   Revolution,  in   Capt.  Williams'  com- 


580  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

pany,  Phinney's  regiment.     He  was  probably  born  in  Falmouth  ;  the 

time  we  cannot  say,  only  that  he  was  old  enough  to  enlist  in  the  army 

in  1775.      He  married,  July  19,  1780,  Mary  Stone,  sister  of  Jonathan 

Stone  of  Gorham.     His  residence  was  somewhere  in  West  Gorham, 

probably  near  where  Joseph  Cotton  lived,  possibly  near  Bachelder's 

and  William   Cotton's  farm.     By  his  first  wife,  Mary,  he  had  eight 

children  born  in  Gorham  : 

William,  b.  Mar.  21,  17S1. 
James,  b.  Mar.  11,  1783. 
Archelaus  vS.,  b.  Sept.  12,  1785. 
Mary,  b.  Mar.  16,  1788. 
Ichabod,  b.  Dec.  25,  1790. 
Eunice,  b.  May  12,  1793. 
Enoch,  b.  Nov.  13,  1795. 
Ephraim,  b   May  3,  1798. 

Mrs.  Mary  Hunt  died  in  Gorham,  Sept.  10,  1800,  and  Ichabod 
Hunt  married,  April  9,  1801,  Eunice  Stone,  the  sister  of  his  first  wife. 
The  family  moved  to  Unity  in  this  State,  where  two  children  of 
Ichabod  and  Eunice  were  born  :  George  and  Stephen. 

Ichabod  Hunt  died  in  Unity,  April  30,  1822. 

One  of  the  sons,  George,  married  Miriam  Whitney  of  Gorham, 
and  returned  to  Gorham,  and  lived  several  years  on  Fort  Hill,  on 
the  farm  now  owned  by  Samuel  Roberts.  Mr.  Hunt  died  here  June 
27,  i860,  aged  57,  and  his  wife  Miriam,  Feb.  18,  1873,  aged  73. 
Children:  Elizabeth  E.,  died  July  15,  1854,  aged  19;  Louisa  W., 
died  Jan.  15,  1861,  aged  24;  George  A.,  was  a  merchant  in  Portland, 
died  Jan.  11,  1902,  and  Abbie,  married  Lendall  J.  Lowell,  died  July 
16,  1900. 

Oliver  and  Joseph  Hunt  came  to  Gorham  soon  after  1790.  They 
were  the  sons  of  Abner  of  Milton,  Mass.  Abner  was  born  July  28, 
1731,  and  was  the  son  of  Joseph,  2d,  of  Milton.  Joseph,  2d,  was 
born  in  1696,  and  was  the  son  of  Joseph,  of  Milton.  Joseph,  of 
Milton,  was  born  in  1670,  and  was  the  son  of  Ephraim,  of  Weymouth. 
Ephraim,  of  Weymouth,  was  born  in  16 10  in  England,  and  was  the 
son  of  Enoch  the  emigrant,  and  first  of  the  family  to  live  in  Wey- 
mouth. Enoch  came  over  with  his  son  Ephraim,  and  the  records 
say  he  took  the  oath,  and  was  admitted  a  freeman  of  Newport,  R.  I., 
in  1638.  It  is  said  that  after  establishing  his  family  in  America,  he 
returned  to  England. 

Abner  Hunt  of  Milton  married  Abigail  Miller,  Jan.  14,  175 1. 
Children  : 

Richard,  b. 


Oliver,  b.  Jan.  18,  1755,  m. ;  2d,  Sarah  Morse. 


GENEALOGY.  581 

Rachel,  b.  Apr.  24,  1757,  m.  Cotton  Ilaidwick  of  I\o.\buiy,  June  28,  17S9. 

William,  b.  June  18,  1759. 

Susanna,  b.  Sept.  16,  1761,  m.  James  Bowman,  July  21,  1789. 

John,  b.  May  26,  1764. 

Abigail,  b.  May  19,  1767. 

Deborah,  b. . 

Ruth,  b.  . 

Jerusha,  b. ,  1776. 

Joseph,  b.  June  3,  1778,  m.  Polly  McLellan,  Nov.  14,  1S03. 

Mrs.  Abigail  (Miller)  Hunt  died  Dec.  19,  1795. 

Capt.  Oliver  Hunt,  son  of  Abner  of  Milton,  was  a  soldier  of  the 
Revolution,  and  served  three  years.  He  was  at  Ticonderoga,  a  first 
lieutenant  in  a  company  of  Massachusetts  troops.  His  service  was 
honorable,  for  which  he  received  a  pension  from  the  United  States 
of  twenty-four  dollars  per  month,  during  life.  Capt.  Hunt  was  an 
honest,  upright  man  ;  by  trade  he  was  a  tanner  and  currier  of  the 
old  class,  and  by  his  trade  made  a  good  living.  Notwithstanding,  a 
large  number  of  establishments  like  his  would  not  produce  the 
amount  of  goods  now  made  in  one  of  our  modern  yards.  His  bark- 
grinding  mill  was  an  upright  round  stone  about  five  feet  in  diameter 
revolving  on  an  axle  as  it  was  drawn  around  by  a  stveep,  by  his  old 
horse,  thus  slowly  crushing  the  bark.  His  yard  and  buildings  were 
on  South  St.,  at  the  westerly  end  of  the  (now)  railroad  bridge.  The 
lot  has  long  since  disappeared,  carried  dowri  the  railroad  to  help 
build  the  "  fill"  half  a  mile  east  of  the  depot.  His  lot  of  land  he 
purchased,  of  James  and  John  Gilkey,  who  then  owned  the  thirty 
acre  lot  18,  by  deed  dated  Aug.  21,  1794. 

Capt  Hunt  had  a  first  wife,  of  whose  name  and  residence  w^e  have 
no  record,  whom  he  married  before  1780,  and  resided  a  while  in  Provi- 
dence, where  he'  had  two  children  born,  Oliver,  born  Oct.  9,  1780, 
and  John,  born  Dec.  19,  1785,  and  where  probably  his  first  wife  died. 
The  eldest  of  his  sons  was  lost  at  sea  ;  of  the  other  we  have  no 
record.  He  never  came  to  Gorham.  On  Dec.  28,  1790,  Capt.  Hunt 
married  Sarah  Morse  of  Newton,  Mass.,  for  his  second  wife.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  Nathan  and  Sarah  (Jackson)  Morse,  and  died 
Jan.  4,  18 10.  By  a  tax  bill  for  the  town  of  Gorham,  Capt.  Hunt 
appears  to  have  been  in  town  in  1792,  probably  not  here  long,  as  the 
Assessors  did  not  know  his  christian  name,  and  he  is  taxed  as 
"Hunt,  the  tanner."  In  the  year  1795  he  commanded  the  South 
Company  of  militia  in  the  town  of  Gorham.  His  children  by  his 
second  marriage  were  : 

William,  b.  May  ig,  1792,  was  twice  m. ;  has  descendants  in  the  eastern  part  of 

the  State. 
Hannah,  b.  Mar.  31,  1794,  d.  unm. 


582  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Nabby,  b.  May  12,  1796,  m.  a  Mr.  Rice  of  Boston,  Mass  ;  no  chn. 
Charles,  b.  Jan.  31,  1800,  m.  Mary  G.  Fogg,  Dec.  31,  1831. 

(2)  Charles   Hunt,  son  of  Capt.  Oliver,  was  a  teacher  for  some 

years.      He  afterwards  kept  store  in  a  building  which  stood  on  the 

hill  at  the  village,  and  which  was  burned  in  August,  1846.     He  rep- 

•resented  the  town  two  years  in  the  Legislature,  and  was  State  Senator 

for  two  years.      He  married  Mary  G.,  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Hannah 

Fogg.     Children  : 

Mary  E.,  b.  Oct.  18,  1832,  m.  Mr.  Carson  of  Philadelphia,  Dec.  3,  1856. 

Charles  E.,  b.  Oct.  29,  1834,  d.  Dec.  19,  1837. 

William  R.,  b.  Nov.  29,  1836,  d.  Aug.  22,  1838. 

Charles  O.,  b.  Apr.  26,  1839,  Resident  Physician  and  Superintendent  of  the  Me. 

Gen.  Hospital. 
Henry  H.,  b.  July  7,  1842,  for  many  years  a  practicing  physician  of  Gorham,  and 

afterwards  of  Portland,  where  he  d.  Nov.  30,  1894. 

Hon.  Charles  Hunt  died  Dec.  23,  1844,  and  his  wife  Mary,  April 
19,  1893,  aged  88. 

Joseph  Hunt,  son  of  Abner,  of  Milton,  was'a  hatter  by  trade.      His 

shop,  which  stood  on  the  hill  at  the  village  was  destroyed  by  fire  Aug. 

15,  1846.     He  lived  and  died  in  the  house  on  South  St.,  now  occupied 

by  Alonzo  L.  Drown.      He  married  Polly,  daughter  of  Thomas  and 

Jenny  McLellan.     Children  : 

Jane  McL.,  b.  Apr.  16,  1804,  d.  in  Wilton,  unm. 
Joseph,  b.  Mar.  12,  1806,  m.;  J'd  in  Wilton. 

Mr.  Hunt  died  April  14,  1861,  aged  83,  and  his  wife  Polly,  Oct.  6, 
1865,  aged  81. 

HUSTON. 

Simon  Huston  came  to  Gorham  from   Falmouth  about   1763.      He 

jived  on  what  is  now  the  Gorham  Town   Farm,   near   Little   Falls. 

July    23,    1 761,   he   married    Elizabeth,   daughter    of    Samuel   Elder, 

Their  oldest  child,  David,  was  born  in  Falmouth,  before  they  moved 

to   (jorham   where  their   other  children  were  born.     Their  children 

were  : 

David,  b.  Sept.  29,  1762,  d.  Apr.  8,  1782. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Mar.  i,  1764,  m.  Reuben  Elder,  Feb.  4,  1787. 

Eunice,  b.  Oct.  28,  1765,  m.  Samuel  Harding  of  Bu.\ton,  Aug.  5,  1790. 

Anna,  b.  Dec.  26,  1767,  m.  Stephen  Phinney,  Sept.  22,  1788;  2d,  Simeon  Libby. 

Simon,  b.  Oct.  i,  1769,  d.  July  3,  1773. 

Mary,  b.  Feb.  28,  1771,  m.  Richard  Mayberry,  Oct.  22,  1798. 

William,  b.  Nov.  20,  1772,  m.  Hannah  Waite  of  Falmouth  ;  I'd  in  Portland. 

Rebecca,  b.  Dec.  25,  1774,  m.  James  Warren,  Jr.,  p.  Nov.  i,  1806. 

Lydia,  b.  Nov.  21,  1776. 

Simon,  b.  Apr.  5,  1779,  m.  Betsey  R.  Whitmore,  Mar.  22,  1801  ;  2d,  Ruth  Elder. 


DR.   HENkV  H.  HUNT. 


GENEALOGY.  583 

(2)  Simon  Huston,  son  of  Simon,  lived  on  the  farm  formerly  owned 
and  occupied  by  his  father.  He  married  Betsey  Ross  Whitmore, 
daughter  of  Capt.  Samuel  Whitmore.  She  died  Aug.  10,  1808,  and 
he  married  May  28,  18 12,  Ruth  Elder.  Simon  Huston  died  Jan.  5, 
18 1 7.  He  left  no  children,  and  by  his  will  he  gave  his  farm,  after 
the  death  of  his  widow,  to  the  town  of  (]orham,  to  be  used  as  a  home 
for  the  worthy  poor  of  the  town.  This  farm  is  now  occupied  by  the 
Superintendent  of  the  Poor,  and  is  called  the  Gorham  Town  Farm. 
Mrs.  Ruth  Huston  died  Nov.  27,  1865,  aged  76. 

IRISH. 

James  Irish,  who  was  born   in   England,  came  to   Falmouth   about 

171 1.     Here  he  resided  several  years,  and  here  his  children,  with 

the  possible  exception  of  William,  were  born.     About  1740  he  came 

to  Gorham  and  purchased  of  Capt.  John   Phinney  one-half  of  the 

hundred  acre  lot  85,  which  had  been  drawn  to  the  right   106  owned 

by  John  Pugsley,  one  of  the  original  grantees.     Mr.  Irish  remained 

in  Gorham  till  the  Indian  w^ar,  when  he  like  several  other  settlers 

removed  to  a  place  of  greater  safety  till  the  danger  was  over,  when 

he  returned  to  his  farm.      His  wife  was  Elizabeth ,  and  their 

children  were  : 

John,  b.  Apr.  13,  1724,  m.  Sarah ,  about  1745. 

Miriam,  b.  Sept.  13,  1725,  m.  Gamaliel  Pote,  Aug.  7,  1743;  I'd  in  Falmouth. 
Joseph,  b.  Apr.  12,   1728,  m.  Hannah  Doane  of  Falmouth,  p.  Mar.   lo,  1753; 

went  to  Buckfield. 
Elizabeth,  b.  Apr.  19,  1730. 
Thomas,  b.  Feb.  27,  1732,  d.  young. 

James,  b.  Jan.  21,  1736,  m.  Mary  Gorham  Phinney,  Mar.  10,  1756. 
Thomas,  b.  Jan.  29,  1737,  m.  Deliverance  Skillings,  July  6,  1759. 
William,  b. ,  m.  Mary  McCollister,  July  18,  1765. 

James  Irish  died  when  about  50  years  of  age,  and  his  widow  at  the 
age  of  84. 

(2)  John  Irish,  son  of  James,  was  a  soldier  in  the  expedition  that 

captured  Louisburg  from  the  French  in  1745,  and  in  1750  was  one  of 

those  that  received  a  grant  of  Pearsonstown  for  their  services  in  that 

campaign.     The  name  of  John  Irish  appears  on  the  roll  of  Capt. 

Wentworth   Stuart's   company  in    1775  as   a   Revolutionary  soldier. 

He  married  Sarah ,  and  settled  in  Gorham.     Children  : 

Abigail,  b.  Dec.  24,  1746. 

Child,  bapt.  in  Falmouth,  1749. 

John,  b.  Aug.   12,   1751,  m.  Eleanor  Maffit,  or  Moffat,  p.  Apr.  18,  1775.     Ch. 

recorded  in  Gorham  :  Rebecca,  b.  July  8,  1776;  Jacob,  Ij.  May  10,   1778; 

Abigail,  b.  Oct.  14,  1779. 


584  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Molly,  b.  June  15,  1753. 

James,  b.  Feb.  18,  1755,  m.  Mary  Jenkins,  p.  Dec.  13,  1777. 
Sarah,  b.  July  8,  1757,  m.  Joshua  Young,  June  13,  1779. 
Elizabeth,  b.  June  11,  1760. 

(2)  James  Iri.sh,  Jr.,  son  of  James,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution. 
He  enlisted  in  1775  in  Capt.  Williams'  company,  Col.  Phinney's 
regiment,  and  served  a  year.     He  enlisted  again,  leaving  home  in 

1777,  as  sergeant  in  Capt.  Whitmore's  company,  Col.  Fogg's  regi- 
ment ;  spent  some  months  at  Peekskill,  N.  Y.,  and  returned  home  in 

1778.  He  cleared  and  owned  the  farm  on  Flaggy  Meadow  road, 
recently  owned  by  Seth  Hersey,  and  now  (1899)  by  Mr.  Grouard. 
He  married  Mary  Gorham  Phinney,  the  daughter  of  Capt.  John 
Phinney,  and  the  first  white  child  born  in  Gorham.  She  was  a  gen- 
erous, warm-hearted,  hospitable  woman,  and  an  earnest  Christian. 
Children  of  James  and  Mary  Irish  : 

Stephen,  b.  Mar.  24,  1757,  m.  Anna  Bangs,  Apr.  i,  1779. 
William,  b.  Mar.  12,  1759,  m.  Sarah  Murch,  p.  Sept.  29,  17S1. 
Martha,  b.  Aug.  28,  1761,  m.  Stephen  Whitney,  p.  Oct.  28,  1780. 
Ebenezer,  b.  Apr.  5,  1763,  m.  Patty  Morton,  Jan.  i,  1785;  d.  Jan.  7,  1851. 
Obadiah,  b.  July  17,  1765,  m.  Mary  Deane,  p.  Jan.  7,   1790;  moved  to  Ossipee ; 

d.  Apr.  37,  1S52,  his  wife,  in  1853. 
Mary,  b.  June  24,  1767,  m.  Timothy  Bacon,  Feb.  19,  1789. 
Patience,  b.  Jan.  31,  1770,  m.  John  Davis,  Apr.  16,  1789;  d.  Dec,  31,  1854. 
Samuel,  b.  Apr.  8,   1772,  m.  Martha  Blake,  July  8,  1792;  no  ch ;  d.  Sept.  25, 

1825,  she,  in  Aug.  1858. 
James,  b.  Aug.   18,  1776,  m.  Rebecca  Chadboum,  Sept.    2,    1798;  2d,  Louisa 

Mason. 

James  Irish  died  April  i,  1816,  aged  80.  Mrs.  Irish  died  May  13, 
1825,  aged  89. 

(2)  Thomas  Irish,  son  of  James,  was  a  Revolutionary  soldier, 
enlisting  in  1775  in  Capt.  Williams'  company.  Col.  Phinney's  regi- 
ment. In  1779  he  was  a  sergeant  in  Capt.  McLellan's  company.  Col. 
Mitchell's  regiment,  and  took  part  in  the  Penobscot  expedition.  He 
married  Deliverance,  daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Mary  Skillings,  and 
settled  in  Gorham.     Children  : 

Susanna,  b.  Oct.  22,  1760,  m.  Ebenezer  Morton,  Jr.,  Dec.  7,  1780. 

Isaac,  b.  Mar.  7,  1763,  m.  Anna  Flood,  Sept.  28,  1786. 

Benjamin,  b.  June  20,  1766,  m.  Jenny  Libby,  Oct.  2.  1791. 

Jacob,  b.  Sept.  14,  176S,  d.  Jan.  10,  1794. 

Amy,  b.  Apr.  3,  1770,  m.  Samuel  Burnell  of  Baldwin,  Sept.  18,  1791. 

Abigail,  b.  May  6,  1773,  m.  Reuben  Libby,  Jr.,  Sept.  11,  1794. 

Gamaliel,  b.  Oct.  15,  1776,  d.  young. 

Deliverance,  b.  May  20,  1779,  d.  June  3,  1859.     (Recorded  "  Dilla.") 

Mary,  b.  Dec.  i,  1780,  d.  Sept.  19,  1870. 

Elizabeth,  b.  May  r,  1784,  m.  John  Skillings,  Oct.  3,  1S02;  I'd  in  Harrison. 

Thomas  Irish  died  Aug.  14,  1832,  aged  96.     Hi.s  wife  Deliverance 

died  Sept.  25,  182 1,  aged  80. 


GENEALOGY.  585 

(2)  William  Irish,  youngest  son  of  James,  married  Mary,  daughter 

of  William  McCollister.      He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution,  being  a 

corporal  in  Capt.  Williams'  company  in  1775.     He  owned  the  south 

half  of  the  hundred  acre  lot  81,  which  he  sold  to  Maj.  George  Lewis 

of  Barnstable  in  July,  1782.     Children  : 

Thomae,  b.  May  17,  1766,  m.  Elizabeth  Roberts. 

Edmund,  h.  Oct.  2,  1768. 

Margery,  b.  Apr.  12,  1771. 

Dorcas,  b.  Sept.  2,  1773. 

Miriam,  b.  Aug.  30,  1777. 

Sylvanus,  b.  Feb.  22,  1780. 

William  Irish  moved  to  Buckfield  with  his  family. 

(3)  James  Irish,  son  of  John,  lived  in  Gorham.  He  was  a  Revolu- 
tionary soldier,  enlisting  as  a  private  in  Capt.  Stuart's  company  in 
1775,  and  being  promoted  to  sergeant  in  the  following  year.  He 
married  Mary,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Mary  Jenkins,  and  their  chil- 
dren were  : 

Abiah,  b.  Nov.  13,  1779,  d.  Mar.  16,  1784. 

Elizabeth,  b.  June  22,  1782,  d.  same  day. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Oct.  17,  1783. 

Chloe,  b.  Sept.  28,  17S6. 

Jacob,  b.  Aug.  16,  17S9,  d.  Oct.,  1790. 

(3)   Stephen  Irish,  son  of  James,  2d,  lived  in  what  is  known  as  the 

Blake  neighborhood.     He  married  Anna,  daughter  of  Barnabas  and 

Loruhama  Bangs.     Children  : 

Mehitable,  m.  Joseph  Smith,  Sept.  4,  1797. 
Martha,  b.  1780,  m.  Samuel  Larrabee,  Feb.  3,  1803. 
Patience,  m.  Silas  Meserve  of  Limington,  p.  Apr.  18,  181 2. 

Dorcas,  m.  Benj.  Bracket!  of    Limington,  p.  Dec.  21,  1S16 ;  2d, Staples. 

Daniel,  m.  Abigail  Rounds,  Apr.  2,  1812. 

Ann, . 

James,  went  West. 
Loruhama, . 

Stephen  Irish  died  April  7,  1841,  and  his  wife  Anna,  Sept.  3,  1846, 

aged  86. 

(3)  William  Irish,  son  of  James,  2d,  married  Sarah,  daughter  of 

Walter   Murch.     In    1779   he  was  a  member  of   Capt.    McLellan's 

company  and  took  part  in  the  Penobscot  expedition.     He  had  but 

one  child  : 

Phebe,  bapt.  Sept.   25,    17S9,  by  Rev.  Paul  Coltin  of  Buxton;  m.  Rev.  Samuel 
Lewis,  Dec.  4,  1800. 

William  Irish  with  his  family  moved  to  Chatham,  N.  H.,  and  a  few 
years  after  died  there,  April  30,  18 15.  After  his  death,  his  wife, 
son-in-law  Lewis,  and  his  wife,  moved  to  Harrison,  and  thence  to 
Springfield,  Me.,  where  they  all  died. 


586  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM, 

(3)  James  Irish,  the  youngest  child  of  the  second  James,  was  long 
one  of  the  most  prominent  and  active  citizens  of  the  town.  He  held 
many  civil  offices.  He  was  selectman  in  1820  and  1829,  was 
Senator  in  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  in  18 19,  and  in  1820 
a  delegate  from  Gorham  to  the  Convention  that  framed  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  State  of  Maine.  He  was  the  first  Representative  from 
Gorham  to  the  Maine  Legislature.  Mr.  Irish  was  a  practical  surveyor, 
and  was  much  employed  in  surveying  public  lands,  dividing  many 
townships  into  lots  preparatory  for  settlement.  i\.fter  the  death  of 
Col.  Lewis  in  1822  he  was  appointed  Surveyor-general  of  the  public 
lands,  and  in  1824  was  appointed  State  Land  Agent.  He  was  also 
one  of  three  commissioners  appointed  to  locate  the  northeast 
boundary  of  the  State.  When  the  York  and  Cumberland  Railroad 
w^as  chartered  by  the  State  in  1846  he  selected  the  route  for  the  road 
and  made  the  surveys.  He  was  chosen  clerk  in  1848,  when  the 
directors  met  and  organized.  He  also  held  many  military  positions, 
rising  to  that  of  Brigadier  General.  In  18 14  when  Portland  was 
threatened  by  the  British,  Gen.  Irish  called  out  his  brigade  and 
marched  to  the  defense  of  that  city.  From  1845  to  1849  '^^  ^Q^d  the 
office  of  postmaster.  He  was  much  interested  in  establishing  manu- 
facturing industries  in  his  native  town.  In  1824  he  hired  a  small 
tanneiy  for  a  while,  but  afterwards  erected  a  larger  building  for  his 
increasing  business  in  this  branch.  He  had  besides  a  starch  factory 
and  also  a  carpet  factory.  His  wife  was  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Lieut. 
Silas  Chadbourn.      Children  : 

Sophronia,  b.  Sept.  5,  1799,  m.  Henry  Frost,  Nov.  28,  1821  :   2d,  John  Wingate 

of  Buxton,  Sept.  23,  1829. 
Mary  G.,  b.  July  3,  1801,  m.  Peter  Paine  of  Standish,  Nov.  26,  1822 ;  d.  Oct.  31 , 

1856. 
Isaac  C,  b.  Nov.  29,  1803,  m.  Maria  M.  March,  Sept.  5,  1830. 
Abigail,  b.  Aug.  14,  1806,  m.  Cornelius  Waters,  Dec.  15,  1830. 
Martha,  b.  July  15,  1S08,  m.  Bryce  McL.  Edwards,  Nov.  21,  1833. 
Adeline,  b.  Sept.  26,  1810,  m.  Dr.  Wm.  Marrett  of  Westbrook,  Dec.  6,  1832. 
Francis  O.,  b.  Sept.  22,  1812,  m.  Caroline  E.  Atwood  of  New  York,  Jan.   11, 

1846;  d.  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  Dec.  16,  1894;  his  wife  d.  May  17,1866. 
Marshall,  b.  Sept.  9,  181 4,  m.  Martha  Fogg,  Oct.  26,  1846;  2d,  Mary  McLellan. 
James,  b.  June  9,  1816,  d.  young. 
Rebecca  C,  b.  Sept.  21,  1817,  m.  Lyndon  Oak  of  Garland,  Sept.  21,  1846;  d. 

Feb.  24, 1902. 
Elizabeth,  b.  July  29,  1819,  m.  John  McArthur  of  Brooks,  Dec.  i,  1841  ;  d.  in 

Philadelphia,  July  i,  1896. 
James  H.,  b.  Mar.  11,  1823,  d.  May  18,  1846. 
Thaddeus  P.,  b.  Nov.  25,  1824,  m.  Ellen  A.  Davis,  Nov.  29,  1848  ;  2d,  Lucy  J. 

Rice. 

Gen.  Irish  lived  on  the  farm  of  his  father  on  Flaggy  Meadow  road 
till  18 ID,  when  he  sold  it  to  Seth  Hersey  and  bought  the  farm  in  the 


GENEALOGY.  587 

Blake  neighborhood  formerly  owned  by  Joseph  Phinney.  This  farm 
in  1S26  he  sold,  and  moved  to  the  village  where  he  lived  in  the  three 
story  brick  house,  since  destroyed  by  fire,  which  stood  on  the  west 
corner  of  Main  and  Water  Sts.  His  wife  Rebecca  died  Oct.  5,  1831, 
aged  51,  and  he  married,  Oct.  15,  1832,  Mrs.  Louisa  (Balis)  Mason, 
who  was  born  in  Massachusetts  in  1789.  Gen.  Irish  died  June  30, 
1863,  at  the  age  of  87.  His  wife  Louisa  died  Oct.  3,  1881,  in  Hallo- 
well,  aged  92. 

(3)  Isaac  Irish,  son  of  Thomas,  lived  in  the  White  Rock  district 

where   Mr.  Strout  now  (1897)  lives.      He  married  Anna  Flood  of 

Buxton.     Children : 

Benjamin,  b.  Feb.  12,  1787,  m.  Elizabeth  M.  Libby,  Nov.  25,  1807. 

Betty,  b.  Apr.  16,  17S9,  d.  unm. 

Jacob,  b.  Jan.  20,  1791,  d.  young. 

Jacob,  b.  May  15,  1793.  m.  Jane  Libby.  Jan.  15,  1818. 

Patty,  b.  March,  1795,  d.  young. 

Morris,  b.  June  4,  1798,  m.  Betsey  Lombard,  Apr.  23,  1823. 

Polly,  b.  Aug.  19,  I  Sod,  m.  Gen.  Wm.  Waterman  of  Bu.xton,  Apr.  15,  1S52. 

Isaac,  b.  Sept.  5,  1807,  d.  unm.  in  Waterford. 

Martha,  b.  Oct.  16,  1809,  m.  Ephraim  Wood  of  Winthrop. 

Isaac  Irish  died  about  1833.  Mrs.  Irish  died  July  15,  1846,  aged 
88. 

(3)  Benjamin   Irish,  son  of  Thomas,  lived  where  his  father  had 

lived.     He  married  Jenny,  daughter  of  Elisha  and  Abigail  (Meserve) 

Libby  of  Scarborough.     Children  : 

Elisha,  b.  Dec.  6,  1791,  m.  Mary  Libby,  Nov.  28,  18 16. 

Abigail,  b.  Nov.  12,  1793,  ^-  unm.  Sept.  23,  1869. 

Thomas,  b.  Mar.  23,  1796,  d.  Oct.  18,  1799. 

Dolly,  b.  Feb.  22,  1798,  d.  Nov.  26,  1799. 

Thomas,  b.  June  i,  iSoo,  d.  young. 

Isaac,  b.  Aug.  16,  1802,  m.  Lois  Stevens;  I'd  in  Windham. 

Esther,  b. ,  1806,  m.  Caleb  Skillings,  Nov.  21,  1833. 

Benjamin  Irish  died  Nov.  25,  1839.  Mrs.  Jane  Irish  died  April  23, 
1828,  aged  59. 

(4)  Daniel  Irish,  son  of  Stephen,  born  Sept.  15,  1789,  lived  at 
West  Gorham.  He  married  Abigail  F.  Rounds  of  Buxton.  Their 
children  were  : 

Catherine  R.,  b.   Jan.  27,  1813,  m.  Ebenezer  H.  Libby,  Sept.  23,  1832;  2d,  Jos. 

Sanborn,  Dec.  14,  1836;  I'd  in  Standish. 
Mehitable,  b.  Aug.  28,  1816,  m.  Ebenezer  Blake,  Oct.  30,  1836. 
Albion  K.  P.,  b.  Oct.  3,  1819,  m.  Caroline  B.  Emery  of  Buxton,  Oct.  29,  1845; 

2d,  Adeline  Carsley ;  d.  Aug.  23,  1893  '■>  she,  Nov.  6,  1874. 
Eliza  W.,  b.  Apr.  12,  1825,  m.  Freeman  L.  Jones,  Nov.  23,  1S49. 
Abigail  F.,  b.  Apr.  26,  1828,  m.  Freeman  Richardson,  Mar.  23,  1856. 

Daniel  Irish  died  while  on  his  way  to  Eastport,  Aug.  6,  1829.  His 
wife  died  March  3,  1865,  aged  79. 


588  HISTORY    OF    GOKHAM. 

(4)   Isaac  C.  Irish,  son  of  James,  married  Maria  M.,  daughter  of 

Col.  James  and  Sally  March.     Children  : 

Frances  M.,  b.  Sept.  19,  1S31,  d.  in  Portland,  unm.  Dec.  24,  1886. 
Harriet  R.,  b.  Nov.  13,  1833,  m.  Henry  P.  Lord  of  Portland,  June  12,  1866. 
Caroline  A.,  b.  June    10,  1837,  m.  Samuel  B.  Conly,  Dec.  28,  1862;  d.  Apr.  3, 

1864. 

Isaac  C.  Irish  died  in  Portland  Jan.  12,  1887.  Mrs.  Irish  died 
Feb.  21,  1846,  aged  37. 

(4)  Marshall  Irish,  son  of  James,  lived  at  the  village,  where  he 

was  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  carpets.     In  1847  he  was  chosen 

a  deacon  in  the  Congregational  church,  which  office  he  held  until  his 

death  —  a  period  of  thirty-eight  years.     He  was  also  for  many  years 

superintendent  of  the  Congregational  Sunday  school.     He   married 

Martha,  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Hannah  Fogg.     Children  : 

Edwin  M.,  b.    Tune  11,  1848,  m.  Mary  C.  Sperry,  July  23,  1873;  is  a  lawyer  in 

Mich. 
Maria  M.,  b.  Jan.  24,  1850. 
William  M.,  b.  Mar.  27,  1855,  d.  Jan.  16,  1885. 

Mrs.  Martha  Irish  died  Oct.  25,  1872,  aged  56,  and  Dea.  Irish 
married,  Dec.  ig,  1877,  Mary  T.,  daughter  of  John  McLellan.  Dea. 
Irish  died  June  29,  1885.  Mrs.  Mary  Irish  died  in  Westbrook,  Sept. 
8,  1894,  aged  53. 

(4)  Thaddeus  P.  Irish,  son  of  James,  built  the  house  on  the  corner 
of  Main  and  Water  Sts.,  on  the  spot  where  the  three-story  brick 
house,  formerly  occupied  by  his  father,  Gen.  Irish,  had  stood.  He  mar- 
Ellen  A.,  daughter  of  Josiah  Davis,  and  their  children,  born  in 
Garland,  were  : 

Elizabeth  R.,  b.  Sept.  8,  1849,  d.  Mar.  6,  1865. 

James  H.,  b.  Nov.  24,  1S52,  m.  Junia  H.  Sanborn  of  Rochester,  N.  H.,  Nov.  25, 

1880;  druggist  for  some  years  in  Gorham. 
Fred  Davis,  b.  Apr.  10,  1857. 

Mrs.  Irish  died  Oct.   20,   1869,  aged  42,  and  Mr.  Irish  married, 

Nov.    23,    1870,   Lucy  J.    Rice    of    Boston.     Mrs.   Lucy  Irish  died 

May  6,  1900. 

(4)   Benjamin    Irish,   son    of    Isaac,  lived  at   White    Rock,  where 

Benjamin  F.   Irish  now  lives.      He  was  a  corporal  in  Capt.  Bettis' 

company,  and  marched  to  Portland  in  1814.     He   married  Elizabeth 

M.,  daughter  of  Hanson  Libby.     Children  : 

Esther  P.,  b.  May  28,  1808,  m.  James  Libby,  Nov.  14,  1832. 

Hanson,  b.  Aug.  21,  1809,  blown  up  in  the  powder  mills,  July  19,  1828. 

James,  b.  Nov.  28,  181 1. 

Anna,  b.  Aug.  29,  1814,  m.  Amos  Hersey;  d.  in  Oakland,  Cal. 

Harriet,  b.  May  6,  1817,  m.  Hanson  Smart  of  New  Hampshire,  p.  1840. 


GENEALOGY,  589 

Abigail,  b.  May  28,  1S20,  I'd  on  the  Hurricane  road  ;  d.  Dec.  17,  1S75. 

Daniel   T.,  b.  May  10,   1824,  m.  Harriet  E.  French,  p.  Jan.,  1852;   d.  Nov.  28, 

1887. 
Martha  J.,  b.  July  21,  1826,  m.  Hiram  Clifford,  p.  1847. 
vSusan  L.,  b.  Oct.  9,  1828,  m.  Chas.  Stevens  of  Windham. 
Hanson  L.,  b.  June  3,  183 1. 

Benjamin  Irish,  Jr.,  died  March  5,  1858,  and  his  wife  Elizabeth 
M.,  May  17,  1857,  aged  68. 

(4)  Jacob  Irish,  son  of  Isaac,  lived  on  Mighty  St.,  at  "the  North." 
His  house  is  now  gone.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  181 2,  a 
member  of  Capt.  Bettis'  company.  He  married  Jane,  daughter  of 
Reuben  Libby,  Jr.     Children  : 

Phebe,  b.  Aug.  16,  1818,  m.  Hervy  McDonald  of  Windham. 

Reuben,  b. ,  drowned  in  Lewiston,  when  about  16  years  old. 

Lucinda,  b.  June  28,  1823,  m.  William  Stanley. 

Mary  A.,  /  ,    ^^  o   o    (  d.  Mar.  20,  1S30. 

o      •'^    ,     >  b.  Mar.  7,  1828.  -^   ,  '      o 

Samuel,    )  "  j  d.  young. 

Martha,      I  ,     t  q     ,0        id.  young. 

T-i-     I,  lu    t  b.  June   28,    1830,  <  J   ■'        '' 
Elizabeth,  j       ■^  '        -^  '  (  d.  young. 

Hanson,  b.  Sept.  16,  1831,  m.  Charity  Jackson,  June  11,  1857;  I'd  in  Naples. 

Samuel  b.  Apr.  13,  1833,  m.  Jane  Hoyt. 

Morris,       }  ,     y  ,  0,^   (  d.  unm.  Sept.  9,  1878. 

Elizabeth,  f    '  ■^     ■'  '^'       -'^'  <  m.  Robert  13.  Rounds  of  Limington,  Mar.  3,  1858; 

(  d.  in  Sept.,  1S93. 

Melville,  b.  Aug.  28,  1838,  m.  Martha  E.  Libby  of  Windham  ;  was  a  soldier  in 

the  Civil  War. 

Jacob  Irish  died  May  15,  1879,  ^^^  '^'^  ^^'^^^  Jane,  June  27,  185 1, 
aged  56. 

(4)  Morris  Irish,  son  of  Isaac,  lived  at  White  Rock,  opposite  the 
old  John  Wescott  place.  He  married  Betsey,  daughter  of  Joseph 
and  Hannah  Lombard.     Children  : 

Albert,  b.  May,  1823,  m.   Mary  J.  Johnson  of  Saco;  m.  2d, in  Cal. ; 

d.  in  Nevada  City,  Cal. 
Angelina,  b.  July  17,  1826,  m.  Joshua  Parker;  I'd  in  Westbrook  ;  d.  June,  '86. 
William  B.,  b.  Feb.  27,  1828,  m.  Maria  G.  Moore  of  Limingion  ;  2d,  Mrs.  Sarah 

(Rounds)  Holden. 
Hannah    L.,  b.    July    21,    1832,    m.    Solomon    C.    Cook;  2d,   Jolin   Moore  of 

Limington. 
Eliza  A.,  b.  Mar.  23,  1836,  m.  Marshall  Babb. 
Francis,  b.  May  2,  1838,  m.  Annie  M.  Brown,  Nov.  21,  1859. 

Morris  Irish  died  June  16,  i860.  Mrs.  Betsey  Irish  died  in  1883, 
aged  82. 

(4)  Elisha  Irish,  son  of  Benjamin,  lived  on  Mighty  St.,  at  "the 
North."  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  18 12  —  a  member  of  Capt. 
Robie's  company.  He  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Hanson  I>ibby. 
Children : 


590  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Benjamin,  b.  Sept.  5,  1817,  m.  Sept,  10,  1845,  Lucy  R.,  dau.  of  John  J.  and 
Sally  (Burbank)  Libby.  Ch :  Emeline,  b.  Dec.  17,  1846,  m.  Leonard  M. 
Boothby,  Nov.  16,  1899;  Wilber,  b.  Sept.  7,  1849,  d.  Oct.  4,  1854. 
Benjamin  Irish  d.  Aug.  30,  1899,  on  the  place  where  his  great-grandfather 
Thomas  settled,  and  which  had  descended  to  him  through  his  grand- 
father and  father. 

Jane,  b.  about  1820,  d.  Feb.  6,  1876, 

John  H.,  b.  Oct.  28,  1822,  m.  Harriet  S.  Smith,  May  10,  1854  ;  d.  Nov.  29,  1890. 

Joshua  B.,  b.  Feb.  20,  1827,  m.  Ellen  A.  Guptill ;  d.  Jan.  17,  1880. 

Thomas,  b.  Jan.  25,  1829. 

Julia  A.,  b.  Dec.  3,  1830. 

Elisha  Irish  died  May  7,  1876;  Mrs.  Irish  died  Dec.   29,   1861, 
aged  70. 


JAMESON. 

William  Jameson  of  Bangor  married,  Nov.  18,  1823,  Martha,  daugh- 
ter of  Allen  Davis  of  Gorham.  They  lived  for  a  time  in  the  south 
part  of  the  town,  and  then  removed  to  Stillwater.  Their  children, 
born  in  Gorham,  were  : 

Oliver,  b.  May  25,  1825,  is  dead. 

Charles  D.,  b.  Feb.  24,  1827,  was  in  the  Civil   war;  went  out  as  Col.  of  the  2d 
Me.,  and  was  promoted  to  Brig.  General. 

Rev.  Thomas  Jameson  was  born  in  Dunbarton,  N.  H.,  March  7, 

1794,  and  was  of  Scotch-Irish  descent.     He  was  for  fifteen    years 

pastor  of  the  Cong'l  church  in  Scarboro,  from  which  place  he  came 

in  1840  to  Gorham,  where  he  lived  for  many  years  in  the  three-story 

house  on  Main  St.,  now  owned  by  Ex-Gov.  Robie,  and  built  by  the  late 

John  P.  Little,  Esq.     Mr.  Jameson  kept  store  for  some  years  with 

his   brother-in-law, .  Samuel   W.    Lord,    in  the  building  which  stood 

where  F.  H.  Emery's  store  now  stands.     He  was  made  president  of 

the  board  of  trustees  of  Gorham  Academy  in  1840,  which  ofhce  he 

held  for  several  years.      He  was  also  at  one  time  treasurer  of  the 

Seminary.       He    married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of    Isaac  and  Susan 

Lord    of    Effingham,  N.  H.      Children,    all   born   before   coming  to 

Gorham  : 

Susan,  m.  Rev.  Edward  Robie,  D.  D.;  I'd  and  d.  in  Greenland,  N.  H. 

Helen  A.,  d.  in  Gorham,  unm. 

Georgiana,  m.  Capt.  McL.  Pickering  of  Cambridge,  Mass.,  Oct.  25,  1855;  '^^  ^'^ 

Cambridge. 
Edwin,  d.  young. 

Angelina,  m.  Prof.  Brewster;  I'd  in  Washington,  Pa. 

Luciana,  m.  Rev.  John  W.  Chickering,  Dec.  18,  1856;  d.  in  Washington,  D.  C. 
Edwin  A.  L.,  m.  Junia  Marston. 

Rev.  Mr.  Jameson  died  in  Cambridgeport,   Mass.,  April  14,  1879. 

Mrs.  Jameson  died  in  Gorham,  Aug.  11,  i860,  aged  64. 


GENEALOGY.  691 

JENKINS. 

The   descendants   of  the   Jenkins   family   of  Gorham   trace   their 

ancestry   back   to  John  Jenkins,  who  married,   Feb.   2,    1652,   Mary 

Ewer.     The  sixth  child  of  this  couple,  Thomas,  born  July  15,  1666, 

married  Experience   Hamblen  Aug.    24,    1687.     The   fifth   child   of 

Thomas,  Samuel,  born  Jan.  7,  1699,  or   1700,  married,  Nov.  9,  1721, 

Mary  Hinckley.     Samuel,  the  third  child  of  Samuel  and  Mary,  born 

Oct.  20,   1727,  married,   March   11,   1749,  Mary,  daughter  of    Dea. 

Samuel  and  Elizabeth  Chipman  of  Barnstable,  and  moved  with  his 

family  to  Gorham.     Mrs.  Jenkins,  judging  from  her  letters,  was   a 

woman  of  talent.     Their  children  (born  in  Barnstable)  were  : 

Josiah,  b.  Sept.  20,  1750,  m.  Prudence  Davis,  p.  June  15,  1776. 

Deborah,  b.  Feb.  2,  1752,  m.  Gershom  Hamblen,  p.  Dec.  17,  1774. 

Abiah,  b.   Jan.   21,    1754,  m.  Richard  Hine,  p.  Feb.   11,   1775.     ^^''-  ^^-  '^-  i" 

Turner,  July  26,  1834. 
Samuel,  b.  Nov.  23,  1755,  m.  Oct.  i,   17S0,   I.ydia   Dyer  of  Truro,   Mass.     Ch  : 

Rebecca,  b.  July  24,  1781  ;    Lydia,  b.  Nov.  3,  17S3;    Hannah,  b.   May  17, 

1785;  Joseph,  b.  June  13,  17SS.     Mrs.  Jenkins  d.  Aug.  22,  17S8,  and  Mr. 

Jenl<ins  m.  Jan.   23,   1794,  Thankful   Snow.     Samuel  Jenkins  served  in 

the  Revolutionary  army,  as  a  private  in  Capt.  Whitmore's  company.  Col. 

Fogg's  regt.,  and  afterwards  as  sergeant  in  his  brother  Josiah's  company, 

in  the  12th  Mass. 
Molly,  b.  Jan.  16,  1758,  m.  James  Irish,  Jr.,  p.  Dec.  13,  1777. 
Joseph,  b.  June  6,  1760,  d.  of  consumption,  Apr.  20,  17S3,  while  in  the  Rev'y 

army,  near  West  Point. 

All  the  sons  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jenkins  served  their  country  in  the 
War  of  Independence.  Some  of  the  descendants  of  the  above  couple 
are  still  living  in  town,  but  there  are  none  bearing  the  name  here. 

(2)  Josiah  Jenkins,  son  of  Samuel,  enlisted  in  Capt.  Stuart's  com- 
pany. Col.  Phinney's  regiment  in  1775  as  a  sergeant,  and  in  the  follow- 
ing year  was  made  second  and  then  first  lieutenant  under  the  same 
captain,  iSth  Continental  regiment.  In  1777  he  was  a  captain  in  the 
12th  Mass.,  and  served  until  April  i,  1779,  when  he  was  discharged. 
He  took  part  in  the  siege  of  Boston,  and  the  campaign  at  Ticon- 
deroga,  was  in  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  and  in  an  engagement  on 
Lake  Champlain.  His  wife  was  Prudence,  daughter  of  Prince  Davis, 
and  was  born  in  Barnstable.     Children  : 

Sarah  C,  b.  June  14,  17S0,  m.  Samuel  Bartlett,  Aug.  21,  1804. 

Mary,  b.  Apr.  g,  1783,  d.  young. 

Mary  C,  b.  Mar.  22,  17S5,  m.  Abner  Towle. 

Aurelia,  b.  Aug.  21,  1787,  m.  James  Swett. 

Nancy,  b.  June  3,  1791,  m.  P'rancis  Poland,  Apr.  2,  1810. 

Josiah,  b.  May  5,  1794,  was  a  mason  ;  m.  and  d.  in  S.  C,  July,  1819. 

Katherine,  b.  Mar.  27,  1796,  d.  unm.  Dec.  3,  1869. 

Capt.  Jenkins  lived  for  many  years  on  the  road  running  from  the 
Weeks  farm  to  Col.  Colman   Harding's,   south  of  the  Sam.   Brown 


592  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

place.  He  received  a  pension  from  the  government  for  his  military 
services.  His  last  years  he  spent  at  the  village  in  the  house  oppo- 
site the  Congregational  church,  lately  occupied  by  Theodore  B. 
Edwards,  where  he  died  Oct.  20,  1831.  His  wife  died  in  1836,  aged 
about  80. 

JEWETT. 

Rev.  Caleb  Jewett  was  the  son  of  James  and  Martha  (Scott)  Jewett 
who  were  married  Nov.  14,  1744.  He  was  born  in  Newburyport, 
Mass.,  Sept.  15,  1753,  from  which  place  he  came  to  Gorham  where 
he  was  ordained  pastor  of  the  church  Nov.  5,  1783.  Mr.  Jewett  pur- 
chased his  house  and  sixty  acres  of  land  of  Samuel  Crockett  Aug. 
16,  1784,  for  the  sum  of  ^^^380.  This  sixty  acres  comprised  the  two 
thirty  acre  lots,  79  and  80,  on  the  former  of  which  the  house  was  sit- 
uated. This  place  is  the  one  on  Main  St.  lately  occupied  by  Mr. 
Jewett's  grandson,  lienry  Broad,  and  still  known  as  "  the  Broad 
place."  Nov.  27,  1794,  Mr.  Jewett  purchased  of  Thomas  Bangs  the 
thirty  acre  lot,  no,  Mr.  Bangs  reserving  a  small  piece  of  land  where 
the  house  stood  on  this  lot. 

After  Mr.  Jewett  was  settled  in  Gorham  his  widowed  mother  came 
here  and  lived  with  her  son.  She  died  March  16,  1801,  at  the  age  of 
84.  His  sister  Sarah  died  Sept.  26,  1782.  His  sister  Betsey  came 
to  Gorham  to  live  with  her  brother  July  20,  1791.  He  had  a  brother 
James,  also  a  brother  Jonathan.  In  an  almanac  he  says,  "  My 
brother  Jonathan  sailed  the  26th  day  of  Feb.,  1782,  in  the  ship  Scar- 
borough, 20  guns,  40  men,  and  was  never  heard  from  at  all.  1783, 
13th  day  of  March  at  5  o'clock  in  the  morning,  alarmed  with  fire, 
which  was  the  greatest  ever  was  in  Newburyport,  destroyed  12  or  14 
buildings.     In  1783,  April  i.  News  of  Peace  came  to  town." 

It  appears  that  in  1809  the  family  had  some  property  in  Newbury- 
port for  Mr.  Jewett's  widow  gave  at  that  date  a  receipt  for  her 
one-sixteenth  part  of  rents  to  Jon.  Gage,  for  house,  shop  and  wharf, 
for  $74.67. 

Mr.  Jewett  married.  Oct.  20,  1783,  Betsey  Bacon  of  Bradford,  who 

was  born  June  22,  1752.     Their  children  Avere  : 

Jonathan,  b.  Oct.  3,  1784. 

Martha,  b.  Dec.  17,  1785,  d.  unm.  Nov.  2,  1850. 

Caleb,  b.  Aug.  26,  1787,  d.  in  Sparta,  Ga.,  vSept.  2,  1817. 

Betsey,  b.  Dec.  2,  1789,  m.  Daniel  Broad,  June  10,  1818. 

Rev.  Mr.  Jewett  died  April  16,  1802,  and  his  wife  Betsey,  May  15, 


GENEALOGY.  593 

Caleb,  the  second  son  of  Rev.  Caleb  Jewett,  took  the  school  at 
Gorham  corner  in  February,  1810,  and  kept  it  for  several  months  for 
nineteen  dollars  the  iirst,  and  twenty  dollars  each  month  after,  and 
boarded  himself,  making  three  and  three-eighths  months,  and  then 
commenced  again  the  28th  of  May  at  twenty-two  dollars  and  boarded 
himself. 

Betsey,  the  youngest  child  of  Rev.  Caleb  Jewett,  married  Daniel 

Broad.      He  was  the  son  of  Thaddeus  and   Lucy  (Skillings)  Broad, 

and    was    born    at    Stroudwater,    Dec.    30,     1783.      Mr.    and    Mrs. 

Broad  lived  on  her  father's  place.     Their  children  were  : 

Caleb  J.,  b.  Nov.  13,  1819,  d.  unm.  Oct.  23,  1846. 

Martha  J.,  b.  Aug.  13,  1821,  d.  Nov.,  1826. 

Henry,  b.  Feb.  12,  1824,  m.   Mrs.  Mary  (Lowell)  Andeison,  June   11,   1854;  d. 

Jan.  10,  1872 ;  no  children. 
Elizabeth,  b.  Apr.  6,  1831,  d.  unm.  Apr.  7,  1854. 

Daniel  Broad  died  Sept.  30,   1846,  and  his  wife  Betsey,  April  27, 

1838. 

JOHNSON. 

James  Johnson  left  Auckley,  Scotland,  for  the  North  of  Ireland, 
where  he  remained  until  about  1732,  when  he  came  to  America;  and 
settled  at  Scarborough,  Me.  He  was  a  ferryman  over  the  Spurwink 
river.  He  had  two  sons,  John  and  James.  John's  son.  Robert, 
served  in  the  Revolution ;  and  was  master  of  the  sloop  Britannia,  in 
1779,  in  the  Penobscot  expedition.  He  married  Mary  (Trunley) 
Millions,  the  widow  of  Robert  Millions,  and  lived  in  Falmouth.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  Randall  Trunley  of  St.  Paul's  Parish,  Deptford, 
County  Kent,  England.  Robert  and  Mary  (Million.s)  Johnson  were 
the  parents  of  John,  Robert,  Matthew,  Thomas,  Mary,  and  Randall 
Johnson.  The  family  tradition  is  that  Mrs.  Johnson  having  inherited 
property  from  her  relatives  in  England,  her  husband,  Capt.  Robert, 
about  1787,  put  three  hundred  Mexican  silver  dollars  in  his  saddle- 
bags, and  rode  to  Gorham,  where  he  selected  and  purchased  land  for 
farms  for  three  of  their  sons,  John.  Robert,  and  Matthew.  It  is  said 
that  the  man  with  whom  he  was  bargaining  asked  him  if  he  could 
give  good  security  for  the  payment,  to  which  Capt.  Robert  replied 
that  he  rather  thought  he  could,  and  when  the  bargain  was  concluded 
opened  his  saddle-bags,  and  poured  out  the  price  in  full  in  coin  —  a 
rare  sight  in  those  days.  The  land  then  purchased  has  been  in  the 
Johnson  name  ever  since,  and  the  district  where  the  brothers  settled 
is  known  as  the  "Johnson  neighborhood."  This  district  comprises 
some  of  the  best  farming  land  in  the  town.     The  brothers  Johnson 


594  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

were  good  farmers  and  honorable,  upright  citizens.     Many  of   the 
name  remain  in  town. 

(i)  John  Johnson,  son  of  Robert,  received  from  his  father  the 
thirty  acre  lots,  65  and  67,  also  a  part  of  the  hundred  acre  lot,  113. 
His  deed  is  dated  Dec.  17,  1787.  His  house  was  on  the  spot  where 
his  nephew  Samuel  afterwards  lived.  He  married,  Jan.  6,  1782, 
Eleanor  Trickey.     Children  : 

Susanna,  b.  Oct.  4,  1785,  m.  and  I'd  in  Harrison  or  Casco. 

Zebulon,  b.  July  i,  1787,  m.  Nancy  Themes  in  1821  ;  went  to  Harrison. 

Eunice,  b.  July  26,  1789. 

John,  b.  Feb.  8,  1792,  m.  Mehitable  Thomes ;  I'd  in  Harrison. 

Rebecca,  b.  Nov.  10,  1794,  m.  Lewis  Hanscom,  Apr.  14,  1S16. 

David,  b.  Aug.  13,  1797,  m.  Harriet  Gilkey,  Jan.  31,  1825;  d.  suddenly,  Sept.  i, 

1825;  his  widow  m.  Enoch  Boothby  in  1828. 
Mary,  b. ,  m.  Joseph  Gilkey,  Jan.  5,  1824. 

(i)  Robert  Johnson,  son  of  Robert,  was  born  about  1762.  His 
farm  was  the  hundred  acre  lot,  iii,  on  which  he  lived  in  the  house 
now  occupied  by  Mrs.  Charles  Johnson.  He  married  Mary  Cham- 
berlain.    One  child  : 

Robert,  b.  Mar.  14,  1791,  m.  Hannah  Johnson,  Nov.  28,  1814. 

Robert  Johnson  died  July  13,  1834,  aged  72.  Mrs.  Johnson  died 
April  2,  1835,  aged  86. 

(i)  Matthew  Johnson,  son  of  Robert,  received  a  deed  in  1786, 
from  his  father,  of  the  hundred  acre  lot,  112.  Here  he  made  his 
home  in  the  house  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Fred.  C.  Phinney. 
Some  years  later  he  purchased  a  part  of  the  seventy  acre  lot  13,  and 
a  part  of  the  common  land  (laid  out  to  right  67)  southwest  of  the  sev- 
enty acre  lots,  and  east  of  the  hundred  acre  lot  96.  He  married, 
Nov.  26,  1789,  Hannah  Johnson,  who  was  of  the  fourth  generation 
from  the  first  James.     Children  : 

Thomas,  b.  Oct.   5,    T790,    m.   Mary    Hamblen,    Nov.    28,    1814;  2d,  Dorothy 

Libby. 
Hannah,  b.  Nov.  23,  1793,  m.  Robert  Johnson,  Nov.  28,  1814. 
William,  b.  Jan.  15,  1798,  m.  Mary  Trickey,  Sept.  7,   1819;  2d,  Mrs.  Eliza  L. 

Johnson. 
John,  b.  May  8,  1800,  m.  Eliza  Libby,  Dec.  4,  1822 ;  no  chn. ;  d.  Sept.  3,  1856. 
Samuel,  b.  Apr.  4,  1805,  m.  Jane  Tiickey,  Apr.  25,  1826;  2d,  Mrs.  Elizabeth 

Libby. 

Matthew  Johnson  died  March  27,  1846,  aged  81,  and  his  wife 
died  Nov.  14,  1842,  aged  73. 

(2)  Robert  Johnson,  Jr.,  son  of  Robert,  married  his  cousin  Hannah 
Johnson,  and  lived  on  his  father's  homestead.     Children  : 


GENEALOGY.  595 

Mary,  b.  Sept.  6,  1S15,  m.  William  B.  Freeman,  Dec,  1835. 

Wm.  Lamb,  b.  June  8,  1817,  m.  Nancy  T.  Ilobson  of  Buxton,  1S43;  l"d  in 
Saco;  d.  in  Gorham,  Feb.,  1892. 

Robert  Johnson  was  killed  while  walking  on  the  ]'.  &  R.  railroad 
track,  Oct.  6,  1861.     Mrs.  Johnson  died  Nov.  4,  1858. 

(2)  Thomas  Johnson,  son  of  Matthew,  lived  in  the  Johnson  neigh- 
borhood. The  last  years  of  his  life  were  passed  on  the  old  Robert 
Johnson  place.  He  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Polly 
Hamblen.     Children  : 

Eleanor,  b.  Jan.  26,  1S15,  m.  John  Trickey. 

Matthew,  b.  Dec.  26,  1816,  m.  Abigail,  dau.  of  Francis  Small  of  Windham,  in 
1S40;  she  d.  Jan.  5,  1841,  and  he  m.,  April  6,  1842,  her  sister  Mary  Ann 
Small,  by  whom  he  had  one  child,  Melville  C,  b.  July  27,  1843,  "^■ 
Jennie  E.  Bodge,  Dec.  25,  1874.  Matthew  Johnson  d.  Feb.  2,  1858; 
Mrs.  Johnson  d.  at  her  son's,  Aug.  20,  1900. 

Charles,  b.  Dec.  30,  1824,  m.  Martha,  dau.  of  Ai  and  Martha  Libby,  Jan.  2, 
1S54.  Ch  :  Herbert  A.,  b.  Apr.  8,  1855,  m.  Mary  Ella  Sawyer,  was 
killed  by  an  explosion  in  corn  factory,  Aug.  27,  1887;  Edward  C,  b. 
Jan.  14,  1858,  d.  in  Orono.     Mr.  Johnson  d.  Apr.  i,  1895. 

Mrs.  Mary  Johnson  died  April  16,  1830,  aged  34,  and  Mr.  Johnson 
married  in  1831,  Dorothy,  daughter  of  Edward  and  Elizabeth  Libby 
of  Gorham,  by  whom  he  had  one  child : 

Mary  Maria,  b.  Feb.  i,  1836,  m.  Dr.  A.  K.  P.  Meserve. 

Mrs.  Dorothy  Johnson  died  Dec.  12,  1864,  aged  70.  Thomas 
Johnson  died  April  29,  1869. 

(2)  William  Johnson,  son  of  Matthew,  lived  above  Fort  Hill,  on 
the  easterly  side  of  the  road,  opposite  to  his  brother,  Samuel.  He  was 
a  captain  in  the  militia.  He  married  Mary  Trickey  of  Westbrook. 
Children  : 

William  IF,  b.  Jan.  19,  1821,  m.  vSatah  J.  Johnson,  Sept.  30,  1855;  no  ch. ;  d. 

July  28,  1890;  she,  Feb.  7,  1S99. 
Daniel,  b.  Oct.  7,  1823,  was  drowned,  May  16,  1829. 
Jane,  b.  Feb.  15,  1825;  killed  by  an  accident,  Aug.  5,  1834. 
David,  b.  Sept.  16,  1827,  d.  unm.  June  22,  1859. 
John,  b.  June   12,    1S29,  m.   Ellen   Dow;  moved  to  Deering,  wheie  he  d. ;   two 

dau's,  Eva  and  Ada. 
Catherine,  b.  Aug.  20,  1831,  m.  Henry  B.  Johnson,  Aug.  5,  1855. 
Albion  F.,  b.  Feb.  13,  1837,  m.  Helen  M.  W^hitney ;  I'd  in  Deering;  no  ch. 
Emily,  b.  Dec.  7,  1840,  m.  Henry  B.  Johnson,  June  18,  1900. 

Mrs.  Mary  Johnson  died  Dec.  5,  1858,  aged  56,  and  Mr.  Johnson 
married  Mrs.  Eliza  (Libby)  Johnson,  daughter  of  Edward  and  Eliza- 
beth Libby,  and  widow  of  his  brother  John  Johnson,  and  soon  after 
moved  to  the  original  Matthew  Johnson  place.  Capt.  William  John- 
son died  May  28,  1876.  Mrs.  Eliza  Johnson  died  April  12,  1882, 
aged  77. 


596  '  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

(2)  Samuel  Johnson,  son  of  Matthew,  lived  above  Little  river,  on 

the   west   side   of  the    Fort  Hill   road,  on  the  place  where  his  son 

Matthew    now    lives.       He  married    Jane    Trickey    of    Westbrook. 
Children  : 

Edward,  b.  Mar.  28,  1827,  d.  Feb.  15,  1850,  unm. 

Matthew,  b.  Apr.  18,  1S29,  m.  Rose  Ann,  dau.  of  Ai  and  Martha  Libby,  Apr. 
23,  1855 ;  I's  on  the  farm  which  Robert  Johnson  gave  to  his  son  John  in 
1787.  Ch:  Lizzie, b.  Mar.  6,  i8<;6,  d.  Sept.  5,  1857;  Merrill  F.,  b.  Apr.  1, 
1859,  d.  Mar.  20,  1862;  Jennie"  E.,  b.  Feb.  28,  1861,  d.  Mar.  i,  1862; 
Charles  H.,  b.  Feb.  6,  1863,  m.  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Johnson,  widow  of  Herbert 
Johnson;  Melville,  b.  Sept.  15,  1864,  m.  Lucy  A.,  dau.  of  A.  K.  P.  Libby; 

Annie  B.,  b.  Sept.  22,   18 — ,  m.  Fred  Marean  ;  twins  b. ,  d.  May 

14,1878.  Mrs.  Rose  Johnson  d.  May  15,  1878,  aged  42;  Mr.  Johnson 
m.  2d  Rebecca  Webb. 

Daniel,  b.  Apr.  18,  1829,  m.  Ann  M.,  dau.  of  Freeman  and  Lydia  A.  Whitney, 
Feb.,  1854 ;  I's  in  the  north  part  of  the  town ;  one  child,  Freeman  W.,  b. 
Nov.  9,  1855,  m.  Nellie  Dresser  of  Buxton,  Oct.  19,  1880,  d.  Aug.  7, 
1883. 

Sarah  J.,  b.  July  25,  1831,  m.  William  H.  Johnson,  Sept.  30,  1855. 

Hannah,  b.  Feb.  19,  1834,  m.  Richard  Willis,  Apr.  29,  i860. 

Isaac  L.,  b.  Oct.  3,  1836,  m.  Oct.  27,  1861,  Hannah  F.,  dau.  of  Thomas  H.  and 
Lydia  P.  Abbott  of  Ossipee,  N.  H.,  and  granddaughter  of  Joseph  Files 
of  Gorham.  Ch:  Cora  A.,  b.  Aug.  12,  1863,  d.  Sept.  11,  1865;  Ella  F., 
b.  Mar.  30,  1866;  Olive  M.,  b.  June  20,  1868,  d.  Nov.  xi,  1885;  John  E., 
b.  Apr.  12,  1872,  m.  M.  Lena  Thomes;  George  T.,  b.  Nov.  28,  1875,  '^* 
Mabel  S.  Davis  of  Standish.  Isaac  L.  Johnson  I'd  in  the  Quaker  neigh- 
borhood, on  the  old  Wm.  Cobb  place  ;  he  was  killed  by  an  accident, 
Nov.  15,  1 901. 

Mary  E.,  b.  Apr.  27,  1839,  d.  Jan.  10,  1845. 

Ellen,  b.  Apr.  28,  1841,  m.  Fred.  C.  Phinney,  Nov.  25,  1866. 

Lewis,  b.  Jan.  11,  1844,  m.  Ellen  Moody  of  Standish,  Sept.  3,  1863.  Ch : 
Addie  V.,  m.  Samuel  L.  D.  Libby,  1890,  2d,  Albion  Bacon;  Edward,  m. 
Bertha  Gallup,  I's  on  the  Albion  Johnson  place  ;  Almon,  m.  Ada  Haines 
of  Gorham,  May  18,  1894;  Howard  S. 

Caroline,  b.  Mar.  3,  1847,  m.  Charles  B.  Thomes,  May  22,  1864  ;  2d,  Benjamin 
Harmon;  d.  Feb.  10,  1876. 

Mrs.  Jane  Johnson  died  June  28,  1853,  aged  48,  and  Mr.  Johnson 

married,  March  3,  1854,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Files)  Libby,  daughter  of 

Joseph  and  Ann  Files,  and  widow  of  Ai  Libby.     Mr.  Johnson  dropped 

dead    at   the    North    Gorham    Fair,  Oct.  g,   1861.     Mrs.   Elizabeth 

Johnson  died  June  17,  1887. 

Robert  Rich  Johnson  was  the  son  of  Randall  Johnson  of  West- 
brook.  He  was  a  nephew  to  John,  Robert  and  Matthew  Johnson  of 
Gorham.  His  father  bought  for  him  the  farm  where  Mr.  David 
Rolfe  now  lives,  on  the  road  from  West  Gorham  to  Fort  Hill.  He 
came  to  Gorham  about  1821,  and  lived  on  his  farm  till  about  1856  or 
'57,  when  he  built  and  moved  into  the  house  on  High  St.  at  the 
village,  now  occupied  by  his  grandson,  Lewis  Johnson.  He  married 
Mary  Knight  of  Westbrook.     Children  : 

Miriam  F.,  b.  Oct.  19,  1821,  m.  James  Mann,  Nov.  25,  1841. 
Randall,  b.  Dec.  2,  1822,  m.  Eliza  E.  Crockett,  June  17,  1849. 


GENEALOGY.  597 

George  C,  b.  Sept.  24.  1833,  m.  Mar.  10,  1S57,  Martha  E.,  dau.  of  Nathaniel 
and  Desire  P.  Jordan.  Ch  :  Lewis  R.,  b.  Nov.  15,  iS^S,  ni.  Georgie 
Odiorne,  May  4,  18S1  ;  Robert  E.,  b.  Sept.i,  1864,  d.  Mar.  2,  1866. 
George  C.  Johnson  d.  Mar.  28,  1892. 

Capt.  Johnson  died  Sept.  15,  1874,  aged  75.  Mr.s.  Johnson  died 
July  25,  1880,  aged  77. 

Mary,  sister  of  Robert  R.Johnson,  married  Samuel  Miller  of  Gorhani 
in  18 1 7.  Another  sister,  Elizabeth,  married  Simon  Elder  of  Cor- 
ham.  Isaac,  a  brother,  married  Abigail  and  Emeline,  daughters  of 
Jeremiah  Frost  of  Gorham. 

John  Johnson,  born  probably  in  England  about  16S0,  married  Mary 
Anderson,  and  lived  in  Salem.  Mass.,  from  which  place  he  moved  to 
Linesborough,  N.  H.  His  son  James,  born  in  Salem,  married  Han- 
nah Blake  of  Falmouth,  and  lived  on  Groves  Hill,  Falmouth.  He 
died  in  177  i,  aged  40,  leaving  seven  sons,  two  of  whom,  Jasper  and 
David,  resided  for  some  years  in  (iorham. 

Jasper  Johnson,  born  Jan.  30,  1756,  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revo- 
lution. He  married  in  Gorham,  Dec.  23,  1784,  Rebecca,  daughter 
of  James  and  Hannah  Ross.     Children  : 

Rebecca,  m.  Adams  True  of  Pownal. 
Rachel,  m.  Wm.  Harris  of  Pownal. 
James,  m.  Fannie  Kice  of  Scarborough. 
Walter,  m.  Mercy  Harris  of  New  Gloucester. 
Hannah,  m.  Thomas  Haskell  of  New  Gloucester. 

Not  long  after  his  marriage  Mr.  Johnson  moved  to  No.  Yarmouth. 
He  was  drowned  in  Royal's  river,  in  April,  1795. 

David  Johnson  married  in  Gorham,  June  16,  1785,  Jenny  Whitney. 
Their  children,  some  of  whom  were  born  in  Pownal,  were  Amos, 
Mary  who  died  unmarried,  and  Sally  who  married  Amos  Haskell  of 
New  Gloucester.  In  1797  David  Johnson  was  living  in  No.  Yar- 
mouth, where  after  the  death  of  his  wife  Jenny  he  married  Mrs. 
Rebecca  (Ross)  Johnson,  widow  of  his  brother  Jasper.     Children  : 

Jane,  m.  Rufus  Batchelder  of  No.  Yarmouth. 
Jasper,  m.  Mildred  Burton,  Apr.  24,  182 1. 
Mary  Ann,  m.  Eben  Cleaves  of  No.  Yarmouth. 

David  Johnson  lived  to  be  88  years  of  age,  and  his  wife  Rebecca 
to  be  82. 

(2)  Jasper  Johnson,  son  of  David  and  Rebecca,  lived  for  a  time  in 
Gorham  on  the  place  now  occupied  by  Frank  Hopkinson.  He 
removed  to  Pownal,  but  after  the  birth  of  his  son  Walter  returned  to 
Gorham.  He  married  Mildred,  daughter  of  William  Burton  of  Gor- 
ham.    Children  : 


598  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Joseph,  I's  in  Goiham. 

Walter  R.,  m.  Alice  R.  Bakeman ;   I'd  for  a  time  in  Gorham  ;  d.  Aug.  26,  1897. 

David. 

Andrew  R. 

Charles  H.,  m.  Abbie  Stuart. 

Mr.  Johnson  married  second,  Sarah  Clark  of  New  Gloucester  in 

1838.     Children  : 

Mildred  B.,  m.  Albion  H.  Burnhani. 
Sarah  M.,  m.  Freeman  Jordan  ;  d.  in  Springvale. 
Jennie,  m.  Calvin  L.  Morrison ;  d.  in  So.  Berwick. 
Clara  Ella,  d.  when  a  young  lady. 

Jasper  Johnson  died  in  No.  Yarmouth  in  1856,  and  his  wife  Sarah, 
at  the  age  of  44. 

Benjamin    F.   Johnson   was   a   lumberman.     He   was   the   son   of 

George  Johnson,  Jr.,  and  a  descendant  of  the  James  Johnson  who 

came  from   Scotland  to  Ireland,  and  thence  to  America  about  1732. 

Mr.  Johnson  came  to  Gorham  from  Saccarappa,  and  settled  at  Horse 

Beef,  where  he  worked  in  the  mills.      He    married,  Dec.  5,   1815, 

Lydia,  daughter  of  John  and  Phebe  Libby.     Children  : 

Charlotte,  m.  Wm.  B.  Libby,  Feb.,  1844;  I'd  in  Windham. 
Wm.  H.,  m.  Jane  Parker,  1844;   2d,  Mary  L.  Shaw,  1847;  3d,  Eliza  Parker. 
Albion,  unm.  ;  was  in  the  12th  Me.  Vols.;  wounded  at  Spottsylvania. 
Mellen,  d.  young. 

George  W.,  m.  Charlotte  Libby,  Apr.  30,  1854;  was  in  the  9th  Me.  Vols.;  I'd 
in  So.  Windham. 

(2)  William  H.  Johnson,  son  of  Benjamin  F.,  was  born  Aug.  23, 
1822.  He  was  a  groceryman  at  White  Rock.  He  married  Jane, 
daughter  of  Isaac  and  Ann  Parker.  She  died  Aug.  6,  1845,  aged 
20,  leaving  one  child  : 

Jennie,  b.  Aug.  2,  1845,  '^-  William  F.  Clement. 

In  1847  Mr.  Johnson  married  Mary  L.  Shaw  of  Standish,  who  died 
Sept.  12,  1849,  leaving  no  children.  His  third  wife  was  Eliza  C. 
Parker,  sister  to  his  first  wife.  By  her  he  had  a  son,  Melville,  d. 
July  13,  1863,  aged  4. 

Mr.  Johnson  was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  War,  in  the  9th  Me.  Vols. 
He  lost  his  health  in  the  war,  and  died  Feb.  15,  1S66.  His  widow 
married  Rev.  Jotham  Johnson,  and  lives  in  New  York. 

JONES. 

Samuel  and  Henry  Jones  came  from  Scarboro  to  Gorham,  where 
in  1757,  they  purchased  the  thirty  acre  lot  no.  Samuel  also  pur- 
chased thirty  acres  of  the  adjoining  hundred  acre  lot.  No.  44.     These 


GENEALOGY.  599 

two  lots  made  up  the  homestead  farm  on  which  they  lived.  The 
name  of  Samuel  Jones  appears  on  the  Gorham  tax  list  of  1763. 
Susannah  Jones,  thought  to  have  been  his  widow,  died  July  7,  1765. 
Henry  Jones  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution  —  a  memher  in  1776  of 

Capt.  Paul  Ellis's  company.      He  married  Lydia .     Children  : 

Jeremiah,  b.  in  Scarboro,  Sept.  9,  1756,  m.  Elizabeth 


Ephraim,  b.  in  Gorham,  Aug.  lo,  1758,  m.  Mercy  Phinney,  Mar.  21,  1779. 
Joseph,  b.  in  Gorham,  July  12,  1761,  m.  Deborah  Ilanscom,  p.  Dec.  25,  1784. 
Lydia,  b.  in  Gorham,  Feb.  4,  1772,  m.  Jeremiah  Rand,  Jr.,  Apr.  14,  1791. 

Henry  Jones  is  marked  '' dead "  on  a  tax  bill  for  1794.  Mrs. 
Lydia  Jones  died  April  23,  1799. 

(2)  Jeremiah  Jones,  son  of  Henry,  was  in  the  Revolution,  serving  in 
Capt.  Daniel  Merrill's  company,  Col.  Brewer's  regiment.  He  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  ,  and  had  one  child  : 

Jeremiah,  b.  in  Boston,  Feb.  18,  1778,  m.  Hannah  Hamblen,  Aug.  26,  1798. 

(2)  Ephraim  Jones,  son  of  Henry,  married    Mercy,  daughter  of 

Stephen  and  Olive  Phinney.     Children  : 

.Stephen,  b.  Apr.  24,  1780,  m.  Sarah  Paine,  Sept.  12,  1802. 
Martha,  b.  June  10,  1782,  d.  Feb.  10,  180 1. 
Susanna,  b.  June  23,  1793. 

Ephraim  Jones  probably  died  April  22,  1823. 

(2)  Joseph  Jones,  son  of  Henry,  served  in  the  Revolution,  in  Capt. 

Isaac  Martin's  company,  in  the  Rhode  Island  service.     He  married 

Deborah  Hanscom  of  Cape  Elizabeth.     Children  : 

Henry,  b.  Oct.  29,  1786. 
Moses,  b.  Dec.  30,  1788. 
Samuel,  b.  Aug.  31,  1790. 
John,  b.  Mar.  i,  1793. 
Hannah,  b.  Feb.  19,  1795. 

(3)  Jeremiah  Jones,  .son  of  Jeremiah,  was  a  sailor.  He  married 
Hannah,  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Dilla  Hamblen.     Children  : 

Eliza,  b.  Jan.  13,  1799,  m.  Lemuel  Babb. 

Malcom  B.,  b.  Dec.  4,  1800,  d.  June  23,  1818. 

Sarah  A.,  b.  Aug.  9,  1805,  m.  Wm.  Akers  of  Westbrook  (son  of  John),  the 
grandson  of  Moses  ^nd  Hannah  Brackett  (Mosher)  Akers.  Wm.  and 
Sarah  (Jones)  Akers  were  the  parents  of  the  sculptors  Paul  and  Charles 
Akers. 

Capt.  Jeremiah  Jones  and  his  wife  Hannah  probably  lived  on  the 
western  side  of  South  St.,  just  below  where  the  late  Freeman  Higgins 
lived,  on  a  part  of  the  old  Cary  McLellan  lot.  He  moved  to  West- 
brook  not  far  from  18 18  or  1820.  Capt.  Jones  is  supposed  to  have 
been  lost  at  sea. 


600  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

(3)   Stephen  Jones,  Jr.,  son  of  Ephraim,  was  a  sailor.     He    lived 

with  his  father,  near  West  Gorham.      He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of 

William  and  Sarah  (Mayo)  Paine.      Children  : 

Olive  Early,  bapt.  June  18,  1809. 

Infant,  bapt.  Dec,  1809,  d.  Jan.  i,  1810. 

Martha,  bapt.  July  4,   1S13. 

Hannah,  bapt.  Sept.  10,  1815. 

Infant,  b.  June  11,  1816,  d.  June  15,  1816. 

Neither   the   name   of   Stephen  Jones,  Jr.,  nor  that   of   his  father 

Ephraim  appears  on  the  Gorham  tax  lists  after  1816. 

William  Jones  and  his  wife  Hannah  lived  in  the  north  part  of  the 

town.     Children : 

Sally,  b.  in  Scarborough,  Oct.  22,  1789. 
Wealthy,  b.  in  Scarborough,  Sept.  11,  1793. 
Hiram,  b.  May  5,  1797. 
John,  b.  Nov.  16,  179S. 

JORDAN. 

Moses   Jordan,  born  about   1749,  and  Joseph,  born   about   1750, 

were  sons  of  Jeremiah  Jordan  of  Cape  Elizabeth.     Moses  married 

Mary  Millett,  Nov.  10,  1774,  and  probably  came  to  Gorham  not  far 

from  that  time,  as  his  name  nrst  appears  on  the  tax  list  of  that  year. 

He  lived  on  the  west  half  of  the  hundred  acre  lot  46,  which  was 

deeded  to  him  by  his  father.    He  sold  a  small  part  of  this  to  Richard 

Codman,  and  the  remainder  in   1785  to  Joseph  Gammon.     Children 

of  Moses  and  Mary  Jordan: 

Nancy,  b.  Mar.  5,  1775. 
Keziah,  b.  May  27,  1777. 
Mary,  b.  Apr.  20,  1779. 
Rhoda,  b.  July  22,  1782. 

Moses  Jordan  moved  to  Norway,  Me. 

Joseph  Jordan  was  living  in  Gorham  in  1772.  His  home  was  on 
the  eastern  half  of  46,  a  deed  of  which  he  received  from  his  father. 
This  farm  he  sold  to  Samuel  Dunn  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  to  which  town 
he  removed.  After  his  second  marriage  he  returned  to  Gorham, 
where  he  lived  till  about  1782,  about  which  time  he  moved  to 
Norway,  Me.  He  married  Elizabeth  Robinson.  They  had  one 
daughter,  Elizabeth,  who  was  married,  Nov.  26,  1792,  to  Benjamin 
Rowe  of  Norway  by  Rev.  James  McCorson.  There  are  said  to  have 
been  other  children  by  this  marriages  besides  Elizabeth.  Mr.  Jordan 
married  second,  Mary  Steele  of  Scarboro.  Their  children,  according 
to  the  Gorham  records  were  : 


GENEALOGY.  601 

Mary,  b.  in  Scarboro,  June  14,  1776. 
Hannah,  b.  in  Gorham,  July  9,  1778. 
William,  b.  in  Gorham,  Apr.  2,  17S0. 
Sarah,  b.  in  Gorham,  Sept.  9,  17S1. 

Benjamin  Allen  Jordan,  son  of  Dr.  Clement  and  Elizabeth  (Allen) 

Jordan,  was  born  at  Richmonds  Island  in  1749.    He  married,  March 

17,  1772,  Sarah  Trundy  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  and  settled  in  Gorham. 

Children  : 

Elizabeth,  m.  Walter  I.ibby  of  Scarboro,  Apr.  11,  1800. 

Mary  Ann,  m.  Daniel  Tyler,  Oct.  20,  1803. 

Sarah,  m.  James  Tyler,  July  4,  1804. 

Rebecca,  d.  unm. 

Benj.  Allen,  m.  Betsey,  dau.  of  William  and  Rebecca  Adams,  June  22,  1816. 
Ch:  Mary  Ann,  b.  Apr.  11,  1817  ;  Louisa,  b.  May  7,  1819,  d.  Apr.  20, 
1 82 1  ;  Sarah  and  Rebecca,  twins,  b.  July  10,  1821,  Rebecca  d.  Apr.  10, 

1829;  Louisa,  b.  May  11,  1824,  d.  May  19,  1825;  Allen,  b. .     Mr. 

Jordan  I'd  in  the  western  part  of  Gorham,  not  far  from  the  Buxton  line 
where  his  cellar,  and  the  remains  of  his  orchard  are  still  to  be  seen.  This 
family  moved  to  Salem,  Mass. 

Benjamin  Allen  Jordan.  Sr.,  was  lost  at  sea,  and  his  widow  married, 

(pub.  Jan.  21,  1809,)  Capt.  Abraham  Tyler  of  Gorham. 

Clement  Jordan  was  a  brother  to  the  elder  Benjamin  Allen  Jordan, 

above,  and  was  born  at  Richmonds  Island  in  1751.     He  had  a  sister 

Mehitable,  who  married,  April  19,  1798,  Barnabas  Harding  of  Gorham, 

and  died  in  Portland.     Another  sister,  Hannah,  married,  July  7,  1789, 

Benjamin   Hopkins,    then    of  Gorham.      Clement   married  at  Cape 

Elizabeth,  Nov.  10,  1774,  Sarah  Jordan.     Children  : 

Susan,  b.  1776,  d.  young. 

Nathaniel,  b.  1779,  d.  young. 

Clement,  b.  1781,  d.  at  sea,  unm.  in  1805. 

Betsey,  b.  1784,  m.  David  Patrick. 

Jabez,  b.  1787,  d.  unm. 

Nathaniel,  b.  1790,  m.  Desire  P.  Lewis,  May  6,  18 19. 

(2)  Nathaniel  Jordan,  son  of  Clement,  lived  at  \\'est  Gorham.  He 
was  in  the  War  of  1812,  serving  in  the  fall  of  1814  in  Capt.  Appleton's 
company,  as  a  substitute  for  Stephen  Merrill.  He  married  Desire 
P.,  daughter  of  Rev.  James  and  Hannah  Lewis.      Children  : 

Sarah  A.,  b.  Mar.  iS,  1820,  m.  Elisha  Jordan  of  C.  Elizabeth,  Nov.  19,  1840. 

James  L.,  b.  June  14,  1824,  m.  Mary  J.  Martin  of  Sebago ;  2d,  Lucy  Clary  of 
Portland. 

Hannah  E.,  b.  May  18,  1826,  m.  Albion  A.  Jordan  of  Cape  Elizabeth. 

Charles  E.,  b.  Nov.  21,  1829,  m.  Caroline  M.,  dau.  of  Luther  and  Mary  Tappan 
of  Baldwin,  Mar.  4,  1S56.  Ch :  Charles  H.,  b.  Aug.  23,  1S58,  d.  Mar.  12, 
1863  ;  George  C.,  b.  Mar.  6,  1861,  m.  Olive  M.  Colesworthy,  Jan.  31,  1894  ; 
Mary  T.,  b.  June  12,  1873,  d.  1888.  Mrs.  Caroline  Jordan  d.  Nov.  8, 
1895,  ^g-  ^3-  Charles  E.  Jordan  lives  at  West  Gorham  on  a  part  of  the 
farm  once  owned  by  his  grandfather,  Rev.  James  Lewis  and  later  by  his 
father,  Nathaniel  Jordan;  he  was  on  the  board  of  selectmen  in  1884, 
'85,  '86  and  '90. 


602  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Martha  E.,  b.  Aug.  ii,  1833,  m.  George  E.  Johnson,  Mar.  10,  1857. 

Louisa  C,  b.  July  26,  1839,  m.  Charles  E.  Jordan  of  C.  Elizabeth,  June  7, 1859. 

Nathaniel  Jordan  died  Sept.  11,  1882.  Mrs.  Desire  P.  Jordan 
died  March  14,  1880,  aged  83. 

Lemuel    Jordan,  son    of   John    and    Isabella,  was  born    in  Cape 

Elizabeth   in   1746,  and  married,  Oct.  20,    1774,   Mary  Jordan.      He 

settled  first  in   Scarboro,  where  his  children  were   born.      He  then 

moved  to  Gorham,  and  lived  near  the  Buxton  line  on  a  farm  which 

he  afterwards  sold  to  Charles  Clark  of  Portland.     It  has  since  been 

owned  by  Richard  Bean,  and  now  by  Albion   Rowe.     Children  of 

Lemuel  and  Mary  Jordan  : 

Isabella,  m.  Nathaniel  Ward,  p.  Sept.  30,  1797. 

Hannah. 

Achsah,  m.  George  Lewis,  Jan.  28,  1S19. 

John,  d.  unm. ;  I'd  at  Cape  Elizabeth. 

Simon,  was  a  boatswain  in  the  U.  S.  Navy. 

Samuel,  was  in  the  Navy. 

Lemuel,  was  in  the  Navy. 

Polly,  m. Dyer  of  Gorham. 

Both  Lemuel  Jordan  and  his  wife  died  at  the  home  of  their  son-in- 
law,  Nathaniel  Ward. 

Charles  Jordan,  son  of  William,  was  born  in  Raymond,  March  30, 
1795.  He  married,  Oct.  30,  1819,  Sally  Brown  of  Raymond.  She 
died,  leaving  one  child,  Edward,  and  Mr.  Jordan  married  second, 
Rebecca,  daughter  of  Ebenezer  and  Sarah  Phinney  of  Standish.  He 
moved  to  Gorham  in  1832,  and  lived  on  Fort  Hill  in  the  house 
formerly  occupied  by  Stuart  Green.  Mr.  Jordan  was  a  deacon  of  the 
Fort  Hill  Free  Baptist  church.  Children  of  Charles  and  Rebecca 
Jordan  : 

James  P.,  b.  Jan.,  1823,  m.  Elizabeth  Clark  of  Saco.  Ch:  James  H.,  b.  May 
18,  1S48,  I'd  in  Boston  ;  Ella,  b.  June  20,  1850,  m.  Joseph  T.  Mason; 
George  F.,  b.  Nov.  5,  1851,  d.  unm.  in  Biddeford  about  1884;  Harriet  R., 
b.  1854,  m.  Albert  H.  Emery  ;  Josiah  C,  b.  Feb.,  1857,  d.  in  Biddeford, 
about  1867.  James  P.  Jordan  was  a  house  carpenter;  he  built  the  house 
on  State  St.,  now  owned  by  F.  H.  Emery,  also  that  on  Green  St.,  lately 
owned  by  Mrs.  Barbour.     He  d.  in  Iowa,  Oct.,  1857. 

Sarah,  b.  1825,  m.  Isaac  Babb  of  Westbrook. 

Emeline  C,  b.  Feb.,  1827,  m.  Stephen  Wescott,  1847. 

Statira,  b.  1829,  d.  Nov.  6,  1846. 

Eunice,  b.  Jan.,  1S31,  m.  Rufus  Mclntire;  I's  in  Tivolia,  111. 

Charles  C,  b.  July  i,  1833,  m.  Mrs.  Kate  Emeiy;  d.  in  Peoria,  111. 

Robert  F.,  b.  Apr.  16,  1S36,  d.  Apr.  2,  1837. 

Charles  Jordan  died  Nov.  15,  1857,  and  h'is  wife  Oct.  5,  1848,  aged 
53- 

Dominicus  Jordan  was  born  in  Raymond,  Jan.  17,  1796.  He 
moved  from  that  place  to  Gorham  in    1841,  in  order  to  educate  his 


GENEALOGY.  603 

children.     He  was  a  merchant,  and  kept  store  in  the  building  which 

stood  on  the  spot  where  Emery's  brick  store  now  stands.     He  was  a 

member  of  Gov.  Fairfield's  Council  in   1842-43,  and 'Representative 

from    Gorham    in    1844.      He    married    in    January,    1824,    Keziah 

Dingley  of  Raymond.     Children  : 

Woodford  D.,  b.  Jan.  19,  1825, 1's  in  Shiocton,  Wis. 

Martha,  b.  Sept.  16,  1826,  m.  W.  Field,  Jr.     L's  in  Depere,  Wis. 

Susan  U.,  b.  Sept.  4,  1831,  l's  in  Depere. 

Ann  M.,  b.  Aug.  27,  1833,  m.  B.  F.  Smith  of  Depere. 

Robert  D.,  b.  Oct.  26,  1836,  drowned  at  Shiocton,  1858. 

Mr.  Jordan  moved  in  185 1  to  Depere,  Wis.,  of  which  place  he  was 
chosen  president  (mayor).  He  was  a  man  of  integrity,  energy  and 
sound  common  sense.  He  died  at  Depere,  Jan.  5,  1869.  Mrs. 
Jordan  died  at  the  same  place,  Nov.  10,  1872. 

KELLOGG. 

Gardiner  Kellogg,  son  of  Rev.  Gardiner  Kellogg,  late  of  Windham, 
was  born  in  Bradford,  Vt.,  Jan.  7,  1802.  He  married,  Nov.  9,  1828, 
Elizabeth  G.,  daughter  of  William  H.  and  Betsey  (Harding)  Foster. 
Mr.  Kellogg  was  a  teacher,  and  taught  for  some  years  in  the  state  of 
Georgia.  He  died  in  Clinton,  Ga.,  Oct.  3,  1841.  After  his  death, 
Mrs.  Kellogg  returned  with  her  family  to  Gorham  where  she  resided 
till  her  death,  Feb.  26,  1870,  at  the  age  of  64.  Children  of  Gardiner 
and  Elizabeth  Kellogg  : 

Gardiner,  b.  in  Penn  Yan,  N.  Y.,  Aug.  21,  1S29,  d.  in  Gorham,  unm.,  Aug.  19, 

1900. 
Mary  E.,  b.  in  Penn  Yan,  N.  Y.,  Mar.  21,  1831,  d.  young. 
John  W.,  b.  in  Gorham,  May  13,  1832,  m.  Maria  L.  Caldwell,  Feb.  21,  1864. 
Louisa  T.,  b.  in  Sparta,  Ga.,  Nov.  5,  1834,  d.  unm.  in  Gorham,  Aug.  2c,   1893. 
Lucy  E.,  b.  in  Sparta,  Ga.,  Mar.  6,  1837,  l's  in  Gorham,  unm. 
Mary  F.,  b.  in  Clinton,  Ga.,  Oct.  12,  1S39,  l's  in  Gorham,  unm. 
Chas.  F.,  b.  in  Clinton,  Ga.,  July  17,  1S41,  d.  unm.  Aug.  4,  18S5,  in  Gorham. 

KEMP. 

About  the  year  17 12  there  was  a  Samuel  Kemp  in  Groton,  Mass., 

who  married  Sarah .     Their  youngest  child,  Ebenezer,  born 

in  April,  1729,  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Dudley  and  Abigail  (Lakin) 
Bradstreet  of  Concord,  Mass.  She  was  born  Aug.  7,  1730,  and  died 
in  Gorham  with  her  son  Ebenezer  about  the  year  1824. 

Ebenezer  Kemp,  Jr..  the  oldest  child  of  Ebenezer  and  Mary,  was 
born  Jan.  11,  1749.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  army. 
He  purchased  land  in  Otisfield,  Me.,  where  he  resided  for  a  time, 
then  about  1785  came  to  Gorham  and  cleared  the  farm  on  which  his 


604  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

great-grandson  Augustus  F.  Kemp  now  resides.  This  farm  com- 
prises the  seventy  acre  lot  72,  and  a  part  of  the  seventy  acre  lot  61. 
He  married,  Aug.  31,  1773,  Relief  Phillips,  probably  the  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Abigail  (Frost)  Phillips  of  Groton.     Children  : 

Elijah,  b.  in  Groton,  Nov.,  1777,  d.  unm.,  Oct.  7,  1846,  in  Gorham. 

Relief,  b.  in  Groton, ,  m.  John  Brown  of  Gray,  May  31,  1807. 

Mitty,  b. ,  m.  Josiah  Clark,  p.  Sept.  30,  1797. 

Ebenezer,  b.  Mar.  15,  1785,  m.  Eunice  Allen  of  Windham;  I'd  in  Windham. 

Mary,  b. ,  m.  Levi  Knight,  1804. 

David,  b.  in  Gorham,  about  1793,  "^-  Anna  Humphrey,  Oct.  20,  1S19. 

Jonathan,  b.  in  Gorham, ,  m.  Martha  Humphrey  of  Gray,  p.  May  i,  1825  ; 

moved  in  1846  to  Otisfield. 

After  the  death  of  his  wife  ReUef,  Mr.  Kemp  married  (pub.  Nov.  7, 
1800)  Mrs.  Lydia  Elder.  She  died  April  19,  1825,  aged  80.  Mr. 
Kemp  died  in  1833. 

(2  )  David  Kemp,  son  of  Ebenezer,  lived  on  his  father's  home- 
stead.     He  married  Anna  Humphrey  of  Gray.     Children  : 

Julia  Ann,  b.  Mar.  3,  1S20,  m.  Ephraim  Holt  of  Portland,  Dec.  27,  1835;  <^-  ^^ 

Gorham,  Mar.  9,  1852. 
Willis,  b.  Jan.  23,  1822,  m.  vSarah  C.  Fellows,  p.  Nov.  7,  1847  ;  2d,  Ehzabeth  P. 

Fellows. 
Israel  H.,  b.  Jan.  20,  1824,  m.  Amanda  E.  Frank,  Nov.  10,  1853. 
Sarah  M.,  b.  Jan.  11,  1826,  m.  Robert  Dodge  of  Londonderry-,  N.  H.,  Nov.  29, 

1846;  d.  in  Wisconsin  in  i860. 
George  C.,  b.  June  11,  1828,  d.  Oct.  19,  1846. 
Lucius  S.,  b.  July  13,  1831,  m.  Susan  Klinefelter. 

David  Kemp  died  July  4,  1853,  aged  60.     Mrs.  Anna  Kemp  died 

in  Wisconsin  in  August,  1854. 

(3)  Willis  B.  Kemp,  son  of  David,  lived  on  the  old  homestead  now 

occupied  by  his  children.      He  married  Sarah  C.  Fellows  of  Lowell. 

She  lived  but  a  few  months  after  her  marriage,  dying  Oct.  17,  1848, 

at  the  age  of  23,  and  Mr.  Kemp  married,  April  15,  1849,  her  sister 

Elizabeth  P.  Fellows.     Children  : 

George  C.,  b.  Dec.  27,  1849,  ^-  Ellen  C.  Peck  of  Manchester,  N.  H.,  Dec.  23, 

1872. 
Sarah  C.,  b.  Aug.  19,  1851. 
Willis  B.,  b.  Apr.  27,  1853. 

Anna  H.,  b.  Aug.  16,  1855,  m.  Wm.  G.  Clark,  Nov.  13,  1883. 
Augustus  F.,  b.  Jan.  13,  1857. 

Lucy  E.,  b.  Apr.  6,  1859,  m.  Benj.  F.  Irish,  Feb.*i2,  18S1. 
Jessie  B.,  b.  Sept.  11,  1862. 
Eda  M.,  b.  July  8,  1865. 

Mr.  Kemp  died  April  14,   1892,  aged  70.     Mrs.   Elizabeth  Kemp 

died  May  15,  1898,  aged  77. 

(3)  Israel  H.  Kemp,  son  of  David,  married  Amanda  E.  Frank  of 
Gray.  She  died  July  18,  1857,  aged  24  years,  leaving  one  daughter^ 
Lena,  born  Feb.  25,  1856,  who  married,  Oct.  15,  1888,  Charles  E.  Babb. 


GENEALOGY.  605 

KING. 

James  King  was  the  son  of  Lieut.  James  King  of  Littleton,  Mass., 

and  was  born  in  Littleton,  Nov.  22,   1774.      He  was  a  cooper,  and 

meat-packer,  and  also  a  farmer.      He  resided  for  a  time  in  Cornish, 

then  in  Gorham,  also  in  Otisfield,  and  returned  to  Gorham   about 

18 ID.     He  lived  in   Gorham  for  many  years   in   the   Dr.    Bowman 

house,  now  occupied  by  Mrs.  Stephen  Hinkley.     He  married  Susanna, 

daughter  of  Joseph  M.  Thompson  of  Cornish.     Children,  all  born   in 

Gorham,  but  Cyrus,  who  was  born  in  Otisfield  : 

Rufus,  b.  Sept.  23,  1S07,  m.  Ann  Bixby ;  I'd  in  Westbrook ;  d.  Feb.  3,  1889. 
Cyrus,  b.  Aug.    10,  1809,  m.  Esther  Kennard;  I'd  in  Westbrook;  d.  Mar.  28, 

1898;  she,  Apr.  15,  1898. 
James,  b.  July  8,  181 1,  d.  Aug.  23,  1S14. 

Joseph,  b.  Mar.  18,  181 3,  d.  unm.  in  N.  Y.  City,  Feb.  26,  1892. 
Susan  A.,  b.  Feb.  23,  18 17,  d.  May  15,  1898. 
James  T.,  b.  Mar.  4,  1821,  d.  in  Cornish,  unm.,  Aug.  22,  1878. 
Charles,  b.  Oct.  24,  1823,  d.  unm.  in  Crittenden,  Ariz.,  Apr.  14,  1884. 
Sarah  C,  b.  Jan.  6,  1827,  m.  Capt.  Frederick  Gorham  (son  of  Wm.  Gorham  of 

Portland)  July  8,  1857.     He  d.  at  Yokohama,  Japan,  Oct.  31,  1878,  ag. 

57.     Mrs.  G.  d.  at  Norwalk,  Conn.,  1899. 

James  King  died  June  7,  1847,  3,ged  73.  Mrs.  King  died  in  Cor- 
nish, Oct.  5,  1874,  aged  90  years,  8  mos. 

(2)  Susan  A.  King,  daughter  of  James  and  Susanna,  was  a  woman 
of  marked  characteristics.  Starting  in  life  with  no  unusual  advan- 
tages, but  possessed  of  great  energy  and  resolution  and  uncommon 
business  ability,  whatever  enterprises  she  engaged  in  prospered. 
When  quite  a  young  woman,  she  was  greatly  disturbed  because  in 
those  days  women  had  so  few  avenues  open  before  them  by  which  to 
obtain  a  livelihood,  and  set  herself  to  work  to  inaugurate  means  and 
industries  in  which  they  could  be  employed. 

Deciding  to  make  her  home  in  New  York,  she  invested  in  real 
estate  in  the  upper  part  of  that  city,  and  buying  and  selling  with 
great  judgment  and  foresight  she  amassed  a  large  fortune.  Her 
advice  and  opinion  on  pieces  of  real  estate  were  not  infrequently 
asked  by  prominent  business  men.  About  1870  she  conceived  the 
idea  of  the  formation  of  a  Woman's  Tea  Company,  all  of  whose 
agents  should  be  women,  and  which  should  in  various  other  ways 
give  employment  to  women.  Of  this  company  Madam  Demorest  was 
chosen  president,  and  Miss  King,  treasurer.  Determined  to  have 
only  a  pure  and  satisfactory  article  to  sell.  Miss  King  went  herself 
to  China  and  Japan,  and  travelled  alone  through  these  countries  for 
eighteen  months,  till  she  had  found  and  selected  a  tea  which  she 
judged  to  be  suitable. 


606  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Miss  King  abounded  in  deeds  of  public  and  private  benevolence 
and  kindness,  and  was  ever  ready  to  help  the  deserving.  She  died 
in  Norwalk,  Conn.,  May  15,  1898. 

KNIGHT. 

The  family  of  Knight  trace  their  origin  back  to  English  ancestry. 
Capt.  Joseph  Knight,  the  first  of  the  name  that  we  find  in  Gorham, 
was  the  son  of  William  who  came  from  Manchester,  Mass.  This 
William  lived  at  different  times  at  Falmouth,  Windham,  Saccarappa, 
and  again  at  Windham.  He  was  twice  married.  It  was  his  daughter 
Abigail,  by  his  first  wife,  born  Dec.  5,  1744,  who  married  April  20, 
1765,  Uriah  Nason  and  lived  in  Gorham.  Of  his  children  by  his 
second  wife  Hannah,  Ruhama  married  William  Whitmore  of  Gorham  ; 
Sarah  married  in  1770,  Sargent  Shaw  of  Standish,  and  was  published 
as  being  of  Gorham  ;  John  married,  June  22,  1784,  Mercy  Gregg  of 
Gorham,  and  lived  here  for  a  time  where  he  has  the  birth  recorded 
of  one  child  Hannah,  born  Dec.  7,  1784;  he  was  a  Revolutionary 
soldier,  serving  in  Capt.  Jenkins'  company,  Col.  Brewer's  12th  Mass. 

Capt.  Joseph  Knight  was  the  son  of  William  Knight  and  his  first 
wife,  who  is  said  by  some  of  her  descendants  to  have  been  Mary 
Haskell.  During  his  youth  he  was  an  Indian  scout.  He  and  his 
brother  William  were  both  captured  by  the  Indians  in  April,  1747, 
while  the  family  were  living  at  Saccarappa.  He  was  captured  a 
second  time  by  the  Indians  in  February,  1756.  Having  learned 
something  of  their  language  during  his  former  captivity,  he  compre- 
hended enough  of  their  talk  among  themselves  to  know  that  an  attack 
was  intended  upon  all  the  frontier  towns  in  this  region,  from  Saco  to 
Brunswick.  By  his  bravery  and  intrepid  daring  he  managed  to  escape 
the  following  May,  and  succeeded  in  making  his  way  from  the  Indian 
camp  on  the  Androscoggin  to  N.  Yarmouth  and  Falmouth,  and  giving 
an  alarm  by  means  of  which  the  schemes  of  the  savages  were  frus- 
trated ;  and  by  the  death  of  Poland,  their  chief,  who  fell  in  the  town 
of  Windham,  May  14,  1756,  an  end  was  put  to  all  trouble  with  the 
Indians  in  this  locality. 

Capt.  Knight  came  from  Windham  to  Gorham,  and  settled  at  Little 
Falls  about  1767.  He  owned  the  water  power  on  the  Gorham  side, 
and  built  a  saw  mill  there.  He  Aiarried,  Jan.  10,  1760,  Lydia, 
daughter  of  John  and  Mary  (Miller)  Libby  of  Scarborough ;  at  which 
time  he  (Knight)  is  recorded  as  of  Falmouth.  His  children,  all  of 
whom  were  born  in  Gorham,  except  the  two  eldest,  Lydia  and  Phebe, 
who  were  born  respectively  in  Falmouth  and  Windham,  were  : 


GENEALOGY.  607 

Lydia,  b.  Apr.  4,  1761,  m.  Jonathan  Jordan,  1781. 

Phebe,  b.  July  30,  1763,  m.  John  I.ibby,  Mar.  12,  1789. 

Nathaniel,  b.  Oct.  9,   1765,  m.  Hannah   McKenney,  Sept.  19,1782;  2d,  Sarah 

Webb;  3d,  Susanna  Roberts. 
Daniel,  b.  Sept.  7,  1768. 
Joseph,  b.  Feb.  19,  1771,  d.  Nov.  15,  177S, 
Nabby,  b.  June  i,  1773,  ™-  Joseph  l.akin,  Nov.  28,  1798. 
Joseph,  b.  Oct.  22,  1775,  m.  Mary  Lovitt,  Aug.  23,  1798. 
Samuel,  b.  Mar.  5,  1778. 
Morris,  b.  June  30,  1780. 
Winthrop,  b.  Oct.  17,  1782. 
Benjamin,  b.  Nov.  23,  1785,  d.  Feb.  15,  1788. 

Capt.  Joseph  Knight  was  drowned  in  the    Presumpscot  river  while 

at  work  about  his  mill,  Sept.  8,  1797,  at  the  age  of  62. 

(2)  Joseph  Knight,  Jr.,  son  of  Capt.  Joseph,  lived  at  Little  Falls, 

and  after   the  death  of  his  father  in   1797,  carried  on  the  lumber 

business  until   he   sold  the  mill   in    1823.      He  married  Mary,  the 

daughter  of  Jonathan  Lovitt  of  Windham.     Children  : 

Miriam,  b.  Jan.  9,  1800,  m.  Freeman  Blake  of  Harrison. 
Charlotte  L.,  b.  Nov.  28,  1803,  m.  Merrill  Thomas,  June  10,  1828. 
Clementine,  b.  July  31,  1806,  m.  Josiah  Swett,  Oct.  10,  1825. 

The  fate  of  his  father  overtook  Mr.  Knight  also,  and  he  was 
drowned  in  the  Presumpscot  river  at  Ray's  Landing,  July  14,  1829. 

LAKEMAN. 

William  Lakeman  is  supposed  to  have  moved  into  town  about  the 
year  1749.  On  March  6,  1750  he  purchased  of  Ebenezer  Mayo  of 
Falmouth  for  ten  pounds  and  thirty  shillings  the  right  No.  93,  which 
had  been  granted  to  John  Hallitt,  of  Yarmouth.  This  right  Andrew 
Hallett,  the  eldest  male  heir  of  John  Hallitt,  deceased,  sold  to  the 
aforesaid  Mayo.  Lakeman  when  he  purchased  this  right  agreed  to 
perform  all  the  duties  devolving  upon  him  as  a  first  settler.  The 
thirty  acre  lot  belonging  to  this  right  Lakeman  propably  sold,  for  we 
find  that  he  bought  this  same  lot,  93,  of  Mrs.  Mary  Hodgdon,  Sept. 
10,  1763.  This  lot  was  situated  on  the  southerly  side  of  Queen 
street,  and  the  westerly  side  of  the  old  Black  Brook  road.  This  was 
near  the  house  of  the  late  Wm.  Burton,  and  was  part  of  the  farm 
lately  occupied  by  Ichabod  Leighton.  Mr.  Lakeman  finally  settled 
on  the  northern  side  of  the  Portland  road.  He  was  a  weaver  by 
trade.  Nov.  16,  1754,  he  married  Hannah  Doane.  It  is  said  that 
she  made  it  a  condition  of  her  marrying  Lakeman  that  she  should 
have  a  two  stoiy  house  in  which  to  live.  So  he  built  for  her  the 
house  since  known  as  the  Royal  Lincoln  house  which  was  a  good 
substantial  structure  but  was  removed  some  years  since  to  make  room 


608  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

for  the  Coburn  house  which  occupies  its  site.  Mrs.  Bethiah  Freeman, 
granddaughter  of  Wm.  and  Hannah  Lakeman,  said  that  her  grand- 
mother Hannah  was  a  Harding  of  Eastham,  and  a  sister  to  Bethiah, 
the  wife  of  John  Freeman  of  Gorham.  She  appears  to  have  been 
the  widow  of  an  Ebenezer  Doane,  and  to  have  had  children  by  him, 
one  of  whom,  Lydia,  married  her  cousin  Nathan  Freeman  in  1775. 
Children  of  William  and  Hannah  Lakeman  : 

Mary,  b.  June  5,  1756. 

Hannah,  b.  Mar.  25,  1758,  m.  Thomas  Bangs,  p.  Sept.  20,  1777. 

Josiah  Harding,  b.  Mar.  6,  1762,  m.  Esther  Cobb,  Dec.  24,  1783. 

William  Lakeman  died  with  the  Shakers  at  Poland  Hill,  aged  96. 
Mrs.  Hannah  Lakeman  died  with  the  Shakers  at  Gorham,  aged  94. 

(2)  Josiah  H.  Lakeman,  son  of  William,  lived  on  the  road  leading 
from  Mark  Mosher's  to  Horse  Beef  in  the  second  house  north  of 
Little  river  where  the  Plummers  now  live.  He  married  Esther, 
daughter  of  Jedediah  and  Reliance  Cobb.     Children  : 

Solomon,  b.  Jan.  18,  1785,  m.  Betsey,  dau.  of  Peter  and  Mary  (Warren) 
Crockett,  Dec.  8,  1814;  I'd  at  Horse  Beef  in  a  house  which  has  since 
been  moved  to  Little  Falls,  near  the  Canal.  Ch:  Josiah,  b.  Jan.  18,  1816, 
d.  y. ;  Mary  Ann,  b.  Sept.  5,  1S17,  m.  Geo.  W.  Goodrich,  p.  Oct.,  1837; 
Martha,  b.  Mar.  30,  1821  ;  Josiah,  moved  east  ;  Peter,  b.  1S26. 

Polly,  b.  Oct.  13,  1787. 

Betsey,  b.  Jan.  19,  1790,  m.  James  Bangs,  Sept.  10,  1809. 

William,  b. ,  m.  Mary  .Stevens,  181S;  moved  to  Waldo  Co. 

Ebenezer,  b. ,  m.  Mary  Haskell  of  Westbrook,  1820. 

Esther,  b. ,  m.  Andrew  Gates  of  Thorndike,  1823. 

Hannah,  b. ,  m.  Eli  Moulton  of  Standish ;  I'd  in  Unity. 

Thomas,  b. . 

Josiah  H.  Lakeman  moved  to  Standish  and  then  back  to  Gorham 
where  he  died.     His  wife  survived  him. 

LARRABEE. 

The  Larrabees  are  descended  from  William  Larrabee,  who,  it  is 
said,  was  a  Frenchman.  He  married  in  Maiden,  in  1655,  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  George  Felt  of  No.  Yarmouth,  Me.,  and  moved  to  No. 
Yarmouth.  He  returned  to  Maiden,  and  died  there  about  1692.  His 
son  Thomas,  born  about  1660,  settled  in  Scarborough,  and  most  of 
the  name  in  this  region  can  claim  descent  from  him.  Thomas  and 
one  son,  Anthony,  were  killed  by  the  Indians,  April  19,  1723.  Phebe, 
the  great-granddaughter  of  Thomas,  bapt.  May  9,  1756,  married 
Joseph  Gilkey  of  Gorham,  Aug.  18,  1774. 

Philip  Larrabee,  son  of  Philip  Larrabee  and  his  wife,  Sally  (Smith) 
of  Berwick,  and  great-grandson  of  Thomas,  was  born  in  Scarboro, 
July  2,  1783.     He  moved  to  Gorham  and  was  a  farmer  in  the  south 


GENEALOGY.  609 

part  of  the  town  living  nearly  opposite  to  the  place  lately  occupied 

by   his    son    James.     Nov.    12,    181 2,    he    married    Polly   Grant    of 

Falmouth.      Children  : 

Nancy,  b.  Sept.  2,  1813,  m.  James  Storer,  Apr.  16,  1851. 

James  G.,  b.  Nov.  14,  1818,  m.  Elizabeth  S.  Pike,  Feb.  21,  1849. 

Ivory  K.,  b.  June  26,  1823,  m.  Betsey  H.  Hodsdon,  Mar.  25,  1847  ;d.  July  13,  1859. 

Mr.    Larrabee    was    a    sergeant    in    Capt.    Robie's   company,   and 

marched  to  Portland,  for  the  defence  of  that  place,  in  181 4.    His  wife 

Polly  died  Nov.    15,  1844,  aged  58,  and   in  1S47   he  married   Nabby 

Hall  of  Westbrook,  who  died   Sept.  25,  1S49.      Philip   Larrabee  died 

Sept.  7,  1872,  aged  89. 

(2)   James  Larrabee,  son  of  Philip,  was  a  farmer,  and  lived  in  the 

south  part  of  the  town,  on  the  road  leading  past  the  old  Dyer  place. 

He   married    Elizabeth,    daughter  of    Humphrey   and    Martha    Pike. 

Children  : 

Mary  Lizzie,  b.  Nov.  16,  1852,  m.  Henry  Jose. 
Martha  Ellen,  b.  Mar.  25,  1855,  m.  William  Pillsbury. 
Betty  Emma,  b.  Apr.  20,  1857,  m.  Charles  G.  Alden. 
Henrietta  Maria,  b.  Sept.  28,  1870,  m.  William  vSherman. 

James  G.  Larrabee  died  Dec.  25,  1898,  and  his  wife,  in  1892. 

LARRY. 

Dennis  Larry  was  born  in  Ireland.  It  was  said  that  he  came  over 
from  England  as  a  British  soldier  in  the  time  of  one  of  the  Indian 
Wars.  He  is  said  to  have  been  in  the  battles  of  Crown  Point  and 
Louisburg.  By  some  means  he  obtained  his  discharge,  and  came  to 
the  town  of  Gorham,  about  the  year  1755,  where  his  name  appears 
on  the  tax  list  as  early  as  1763.  Mr.  Larry  married  first,  Margaret 
Brown,  who  was  the  mother  of  two  of  his  children.  He  married  sec- 
ond. Patience  Wooster  of  Pearsonstown,  April  20,  1761.  After  his 
marriage  with  Miss  Wooster,  he  settled  on  the  thirty  acre  lot  22,  on 
South  St.,  which  was  then  called  "the  Scarborough  road."  This  lot 
was  afterwards  owned  and  occupied  by  his  son  Stephen.  The  old 
house  is  the  same  lately  occupied  by  Francis  B.  Robie,  at  the  village, 
in  which  Dr.  Lincoln  now  lives,  having  been  moved  and  remodeled. 
During  the  French  and  Indian  war  Mr.  Larry  was  with  the  Colonial 
troops  in  one  of  the  Ticonderoga  and  Canada  Expeditions,  as  a 
substitute  in  place  of  George  Tate  of  Falmouth  (who  was  drafted). 
It  is  possible  that  his  taking  Tate's  place  in  the  army  had  something 
to  do  with  his  owning  the  thirty  acre  lot,  as  this  lot  was  at  that  time 
owned  by  Tate.     Previous  to  his  marriage   with   Miss  Woo.ster,  Mr. 


610  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Larry  lived  most  of  the  time  with  the  McLellan  family.     He  was 

never  in  possession  of  a  large  amount  of  worldly  estate,  but  had  the 

reputation    of   being  an  honest,  upright  man,  and  his  wife  was  an 

excellent  woman.     He  died  in  December,  1796,  at  the  great  age  of 

102  years,  being  the  oldest  man  who  has  ever  died  in  Gorham.     His 

wife  Patience  died  Jan.  6,  1809,  aged  94.     The  children  of  Dennis 

and  Margaret  Larry  were  : 

John,  b. ,  d.  at  sea,  when  a  young  man,  unni. 

James,  b.  July  4,  1757,  m.  Molly  Hobbs,  in  17S2. 

By  second  wife,  Patience,  he  had  : 

Stephen,  b.  Feb.  14,  1763,  m.  Abigail  Hamblen,  Nov.  29,  1788. 

(2)  James  Larry,  son  of  Dennis,  was  a  private  in  1776,  in  Capt. 
Williams'  company.  Col.  Phinney's  regiment,  for  one  year.  He 
next  enlisted  in  Capt.  Burbank's  company,  12th  Mass.  regiment. 
Col.  Brewer ;  and  was  present  at  the  surrender  of  Gen.  Burgoyne. 
He  was  severely  wounded  at  Hobartown  by  a  ball  in  the  left  arm  ; 
and  at  Valley  Forge  in  an  engagement  received  a  sabre-cut  cleaving 
off  a  portion  of  his  cheek,  left  shoulder  and  cutting  the  cords  of  the 
arm.  He  was  taken  prisoner  and  carried  to  Philadelphia,  but  on 
his  liberation  returned  to  his  company.  Lieut.  Means  alludes  to  his 
faithful  discharge  of  his  duties,  and  bravery  as  a  soldier.  He  mar- 
ried Molly  Hobbs  of  Falmouth.     Children  : 

Olive,  b.  Nov.  24,  1783,  d.  in  1802. 

Nancy,  b.  Nov.  29,  1785. 

John,  b.  Oct.,  1787. 

Daniel,  b.  Nov.,  1789. 

Isaiah,  b.  June  24,  1793,  ^^-  I-ydia  Heath,  and  moved  out  of  town. 

Jane,  b.  Sept.  4,  1795. 

Sally,  b.  1797. 

Jonathan,  b.  1799. 

This  branch  of  the  family  spell  their  name  Lara.  James  died  Jan. 
31,  1842.     His  wife  lived  to  be  more  than  ninety  years  old. 

(2)  Stephen  Larry,  son  of  Dennis,  married  Abigail,  daughter  of 

Daniel  and  Dilla  Hamblen  of  Gorham.     Children  : 

Patience,  b.  Dec.  12,  1790,  d.  young. 

John,  b.  Feb.  20,  1795,  n^-  Eunice  Harmon,  Nov.  20,  1S23;  2d,  Lucy  Harmon. 

James,  b.  July  31,  1798,  m.  Martha  J.  Anderson,  June  29,  1852. 

Stephen,  b.  June  12,  1801,  m.  Rebecca  Hamblen,  Oct.  20,  1822. 

Joseph  C,  b.  June  15,  1804,  m.  Mary  Purinton,  Aug.  9,  1825. 

Mr,  Larry  died  at  Gorham,  April  23,  1838,  aged  76.  Abigail  his 
wife,  died  in  Gorham,  in  March,  1844,  aged  83. 

Of  their  children,  John  married  Eunice  Harmon  of  Scarboro,  by 
whom  he  had  a  daughter  Ann    Maria,  born  Aug.   27,   1829.      Mr. 


GENEALOGY.  611 

Larry  married  second,  Lucy  Harmon  of  Scarboro,  by  whom  also  he 
had  a  daughter,  Eunice,  born  April  g,  1831.  John  Larry  lived  in 
the  lower  part  of  Gorham.  He  died  April  23,  1872,  and  his  wife 
Lucy,  March  12,  1876,  aged  79. 

James  was  a  graduate  of  Bowdoin  College,  class  of  1821.  He 
married  Martha  J.  Anderson  of  Richmond,  Va.  He  lived  for  many 
years  in  Washington,  D.  C,  and  had  two  children.  He  was  long  a 
clerk  in  the  2d  Auditor's  Office  Treasury  Department.  He  died 
Aug.  27,  1872. 

Stephen  married  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Samuel,  Jr.,  and  Molly 
Hamblen  of  Gorham.  They  had  two  children,  Mary  and  Margaret 
Ann,  born  in  Gorham.     Mr.  Larry  lived  in  South  Paris. 

Joseph  C.,  lived  in  the,  "Hurricane  District,"  then  on  "  Quaker 
lane,"  and  afterwards  moved  to  Windham.  He  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  Daniel  and  Lois  Purinton,  and  had  the  following  children  : 

James  L.,  b.  in  Windham,  m.  Abby  L.  Emery  of  Falmouth ;  was  in  the  Civil 

War,  d.  in  hospital  at  New  Orleans,  July  6,  1864. 
Lois  B.,  b.  in  Gorham.  d.  in  Gorham,  aged  i  year. 
Daniel  P.,  b.  in  Gorham,  m.  Abigail  Hicks  of  Gorham,  Mar.  18,  1S51. 
Abigail  L.,  b.  in  Gorham,  m.  Samuel  North  of  Westbrook. 
Meshach  P.,  b.  in  Windham,  d.  unm. —  killed  at  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness; 

May  6,  1864. 
Phebe  C.,  b.  in  Gorham,  m.  Samuel  T.  Dole  of  Windham. 

John  Hale,  b.  in  Windham,  m.  Mary  White  of  Lynn,  Mass;  is  a  Cong,  minister. 
William  A.,  b.  in  Windham,  m.  Ellen  True  of  Windham. 
Charles  J.,  b.  in  Windham,  m.  Rachel  Haskell  of  Windham. 

Joseph  C.  Larry  died  Sept.  8,  1888,  aged  84,  and  his  wife  Mary, 
May  13,  1885,  aged  79. 

LEWIS. 

George  LeM-is,  the  ancestor  of  the  Gorham  branch  of  the  Lewis 
family,  came  from  England  in  1633.  He  was  a  clothier  from  East 
Greenwich,  Kent  Co.  He  lived  first  in  Plymouth,  then  in  Scituate, 
and  was  of  Barnstable  in  1640-1.  He  died  in  1663,  his  will  being 
proved,  March  3,  1662-3.  His  son  Lieut.  James  Lewis  was  born 
in  England  in  1631,  and  married  Sarah  Lane  of  Hingham,  Mass.  ; 
Ebenezer,  son  of  James  and  Sarah,  born  in  1666,  married  Anna 
Lothrop  ;  George,  son  of  Ebenezer  and  Anna,  born  in  1704,  married 
Sarah  Thacher  of  Yarmouth,  Mass. 

Major  George  Lewis,  son  of  George  and  Sarah  (Thacher)  Lewis, 
was  born  in  Barnstable  in  1741.  In  November,  i78i,he,  then  of 
Barnstable,  purchased  of  Joseph  Otis  of  Barnstable  and  Samuel 
Alleyne  of  Boston  the  hundred  acre  lot  No.  87,  and  half  the  adjoin- 
ing hundred   acre   lot   No.   88,  in    Gorham,  and  by   agreement  with 


612  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Samuel  Harding  who  owned  one-half  of  88,  Mr.  Lewis  had  the 
southern  half  of  the  lot.  April  22,  1782,  he  purchased  the  Jeremiah 
Hodgdon  lot,  about  forty-one  acres,  a  part  of  No.  81.  July  5,  he 
purchased  of  William  Irish  his  fifty  acres  from  No.  80.  At  this  time 
his  residence  was  in  Barnstable.  These  two  last  lots  made  his  home 
farm  of  ninety-one  acres,  on  which  his  son  Lothrop,  then  about 
eighteen  years  of  age,  commenced  operations,  about  a  year  before 
the  family  moved  into  this  town.  Before  the  family  arrived  he  had 
made  a  handsome  clearing,  and  gotten  up  a  house  in  which  to 
receive  his  father  and  mother,  and  a  large  family  of  brothers  and 
sisters  all  younger  than  himself.  In  May,  1783,  the  family  came 
from  Barnstable  and  settled  permanently.  They  brought  with  them 
in  a  schooner  to  Portland  all  their  furniture,  a  horse,  cow  and  heifer, 
and  six  sheep. 

Mr.  Lewis  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution.  His  name  appears  also 
among  the  list  of  Majors  in  1776  and  1777,  as  Major  of  the  ist  Reg- 
iment. He  was  a  man  of  great  weight  and  force  of  character,  decided 
in  all  his  convictions.  He  was  a  very  prominent  man  in  the  affairs 
of  the  town,  and  in  the  old  Orthodox  church,  of  which  latter  he  was 
for  many  years  a  deacon.  He  married,  Oct.  12,  1760,  Mary,  daughter 
of  Hon.  Daniel  Davis  of  Barnstable.  She  was  the  mother  of  all  his 
children,  who  were  : 

Mehitable,  b.  July  21,  1762,  tn.  Nathaniel  Crocker  of  Barnstable,  Apr.  13,  1783  ; 
d.  in  Oakham,  Jan.  31,  1835. 

Lothrop,  b.  Feb.  13,  1764,  m.  Tabitha  Longfellow,  Jan.  20,  1794  ;  2d.  Maiy  J. 
Little. 

Sarah,  b.  Jan.  13,  1766,  m.  Ebenezer  Peabody,  Mar.  9,  1792. 

Annah,  b.  Mar.  21,  1768,  m.  John  Darling,  Oct.  14,  1785. 

James,  b.  Aug.  21,  1770,  m.  Hannah  Harding,  Sept.  24,  1793. 

Ansel,  b.  Feb.  2,  1773,  m.  Comfort  Manchester  in  Portland,  Mar.  29,  1795; 
made  his  home  in  Portland,  where  he  d.  Oct.  8,  1826;  his  wife  d.  in 
Gorham,  May  4,  1865,  ag.  89. 

George,  b.  Mar.  28,  1775,  m.  Ruthy  Lincoln,  Feb.  3,  1800. 

Daniel  D.,  b.  July  22,  1777,  m.  May  13,  1798,  Polly,  dau.  of  Capt.  Jonah  Dyer. 
Mr.  Lewis  was  a  minister  of  the  Baptist  denomination.  He  removed  to 
New  Jersey,  where  he  preached  in  different  places.  He  has  many 
descendants  living  in  that  State  and  in  Penn.  He  d.  in  New  Brunswick, 
N.  J.,  Sept.  24,  1849;  Mrs.  Lewis  d.  in  Philadelphia,  Aug.  17,  1876,  ag. 
96. 

Mary,  b.  .Sept.  29,  1779,  d.  in  Gorham,  unm.  Sept.  27,  1804.  At  the  time  of  her 
death  she  was  engaged  to  be  married  to  Joseph  Skillings,  a  neighbor. 
Her  pocket-book,  marked  "Mary  Lewis,  1804,"  is  now  in  the  Skillings 
family ;  at  the  time  of  her  death  it  was  given  to  Mr.  Skillings  as  a  keep- 
sake ;  the  scissors,  tweezers  and  pencil  are  all  as  perfect  as  when  she 
left  it.  A  funeral  sermon  was  preached  the  next  Sabbath  after  her  death 
from  the  text,  "  The  flower  soon  withereth,  and  the  blossom  fadeth,  the 
fair  blossom,  the  beautiful  flower —  But  all  flesh  is  grass." 

Robert,  {■,     t  ^       o,   j  d.  young. 

Abigail,  <j       ^^^'      '  ^        I  m.  Capt.  William  Prentiss,  Dec.  11,  1804. 


GENEALOGY,  613 

Mrs.  Mary  Lewis  died  in  1782,  and  on  Jan.  27,  1783.  Mr.  Lewis 
married  Desire  Parker  of  Barnstable,  who  died  May  19,  18 15,  aged 
79.     Dea.  Lewis  died  July  24,  18 19,  aged  79. 

(2)  Lothrop  Lewis,  son  of  George,  was  a  man  high  in  the  esteem 
of  his  fellow  citizens  and  cotemporaries.  He  was  a  man  of  singular 
purity  and  uprightness ;  of  much  dignity,  and  of  calm  and  well 
balanced  mind,  and  excellent  judgment.  He  was  repeatedly  called 
upon  to  fill  places  of  public  trust.  He  was  for  twenty-four  years 
chairman  of  the  board  of  selectmen  ;  was  Representative  to  the 
(jeneral  Court  of  Massachusetts  twelve  years,  and.  Representative  to 
the  Maine  Legislature  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  Massa- 
chusetts Senator  in  1808  and  18 15. 

When  a  young  man  Mr,  Lewis  was  much  engaged  as  a  surveyor  of 
lands,  and  in  locating  land.  He  was  the  surveyor  in  locating  the  first 
road  from  Standish,  through  Baldwin  to  Bridgton.  He  was  often  a 
referee  in  important  and  ditificult  cases.  When  Maine  was  separated 
from  Massachusetts  in  1820,  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  delegates  from 
Gorham  to  attend  the  convention  which  was  called  to  prepare  a 
constitution  for  the  new  State.  This  convention  assembled  at 
Portland,  Oct.  11,  1820,  and  in  due  time  prepared  a  constitution 
which  was  shortly  afterwards  adopted  by  the  people.  For  several 
years  before  the  separation,  Mr.  Lewis  held  the  ofiice  of  Surveyor- 
general  of  lands  in  the  Province  of  Maine,  and  after  the  passing  of 
the  Act  of  Separation  he  was  commissioned  anew  by  Gov.  King  for 
the  management,  sale  and  settlement  of  eastern  lands,  and  also  as 
Surveyor-general.  In  the  military  line  he  rose  to  the  colonelcy  of  a 
regiment  of  cavalry.  He  was  one  of  Gov.  Strong's  Board  of  War  in 
1812-15;  and  one  of  the  commission  which  divided  the  arms  and 
equipments  of  Massachusetts  between  Massachusetts  and  Maine  after 
the  separation.  Col.  Lewis  married  Tabitha,  daughter  of  Hon. 
Stephen  Longfellow,  and  lived  at  West  Gorham  on  the  old  home- 
stead.     Children  : 

Stephen  Longfellow,  b.  Mar.  14,  1795,  m.  Jane  Thomas  of  Wayne.  Ch:  Mary, 
d.  in  I'ortland,  Mar.  9,  1844,  ag.  21  ;  Elizabeth  W.,  d.  in  Gorham,  July 
10,  1825,  ag.  2.  Stephen  L.  Lewis  was  a  graduate  of  Bowdoin  College, 
class  of  1816.  He  studied  law  and  commenced  practice  at  Athens,  Me., 
but  I'd  but  a  few  years,  dying  .Feb.  4,  1825.  His  widow  m.  Samuel 
Lincoln  of  (jorham. 

Mary  Longfellow,  b.  Nov.  15,  1796,  m.  Jacob  S.  Smith,  Oct.  12,  18 16. 

On  the  farm  formerly  owned  by  Col.  Lewis  at  West  Gorham  there 
are  five  graves  of  younger  children  of  Lothrop  and  Tabitha,  who  died 
in    infancy    with   the  exception   of  one  aged    eight.     Mrs.   Tabitha 


614  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Lewis  died  April   15,  1807,  and  Mr.  Lewis  married,  April  19,  18 10, 

Mrs.  Mary  J.  (Prescott)  Little,  daughter  of  Hon.  Oliver  Prescott  of 

Groton,  Mass.,  and  widow  of  John    Park   Little,    Esq.     She   was  a 

woman  of  rare  native  gifts,  and  of  fine  culture.     After  his  second 

marriage  Col.  Lewis  settled  at  the  village  in  the  three-story  house  on 

Main   St.,  built  by   Lawyer   Little.     The   children   of    Lothrop  and 

Mary  J.  Lewis  were  : 

Annah  D.,  b.  May  30,  181 1,  d.  Oct.  4,  1811. 
Catherine  B.,  b.  May  14,  1813,  d.  Mar.  17,  1825. 

Elizabeth  P.,  b.   Mar.   19,   1816,  m.  Col.  Stephen  McL.  Staples,  Oct.  17,  1S31  ; 
2d,  Co).  Hugh  D.  McLellan,  Dec.  25,  1833. 

Col.  Lothrop  Lewis  died  suddenly,  Oct.  9,  1822,  at  Bangor  where 
he  had  gone  to  attend  to  his  duties  as  Land  Commissioner.  His 
wife  died  May  30,  1863,  aged  88  years  and  6  mos. 

(2)  James  Lewis,  son   of   George,   was   a   Methodist  preacher  of 

much  power;  an  earnest   and  devout  Christian.     It  is  said  that  he 

never  accepted  a  dollar  in  pay  for  his  preaching  services.     He  was 

well  known  throughout  the  State,  and  there  are  many  now  living  who 

remember  his  fervent  piety  and  earnest  exhortations.     He  married 

Hannah,  the   daughter   of   Capt.  Samuel  Harding,  and  lived  on  the 

farm   at  West   Gorham,  formerly   owned  by  his  wife's  father.     The 

place  is  now  owned  and  occupied  by  his  grandson  Charles  E.  Jordan. 

Children  : 

Samuel  H.  B.,  b.  Aug.  25,  1794,  d.  in  Port  au  Prince,  Sept.  21,  1816. 

Desire  P.,  b.  May  12,  1796,  m.  Nathaniel  Jordan,  May  6,  1819. 

George,    b.    July    16,    1798,    m.    Achsah   Jordan,    Jan.   28,   1819 ;  2d,  Mary  S. 

Roberts. 
Timothy  M.,  b.  July  16,  1800,  d.  May  12,  1802. 
James,  b.  Oct.  14,  1802,  d.  May,  1814. 
Elijah  P.,  b.  Dec.  29,  1804,  d.  June  25,  1831. 
John,  b.  Feb.  24,  1807,  m.  Sabrina  Hamblen,  Jan.  26,  1833. 
Martha,  b.  Mar.  24,  1809,  m.  Joseph  H.  Rich;  I'd  in  Chesterville. 
Josiah,  b.  Apr.  26,  181 1,  d.  in  Wapello,  Iowa,  May  9,  1S42. 
James,  b.  June  12,  1814,  I'd  in  Utah. 
Samuel  H.  B.,  b.  Apr.  i,  1816,  m.  Dolly  Lunt  of  Baddingham,  Oct.  7,  1838;  d. 

Sept.  19,  1843,  i"  Madison,  Ga. 

Rev.  James  Lewis  died  Aug.  20,  1855,  aged  85.  Mrs.  Hannah, 
his  wife,  died  May  3,  1848,  aged  73. 

(2)  George  Lewis,  son  of  George,  married  Ruthy,  daughter  of  Royal 
Lincoln.  After  his  marriage  he  purchased  and  cleared  the  farm  in 
Bridgton,  in  the  district  known  as  Hio,  now  owned  by  his  grandson 
Edward  L.  Lewis,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days,  with 
the  exception  of  several  years  in  Gorham.  Children,  all  born  in 
Bridgton,  except  Sarah,  born  in  Gorham  : 


GENEALOGY.  615 

Royal  I..,  b.  Nov.  ii,  iSoo.  m.  Mary  Mairett;  d.  Oct.  14,  1844. 

Harriet  M.,  b.  July  15,  1802,  m.  Rev.  Jacob  Bray. 

Lothrop,  b.  Sept.  4,  1805.  m.  Mary  Jones,  Dec.  13,  1S32  ;  d.  Oct.  25,  1S79. 

Tabitha  L.,  b.  Sept.  23,  1807,  ni.  vStephen  Willey  ;  d.  in  1847. 

Jeiusha  L.,  b.  Nov.  4,  1811,  m.  Benjamin  Cleaves  of  Bridgton;  d.  Aug.  3,  1876. 

Sarah  P.,  b.  Aug.  23,  1817,  m.  Aaron  Woodbury;  d.  Jan.  17,  1900. 

George  Lewis  held  the  rank  of  major  in  a  regiment  of  militia.  He 
died  in  Bridgton,  Sept.  19,  1857,  aged  82.  Mrs.  Lewis  died  in  the 
same  town,  June  25,  1853,  aged  73. 

(3)  John  Lewis,  son  of  James,  married  Sabrina,  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  Polly  Hamblen.  He  lived  for  many  years  at  West  Gor- 
ham  near  his  father,  then  moved  to  Portland,  where  he  was  for  some 
time  City  Forester.     Child  of  John  and  Sabrina  : 

Elijah  P.,  b.  Jan.  6,  1S34,  m.  Eliza  Wadleigh ;  d.  Feb.  15,  1870. 
John  Lewis  died  in  Portland,  June   19,  1874,  aged  67.     His  wife 
died  September,  1889. 

(4)  Simon  ].  Lewis,  son  of  George  (3)  and  Achsah,  and  grandson 

of  James  (2),  married  Eliza,  daughter  of  Robert  aud  Betsey  (Jordan) 

Frost  of  Norway,  and  lived  at  West  Gorham.     Children  : 

Samuel,  b.  Sept.  22,  1846,  d.  in  Cal. 

Kate  E.,  b.  Apr.  15,  1848,  m.  Oliver  Watson,  June  12,  1867. 

Abbie  F.,  b.  Jan.,  1S50,  m.  Chas.  F.  Maberry;  I's  in  Cleveland,  O. 

Mrs.  Eliza  Lewis  died  about  185 1,  and  Mr.  Lewis  married  Amanda 
T.  Hayes  of  Norway  and  moved  to  Portland.  He  had  no  children  by 
his  second  wife.     He  died  June  12,  1884. 

Abijah  Peco  Lewis  was  a  Frenchman.  We  do  not  know  from 
what  part  of  the  country  he  came.  He  was  kidnapped,  and  put  as  a 
sailor  on  board  a  vessel  bound  to  America.  The  captain,  after 
having  made  all  the  use  of  young  Peco  that  he  could  in  navigating 
his  vessel  to  America,  and  fearing  the  consequences  of  taking  him 
back  to  France,  got  rid  of  him,  in  some  way,  while  his  vessel  was  in 
Portland,  Me.  At  this  time  his  name  was  Louis  Peco  ;  from  some 
reason  of  his  own,  or  in  consequence  of  a  nick-name,  he  finally 
adopted  the  name  of  Abijah  Peco  Lewis,  by  which  name  he  was 
married,  and  ever  after  known.  In  1755,  he  was  of  Gorham,  and 
here  on  Dec.  27,  of  that  year,  married  Rebecca  Melcher.  Their 
publishment  says  they  were  both  of  Gorham.  Before  the  year  1775 
he  moved  to  Buxton.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
and  always  claimed  that  he,  with  Corporal  William  Irish,  whose 
daughter  afterwards  married  Peco's  son,  were  both  engaged  in  the 
famous  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  on  June  17th,  1775. 


616  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Rebecca  Melcher,  whom  Mr.  Lewis  married,  was  the  daughter  of 
Edward  Melcher,  who  came  to  Gorham  from  Kennebunkport  about 
the  year  1750.  She  had  a  brother  Joseph,  born  about  1733,  who 
married  Mar}^  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  Bethiah  (Harding)  Cobb, 
and  was  the  ancestor  of  the  Brunswick  Melchers.  She  also  had  a 
brother  Samuel,  born  about  1743,  and  a  sister  who  married  a  Scam- 
mon  of  Saco.  The  Melchers  were  house  and  ship  carpenters  and 
builders. 

There  is  no  perfect  record  of  the  children  of  Abijah  P.  and 
Rebecca  Lewis,  but  they  probably  were  as  follows  : 

x\bijah,  b.  about  1756,  m.  Beity  Eldridge  of  Buxton,  Feb.  24,  1785;  was  a  pri- 
vate, from  Buxton,  in  Capt.  Williams'  company.  Col.  Phinney's  regt.,  in 
1775;  was  a  Rev'y  pensioner;  d.  in  Hiram,  Dec.  17,  1830,  aged  74. 

Thomas,  m.  Sally  Bastoni  of  Buxton,  Mar.  17,  1791. 

Elizabeth,  m.  Henry  Flood  of  Buxton,  Nov.  30,  17S0. 

Miriam,  m.  Adam  Cochran  of  Newcastle,  Apr.  9,  1781. 

Anna,  m.  Winthrop  Eldridge  of  Buxton,  May  7,  1789. 

Jane,  m.  Aaron  Eldridge  of  Buxton,  Mar.  6,  1794. 

Ebenezer,  bapt.  Apr.  10,  1777,  m.  Lydia  Thompson  of  Buxton,  Dec.  15,  1796. 

Samuel,  bapt.  Apr.  10,  1777,  m.  Phebe  Irish,  Dec.  4,  iSco. 

Sarah,  bapt.  Apr.  10,  1777,  m.  Benjamin  Newcomb  of  Buxton,  Nov.  7,  1793. 

Rebecca,  bapt.  Nov.  23,  1779,  "i-  tlisha  Newcomb  of  Buxton,  Oct.  13,  1799 

Abijah  Peco  Lewis  died  in  Buxton. 

(2)  Samuel  Lewis,  son  of  Abijah  P.,  was  a  Free  Will  Baptist 
preacher.  He  married  Phebe,  the  daughter  of  William  and  Sarah 
(Murch)  Irish  of  Gorham.  Their  son  (3)  William  I.  Lewis,  born 
July  7,  1801,  married,  Nov.  15,  1824,  Abigail  Newcomb  of  Harrison, 
He  married  second,  Mrs.  Betsey  (Harmon)  Brown,  by  whom  he  had 
no  children.  They  lived  in  Gorham,  between  White  Rock  and  Great 
Falls,  on  the  place  where  Horace  Libby  now  lives.  William  I.  Lewis 
died  July  9,  1878,  aged  77,  and  his  wife  Betsey,  May  6,  1890, 
aged  89. 

LIBBY. 

The  Libby  family  is  of  English  descent.  There  have  been,  and 
still  are,  many  of  the  name  in  town.  '  Probably  the  first  Libby  who 
came  here  was  Joseph  Libby.  He  came  to  Gorham  from  Falmouth, 
about  1760,  and  settled  first  on  a  farm  of  sixty  acres  consisting  of 
two  thirty  acre  lots,   Nos.   82   and  84,  on  Queen  street,   which   he 


I  Sally  Baston  (or  Boston)  is  said  to  have  come  from  Vork.  Her  sister,  Susanna 
Boston,  married  Joshua  I>ecker  of  Gorham  (pub.  Mar.  13,  1773),  and  had  a  son  Joseph 
born  in  Gorham  about  1776.  Joshua  Decker,  who  is  said  to  have  been  born  in  York, 
was  living  in  Gorham  as  early  as  1772.  He  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution  —a  member 
of  Capt.  Whitmore's  militia  company  in  1777.  About  1778  he  left  town,  settling  near 
Spruce  Swamp,  in  Buxtf)n.  He  had  a  brother  John  who  lived  in  Pearsontown,  where  he 
married  Catherine  Hall  of  that  town. 


GENEALOGY.  617 

bought  of  Daniel   Rolfe  April    i6,  1760.     In    1779   he  purchased  of 

Joseph  Winslow  of  Falmouth  half  an   acre   of  land   adjoining   Horse 

Beef  Falls  on  the  west  side  of  the  Presumpscot  River,  with  the  saw 

mill  standing  on  it,  all  the  mill   privilege,  and  half  the  falls  and  the 

dam.     The  ne.xt  year  he  bought  of  Mr.  Winslow  one  hundred  acres 

of  land,  a  part  of  Mallison's  right,  near  the  Falls.     For  this  he  paid 

thirteen   hundred   and   thirty-three    Spanish    milled    dollars.     Before 

coming  to  Gorham   Mr.   Libby  married,   Jan.   7,    1758,  in  Falmouth, 

Mary  Huston.     Children  : 

Dorcas,  b.  in  Falmouth,  m.  Geo.  Waterhouse,  Nov.  23,  1775. 

Polly,  b.  Mar.  28,  1761,  m.  Matthias  Miirch,  Mar.  i,  17S1. 

John,  b.  Mar.  10,  1764,  m.  Phebe  Knight,  Mar.  12,  1789. 

William,  b.  Oct.  28,  1769,  m.  Mrs.  Ann  (Webb)  Bolton,  Mar.  30,  1797. 

Sarah,  b. ,  m.  Thomas  Blake  of  P^almouth,  Dec.  16,  1790. 

Charlotte,  b.  Sept.  25,  1776,  m.  James  Thomas,  Dec.  19,  1795- 
Joseph,  b.  June  13,  1780,  m.  Mercy  Whitney,  June  24,  1801. 

Mr.  Libby  married  second,  April    4,    1782,    Hannah    Hanson   of 

Windham.     By  her  he  had  one  child : 

Mary,  b.  Nov.  12,  1783,  m.  Greenleaf  Rand  of  Windham,  p.  Nov.   12,  1S02.  (?) 
Joseph  Libby  died  Feb.  5,   1801.      His  wife  Hannah  died  a  few 

years  later. 

(2)  John  Libby,  son  of  Joseph,  was  a  farmer.     He  always  lived 

near   Horse  Beef  Falls  ;  in  his  early  life  on  the  Windham  side,  near 

the  end  of  the  bridge.     In  1787  he  with  his  brother-in-law  Matthias 

Murch  bought  of  his  father  Joseph  Libby  the  mill  privilege  and  mills 

at   Horse  Beef.     He  married  Phebe,  daughter  of  Capt.  Joseph  and 

Lydia  Knight.     Children  : 

Hannah,  b.  Sept.  22,  1789,  m.  Harry  Stevens,  Apr.  20,  1816. 

Lydia,  b.  Aug,  11,  1791,  m.  Benjamin  F.  Johnson,  Dec.  5,  1815. 

Statira,  b.  Apr.  2,  1793,  "^-  Joseph  Cox  of  Holderness,  Feb.  28,  1822. 

Tyng  S.,  b.  Dec.  8,  1797,  m.  Sarah  Crowell,  Mar.  11,  1824;  I'd  in  Vassalboro. 

.Samuel,  b.  May  23,  1800,  d.  unm.  Aug.  22,  1874. 

Ebenezer,  b.  July  16,  1804,  d.  unm.  in  Vassalboro,  Apr.  20,  1831. 

Peter,  b.  1809,  d.  unm.  Dec.  21,  1S30. 

John  Libby  died  March   10,   1826,  aged  62.     His  wife  died  about 

1842. 

(2)  William  Libby,  son  of  Joseph,  married  Mrs.  Ann  Bolton,  daugh- 
ter of  EU  and  Sarah  Webb,  and  widow  of  William  Bolton.     Children  : 

Dorcas,  b.  Feb.  22,  1798,  m.  James  Wescott,  Apr.  30,  18 15. 

Lorana,  b.  Nov.  21,  1800,  m.  Samuel  Freeman  of  Windham,  Mar.  31,  1823. 

William  B.,  b.  Jan.  19,  1803,  m.  Harriet  Beck  of  Portland,  Aug.  2,  1837;  d.  in 

Biddeford,  Jan.  5,  1857. 
Elizabeth,  b.  May  i,  1805,  d.  unm.  Nov.  22,  1828. 

Mr.  Libby  left  home  when  his  children  were  small,  and  was  never 
heard  from  afterwards.      His  widow  died  Dec.  28,  1855,  aged  93. 


618  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

(2)  Joseph  Libby,  Jr.,  son  of  Joseph,  was  a  carpenter  by  trade. 
He  lived  first  near  Little  Falls,  and  then  moved  to  North  Gorham, 
His  wife  was  Mercy,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Mehitable  Whitney. 
Children  : 

Roxanna,  b.  Nov.  15,  1S02,  m.  William  Files,  Sept.  27,  1S27. 

Harriet,  b.  June  10,  1804,  d.  young. 

Stephen,  b.  May  27,  1807,  m.  Mary  W.  Lowe  of  Gray,  Dec.   13,  1S31.     Ch  : 

Juliette  E.,  b.  Aug.  9,  1832;  Adrianna,  b.  Nov.  29,   1833,  m.   Daniel  C. 

Mellows  of  Farmington,  N.  H.,  Sept.  14,  1851  ;  Tyng  Wilson,  b.  Apr.  17, 

1835,  m.  Nov.  25,  1862,  Kate  (Meserve)   Brackett,  widow  of  Solomon 

Brackett,  no  ch.,  d.  Feb.  24,   1898;  Harriet  A.,  b.  Sept.   29,  1837,   m. 

Charles  L.  McAllister  of  Portland,  Mar.  5,  1868;  Winfield  S.,  b.  Oct.  3, 

1841,  m.  Izora  Hamblen,  Apr.  29,   1877.     Stephen  Libby  was  a  farmer 

and  shoemaker  ;  he  bought  his  farm  about  1830  of  Joseph  Haskell.     He 

d.  July  3,  1881 ;  his  wife  d.  Mar.  23,  1881. 
Ansel,  b.  Nov.  22,  1809,  d.  unm.  May  12,  i868r 
Edmund,  b.  Mar.  14,  1812,  m.  Hannah  C.  Elder  of  Windham,  July  29,   1838  ; 

moved  to  Portland  about  1855. 
William  B.,  b.  Nov.   17,  1814,  m.  Elizabeth  Hamblen,  in  1838;  2d,  m.,  1844, 

Charlotte  Johnson;  3d,  in  1868,  Jennie  P.  Rideout ;  moved  to  Portland 

in  1864. 
Daniel,  b.  July   15,  1818,  m.  Pamelia  Moqre  of  Windham,  Dec,   1843.     ^^■ 

Charles    J.,    m.    Lizzie    J.    Carr  ;2  Anna  Augusta,  m.  Joseph  E.   Libby. 

Daniel  Libby  I'd  near  Little  Falls;    he  d.  Jan.  2,  1893,  and  his  wife,  July 

4,  1899,  ag.  77. 

Joseph  Libby,  Jr.,  died  April  2,  1843  ;  his  widow  died  in  Portland, 
May  25,  i860,  aged  83. 

Joab  Libby,  son  of  John  of  Scarborough,  was  born  Sept,  13,  1745. 
In  1775  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Capt.  Stuart's  company.  Col. 
Phinney's  regiment.  His  home  was  near  Little  Falls.  He  married, 
Sept.  21,  1769,  Susanna  Lombard.     Children  : 

John,  b.  July  31,  1770,  m.  Hannah  Gray  of  Standish ;  d.  about  1815  ;  his  widow 
m.  Gabriel  Welch  of  Raymond. 

Jonathan,  b.  Oct.  9,  1772,  was  a  farmer;  I'd  for  a  time  in  Standish,  then  in 
Gorham,  then  returned  to  Standish,  where  he  d.  His  ch.  by  his  first 
wife,  Mary  Stevens,  were  b.  in  Standish.  Ch.  by  his  second  wife,  Abigail 
Jordan  of  Raymond,  all  b.  in  Gorham,  were :  Thomas,  d.  unm.  in  Casco, 
June,  1876;  Susan,  m.  Bradley  Cram  of  Gorham;  Margaret  J.,  m.  James 
P.  Gates,  Sept.  25,  1834,  and  2d,  David  Frost;  Jane,  b.  July  4,  1816,  m. 
James  Staples;  Abigail,  b.  June  4,  1823,  m.  Charles  Dingley ;  Ann 
Rebecca,  b.  June  4,  1823,  m.  Andrew  R.  Gay. 

Susanna,  b.  July  3,  1777,  m.  Jedediah  Dorsett,  Jan.  12,  1797. 

Joab  Libby  died  April  17,  1781,  and  his  widow  married,  Oct.  20, 
1784,  Jedediah  Lombard. 

Reuben  Libby  came  to  Gorham  from  Rye,  N.  H.,  where  he  was 
born  Aug.  11,  1734.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  army. 
He  married  Sarah  Goss  of  Rye,  July  i,  1754,  and  by  her  had  seven 
children.  Richard  and  Reuben,  two  of  these  children,  settled  in 
Gorham.  After  the  death  of  his  wife,  Sarah  (Goss)  Libby,  Reuben 
is  said  to  have  married  in  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  March  31,  1773,  Sarah 


GENEALOGY.  G19 

Tucker,  and  the  same  year  came  to  Gorham,  where  he  had  the  fol- 
lowing children  born.  On  the  town  records  a  part  of  these  children 
are  recorded  as  children  of  Reuben  and  Abigail  Libby,  and  we  have 
been  told  that  the  name  of  his  last  wife  was  Abigail  Foss. 

Abigail,  b.  ,  ni.  Isaac  Allen  of  Pownal. 

Isaac,  b.  June  27,  1776,  m.  Rebecca  C.  Crockett,  Dec.  20,  1798. 

Mary,  b.  July  30,  1779,  m.  Wallis  Frost  of  Rochester,  N.  H.,  June  ii,  1799 

Elizabeth,  b.  Oct.  15,  1781,  d.  young,  probably. 

John,  b.  Jan.  22,  1784,  m.  Joanna  Baker  of  Albion  ;  went  to  Albion. 

Benjamin,  b.  May  5,  1786,  m.  Priscilla  Clay,  p.  Apr.  4,  1S16;  went  to  Gray. 

William,  b.  ,  went  East,  and  was  never  heard  from. 

Jacob,  b. ,  d.  unm.  Apr.  8,  1864 ;  I'd  in  Pownal. 

Rachel,  b. ,  m.  Charles  E.  Paine  of  Bethel. 

Reuben  Libby  died  in  Albany  at  his  son  Benjamin's  about  1820. 

His  wife  died  in  Gray  about  18 15. 

(2)  Richard  Libby,  son  of  Reuben  and  Sarah  (Goss)  Libby,  was 
born  in  Rye,  N.  H.,  April  8,  1762.  He  married,  Nov.  16,  1788, 
Sarah  Ross  of  No.  Yarmouth,  daughter  of  James  and  Hannah  Ross, 
formerly  of  Gorham,  and  settled  on  the  seventy  acre  lot  56  at  White 
Rock.  This  is  the  farm  owned  by  the  late  Otis  Purinton.  Richard 
Libby  was  a  cooper  by  trade,  and  after  building  his  new  house  made 
the  first  one  into  a  cooper  shop.  He  and  his  wife  were  both  mem- 
bers of  the  Society  of  Friends.     Children  : 

James,  b.  July  i  r,  1789,  m.  Sarah  Grant,  of  Saco,  Jan.  23,  18(2  ;  I'd  in  Saco. 

Walter,  b.  Feb.  28,  1791,  went  to  New  York  State. 

Joel,  b.  Oct.  10,  1792,  m.  Dec.  22,  1815,  Joanna,  dau.  of  Thos.  and  Ruth  Clay 
of  Gorham.  One  child:  Walter,  b.  June  6,  1816,  m.  Ruth  C.  Libby, 
June  2,  1839,  I'd  in  Albany.  Mrs.  Joanna  Libby  d.  in  Gorham,  Mar.  11, 
1817,  and  Mr.  Libby  m.  Jan.  31,  1819,  Fanny,  dau.  of  John  and  Molly 
Silla.  Ch :  Ephraim  S.,  b.  in  Baldwin,  Jan.  2,  1820;  Levi,  b.  Dec.  9, 
1821  ;  Lot  Davis,  b.  Feb.  8,  1824;  Joanna,  b.  June  20,  1826  ;  Martha  S., 
b.  in  Gorham,  Feb.  13,  1829,  m.  Nathan  Mason,  2d,  Benja.  Davis; 
Charles  E.,  b.  in  G.,  Oct.  18,  1831,  m.  Rebecca  S.  Cash  of  Casco,  Oct. 
18,  1859;  Tyng,  b.  in  G.,  May  30,  1835,  m.  Mary  Brazier,  2d,  Mrs.  Mary 
E.  Barter.  Joel  Libby  was  a  carpenter  and  farmer.  He  d.  in  Raymond, 
July  22,  1856,  and  his  wife  Fanny,  May  24.  1871. 

Sarah,  b.  Apr.  3,  1794,  d.  unm.  Mar.  25,  1856. 

Hannah  R.,  b.  Oct.  12,  1795,  ^-  "'i»i-  Mar.  25,  1877. 

Reuben,  b.  Jan.  21,  1798,  m.  Olive  Marston  of  No.  Yarmouth,  Aug.  21,  1822; 
d.  Oct.  22,  1825. 

Anna,  b.  July  17,  1800,  m.  William  Roberts,  Sept.  18,  1834;  d.  Oct.  26,  1844. 

Daniel,  b.  Nov.  4,  1802,  m.  Sally  T.  (Sanborn)  Libby;  d.  July  10,  1857. 

David,  b.  June  7,  1804,  d.  unm.  Mar.  22,  1877. 

Mary,  b.  Sept.  30,  1808,  d.  unm.  May  6,  1824. 

Amos,  b.  May  29,  1810,  m.  Anna  T.  Roberts;  2d,  Martha  Parker;  I'd  in  111. 

Richard  Libby  died  Sept.  7,  1838.  His  wife  died  April  19,  1833, 
aged  67. 

(2)  Reuben  Libby,  Jr.,  son  of  Reuben  and  Sarah  (Goss)  Libby,  was 
born  in  Rye,  N.  H.,  in  1763,  and  came  with  his  father  to  Gorham. 


620  HISTORY    OF    GOKHAM. 

He  learned  the  shoemaker's  trade,  and  lived  on  a  farm  not  far  from 
the  present  town  farm.  He  married,  Sept.  ii,  1794,  Abigail,  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  and  Deliverance  Irish.     Children  : 

Jane,  b.  ,  m.  Jacob  Irish,  Jan.  15,  1818. 

Ann,  b. ,  m.  Benjamin  Burnell  of  Baldwin. 

Tiiomas,  b.  1798,  m.  Nancy  Hilborn  of  Hebron  ;  d.  in  Oxford. 

Samuel,  b.  Oct.  5,  1799,  ^-  ^^^-  2'>  '^33,  Sally,  dau.  of  Simeon  l.ibby,  Jr.  Ch : 
William  H.  P.,  b.  May  16,  1834,  d.  Apr.  14,  1840;  Phineas  I.,  b.  Aug. 
23,  1838,  m.  Eliza  Ellen  Ricker  of  Peru;  Albert  F.,  b.  Oct.  20,  1843,  ^■ 
Jan.  14,  1845;  William  F.,  b.  Nov.  10,  1845,  ^-  July  9)  1862.  Samuel 
Libby  was  a  farmer,  and  settled  on  the  old  James  Morton  place,  the 
farm  since  occupied  by  his  son,  Phineas  I.  Libby.  He  d.  Apr.  18,  1875, 
and  his  wife,  Nov.  22,  1898. 

Asa,  b.  about  1802,  m.  Abigail  Douglass;  2d,  Mary  Kennison  ;  I'd  in  Bridgton. 

Mary,  b.  1805,  d.  unm.  Apr.  12,  1825. 

Delilah,  b.  Apr.  16,  1807,  m.  Hanson  Newcomb,  Nov.  27,  1827. 

Reuben  Libby  died  Oct.  15,  1807,  and  his  wife  Abigail,  April  14, 
1856. 

Simeon,  Allison  and  Edward  Libby  were  brothers.  They  were 
born  in  Scarborough,  and  were  the  sons  of  Allison  Libby  of  that 
town.  The  three  brothers  served  in  the  Revolutionary  army. 
Edward  was  at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  None  of  the  brothers 
received  any  injuries  during  the  war. 

(i)  Simeon  was  born  x-Vpril  3,  1755.      He  married,  Dec.  22,  1783, 

Abigail  Smith  of  Biddeford.     After  his  marriage  he  settled  in  Gorham 

on  the  farm  lately  owned  by  his  grandson  Lewis  Libby.     His  two 

oldest  children  were  born  in  Scarborough  : 

Simeon,  b.  Jan.  11,  1784,  m.  Sarah  Lombard,  Mar.  25,  1810. 

Joseph  C,  b.  Dec.  4,  1785,  m.  Betsey  Phinney,  Feb.  15,  1809;  2d,  Love  Phinney. 

Rebecca,  b.  Oct.  4,  1787,  m.  Benjamiii  Carsley,  Dec.  26,  1819. 

Olive,  b.  Mar.  19,  1789,  m.  Caleb  Richardson  of  Pownal. 

Daniel,  b.  Mar.  18,  1792,  m.  Martha  Morton,  Jan.  22,  1818;  2d,  Alice  Morton. 

Abigail,  b.  June  28,  1794,  m.  Enoch  Libby  of  Scarborough. 

Samuel,  b.  Apr.  21,  1797,  d.  unm.  Apr.  18,  1822. 

Ai,  b.  Nov.  2[,  1799,  m.  Martha  Skillings,  Dec.  i,  1824;  2d,  EUzabeih  Files. 

Mrs.  Abigail  Libby  died  May  8,   1802,  and   Mr.   Libby  married, 

June  24,  1807,  Mrs.  Ann   Phinney,  daughter  of  Simon   Huston,  and 

widow  of  Stephen  Phinney.     By  her  he  had  one  child,  Stephen,  born 

Aug.  8,  i8o8,  who  was  lost  at  sea.     Simeon  Libby  died  March  11, 

1830,  and  his  wife  Ann,  Jan.  9,  1849. 

(i)  Allison  Libby  was  born  April  6,  1757.  He  was  one  of  the 
first  settlers  in  the  northern  part  of  Gorham,  clearing  the  place  where 
William  Wescott,  3d,  now  lives.  At  the  time  of  his  settlement  here 
the  road  from  Scarborough  to  (iorham  had  not  been  laid  out,  and  he 
was  obliged  to  go  by  way  of    Stroudwater  village  and  Saccarappa, 


GENEALOGY.  621 

from  which  latter  place  he  went  by  a  logging  road  up  the  Windham 

side  of  the  river  to   Horse   Beef  Falls,  crossing  the  Presumpscot  at 

that  place  on  the  ice,  as  it  was  midwinter,  and  from  there  reached 

his   lot  by   another  logging  road.     He  married,   Feb.    15,   1781,  in 

Scarborough,  Sarah  Dame,  who  was  born  Dec.  12,  1760.     Their  first 

three  children  were  born  in  Scarborough,  and  the  others  in  Gorham. 

Children  : 

Sarah,  b.  Sept.  14,  1781,  m.  Daniel  Brown  of  Windham,  Dec.  i,  1802. 

Olive,  b.  Mar.  5,  1783,  d.  June,  1786. 

Ephraim,  b.  Oct.  30,  1784,  m.  Polly  Blake,  Jan.  26,  1807. 

Allison,  b.  Mar.  8,  1787,  m.  Lois  Cross,  June  27,  1812. 

Thomas,  b.  Jan.  22,  1789,  d.  July  8,  1807. 

Abigail,  b.  Feb.  24,  1791,  m.  James  Thomes,  Feb.  28,  1819. 

Hugh,  b.  May  26,  1793,  m.  Theodosia  Small,  Mar.  23,  1826. 

Henry,  b.  July  15,  1795,  m.  Dorcas  Jordan  of  Raymond,  Dec.  5,  1822. 

Joseph,  b.  Sept.  11,  1797,  m.  Eunice  Lombard,  Oct.  5,  1823. 

James,  b.  Jan.  20,  iSoo,  m.  Esther  P.  Irish,  Nov.  14,  1832. 

Bryant,  born  Feb.  22,  1S02,  m.  Elizabeth  J.   Waterhouse   of  Poland;  went   to 

La  Grange;  d.  Feb.  23,  1858,  and  his  wife,  July  22,  1878. 
Lothrop  L.,  b.  May  14,  1804,  m.  Frances  Knight  of  Westbrook,  Sept.  24,  1837. 
Jeremiah   N.,  b.  Jan.   12,  iSoS,  m.   Lucy  Bangs,  Apr.  13,    1834;   2d,   Mary  Ann 

Kennard. 

Mr.  Libby  died  on  the  farm  which  he  had  cleared,  May  14,  18 16. 
After  his  death  his  widow  married,  March  20,  1825,  Maj.  Daniel 
Small  of  Limington,  and  died  in  Gorham,  Feb.  23,  1849,  aged  88. 

(i)  Edward  Libby  was  born  Feb.  10,  1759.  Soon  after  the  close 
of  the  Revolution  he  came  to  Gorham,  where  he  settled  on  a  farm 
adjoining  that  of  his  brother  Simeon.  He  married,  Oct.  2,  1791, 
Elizabeth  Libby  of  Scarborough.     Children  : 

Sewall,  b.  June  10,  1793,  m.  Achsa  Hall,  May  18,  1817  ;  went  to  Durham. 

Dorotha,  b.  Sept.  4,  1794,  m.  Thomas  Johnson,  p.  Apr.  16,  183 r. 

Sarah,  b.  June  11,  1796,  m.  John  Jones,  Feb.  4,  1823. 

Gardner,  b.  Jan.  22,  1798,  m.  Hannah  Moulton,  Oct.  11,  1S21  ;  I'd  in  Standish. 

Hannah,  b.  Jan.  18,  iSoo,  m.  Reuben  Shaw,  Sept.  23,  1823. 

Marreit,  b.  May  3,  1802,  m.  Mary  Libby,  Feb.  6,  1828. 

Eliza,  b.  May  5,  1804,  m.  John  Johnson,  Dec.  4,  1822  ;  2d,  William  Johnson. 

Joseph,    b.    Mar.    10,    1806,    m.    Mary   A.    Libby,    Nov.    22,    1832;    moved    to 

Brunswick. 
Alvah,  b.  Feb.  11,  1808,  m.  Ann  Harmon,  June  28,  1831. 
Ebenezer  H.,  b.  Dec.  22,  1810,  m.  Catherine  R.  Irish,  Sept.  23,  1S32. 
Maria  G.,  b.  Apr.  9,  1813,  d.  Oct.  10,  1832. 

Edward  Libby  died  March  15,  1848,  and  his  wife,  April  27,  1853, 

aged  84. 

(2)  Simeon  Libby,  Jr.,  son  of  Simeon,  married  Sarah,  daughter  of 
Richard  and  Lydia  Lombard.  Soon  after  he  moved  to  Otisfield, 
where  most  of  his  children  were  born.  About  1832  he  returned  to 
Gorham,  and  lived  on  the  farm  now  occupied  by  Charles  Martin  Libby. 
Children  : 


6'22  HISTORY    OF    GOKHAM. 

Abigail,  b.  Nov.  26,  1810,  m.  Mark  Carsley. 

Simon,  b.  June  21,    1812,  m.  Rebecca  A.  Morse  of  Gray,  July  20,  1834. 

Sally,  b.  Aug.  26,  1814,  m.  Samuel  Libby,  Oct.  21,  1833. 

John,  b.  Nov.  26,  181 6,  d.  young. 

Solomon  L.,  b.  Oct.  27,  18  iS,  m.  Mary  A.  Bangs,  May  21,  1843  >  ^-  i"  Mass. 

Samuel,  b.  Aug.  22,  1820,  m.  Dec.  7,  1843,  Rosalia  B.,  dau.  of  Ephraim  and 
Jane  Lombard.  Ch :  Sarah  J.,  b.  Apr.  20,  1845,  m.  J.  A.  Smith; 
Ephraim  A.,  b.  Nov.  i,  1846,  m.  Victoria  Hill  of  Biddeford,  Dec.  24, 
1870;  Louisa  R.,  b.  Feb.  19,  1848,  d.  y. ;  James  H.,  b.  Aug.  8,  1850,  m. 
Melvina  M.  Waterhouse,  Nov.  26,  1868,  d.  Jan.  13,  1884;  Ida  L.,  b. 
June  19,  1855,  d.  y. ;  Chas.  Martin,  b.  Jan.  18,  1857,  m.  Clara  M.  Cloud - 
man,  June  15,  1879.  ^""S-  Rosalia  Libby  d.  May  30,  1858,  ag.  35,  and 
Mr.  Libby  m.  Sept.  11,  1859,  Damaris  \V.  Stone.  Samuel  Libby,  3d,  I'd 
on  his  father's  place,  near  the  Branch,  on  Mighty  St.  He  d.  Sept.  20, 
1878,  and  his  wife,  Apr.  17,  1896. 

Joseph,  b.  Oct.,  1822,  d.  young. 

Benj.  Franklin,  b.  Oct.  6,  1824,  m.  Lavina  P.  Whitney  of  Farmington,  Jan. 
I,  1849. 

Henry  T.,  b.  Oct.  9,  1826,  m.  Sarah  Cobb,  Oct.  28,  185 1. 

Hctsey  C,  b.  Nov.  14,  182S,  m.  Wilder  M.  Libby,  Apr.  2,  1850. 

Edwin  E.,  b.  Apr.  6,  1831,  m.  Lydia  G.  Nason  of  Windham,  May  21,  1854. 

Simeon  Libby,  Jr.,  died  Dec.  15,  1870,  and  his  wife,  July  18,  1870, 
aged  81. 

(2)  Joseph  C.  Libby,  son  of  Simeon,  lived  on  the  Randall  Elder 
farm,  and  afterwards  where  his  son  Daniel  C.  Libby  lately  lived. 
He  married  Betsey,  daughter  of  Stephen  and  Anna  Phinney. 
Children  : 

David  P.,  b.  Jan.  9,  1810,  m.  Ann  L.  Hodges  of  Sandwich,  N.  H.  Ch:  Wm.  Fran- 
cis, b.  Sept.  12,  1839,  m.  Ellen  C.  Hayman,  Mar.  i,  1868;  Mary  E.,  b. 
Jan.  9,  1843,  m.  Benjamin  F.  Metcalf,  Aug.  17,  1862,  2d,  Wm.  H.  Bar- 
tol;  Stephen  P.,  b.  Feb.  i,  1845,  ^-  Glara  E.  Hanson,  Nov.  5,  186S;  Ai, 
b.  June  I,  1850,  m.  Mary  E.  Lombard,  Feb.  27,  1868,  2d,  Lavinia  Spen- 
cer;  Ella  J.,  b.  July  28,  1852,  m. .Madison  J.  Hayman  of  Cambridgeport, 
Mass. ;  Cynthia  B.,  b.  May  16,  1856,  d.  May  6,  1S75  ;  Walter  M.,  b.  Jan. 
17,  1859,  m.  Adelle  Freeman  of  Deering,  Apr.  8,  1880.  David  P.  Libby 
d.  Mar.  6,  1864,  and  his  wife,  Jan.  27,  1870. 

Mary  A.,  b.  Apr.  21,  181 1,  d.  Aug.  24,  181 1. 

Mary  A.,  b.  June  16,  1812,  m.  Joseph  V.  Libby,  Sept.  20,  1836. 

o-  ^  '  '  '      b.  June  16,  1814,  d.  young 
Simeon,    )        -^  '         -t        :»         t. 

Elizabeth,  b.  June  6,  18 15,  d.  young. 

Daniel  C,  b.  Oct.  22,  1816,  m.  Mar.  20,  1851,  Ruth,  dau.  of  Daniel  and  Octavia 
Mosher.  Ch:  Fred  M.,  b.  Apr.  20,  1852,  m.  Nancy  B.  Libby,  May  2, 
1872;  Ida  O.,  b.  Dec.  16,  1853,  m.  Albert  M.  Hamt)len,  Jan.  7,  1875; 
Andrew  C.  M.,  b.  Aug.  12,  1855,  d.  June  6,  1863;  Ella  W.,  b.  Jan.  22, 
1857,  m.  Frank  Leavitt,  d.  May  26,  1885  ;  Mary  A.,  b.  June  6,  1859.  m. 
Stephen  Anderson;  A.  Clinton,  b.  Apr.  28,  1863,  m.  Lizzie  Hopkinson. 
Daniel  C.  Libby  d.  Feb.  28,  1897,  and  his  wife  d.  Feb.  27,  1897. 

Mrs.   Betsey  Libby  died  March  7,   1824,  and  Mr.   Libby  married 

her  sister.  Love  Phinney,  in  October,  1826.     He  died  Sept.  6,  1835  ^ 

his  widow,  May  22,  r85i. 

(2)  Daniel  Libby,  son  of  Simeon,  lived  on  the  farm  at  "  the  North," 
since  owned  by  Daniel  Johnson.  He  married  Martha,  daughter  of 
David  and  Mar}'  Morton.     Child  : 


GENEALOGY.  623 

Albert  H.,  b.  Dec.  20,  1819,  m.  Eliza  Ann  Woodward,  Aug.  12,  1845;  '^^  ^"*^ 
his  wife  d.  in  Dunkirk,  N.  Y. 

Mrs.  Libby  died  Dec.  31,   182  i,  and  Mr.  Libby  married,   May  19, 

1822,  her  sister,  Alice  Morton.      Children  : 

Daniel  F.,  b.  Aug.  24,   1823,  m.   Ro.xana  L.    lones,  Dec.  7,    1843;  d.  Oct.  20, 

1897. 
Samuel  S  ,  b.   Jan.  22,  1825,   m.  Patience  E.  Prfrr,  July  3,  1856;  I'd  in  Durham. 
Martha,  b.  June  21,  1826,  m.  Alden  Reed. 

Daniel  Libby  died  May  i  r,  1826,  and  his  widow  married,  Sept.  29, 

1828,  Henry  W.  Elwell,  and  third.  Bourne.     She  died  April  6, 

1874,    at    East    Bridgewater,    Mass.,    at   the    home    of   her    daughter 
Martha. 

(2)  Ai  Libby,  son  of  Simeon,  lived  on  his  father's  homestead.    He 
married  Martha,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Skillings.     Children  : 

Wilder  M.,  b.  Mar.  3,  1825,  d.  young. 

Wilder  M.,  b.  Veh.  15,  1827,  m.  Apr.  2,  1850,  Betsey  C,  dau.  of  Simeon  Libby, 
Jr.  Ch :  Olive  A.,  b.  Sept.  8,  1852,  m.  James  L.  Haines,  Aug.  25, 
1S70;  Emma  E.,  b.  July  22,  1855,  m.  Cortez  F.  Berry,  Nov.  30,  1873; 
.Albert  F.,  b  Dec.  21,  1858;  Gertrude  L.,  b.  Mar.  19,  1865,  m.  Daniel 
Getchell;  Alice  Inez,  b.  June  22,  1869.  Wilder  Mack  Libby  I'd  on  the 
farm  just  south  of  the  burying  yard  by  the  North  church,  of  which 
church  he  had  been  se.xton  for  many  years.     He  d.  .Sept.  i,  1902. 

Lewis,  b.  Jan.  11,  1829,  I'd  on  the  homestead;  was  one  of  the  selectmen  for  three 
years,  and  tax  collector  for  two  ;  d.  Feb.  21,  1901. 

Franklin  S.,  b.  June  12,  1831,  m.  Abba  P.  Hale,  Jan.  i,  1854. 

Mrs.  Libby  died   Oct.  11,  1831,  aged   27,  and   Mr.  Libby  married, 

Sept.  3,   1833,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Joseph   and   Anna   Files,   by 

whom  he  had  : 

Martha,  b.  Sept.  20,  1834,  m.  Charles  Johnson,  Jan.  2,  1S54. 
Rose  Ann,  b.  .Apr.  6,  1836,  m.  Matthew  Johnson,  Apr.  23,  1855. 

Ai  Libby  died  June  22,   1838,  and  his  widow  married,  March  3, 
1854,  Samuel  Johnson. 

(2)   Ephraim  Libby,  son  of  Allison,  lived  in   Gorham   and   Naples. 

He  married  Polly,  daughter  of  John  Blake.     Children  : 

Sally,  b.  Oct.  22,  1808,  m.  Joab  Libby. 

Deborah,  b.  Mar.  5,  1810,  m.  Jacob  Dingley,  Jan.  i,  1828. 

Eliza,  b.  Feb.  18,  181  2,  d.  young. 

Abigail,  b.  May  12,  1814,  m.  Samuel  Pearce  of  New  Gloucester. 

Allison,  b.  Feb.  7,  18(7,  m.  Mary  P.  White  of   Sebago,  June  4,  1S48  ;  d.  Dec.  9, 

1891. 
Andrew,  b.  Aug.  9,  1819,  m.  Mary  Ann  Dingley  of  Ca.sco,  Dec.  27,  1843. 
Hugh,  b.  Dec.  21,  1822,  d.  young. 

Ephraim  Libby  died  in  Gorham,  Dec.  6,  1866,  and  his  wife,  April 
18,  1866,  aged  82. 

(2)   Allison  Libby,  son  of  Allison,  married   Lois,  daughter  of  Dea. 
Thomas  Cross.      He  moved  to   Harrison,  where   all   of  his  children, 


624  HISTORY    OF    GOKHAM. 

except  the  oldest,  James  P.,  were  born.  Mrs.  Mary  G.  Plaisted, 
widow  of  Major  Plaisted,  was  his  youngest  child.  Mrs.  Lois  Libby 
died  March  25,  i860,  aged  76. 

(2)  Hugh  Libby,  son  of  Allison,  married  his  cousin,  Theodosia 
Small.  He  was  sexton  of  the  Congregational  church  for  many  years. 
Children  : 

Elizabeth,  b.  June  23,  1828,  d.  young. 

William  H.,  b.  Feb.  28,  1830,  m.  Catherine  Norton,  Jan.  28,  1868. 

Elizabeth  D.,  b.  Jan.  i,  1832,  m.  John  Watson  of  St.  Paul,  Minn. 

John  F.,  b.  May  17,  1834,  m.  Zilpha  Libby,  Nov.  27,  1862. 

Thomas  R.,  b.  Dec.  17,  1839,  m.  Abby  York  of  Hollis,  Mar.  3,  1861. 

Hugh  Libby  died  July  8,  1872,  and  his  wife,  April  10,  1850. 

(2)  Joseph  Libby,  son  of  Allison,  lived  for  a  short  time  in  Ray- 
mond, then  returned  to  Gorham,  and  lived  on  a  part  of  the  farm  of 
Rev.  Ebenezer  Lombard,  who  was  his  wife's  father.  He  married 
Eunice  Lombard.     Children  : 

Simon,  b.  Aug.  14,  1824,  d.  young. 

Simon,  b.  Feb.  28,  1826,  d.  in  1881,  unm. 

Sarah,  b.  Aug.  31,  1827,  m.  Prentiss  M.  Waterhouse. 

Mary,  b.  May  2,  1829,  m.  Benjamin  Graffam. 

James  N.,  b.   Mar.  22,   i83r,  m.  Harriet  Foster  of  Portland,   Nov.   24,  1856; 

went  to  Cal. 
Harriet,  b.  Jan.  18,  1833,  m.  Richard  E.  Carr. 
Ebenezer,  b.  Aug.  10,  1835,  m.  Alta  G.  Brimblecomb  of  Lynn,  May   17,  1856; 

d.  in  Gorham. 
Eliza  A.,  b.  Aug.  10,  1837,  d.  Aug.  12,  1842. 
Jane  N.,  b.  May  11,  1841,  m.  James  E.  Freeman,  Apr.  9,  1859. 
Joseph  E.,  b.  Feb.  14,  1844,  m.  Anna  A.  Libby,  May  7,  1871  ;  d.  Oct.  9,  1894. 

Joseph  Libby  died  July  4,  1873,  and  his  wife,  Oct.  18,  1880. 

(2)  James  Libby,  son  of  Allison,  lived  at  one  time   on   the  Jacob 

Irish  place.     He   afterwards   bought  the   place   where  his   children 

lately  lived.     He  married  Esther  P.,  daughter  of   Benjamin  Irish,  Jr. 

Children  : 

Benjamin  I.,  b.  Nov.  12,  1833,  d.  Oct.  28,  1900. 

Elizabeth  A.,  b.  Sept.  28,  1835,  m.  Lemuel  Jordan  of  Raymond,  Dec.  19,  1857. 

Sarah  S.,  b.  Jan.  7,  1841,  d.  unm.  Oct.  6,  1S75. 

Ephraim,  b.  Apr.  19,  1846. 

Lauriette,  b.  Feb.  8,  1850,  d.  young. 

James  Libby  died   March    18,  1864,  and  his   wife,  April   11,  1876, 

aged  67. 

(2)  Jeremiah  Noyes  Libby,  son  of  Allison,  lived  for  a  time  in  La 
Grange  ;  then  returned  to  Gorham,  and  settled  on  his  father's  farm. 
For  two  years  he  carried  on  the  town  farm,  after  which  he  purchased 
the  place  where  he  died.  He  married  Lucy,  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Polly  Bangs.     Children  : 


GENEALOGY.  625 

Zilpha,  b.  Mar.  7,  1835,  m.  John  F.  I.ibby  ;  d.  Sept.  17,  1S96. 

Royal  T.,  b.  May  26,  1836,  d.  young. 

Albion   K.  P.,  b.  Sept.   19,   1837,  m.  Caroline  M..  dau.  of  Han.son  Newcomb, 

Aug.  31,  1864.     Ch:  Lucy  A. ;  Elmer  H. 
Ann  Maria,  b.  Mar.  20,  1840,  d.  Sept.  24,  1856. 

T-v     •  1  L'      f  b.  Julv  14,  1844,     \   ,■  ^,     ^^'        o 
Daniel  b.,   \       ■'     '     ^       ^^       (  d.  Sept.  21,  1851. 

Jordan,  b.  June  13,  1847,  m.  Violet  A.  Parker  of  Buxton,  Aug.  10,  1874. 
Mrs.  Lucy  Libby  died  April   15,   1862,  aged  48,  and  Mr.   Libby 
married,  Feb.  9,  1869,  Mary  A.  Kennard  of  Brownfield.     He  died 
March  25,  1887. 

(2)  Marrett  Libby,  son  of  Edward,  lived  for  the  greater  part  of 
his  life  at  the  north  part  of  the  town.  He  married  Mary,  daughter 
of  Jethro  Libby.  After  their  marriage  they  lived  for  a  time  in  Dur- 
ham, where  all  of  their  children  were  born.     They  were  : 

Edward,  b.  May  7,  1829,  m.  Sarah  E.  Mitchell  of  Raymond,  Feb.  7,  1862. 
Priscilla  F.,  b.  Mar.  15,  1833,  m.  Daniel  D.  Ward,  Oct.  4,  1S54  ;  2d,  Samuel  S. 

Waterhouse,  May  7,  1874. 
Eliza  J.,  b.  Mar.  21,  1836,  m.  James  H.  Baker  of  Portland,  May  i,  1S67. 
John  J.,  b.  Dec.  20,  1841,  d.  young. 
Clara  A.,  b.  Apr.  27,  1843,  m.  Chas.  I.  McLellan,  Mar.  28,  1866. 

Marrett  Libby  died  Sept.  23,  1885,  and  his  wife,  Nov.  7.  1879, 
aged  80. 

(2)  Alvah  Libby.  son  of  Edward,  married  Ann,  daughter  of   Rufus 

Harmon.      Children  : 

Julia  Ann,  b.  Aug.  25,  1833,  m.  Rev.  Sargent  S.  Gray,  Nov.  i  r,  1854. 
Almon  L,  b.  June  16,  1835,  d.  July  6,  1883. 

Frances  H.,  b.  Sept.  24,  1838,  m.  Harmon  Fogg,  Feb.  7,  1867  ;  2d,  Lewis  Doug- 
lass, Mar.  12,  1S76. 
Ransom  D.,  b.  Mar.  27,  1840,  d.  unm.  Apr.  29,  1864. 
Livonia  E.,  b.  July  i,  1844,  m.  Sevvall  H.  Douglass,  187S. 
Horace  H.,  b.  July  28,  1849,  ^-  Adelle  Sawyer  of  Cornish. 
Lizzie  L.,  b.  Aug.  25,  1856,  m.  Bion  McKenney,  May,  18S0. 

Alvah  Libby  died  March  15,  1889,  Ann,  his  wife,  Sept.  i,  1901. 

(2)  Ebenezer  H.  Libby,  son  of  Edward,  married  Catherine  R., 
daughter  of  Daniel  Irish.     Child  : 

E.  Sewall,  b.  Dec.  22,  1832.,  m.  Mary  A.  Sanborn  of  Standish,  June  23,  1855. 

Ebenezer  H.  Libby  died  Feb.  15,  1833,  and  his  widow  married 
Joseph  Sanborn  of  Standish. 

Hanson  Libby  was  the  son  of  Ichabod  Libby  of  Scarborough,  and 
was  born  about  1766.  He  settled  in  Gorham  on  the  farm  afterwards 
known  as  the  David  Swett  place.  He  married,  Oct.  2,  1788,  Abigail 
Mirick.     Children,  the  first  two  born  in  Scarborough  : 

Elizalieth  M.,  b.  1789,  m.  Benjamin  Irish,  Jr.,  Nov.  25,  1807. 

Hannah,  b.  1790,  ni.  Caleb  Smart  of  Thornton,  N.  H.,  p.  Dec.  12,  1812. 


626  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Mar)',  b.  Nov.  5,  1791,  m.  Elisha  Irish,  Nov.  28,  1816. 

John  J.,  b.  May  28,  1793,  m.  Sally  Burbank  of  Thornton,  N.  H.,  181 7. 

Ann  H.,  b.  Apr.  29,  1795,  d.  unm.  Mar.  25,  1812. 

Hanson  Libby  died  in  1796,  and  his  widow  married,  Jan.  16,  1797, 

Enos  Newcomb. 

Jethro  and  John  Libby  were  brothers,  children  of  Jethro  Libby  of 
Scarborough  and  his  second  wife  Hannah  Moody.  Jethro,  Jr.,  was 
born  in  Scarborough  in  1763.  He  married,  Sept.  14,  1788,  Letfice 
Wescott.  About  1790,  he  moved  to  Gorham,  and  settled  on  a  seventy 
acre  lot  in  the  north  part  of  the  town.     Children  : 

Hannah  W.,  b.  1789,  m.  Wm.  Chase,  Feb.  iS,  181 5;  d.  Nov.  24,  1843. 

Thomas,  b. ,  m. . 

Elliot,  b.  Aug.  24,  1792,  m.  Susan  Hall  of  Falmouth,  Apr.  13,  1822;  d.  in 
Harrison. 

Parmelia,  b.  ,  m.  Samuel  Flood,  Dec.  4,  1817. 

Jethro,  b.  Mar.  19,  1796,  m.  Olive  Flood,  Dec.  26,  1819;  d.  in  Harrison. 

Josiah  W.,  b.  Apr.  28,  1798,  m.  Eliza  Hall  of  Falmouth,  June  10,  1821. 

Mary,  b.  Aug.  11,  1800,  m.  Marrett  Libby,  Feb.  6,  1828. 

Benjamin,  b.  about  1802,  d.  aged  2  years. 

William,  b.  Sept.  3,  1S04,  m.  Jane  Cannell  of  Standish,  Feb.  20,  1830;  2d,  Mrs. 
Maria  (Wood)  Lillis. 

James,  b.  ,  lost  at  sea.  Mar.  9,  1836. 

Alfred,  b.  Dec.  4,  1811,  m.  Esther  H.  Libby  of  Scarborough,  Nov.  27,  1838; 
had  no  ch.,  but  adopted  Lizzie,  dau.  of  John  Wescott;  she  d.  June  22, 
1S87,  ag.  40.  Mr.  Libby  I'd  with  his  father  until  his,  Jethro's,  death,  in 
1849,  when  he  exchanged  the  farm  with  Joshua  L.  Brown,  for  a  store 
and  farm  at  Great  Falls.     He  d.  Mar.,  1902. 

Jethro  Libby  was  a  cooper  by  trade,  and  a  farmer.     He  died  Feb. 

8,  1849,  ^^''d  Lettice,  his  wife.  May  3,  1852,  aged  84. 

John  Libby,  the  brother  of  Jethro  above,  was  born  in  Scarborough, 

December,  1770.    He  came  to  Gorham,  and  settled  on  the  farm  next 

to  that  of  Jethro,  and  married,  July  29,    1802,  Dorcas    Roberts  of 

Westbrook.     Children : 

Joanna,  b.  June  21,  1803,  m.  Chas.  Quiniby,  Apr.,  1845. 

Charles,  b.  Dec.  30,  1804,  m.  Sophronia  Shaw  of  Standish,  Nov.  28,  1833  ;  d.  in 

Harrison. 
Lucy  R.,  b.  July  16,  -1806,  m.  Samuel  S.  Babb,  Mar.,  1842. 
John,  b.  Sept.  8,  1808,  d.  Apr.  2,  1822. 
Benjnmin,  b.  July  15,  1810,  d.  young. 
Caleb,  b.  Aug.  25,  181 2,  m.  Nov.  20,  1S45,  Betsey,  dau.  of  Lemuel  and  Sarah 

(Phinney)  Rich  of  Standish.     Ch  :  John  W.,  b.  Mar.  4,  1847;  Sarah  R., 

b.  Nov.  I,  1849  ;  William  F.,  b.  Nov.  21,  1852,  m.  Alta  G.  Libby,  widow 

of  Eben'r  Libby,  Nov.  25,  1874.     Caleb  Libby  I'd  on  his  father's  farm. 

He  was  a  captain  in  the  militia.     For  seven  years  he  carried  on  the  town 

farm.     He  d.  Jan.  14,  1876  ;  his  wife,  Oct.  7,  1S79. 
Woodbury  S.,  b.  May  19,    1816,  m.   Apphia  T.  Moody,  May   10,    1S46;  I'd   in 

Scarboro. 
Elmira,  b.  Nov.  7,  1821,  m.  Stephen  Harris,  Mar.  21,  1850. 
William  F.,  b.  Sept.  5,  1823,  d.  unm.  in  ]>ridgton,  Apr.  25,  1848. 

John  Libby  died  March  10,  1826,  and  his  wife,  March  16,  1864. 


GENEALOGY.  627 

Benjamin  Libby,  born  in  Scarborough,  Feb.  17,  1760,  was  the  son 
of  Elisha  Libby.  He  married  Phebe  Rackliffe  of  Scarborough,  Dec. 
2,  1788  ;  and  came  to  Gorham  about  1792.  He  cleared  the  farm  at 
"the  North,"  which  was  afterwards  occupied  by  his  son  Benjamin, 
and  since  owned  by  his  granddaughter  Martha  A.  Wescott.  He  first 
built  a  log  house,  then  about  181 1,  the  house  now  standing  on  the 
place.     Children,  the  two  eldest  born  in  Scarborough  : 

Solomon,  b.  Nov.  10,  1789,  m.  Warren  of  Buxlon  ;   2d,   Martha  Fogg  of 

Buxton. 

Anna,  b.  Sept.  27,  1791,  m.  Luther  Flood,  July  13,  1815. 

Pelina,  b.  Nov.  17,  1793,  ™-  Samuel  Woodman  of  Buxton,  June  5.  181  5. 

Benjamin,  b.  Sept.  27,  1795,  m.  Mar.  i,  1821,  Ann,  dau.  of  Edmund  Wescott, 
who  d.  soon  after  her  marriage,  and  Mr.  Libljy  m.  June  8,  1823,  Betsey, 
dau.  of  Reuben  Wescott.  Ch  :  Martha,  b.  Mar.  8,  1824,  d.  y. ;  Martha 
A.,  b.  June  14,  1825,  m.  Dr.  William  Wescott,  Mar.  21,  1847;  Jordan  P., 
b.  Feb.  19,  1830,  d.  Sept.  4,  1846;  Ai  S.,  b.  May  13,  1837,  d.  Mar.  8,  1843. 
Mrs.  Libby  d.  July  16,  1866,  ag.  68,  and  Mr.  Libby  m.  Nov.  21,  1868, 
Mrs.  Lavinia  (Harris)  Tapley  of  New  Gloucester.  Benjamin  Libby  was 
a  soldier  in  the  War  of  181 2.     He  d.  Mar.  24,  1S71. 

Elisha,  b.  May  30,  1797,  d.  y. 

Jordan,  b.  Feb.  28,  1799,  d.  Jan.,  1820. 

Hannah  R.,  b.  Aug.  5,  1801,  d.  unm.  June  i,  1868. 

Phebe,  b.  Mar.  31,  1804,  m.  Jos.  F.  Hamblen,  June  14,  1827;  2d,    Thos.  Davis. 

Martha,  b.  Nov.  3,  1807,  d.  in  1825. 

Mr.  Libby  died  April  8,  1843,  and  his  wife,  Aug.  15,  1840,  aged 
75- 

Edward  Libby  was  the  son  of  Edward  Libby  of  Scarborough,  and 
was  born  in  that  town,  Nov.  7,  1770.  He  came  to  Gorham,  and 
settled  near  White  Rock  on  the  seventy  acre  lot,  47.  April  5,  1789, 
he  married  Jane  Libby.     Children  : 

Esther,  b. ,  m.  Jonathan  E.  Files,  Sept.  11,  181 1. 

Joseph,  b.  about  1793,  ™-  Mehitable  Moses,  May  22,  1823;  d.  on  Standish  Neck. 

Gary,  b.  about  1795,  m.  Betsey  Haskell  of  New  Gloucester;  2d,  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Chase;  I'd  in  Saco. 

Morris,  b. ,  m.  Jane  Latham  ;  d.  in  Stoneham,  1878. 

Solomon,  b. ,  1798,  m.  Susan,  dau.  of  James  G.,  and  Molly  Sturgis,  Mar. 

24,  1823.  Ch:  Caroline  S..  b.  Nov.  13,  1824,  m.  Josiah  P.  Chadbourne, 
June,  1852  ;  Esther  P.,  b.  Feb.  6,  1828,  m.  William  H.  Murch,  June  17, 
1853;  Charlotte,  b.  July  29,  1830,  m.  George  W.  Johnson,  Apr.  30,  1854. 
Solomon  Libby  was  a  farmer,  and  I'd  near  White  Rock.  He  d.  Sept. 
29,  i860;  his  wife  d.  July  26,  1862. 

Andrew,  b.  Apr  2,  iSoo,  m.  Jan.  6,  1830,  Sophronia,  dau.  of  Francis  and 
Dorothy  (Libby)  Small.  Ch :  Melissa,  b.  May  21,  1832,  m.  Orin  Babb, 
Dec.  8,  1850;  Sophronia,  b.  June  6,  1834,  d.  Nov.  2,  1836;  Sophronia  L., 
b.  June  2,  1836,  m.  George  E.  Cole,  Nov.  21,  1855;  Alonzo,  b.  July  31, 
1838,  d.  Apr.  t2,  1840;  Alonzo,  b.  Feb.  6,  i84i,m.  Alice  A.  Boothby  of 
Buxton,  June  19,  1864;  Henrietta,  b.  Apr.  3,  1843,  m.  Bryce  ]\L  Edwards, 
Jan.  5,  1864;  Laura  F.,  b.  Apr.  9,  1845,  m.  Alonzo  F.  Cook,  Dec.  31, 
1874;  Marianna,  b.  Aug.  24,  1848,  m.  Frederick  Walker,  Dec.  18,  1873. 
Mr.  Libby  d.  May  7,  1848  ;  his  wife  d.  in  Sac«arappa,  Oct.  12,  1868. 

Charlotte,  b, ,  d.  unm. 

Edward,  b.  Aug.  8,  1804,  m.  Christiana  Strout  of  Raymond,  Aug.,  1841. 

Mary,  b. ,  m.  Joseph  Leavitt  of  Newfield,  Feb.  23,  1837. 


628  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Edward  Libby  died  Aug.  19,  1848;  and  his  wife,  Jan.  19,  1844, 
aged  80. 

Daniel  Libby  was  the  son  of  Francis  Libby  of  Scarborough,  and 
was  born  Sept.  15,  1784.  He  was  a  farmer.  After  his  marriage  he 
came  to  Gorham,  purchased  land  of  James  Warren,  and  built  the 
house  where  Jeremiah  Osborne  has  since  lived.  He  married,  Aug.  6, 
18 ID,  Betsey,  daughter  of  James  and  Martha  (McLellan)  Warren. 
One  child  : 

Charles  Oliver,  b.  May  11,  181 1,  m.  Hannah  McDougall,  May  21,  1834. 

Daniel  Libby  died  May  17,  1839,  his  wife,  March  13,  1878. 

Isaac  Libby,  brother  of  Daniel,  was  born  Feb.   24,    1788.     After 

his   marriage,   Aug.  6,    181  o,  with    Susanna  Rounds  of   Buxton,  he 

opened   a  blacksmith    shop    at    Gorham    corner.      For   many  years 

he  was  sexton  of  the  Congregational  church.     Children  : 

Lucy  A.  M.,  b.  Sept.  18,  1810,  m.  Joseph  T.  Hoole,  Oct.  27,  1836. 

Harriet  R.,  b.  Sept.  8,  1812,  d.  unm.  July  29,  1841. 

Abigail  G.,  b.  Apr.  13,  181  5,  m.  Albert  S.  Cobb,  Oct.  15,  1840. 

Susan,  b.  Oct.  23,  181 7,  d.  unm.  Jan.  14,  1839. 

Olive  G.,  b.  Mar.  7,  1S20,  m.  Mulberry  Merrill ;  2d,  Gilbert  Bradbury  of  Buxton. 

Adeline,  b.  Aug.  28,    1822,  m.   Samuel  Thompson  of  Lowell,   Mass.,  Feb.   17, 

1847. 
Rhoda  D.,  b.  Apr.  9,  1826,  m.  Manthano  Pickering  of  Portland,  Jan.  22,  1848. 
Joseph  F.,  b.   Jan.  30,    1829,  m.  Eliza   J.   Brazier,  July  25,  1850;  2d,   Sabra  A. 

Preble. 

Isaac  Libby  died  June  24,  185 1.  Mrs.  Libby  died  in  Portland, 
April  29,  1871. 

Peter  Libby  was  a  brother  of  Daniel  and  Isaac  Libby,  and  was 
born  April  11,  1796.  He  moved  to  Gorham  about  1823,  where  he 
was  in  trade  for  a  number  of  years.  He  afterwards  returned  to 
Scarborough.  He  was  a  land  surveyor,  clock  repairer,  and  Free 
Baptist  preacher.     He  married  Mar^-  Libby.     They  had  no  children. 

(2)  Charles  O.  Libby,  son  of  Daniel,  was  for  some  years  a  farmer 
and  teacher.  He  was  one  of  the  selectmen  in  1839-40-41.  In  1844 
he  was  ordained  as  a  Free  Baptist  preacher,  and  was  a  prominent 
member  of  that  denomination ;.  holding  many  offices  in  the  Free 
Baptist  Missionary  Society.  He  lived  in  Gorham  till  about  185 1. 
He  married  Hannah,  daughter  of  David  McDougall.  Children,  all 
born  in  Gorham  : 

Oliver,  b.  June  7,  1835,  graduate  of  Bowdoin — lawyer  at  Green  Bay,  Wis. 

Martha  W.,  b.  Mar.  23,  1*637,  m.  Roscoe  G.  Smith,  July  31,  1859. 

Mary  E.,  b.  Apr.  8,  1839,  d.  June  8,  1841. 

Phebe  P.,  b.  Mar.  16,  1841,  m.  J.  Frank  Mclntire  of  Boston;  2d,  Jos.  J. 
Dearborn  of  S.  Deerfield,  N.  H. 


GENEALOGY.  629 

Susan,  b.  Sept.  4,  iS!!^3,  m.  Thomas  M.  L.  Thompson  of  Contai,  India,  Oct.  31, 

1S76;  d.  in  India  in  187S. 
Emily  G.,  b.  Nov.  25,  1S44,  m.  Woodbury  J.  Dudley. 
Marj'  E.,  b.  Jan.  26,  1846. 

Alice  I.,  b.  May  4,  1848,  m.  R.  Chase  Goodwin  of  Portland,  Me. 
Curtis  S.,  b.  Nov.  6,  1850,  d.  young. 

Mr.  Libby  died  in  Dover,  N.  H.,  Dec.  21,  1876.     Mr.s.  Libby  died 

in  Candia,  N.  H.,  Sept.  26,  1897. 

Lemuel  Libby  was  born  in  Scarborough  in  1749.  He  moved  to 
Gorham  about  17 S3,  and  settled  in  the  south  part  of  the  town.  He 
married  Mehitable  Bragdon  of  Scarborough.  Their  children,  of 
whom  the  first  five  were  born  in  Scarborough,  and  the  remainder  in 
Gorham,  were  : 

Solomon,  b. ,  d.  young. 

Sarah,  b.  Apr.  24,  1774,  d.  Dec.  31,  1872. 

Mehitable,  b. -,  m.  Timothy  Plummer,  Feb.  20,  1800. 

Elizabeth,  b. ,  m.  Israel  Perry,  Dec.  21,  iSoo. 

Solomon,  b.  ,  d.  young. 

Lemuel,  b.  Jan.  lo,  1784,  m.  Narcissa  Harmon  of  Scarborough,  Oct.,  1814. 
Ch:  Harriet  B.,  b.  June  2,  1815,  m.  Zebulon  B.  Deering,  Mar.  11,  1844^ 
Isaac,  b.  Feb.  15,  1817,  m.  Elizabeth  P.  Morris,  Oct.  31,  1847  ;  Abram, 
b.  Oct.,  1 82 1,  m.  Hannah  Linscott  of  Bu.xton,  moved  to  Auburn.  Lem- 
uel Libby  spent  most  of  his  life  on  his  father's  place.  He  d.  Dec.  7, 
1854.     Mrs.  Libby  d.  in  Auburn. 

Abraham,  b.  Dec.  10,  1785,  m.  Phebe  Moulton,  Mar.  24,  1814. 

Lucy,  b. ,  m.  Allison  Libby,  Aug.  30,  1806. 

Mary,  b. ,  m.  Samuel  Small,  June  7,  iSio. 

Hannah,  b.  July,  1789,  m.  Allison  Libby,  Oct.  14,  1840.     (Second  wife.) 

Darius,  b. ,  d.  young. 

Olive,  b. ■ —  ,  d.  young. 

Darius,  b.  July,   1795,  ''"•  Phebe  Small  of  Limington  ;  d.  in  Gorham,  July  i, 

1873- 
Apollos,  b.  May,  1798,  d.  Oct.,  iSci. 

Lemuel  Libby  died  Sept.  28,  1829  ;  his  wife  died  May  24,  1817. 

William    Libby    was  born   in   Scarborough,    May    16,    1763.     He 

came  to  Gorham,  and  settled  at  White  Rock.      He  married,  Sept.  29, 

1785,  Mary  Fogg.     Children,  all  born  in  Gorham  : 

Lydia,  b.  June  13,  1787,  d.  unm.,  Dec.  15,  1863. 
William,  b.  Feb.  i,  1789,  m.  Apphia  Harmon,  Jan.  27,  1814. 
Mary,  b.  Oct.  20,  1792,  d.  unm.  Mar.  21,  1S73. 
Luther,  b.  Jan.  16,  1794,  m.  Hannah  Libby  ;  2d,  Sarah  P.  Files. 
Andrew,  j  ,    ^  .      j  m.  Betsey  Berry.  Sept.  11,  1817. 

Moses,     i  "•  ^^^'^^  -9-  1790.     I  m.  Mary  Mitchell,  Apr.  17,  1822. 
Hannah,  b.  July  8,  1801,  m.  Rev.   John    Purkis   of  Gray,  Nov.    18,   1S28  ;  2d, 
Francis  Barrows. 

William  Libby  returned  to  Scarborough  about  1802,  and  died  Oct. 
I,  1838.      His  widow  died  Feb.  23,  1840. 

(2)  Luther  Libby,  son  of  William,  w-as  a  farmer,  and  lived  in  the 
south  part  of  the  town.     He  married  Hannah  Libby.     Children: 


630  HISTORY    OF    GOKHAM. 

Charles,  b.  Sept.  5,  1S17,  d.  Nov.  5,  1826. 

Martha,  b.  May  24,  1820,  d.  Aug.  21,  1826. 

William  H.,  b.  Jan.  28,  1822,  d.  Sept.  22,  1826. 

Lucy  Ann,  b.  Feb.  27,  1S24,  m.  David  W.  Babb  of  Westbrook,  Nov.  28,  1847. 

John,  b.  Dec.  23,  1825,  m.  Lucretia  Libby,  Nov.  13,  1853. 

Charles,  b.  ,  d.  young. 

Mary  F.,  b.  Dec.  14,  1829,  m.  John  Brown  of  Westbrook,  Nov.  21,  1848. 

Harriet  E.,  b.  Nov.  17,  1831,  m.  Dominicus  Libby,  Nov.  27,  1853. 

Francis  B.,  b.  July  4,  1834,  m.  Mary  E.  Tounge  of  Dayton  ;  2d,  Mrs.  Mary  E. 

Pennell. 
Hannah  C,  b.  Oct.  7,  1836,  m.  Joseph  P.  Files,  Oct.  19,  1855. 
Martha  C,  b.  June  22,  1840,  d.  Aug.  i,  i860. 

Mrs.  Hannah  Libby  died   Sept.  2,  1841,  and  Mr.  Libby  married, 
Jan.  22,  1843,  Sarah  P.  Files.     She  died  Aug.  24,  1878. 

Lemuel  Libby,  born  in   Scarborough,  Nov.  8,  1770,  married,  June 

II,  1795,  Patience,  daughter  of  Capt.  Samuel  and   Mary  Whitmore 

of  Gorham.     After  his  marriage  he  bought  a  farm  in  the  south  part  of 

Gorham.     About  1835,  Mr.  Libby  moved  to  Wayne.     Children  : 

Mary,  b.  June  7,  1796,  m.  Elder  Peter  Libby. 

Ebenezer,  b.  Nov.  29,  1797,  m.  Emeline  Harding,  Nov.  3,  1825. 

Abigail,  b.  Aug.  25,  1800,  d.  unm.  July  28,  183S. 

Lucy,  b.  Feb.  2,  1803,  d.  unm.  Dec,  1819. 

Louisa,  b.  June  12,  1807,  d.  unm.  Sept.  30,  1821. 

Elizabeth   H.,  b.  July  5,  1809,  m.  Francis  L.  Rounds;  d.  in  Gorham,  July  13, 

1869, 
Ann,  b.  Dec.  23,  181 1,  m.  Charles  Watts,  Sept.  5,  1833. 
Samuel,  b.  June  11,  1816,  d.  Sept.  i,  1821. 

Solomon  Libby  was  the  son  of  Demas  Libby  of  Scarborough.     He 

came  to  Gorham  about  1834,  and  settled  in  the  Hurricane  district, 

near  White  Rock.     He  married,  Sept.  18,  1834,  Abigail  Jackson  of 

Cape  Elizabeth.     Children  : 

Ellen,  b.  July  23,  1836,  m.  Daniel  Wescoit,  Dec.  31,  1863. 

Ivory,  b.  Sept.  22,  1839,  m.  Susan  A.  Jackson,  Jan.  2,  1S68  ;  moved  to  Windham. 

Mary  A.,  b.  Oct.  16,  1846,  m.  Wm.  R.  Maybury,  Sept.  14,  1867  ;  2d,  Henry  B. 

Jackson. 
Maranda  J.,  b.  Aug.  17,  185  r. 

Solomon  Libby  died  July   19,  1875.     Abigail,  his  wife,  died  July 
22,  1884. 

Joseph  V.  Libby  was  the  son  of  Solomon  Libby  of  Brunswick,  and 

was  born  in  that  town,  April  15,  181 2.      He  settled  at  Gorham  village, 

on  the  place   where  his  son  Cyrus  now   lives.     He  married   Mary 

Ann,  daughter  of  Joseph  C.  Libby.     Children  : 

Lizzie  R.,  b.  Sept.  27,  1838,  m.  Joseph  Hine  of  Schofield,  Mich.,  Feb.,  1871  ; 

d.  Aug.  17,  1900. 
Cyrus  S.,b.  Feb.  9,  1841,  m.  Martha  Pike  of  Cornish,  Sept.,  1866. 
Charles  F.,  b.  Jan.  27,  1843,  d-  Feb.  11,  1844. 
Frances  A.,  b.  Jan.  3,  1845,  ™-  Lawrence  S.  Hoadley. 
Catherine  E.,  b.  July  15,  1850,  d.  young. 


GENEALOGY.  631 

Randall  E.,  b.  July  20,  1852,  d.  young. 
Lulu  M.,  b.  Mar.  i,  1856,  d.  young. 

Joseph  V.  Libby  died  in  October,  1872,  and  his  widow.  May  2, 
1897. 

LINCOLN. 

Samuel  Lincoln,  who  came  from  Ilingham,  England,  and  settled 
in  New  Ilingham,  Mass.,  in  1637,  was  the  ancestor  of  most  of  the 
Lincolns  in  this  country,  and  from  him  Abraham  Lincoln  was 
undoubtedly  descended. 

Royal   Lincoln,  son  of  Jonathan,  and  the  fourth  generation  from 

Samuel  Lincoln,  was  born  in  Hingham,  Sept.  15,  1754.      He  married 

(pub.   Oct.    10,    1778),  Jerusha,    daughter   of    Josiah    and   Thankful 

Waterman  of  Weymouth,  born  at  Weymouth,  April  22,  1758.     Mr. 

Lincoln  and  family  moved  to  Gorham  where  for  some  years  he  was 

a  trader  at  the  village.      He  purchased  and  occupied  the  farm  once 

owned  by  William  Lakeman,  and   since  by  the  late   Byron  Coburn. 

In  1776-7  he  served  on  board  the  armed  brig  "Hazard."     Under 

the  Act  of  June  7,  1832,  he  received  for  this  service  a  pension  from 

,the  Government.     Children  of  Royal  and  Jerusha  Lincoln,  all  born 

in  Hingham  : 

Royal,  b.  Oct.  18,  1779,  m.  Harriet  McLellan  of  Portland,  Jan.  28,  1805  ;  d.  in 

1865. 
Ruthy,  b.  Feb.  16,  1781,  m.  Geo.  Lewis,  Jr.,  Feb.  3,  1800;  I'd  in  Bridgton. 
.Sophia,  b.  Jan.  31,  1784,  m.  Jas.  Swett  of  Gorham,  p.  Nov.  29,  1806. 
Cotton,  b.  Nov.  23,  1785,  m.  Betsey  Thompson  of  Cornish;  d.  Apr.  17,  1846. 
Thankful,  b.  Oct.  28,  1787,  d.  unm.  Oct.  25,  1831. 

Jerusha,  b.  Apr.  16,  1790,  m.  Wm.  Woodbury,  Jan.  3,  182 1  ;  d.  Mar.,  1872. 
Susanna,  b.  Aug.  18,  1793,  m.  Calvin  Edwards  of  Gorham,  Sept.  20,  1813. 
Eliza  Beal,  b.  Dec.  10,  1794,  m.  James  M.  Carsley,  May  8,  1822. 
William,  b.  Apr.  24,  179^1,  d.  Sept.  4,  1797. 

Royal  Lincoln  moved  from  Gorham  to  Cornish  where  he  died, 
March  28,  1837,  aged  83.  Mrs.  Lincoln  died  March  30,  1848, 
aged  90. 

John  Lincoln,  brother  of  Royal,  was  born  in  Hingham,  Nov.  15, 
1762.  He  was  a  master  mariner.  He  married  in  Hingham,  Apr.  20, 
1792,  Bethia,  daughter  of  John  and  Bethia  (Lincoln)  Thaxter,  born  in 
Hingham,  Sept.  23,  1768.  Capt.  Lincoln  and  family  moved  from 
Hingham  to  Gorham,  where  he  bought  in  1804,  of  James  McCorrison, 
the  farm  at  West  Gorham,  since  owned  for  many  years  by  Theophilus 
Dame,  now  the  property  of  Lewis  Files.  Here  he  lived  till  his 
removal  to  North  Yarmouth.  Children  of  John  and  Bethia  Lincoln, 
the  two  oldest  born  in  Hingham,  and  the  rest  in  Gorham  : 


632  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Sarah  T.,  b.  May  12,  1793,  ''"•  Toppan  Robie,  Sept.  17,  iSii  ;  was  the  mother 
of  ExGov.  Robie. 

John,  b.  Apr.  5,  1795,  d.  at  sea  in  the  winter  of  18 18.     (Mr.  Rand's  journal.) 

Samuel,  b.  June  28,  1797,  m.  Eliza,  dau.  of  Daniel  and  Hannah  Fogg,  July  8, 
1S27,  who  d.  Dec.  15,  1828,  ag.  27,  leaving  no  ch.  Mr.  Lincoln  m.  2d,  Mrs. 
Jane  R.  (Thomas)  Lewis.  Ch  :  Eliza,  d.  y. ;  Edward  R.,  I's  in  Portland. 
Samuel  Lincoln  I'd  for  several  y'rs  after  his  marriage  at  W.  Gorham, 
where  he  was  a  trader;  his  store,  w-hich  he  built,  was  the  one  in  which 
the  Post  Office  was  lately  located.  He  moved  to  Portland  and  went  into 
trade  there.     He  d.  in  Portland,  where  his  wife  also  d..  she,  Oct.  i,  1872. 

Maria,  b.  Dec.  23,  1798,  d.  unm.  at  Maiden,  Mass.,  July  2,  1885. 

Harriet,  b.  Apr.  25,  1800,  m.  William  Stephenson,  Aug.  30,  1818. 

Bethia  T.,  b.  Apr.  4,  1S03,  m,  Alexander  M.  Staples,  Aug.  2,  1827;  2d,  Mr. 
Green. 

Catherine,  b.  May  3, '1808,  m.  Sweetsir  ;  d.  in  Yarmouth. 

Levi  T.,  b.  Mar.  29,  181 1,  m.  Mary  Brown  of  Portland. 

Mary  Ann,  b.  Aug.  25,  1813,  m.  Oliver  Hale  of  Waterford. 

Capt.  John  Lincoln  died  at  North  Yarmouth,  March  22,  1842  ;  Mrs. 
Bethia  Lincoln  died  at  the  same  place,  May  9,  1843. 

LOMBARD. 

Thomas  Lambert,  or  Lombard,  was  the  first  inn-keeper  in  the  town 
of  Barnstable,  Mass.  His  license  was  dated  Dec.  3,  1639.  He  had 
six  sons  and  two  daughters.  His  fifth  son,  Jedediah,  married,  in 
1668,  Hannah  Wing.  Of  the  sons  of  Jedediah  and  Hannah  (Wing) 
Lambert,  Jedediah,  Jr.  and  Thomas  moved  to  Truro,  where  they 
were  largely  engaged  in  the  whaling  and  fish  business,  and  became 
wealthy.  Jedediah's  son,  Jedediah,  Jr.,  married,  Nov.  8,  1699, 
Hannah,  daughter  of  Lieut.  James  Lewis  of  Barnstable.  Their  oldest 
child,  Solomon,  was  born  in  Truro,  April  5,  1702.  He  married,  June 
13,  1724,  in  Truro,  Sarah  Purrinton.  Solomon  and  Sarah  joined  the 
Truro  church  Jan.  30,  1734/5,  and  were  dismissed  to  the  church  in 
Gorham,  July  7,  175  i. 

On  the  list  of  original  Proprietors  of  Gorhamtown  we  find  the 
names  of  three  Lumberts, — Jedediah  and  Caleb,  both  of  Barnstable, 
who  owned  respectively  rights  47  and  19,  andjonathan  of  Tisbury,  who 
owned  No.  1 17.  The  Proprietors  of  Gorhamtown,  before  giving  Mr. 
Lombard  a  call  to  settle  here,  held  a  special  meeting,  at  which  they 
decided  that  "  Whereas  the  30  acre  lot.  No.  47,  —  being  tlie  property 
of  Mr.  Solomon  Lombard,  —  being  spruce  swamp  and  not  capable  of 
settlement ;  in  consideration  thereof.  Voted  that  said  Lombard  have 
in  exchange  therefor  thirty  acres  adjoining  to  Nos.  34  and  61  :  and 
to  lie  in  the  same  form  as  the  other  30  acre  lots,  he  giving  a  quit- 
claim of  the  aforesaid  thirty  acres  unto  William  Cotton  for  the  further 
use  and  order  of  the  Proprietors."  From  the  foregoing  it  appears 
more  than  probable  that  the  Rev.  Solomon  Lombard  inherited  the 


GENEALOGY.  633 

right  of  his  grandfather  Jedediah  in  the  Proprietary  of  Gorham.      As 

good  a  judge  of  lands  as  Mr.  Lombard  afterwards  proved  himself  to 

be  would  hardly  have  purchased  the  swamp. 

Mr.  Lombard's  home  was  on  the  thirty  acre  lot,  57,  which  lot  the 

Proprietors  of  the  town  gave  him  on  account  of  his  being  the  first 

settled   minister.       His    house    was    nearly    opposite   that  of   Capt. 

Phinney,  on  the  place  where  Mrs.  Samuel  Roberts  lives.    The  children 

of  wSolomon    and   Sarah  (Purrinton)  Lombard  were  born  before  the 

family  came  to  Gorham  and  were  all  baptized  in  Truro.     They  were  : 

Anna,  b.  Sept.  26,  1725,  m.  Simon  Lombard,  and  remained  in  Truro. 

Jedediah,  b.  Apr.  8,  1728,  m.  Susan  Dorsett;  2d,  Mrs.  Susanna  Libby. 

Sarah,  b.  June  8,  1730. 

Hannah,  b.  May  11,  1732,  living.,  unm,  in  1784. 

Susanna,  b.  Aug.  5,  1734,  m.  Wentworth  Stuart,  Feb.  7,  1753. 

Salome,  b.  June  10,  1736,  m.  Austin  Alden,  Nov.  25,  1756. 

Solomon,  b.  May  15,  173S,  m.  Lydia  Grant,  June  15,  1759. 

Mary,  b.  Sept.  9,  1740. 

Richard,  b.  Feb.  23,  1743/4,  m.  Lydia  Bangs,  June  18,  1764. 

Ebenezer,  b.  Mar.  26,  1745. 

Hezekiah,  b.  Sept.  30,  1746. 

Calvin,  b.  May  25,  1748,  m.  Martha  Grant;  2d,  Mary  Walker. 

Rev.  Mr.  Lombard  died  in  1781,  aged  79  years. 

(2)   Jedediah  Lombard,  son  of  Solomon,  was  a  man  possessed  of 

great  strength.     He  was  a  sailor,  following  the  sea  for  forty  years, 

twenty  of  which  was  as  mate.     He   was   cast   away  on   Cape   Cod 

during  a  violent  snow  storm  on  Sunday,  March  29,  1769,  but  escaped 

without    injury.       During    the    Revolution    he    served    on    board    a 

privateer,  in  company  with  a  number  of  other  Gorham  men.     Being 

captured,  and  confined  on  board  the  prison  ship  "  Jersey,"  he  made  his 

escape  in  company  with  Lieut,  Caiy  McLellan  and  two  others.     His 

home  was  on  the  western  half  of  the  hundred  acre  lot  105,  on  what 

has  since  been  called  Mighty  street.     He  married  for  his  first  wife, 

Susan  Dorsett.     Children,  of  whom  we  have  no  perfect  record: 

vSarah,  b.  ,  m.  Benjamin  Green,  Sept.  29,  1774. 

Jedediah,  b.  1760,  m.  Lydia  Rand,  July  12,  17S5. 

Hezekiah,  b. ,  said  to  have  been  lost  at  sea. 

Phebe,  b. ,  m.  Benjamin  Blake,  Jr.,  Oct.  20,  1785. 

Salome,  b.  1764,  m. Dorsett;  2d,  Sargent  Shaw  (2d  wife)  of  Standish. 

Mrs.  Susan  Lombard  died  July  18,  1784,  and  Mr.  Lombard  mar- 
ried, Oct.  20,  1784,  Mrs.  Susanna  (Lombard)  Libby,  widow  of  Joab 
Libby.     Jedediah  Lombard  died  Jan.  24,  1820,  aged  92. 

(2)  Solomon  Lombard,  Jr.,  son  of  Solomon,  lived  on  the  hundred 
acre  lot,  5,  where  his  grandson  Lewis  Lombard  now  lives.  He  was  a 
member  of  Capt.  Joseph  Woodman's  company  in  the  Northern  army  in 
1757.     His  wife  was  Lydia  Grant  of  Berwick.     Children  : 


634  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Richard,  b.  May  17,  1761,  d.  when  about  14  or  15  years  of  age. 
Susanna,  b.  June  15,  1762,  m.  Christopher  Dunn,  Feb.  3,  1782. 
Hannah,  b.  Jan.  23,  1764,  m.  Ebenezer  Murch,  Nov.  30,  17S6. 
Solomon,  b.  Oct.  23.  1766,  d.  young. 

James,  b.  Oct.  19,  1768,  m.  Bethiah  Smith,  Dec.  13,  1792. 
Lydia,  b.  Oct.  25,  1771,  m.  Abram  Nason,  Feb.  14,  1793. 
Peter,  b.  Nov.  9,  1772,  d.  young. 

Ephraim,  b.  Jan.  18,  1774,  m.  Polly  Perkins,  Nov.  20,  1794;  2d,  Jane  Larrabee. 
Solomon,  b.  Apr.  21,  1775,  m.  Susanna  Hunt,  Tune  26,  1796;  moved  to  Read- 
field. 

Mary,  b.  May  10,  1777,  m.  John  Godsoe,  Sept.  26,  181 1 ;  2d, Chamberlain. 

Samuel,  b.  Oct.  S,  1779,  rn-  Charity  Merrill,  Apr.  12,  1810. 

(2)   Richard    Lombard,   son   of  Solomon,  lived  near  his    brother 

Jedediah,  on   the  place  where  Charles  Martin  Libby  now  lives.     He 

married  Lydia  Bangs  of  Cape  Cod.     Children  : 

John,  b.  Aug.  11,  1764,  m.  Elizabeth  Sawyer,  Jan.  13,  1785. 

Paul,  b.  June  30,  1766,  m.  Betty  Libby,  Aug.  15,  1791  ;  moved  to  Limington. 

Joseph,  b.  Dec.  24,  1768,  m.  Fanny  Silla,  May  12,  1788  ;  2d,  Hannah  Bolton. 

Lydia,  b.  Mar.  16,  1770,  m.  Joseph  Morton,  Nov.  22,  1789. 

Ebenezer,  b.  Jan.  3,  1773,  m.  Jenny  Freeman,  Nov.  12,  1794. 

Bathshuah,  b.  Dec.  3,  1776,  m.  Elisha  Morton,  Feb.  18,  1796. 

Richard,  b.  June  3,    1782,  m.  Eunice  Sawyer;  was  a  Methodist  preacher. 

Simon,  b.  Aug.  11,  1784,  I'd  on  his  father's  place;  d.  unm.  May  9,  1843. 

Sarah,  b.  June  28,  1789,  m.  Simeon  Libby,  Mar.  25,  1810. 

Col.  Richard  Lombard  died  Oct.  21,  1825,  and  was  buried  in  the 
old  Fort  Hill  yard.     His  wife  died  Sept.  18,  1823,  aged  83. 

(2)  Calvin  Lombard,  son  of  Solomon,  lived  on  the  farm  where  his 
father  had  lived,  and  which  he  left  to  him  in  his  will.  He  was  a  very 
impulsive  man,  caring  little  for  consequences.  At  the  time  when  Col. 
Phinney's  regiment  was  called  into  Falmouth,  in  consequence  of 
Capt.  Mowatt's  ship  being  in  the  harbor  and  about  to  burn  the  town, 
Lombard  accompanied  his  neighbors,  the  Gorham  men,  as  a  volun- 
teer. The  ship  lay  some  distance  from  the  landing  —  Lombard  had 
what  he  thought  to  be  an  extraordinarily  good  gun,  and  wished  to 
try  it.  Accordingly,  getting  as  near  the  landing  as  he  could  con- 
veniently, and  not  be  seen  by  those  on  the  ship,  and  screening 
himself  behind  a  hogshead,  he  let  go  from  thence  at  the  sentry  as  he 
passed  the  gangway,  and  the  ball  hit  directly  at  the  feet  of  the  man, 
in  the  side  of  the  ship.  Some  of  the  otBcers  reached  over  and  with 
a  knife  took  the  ball  from  the  place  where  it  hit;  and  in  a  few  min- 
utes the  ship  was  worked  to  a  safer  distance.  It  is  said  that 
Lombard  afterwards  served  in  the  regular  army.  He  married  Martha 
Grant  of  Berwick,  and  their  children  were  : 

Polly,  b.  Aug.  4,  1768,  m.  Nelson  Fogg,  June  3,  1790. 

Martha,  b.  Dec.  4,  1769,  m.  Edmund  Flood,  Aug.  10,  1788. 

Luther,  b.  Jan.  24,  1771,  m.  Mary  Plummer,  Jan.  10,, 1793.     (Monmouth.) 


GENEALOGY.  635 

Dorcas,  b.  Apr.  7,   1772,  m.  Jeremiah  Fogg,  Jr.,  Dec.  24,   1794;  d.    May   11, 

1802. 
Rachel,  b.  Aug.  5,  1773,  m.  Stephen  Hopkinson  of  Bu.xton. 

Wentworth,  b.  Oct.,  1776,  m. Moody  of  Cape  Elizabeth;  I'd  in  Wales. 

Hezekiah,  b.  Feb.  12,  1779,  m. McLucas. 

Salome,  b.  Oct.  iS,  1780,  m.  Joshua  McKenney  of  Limington. 

Mr.  Lombard  moved  to  Limington,  where  his  wife  Martha  died, 

and  he  married  Mary  Walker,  by  whom  he  had  : 

Calvin,  b.  Aug.  21,  1799,  ""•  Eunice  Chapman  of  Limington,  Apr.  13,  1824;  d. 

in  Baldwin,  Dec.  13,  1871. 
Eliza  M.,  b.  Dec.  18,  1803,  m.  Samuel  Huntres.s ;  I'd  in  Limington. 

Calvin  Lombard  died  in  Limington  in  1808,  and  ALiry,  his  wife, 
in  1834,  also  in  Limington. 

(3)  Jedediah  Lombard,  Jr.,  son  of  Jedediah,  lived  in  Gorham  until 
about  the  year  1800,  when  he  moved  to  Standish  Neck.  He  served 
for  seven  years  in  the  Revolutionary  army.  He  was  a  member  of 
Capt.  Richard  Mayberry's  company,  in  Col.  Tupper's  regiment,  in 
1778.  In  1 78 1  he  was  a  member  of  Capt.  Whitmore's  militia  com- 
pany. Mr.  Lombard  was  also  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  18 12.  He 
married  Lydia,  daughter  of  Jeremiah  and  Lydia  Rand.     Children  : 

Marcy,  b.  Apr.  27,  1786,  m.  Jeremiah  McLucas,  p.  July  8,  1809  ;  d.  in  1874. 

Nathaniel,  b.  June  24,  1788,  m. McLucas;  d.  on  Raymond  Cape. 

Betsey,  b.  Aug.  13,  1796,  m.  Ebenezer  Meserve,  Dec.  29,  1824  ;  I'd  in  Standish. 

Hezekiah,  b. ,  m.  Mrs.  Witham. 

John,  b. ,  m.  Sally  Welch  or  Witham ;  d.  in  Raymond. 

Polly,  b.  ,  m.  Wm.  Knight,  Nov.  27,  1822;  d.  on  Standish  Neck. 

Sargent,   b. ,   1803,  m.   Eunice   West;  I'd  in   Standish,  near  the  lake;  d. 

Nov.  II,  1S76. 
William,  b.  ,  1806,  m.   Sally   Cole;  I'd   at  "Richville,"  in  Standish;  d.  in 

1868. 

Esther,  b. ,  d.  unm. 

Sally,  b.  ,  d.  unm. 

Jedediah  Lombard,  Jr.,  died  in  Standish,  March  16,  1842,  aged  82, 
and  his  wife  Lydia,  Jan.  13,  1830,  aged  61. 

(3)  James  Lombard,  son  of  Solomon,  Jr.,  married  Bethiah,  daughter 
of  Hezekiah  Smith.  He  lived  on  the  hundred  acre  lot,  19,  which  he 
bought  of  his  father-in-law,  Smith,  in  1796,  and  is  now  known  as  the 
old  Weeks  farm.     Children  : 

Polly  S.,  b.  July  6,  1793,  m.  Elijah  C.  Wingate,  July  14,  181 1. 
Richard,  b.  Mar.  20,  1795,  m.  Temperance  L.  Hamblen,  Mar.  17,  1818. 

James,  b.  Dec.  2,  1796,  m. Snell;  was  a  doctor ;  d.  in  the  West. 

Hannah,  b.  Oct.  6,  1798,  d.  Feb.  16,  181 5. 

Peter,  b.  Mar.  4,  1801,  m.  Harriet .     (Florida.) 

Sukey,  b.  Apr.  11,  1803,  m.  Solomon  Baker,  p.  Apr.  20,  1822. 
Samuel,  b.  May  11,  1807,  m.  Harriet  Huston. 

James  Lombard  died  Sept.  18,  1808,  aged  40,  and  Mrs.  Lombard 
married,  Dec.  13,  1808,  Robert  Weeks. 


63G  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

(3)      Ephraim  Lombard,  son  of  Solomon,  Jr.,  lived  on  the  hundred 

acre  lot  No.  g,  where  John  E.  Meserve  now  lives.     He  married  Polly, 

the  daughter  of  John  and  Lois  (Hadaway)  Perkins.     Children  : 

James  H.,  b.  Aug.  7,  1795,  ^-  May,   1796. 

Lucy  P.,  b.  Dec.  2,  1796,  m.  James  Nason  of  Standish,  Mar.  24,  1829. 
Solomon,  b.  Feb.  23.  1798,  m.  Sarah  Wescott,  Mar.  30,  1823;  I'd  in  Standish. 
Eliza,  b.  Feb.  22,  1800,  m.  Daniel  Knowlton  of  Augusta. 

Louisa,  b. ,  m. Piper. 

Susanna,  b.  Jan.  31,  1802,  d.  Feb.,  1802. 

Bethiah,  I  t     j   1      «     q        '  '^-  young. 

Polly,       j"    ■  J^  y      '        -J'l  m.  Ebenezer  Hawkes  of  Windham,  Dec.  30,  1824. 

Mrs.  Polly  Lombard  died  July  18,  1803,  aged  29,  and  Mr.  Lombard 

married  Mrs.  Jane  (Norton)   Larrabee   of    Bluehill,   (pub.    Sept.    i, 

1804,)  by  whom  he  had  : 

Sophronia,  b.  May  8,  1807,  m.  Richard  Dunn;  went  to  Fredericktown,  N.  B. 

Lphraim,  b.  Sept.  17,  1808,  went  to  sea^  U.  S.  N. 

Josephine,  b.  Apr.  29,  1810,  m  Dennis  Harmon. 

Margaret,  b.  Jan.  23,  1812,  m.  Francis  Beverly;  went  to  Fredericktown,  N.  B. 

James,  b.  Apr.  23,  18 14,  m.  Mrs.  Stevens;  d.  at  Mobile,  Ala. 

Octavia,  b.  Jan.  21,  1816,  m.  Charles  Watts  of  New  Brunswick. 

Stephen,  b.  June  2,  iSrg,  went  to  sea;  d.  in  Miss. 

Olive,  b.  Sept.  8,  1821,  m.  Daniel  Merrill ;  d.  July  26,  1846. 

Rosalia  B.,  b.  Aug.  27,  1823,  m.  Samuel  Libby,  3d,  Dec.  7,  1843. 

Ephraim  Lombard  died  July  23,  1843  ;  ^i^  ^i^^  Jane  died  March 
23>  1859,  aged  82. 

(3)  Samuel   Lombard,  son  of  Solomon,  Jr.,  was  a  soldier  in  the 

War  of    1812.     In   October,   1813,   he   was  a  teamster    under  Col. 

Eustice,  from  Chesterton  to  Burlington,  Vt.      He  married  Charity, 

daughter  of  Daniel  and  Dorcas  Merrill.     Children  : 

Alvin,  b.  May  17,  181 1,  d.  Dec.  16,  1890,  unm. 

Lydia,  b.  June  19,  1813,  m.  George  Knight,  Jan.  7,  1831. 

Adeline,  b.  Oct.  28,  i8i6,  m.  John  Hodgdon,  June  2,  1844. 

Susanna,  b.  May  5.  1818,  d.  July,  1S20. 

Lewis,  b.  Dec.  31,  1819,  I'd  on  his  father's  place;  d.  Nov.  iS,  1902. 

Susanna,  b.  Dec.  19,  1S21,  m.  Isaac  Harmon,  May  24,  1843;  d.  in  Canton,  Me., 

Apr.  16,  1895. 
Martha  A.,  b.  Oct.  6,  1823,  m.  Reuben  Wescott,  Nov.  14,  1847. 
Almira,  b.  Apr.  3,  1826,  m.  Jeremiah  T;  McQuillan,  Jan.  31,  1854. 

Mr.  Lombard  lived  on   South   St.,  a  mile  and  three-quarters  from 

the  village,  on  the  farm  which  had  been  his  father's.     He  built  the 

house  since  owned  and  occupied  by  his  son  Lewis.    His  wife  Charity 

died    fan.    13,    1830,    aged   39.     April    8,  1832,  he   married  Martha, 

daughter  of  Jeremiah  Towle.     Samuel  Lombard  died  July  19,  1863, 

and  his  wife  Martha,  Nov.  23,  1872,  aged  74. 

(3 )  John  Lombard,  son  of  Richard,  married  Elizabeth  Sawyer  of 
Otisfield,  daughter  of  Capt.  Jonathan  and  Martha  Sawyer.     Children  : 


GENEALOGY.  G37 

Hannah,  b.  Sept.  8,  17S5,  m.  Geo.  Keycs,  and  2d,  David  Silla. 

Lydia,     /  .      r  o_    i 

a/    .u      c  d.    Tune   24,    1707,  ,, 

Martha,  )        ■'  ^'      '    "  /  m.  Green. 

Abraham  L.,  b.  Feb.  2,  1790,  d.  at  Megalloway. 

Salome,  b.  Mar.  11,  1793. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Mar.   14,   1795,  m. Stubbs  ;  2d,  Thing  Moore;  moved  to 

Wisconsin;  d.  Apr.,  1823. 

Mary,  b.  June  6,  1797. 

Richard,  1).  May  31,  1799,  m. Gallison. 

Deliverance,  b.  May  10,  1802. 

Sarah,  b.  June  14,  1807,  d.  Feb.  27,  1S08. 

John,  b.  May  2,  1810,  d.  Apr.  28,  181  t. 

John  Lombard  died  in  Oti.sfield  in  1853,  aged  89  years. 

(3)  Joseph   Lombard,  son  of  Richard,  married  Fanny,  daughter  of 

William  and  Anna  Silla.     Children  : 

Nancy,  b.  Oct.  6,  1788,  m.  Joseph  Stuart,  p.  Nov.  2,  1805. 

Lydia,  b. ,  m.  Hezekiah  Green  of  Otisfield,  July  18,  1807. 

Joseph,  b. ,  m.  Mary  Peabody ;  was  a  joiner;  I'd  in  Otisfield. 

Mr.  Lombard  married,  July  11,  1795,  Mrs.  Hannah  Bolton,  widow 

of    Thomas   Bolton,  and   daughter    of   Lieut.    Joshua    and  Hannah 

Crockett.     Children  : 

Sewell,  b. ,  I'd  in  Portland. 

Harr)%  b. ,  m.  Tabitha,  dau.  of  Ebenezer  Lombard,  Feb.  24,  1820.     Ch: 

Martha  A.;  Joseph,  was  a  carpenter;  Ellen;  Albert;   Eunice;   Wm.  H. 

P.,  was  a  hatter  in   Portland ;  Betsey,  d.  y.      Henry  Lombard  d.  Apr.  3, 

1S37,  and  his  widow  m.  Nov.  20,  1842,  Levi  Bragdon,  and  I'd  in  .Saco  or 

Biddeford.     She  d.  Aug.  3,  1865. 
Betsey,  b.  Jan.  6,  180 1,  m.  Morris  Irish,  Apr.  23,  1823. 

This  family  moved  to  Otisfield.  Mrs.  Hannah  Lombard  died  Dec. 
28,  1843,  aged  83. 

(3)  Ebenezer  Lombard,  son  of  Richard,  was  a  Methodist  minister. 
He  was  the  first  Methodist  class-leader  in  Gorham.  He  lived  near 
Winship's  corner,  on  the  place  where  Geo.  Libby  now  lives.  He 
married  Jenny,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  Mary  Freeman.     Children  : 

Tabitha,  b.  Apr.  15,  1795,  m.  Henry  Lombard,  Feb.  24,  1820;  2d,  Levi 
Bragdon. 

Mary,  b.  Feb.  7,  1797,  m.  John  Craigue,  Jr.,  of  Windham,  p.  June  20,  1817. 

Lydia,  b.  Jan.  6,  1799,  m.  Adams  Whitney  of  Standish,  June  3,  1816. 

Eunice,  b.  June  20,  1801,  m.  Joseph  Libby,  Jr.,  Oct.  5,  1823. 

Jane,  b.  July  24,  1803,  m.  John  Walker,  Apr.  22,  1821. 

Alfred,  b.  July  29,  1805,  m.  Eleanor  Gilpatrick,  June  4,  1S26.  Ch :  Sarah  J., 
b.  Apr.  23,  1827  ;  Harriet,  b.  May  22,  1828,  d.  July  18,  1832  ;  Robert 
A.,  b.  May  6,  1830;  Andrew  S.,  b.  June  15,  1832;  Martha,  b.  Apr.  14, 
1834,  d.  y.  Alfred  Lombard  d.  July  14,  1S37,  and  his  wife,  Apr.  22, 
1834,  ag.  27. 

Harriet,  b.  July  3r,  1807,  m.  Andrew  Sawyer  of  Oldtown. 

Anna,  b.  Oct.  31,  1809,  m.  Wentworth  Files  of  Portland,  p.  Mar.  25,  1837. 

Benjamin  F.,  b.  Feb.  11,  1812,  d.  in  Alabama. 

James  L.,  b.  Mar.  2,  1814,  m.  Abigail  Lunt ;  d.  in  California.' 

David  F.,  b.  May  12,  1816,  m.  Joanna  Senate,  p.  1840;  2d,  Miss  Varrell ;  3d, 
Mrs.  Cynthia  (Floyd)  Thompson. 


638  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Simon  H.,  b.  Nov.  4,  1817,  m.  Maria,  dau.  of  Natli'l  and  Lucy  Phinney,  Sept. 
22,  1839.  Ch : -Ebenezer,  m.  Mary  Read;  Eliza,  m.  Almon  Files; 
Angela,  m.  Gardner  Haines;  Viola,  m.  Albert  O.  Hill;  Lucy,  m.  Edwin 
Nichols,  2d,  Sallust  Field;  Lucius,  d.  y.  Mr.  Lombard  I'd  in  Sebago, 
from  which  place  he  moved  to  Gorham,  where  he  and  his  wife  d.  at 
Little  Falls,  he  Mar.  18,  1885,  and  she,  Jan.  5,  1898. 

Rev.  Ebenezer  Lombard  died  in  Sebago.  Both  he  and  his  wife 
are  buried  in  the  graveyard  at  "the  North." 

(4)  Richard  Lombard,  son  of  James,  lived  on  the  farm  near  the 
Buxton  line,  where  Mr.  Holt  now  lives.  He  afterwards  moved  to 
the  village  and  built  a  house  on  State  St.  He  was  a  blacksmith. 
His  wife  was  Temperance,  daughter  of  Samuel,  Jr.,  and  Molly 
Hamblen.     Children  : 

William  H.,  b.  Apr.  9,  1819,  m.  Mary  R.,  dau.  of  John  R.  and  Sally  Clay,  Feb. 
22,  1843.  Ch:  Margaret  L.,  b.  Nov.  22,  1843,  m.  Charles  Alexander, 
d.  about  1888;  Ellen,  b.  Sept.  27,  1847,  d.  y. ;  William  H.,  b.  Jan.  10, 
1852,  m.  Lydia  A.  Barrett.  Mrs.  Mary  Lombard,  d.  July  19,  1862,  ag. 
39,  and  Mr.  Lombard  m.  Nov.  6,  1863.  Adeline  M.  Beane.  He  is  a 
machinist  and  blacksmith  and  I's  on  the  Saco  road. 

Mary  x\nn,  b.  Dec.  17,  1820,  d.  young. 

Harriet,  b.  Apr.  17,  1822,  m.  John  Murray. 

Stephen,  b.  June  5,  1824,  m.  Mary  A.  Beckford  of  .Saco  ;  I'd  in  vSaco  ;  d.  in  1866. 

Albert,  b.  Dec.  25,  1827,  m.  Sarah  Silla  of  Saco,  1846.  Ch:  James,  b.  Dec.  24, 
1846,  m.  Eunice  Whitney;  Mary  Ann,  b.  Dec.  20,  1848,  m.  Edwin  S. 
Harding;  Francis  A.,  b.  June  i,  1850,  m.  Jennie  Small,  d.  in  Portland; 
Georgietta,  b.  June  27,  i85i,d.  y. ;  Sarah  E.,  b.  Nov.  27,  1854,  m.  John 
Curtis,  2d,  Eugene  Davis  ;  Jessie,  d.  y. ;  Charlts  O.,  b.  1861,  d.  July  14, 
1880.  Albert  Lombard  d.  Mar.  26,  1887,  and  his  wife,  Mar.  29,  1887,  ag. 
60.     He  was  a  blacksmith,  and  I'd  at  Gorham  village. 

Jeanette,  b.  June  29,  1829,  m.  Leander  Graffam. 

Eliza,  b.  July  29,  183 1,  m.  David  L.  Taylor. 

Hannah  M.,  b.  Mar.  11,  1835,  m.  Richard  Ingham;  I'd  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Mary  E.,  b  Apr.  17,  1837,  m.  Ai  Libby,  Feb.  27,  1868;  d.  in  Gorham,  Dec. 
17,  1S69. 

Caroline  P.,  b.  1839,  m.  Jacob  W^arren  Libby,  Sept.  2,  1S56. 

Georgiana  J.,  b.  May  9,  1842,  d.  unm.,  July,  1868. 

Mrs.  Temperance  Lombard  died  Nov.  21,  1864,  aged  70,  and  Mr. 
Lombard  married  Mrs.  Sarah  (Spencer)  (Merrill)  Plowman.  She 
died  in  March,  1880,  and  he  died  Sept.  30,  1880. 

Nathaniel  Lombard  lived  in  town  before  the  Revolution.  He 
owned  no  land,  but 'settled  back  of  Waterhouse's,  probably  on  the 
hundred  acre  lot,  57,  or  thereabouts.  He  served  in  the  Revolution- 
ary army  ;  a  member  of  Capt.  Williams'  company  in  1775,  and  in 
1778,  a  corporal  in  Capt.  Mayberry's  company.  He  married,  June 
7,  1783,  Ruth,  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Dilla  Hamblen  of  Gorham, 
by  whom  he  had  the  following  children  recorded  in  Gorham  :  Abigail, 
born  April  20,  1784;  Nathaniel,  born  January  8,  1786.  The  family 
lived  at  one  time  on  the  Worcester  place.  They  finally  moved  to 
Otisfield. 


GENEALOGY.  639 

There  was  a  Caleb  Lombard  who  Hved  in  (iorham  in  1776,  when 
he  enlisted  in  Capt.  Mayberry's  company  for  three  years.  He  seems 
to  have  left  town  about  1782,  when  his  name  disappears  from  the 
tax  lists,  going  to  Turner,  where  he  died  April  19,  1833.  He  had  a 
wife  named  Hannah,  but  we  have,  no  record  of  a  family. 

John  Lombard,  with  his  wife  and  family,  came  to  Gorham  from 
Barnstable.  He  settled  on  the  Flaggy  Meadow  road.  Lombard 
was  a  seafaring  man,  and  served  in  the  navy  during  the  Revolution- 
ary war.  We  have  no  record  of  his  children,  but  there  are  said  to 
have  been : 

John,  m.  Priscilla  Harding,  Aug.  13,  1780. 

Thomas,  m.  Hannah  Linnell  of  Pearsonstown,  Dec.  15,  17S5. 

Sarah,  m.  'I'homas  Thomes,  Dec.  23,  1779. 

Butler,  m.  Jemima  Clay,  Aug.  9,  1787. 

Hannah,  m.  Joshua  Harding. 

Susan,  m.  Samuel  Haiding. 

(2)  John  Lombard,  Jr.,  son  of  John,  married  Priscilla,  the  daughter 

of  Zephaniah  and  Mary  Harding.     Children  : 

Joseph,  b.  Mar.  15,  i78r,  d.  unm.,  Feb.  26,  1862. 

Polly,  b.  Feb.  11,  1784,  d.  unm.,  June,  1822. 

John,  b.  Aug.  26,  1786,  d.  at  sea,  unm.,  probably  July  3,  1813. 

Samuel,  b.  May  14,  1789,  m.  Eleanor  Murch  of  Buxton,  Oct.  21,  1813;  d.  at  sea, 

Sept.,  1816. 
James,  b.  Aug.  11,  1791,  d.  unm.,  May  18,  1841. 
Sally,  b.  June  17,  1794,  d.  unm.,  Apr.  19,  1852. 
Edmund,  b.  June  20,  1796,  d.  June  20,  1797. 
Edmund,  b.  Feb.  16,  1799,  m.  Sally  W.  Davis,  June  21,  1S21. 
Harding,  b.  June,  1802,  d.  Nov.  28,  1874. 

John  Lombard  died  May  24,   1844,  and  his  wife  Priscilla,  March 

21,   1837,  aged  76. 

(2)  Butler  Lombard  was  probably  the  son  of  John  Lombard.  He 
lived  on  the  Edmund  Lombard  lot  on  Flaggy  Meadow  road.  He  was 
a  member  of  Capt.  Williams'  company.  Col.  Phinney's  regiment,  in 
1775,  and  in  1778  of  Capt.  Mayberry's  company,  Col.  Tupper's  regi- 
ment. He  married  Jemima  Clay,  a  sister  of  Molly  Clay,  who  married 
Samuel  Hamblen,  Jr.      Children  : 

Molly,  b.  Dec  4,  1787. 
Anna,  b.  Sept.  25,  1789. 

(3)  Edmund  Lombard,  son  of  John,  Jr.,  lived  on  the  northern  side 
of  the  Flaggy  Meadow  road.  His  house,  which  is  now  gone,  stood  a 
little  west  of  where  the  new  house  built  by  Mr.  Talbot  stands.  He 
married  Sally  W.  Davis  of  Buxton,  and  their  children  w^ere  : 


640  ,  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Simon,  b.  Aug.  8,  1822,  d.  June  26,  1826. 

Mary,  b.  Apr.  8,  1824,01.   Joseph  Knight;  d.  in  Cal. 

Lucy,  b.  Jan.  20,  1826,  m.  James  Hutchins. 

Rebecca,  b.  Oct.  22,  1827,  m.  Jacob  Howe  ;  I'd  in  Maiden. 

Caroline,  b. ,  m.  Elias  Gould. 

Louisa,  b. ,  d.  when  18  years  old. 

Maria,  b. ,  d.  when  16  years  old. 

Blanchard,  b. ,  m.  Martha  Perkins;  I'd  in  Biddeford. 

Cornelia,  b.  July,  1839,  m.  Samuel  Farnsworth  Bacon. 
Asa  Frank,  b.  May  2,  1845,  '^-  J^"-  '7'  1850- 

Edmund  Lombard  died  December  17,  1867,  aged  68.  Mrs.  Lom- 
bard died  about  1880. 

LONGFELLOW. 

Stephen  Longfellow,  the  first  of  the  name  in  Gorham,  moved  here 
from  Portland  when  that  town  was  destroyed  by  Mowatt  in  1775. 
Mr.  Longfellow's  house,  which  stood  on  Fore  St.,  east  of  India,  was 
burned  at  that  time.  He  was  the  son  of  Stephen,  and  grandson  of 
William  Longfellow,  a  native  of  ilampshire,  England,  the  first  of  the 
name  in  New  England,  who  married  Anne  Sewall  in  1678,  and  was 
a  merchant  in  Byfield,  Mass. 

Stephen  Longfellow,  born  in  Byfield,  Feb.  7,  1723,  was  a  grad- 
uate of  Harvard,  class  of  1742.  He  came  to  Portland  in  1745,  and 
was  master  of  the  Grammar  School,  and  the  principal  instructor  in 
town  for  some  years.  He  held  many  important  and  honorable  offices 
in  Portland.  He  was  town  clerk  for  twenty-two  years  ;  clerk  of  the 
first  parish  for  twenty-three  years  ;  clerk  of  the  Proprietors  of  Com- 
mon Lands  for  many  years,  and  was  the  first  to  hold  the  offices  of 
Clerk  of  the  Judicial  Courts,  and  Register  of  Probate  for  this  County, 
which  offices  he  held  for  sixteen  years.  Mr.  Willis  says :  "  His 
handwriting,  in  beautiful  characters  symbolical  of  the  purity  and 
excellence  of  his  own  moral  character,  is  impressed  on  all  the  records 
of  the  town  and  county  through  many  successive  years."  He  married 
Tabitha  Bragdon  of  York,  Oct.  i,  1749.     Children  : 

Stephen,  b.  Aug.  13,  1750,  m.  Patience  Young,  Dec.  13,  1773. 
Tabitha,  b.  1752,  m.  Capt.  John  Stephenson,  in  1771. 

Samuel,  b. ,  d.  on  Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  about  1780-1  ;  left  no  children. 

William,  b ,  d.  young. 

Abigail,  b.  Feb.  3,  1756,  d.  young. 

Mr.  Longfellow  died  in  Gorham  May  i,  1790,  aged  67,  and  his 
wife  Tabitha,  Jan.  10,  1777,  aged  54  years. 

(2)  Stephen  Longfellow,  son  of  Stephen,  came  here  with  his  father 
about  1775.  He  was  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Gorham  ;  a  man 
highly    honored    and  esteemed.     He  held  many  town  offices  ;   was 


GENEALOGY.  641 

selectman  for  several  years ;  Representative  to  the  General  Court 
of  Massachusetts  eight  years ;  also  Senator  under  Massachusetts. 
He  was  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  from  1798  to  181 1. 
He  owned  and  occupied  the  farm  where  Alpheus  S.  Boothby  now 
lives,  which  at  that  time  included  also  the  Stephenson  farm,  which 
Judge  Longfellow  gave  to  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Stephenson,  about 
1812-14.  The  rows  of  fine  elms  which  border  this  farm,  and  are  still 
known  as  the  "Longfellow  elms,''  were  planted,  a  hundred  years  ago, 
under  Judge  Longfellow's  directions,  and  at  his  expense  ;  he  paying 
his  hired  men  nine-pence  (twelve  and  a  half  cents)  above  their 
wages,  for  every  tree  which  they  would  set  out,  outside  of  their  work- 
ing hours.  Mr.  Longfellow  married  Patience  Young  of  York.  Their 
children  were  : 

Tabitha,  b.  Oct.  9,  1774,  m.  Lothrop  Lewis,  Jan.  20,  1794;  d.  Apr.  15,  1807. 

Stephen,  b.  Mar.  23,  1776,  m.  Zilpha  Wadsworth  of  Hiram. 

Abigail,  b.  Jan.  iS,  1779,  ^-  Col.  Samuel  Stephenson,  Oct.  18,  1801. 

Anna,  b.  Nov.  26,  1781,  d.  Dec.  7,  18 17. 

Catherine,  b.  Aug.  20,  1786,  d.  July  5,  1804. 

Samuel,  b.  July  30,  1789,  m.  .Sophia  Storer  of  Saco,  18 16. 

Hon.   Stephen   Longfellow   died    May   28,    1824.     Mrs.    Patience 

Longfellow  died  Aug.  12,  1830. 

(3)  Stephen  Longfellow,  son  of  Hon.  Stephen,  entered  Harvard 
College  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  and  graduated  in  the  class  of  1798. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  in  1801,  and  practiced  law  in  Portland 
for  many  years,  and  attained  great  eminence  in  his  profession.  He 
was  distinguished  not  only  for  his  legal  acquirements,  but  for  his 
probity  and  uprightness,  and  was  often  called  upon  to  exercise 
important  trusts.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Hartford  Convention  in 
1814;  and  later  was  elected  Member  of  Congress.  In  1828  he 
received  from  Bowdoin  the  degree  of  LL.  D.  He  married,  in  1804, 
Zilpha,  the  daughter  of  Gen.  Peleg  \\'adsworth.  They  were  the 
parents  of  Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow,  that  most  famous  of  Amer- 
ican poets,  whose  sweet  songs  are  known  and  read  in  every  corner 
of  the  civilized  world. 

Stephen  Longfellow  died  Aug.  3,  1849,  in  Portland. 

(3)  Samuel,  son  of  Hon.  Stephen  Longfellow,  spent  quite  a  por- 
tion of  his  life  at  sea,  as  a  captain  in  the  merchant  service.  He 
married  Sophia  Storer  of  Saco,  and  after  his  marriage  lived  with  his 
father  at  the  old  homestead.  He  died  there,  Oct.  13,  18 18,  leaving 
a  widow,  and  one  child,  Ann  Sophia.  In  1824  Mrs.  Longfellow  mar- 
ried Judge  Asa  Redington  of  Waterville ;  a  former  Principal  of 
Gorham  Academy. 


642  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

LORD. 

Nahum  and  James  Lord,  with  their  sister  Anne,  came  from  Berwick. 
They  were  the  children  of  Jeremiah  and  Grizzel  (Grant)  Lord,  and 
were  the  nephews  and  niece  of  Mrs.  Calvin  Lombard.  Nahum  Lord 
was  born  March  i,  1778.  He  came  to  Gorham  in  1797,  where  he 
learned  the  tailor's  trade.  He  lived  on  the  farm  where  M.  C.  Burnell 
now  lives,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  south  of  Gorham  village.  This 
farm  was  settled  by  George  Waterhouse,  whose  daughter,  Charlotte, 
Nahum  Lord  married  July  11,  1802.  Mr.  Lord  built  the  house  now 
standing  on  the  place.  His  name  appears  on  the  roll  of  Capt. 
Robie's  company,  on  duty  in  Portland  in  18 14.  He  removed  with 
his  family  to  Chandlersville,  now  Detroit,  Me.,  Oct.  31,  1830.  All 
his  children,  except  the  youngest,  were  born  in  Gorham.    They  were  : 

George  W.,  b.  Dec.  5,  1802,  m.  Ann  Bickford  of  Falmouth ;  no  ch  ;  was  a  sailor 
for  some  y'rs,  but  becoming  crippled  by  an  accident  on  a  voyage,  left  the 
sea,  and  followed  shoemaking  at  Coal  Kiln  Corner;  d.  Dec.  15,  1833; 
his  wife,  in  Kennebunk,  Nov.,  1880. 

Jeremiah,  b.  Dec.  11,  1804,  m.  Sarah  Purinton,  Mar.  27,  1831. 

Infant,  b.  July  i,  1807,  d.  young. 

Joseph  W.,  b.  Dec.  20,  1808,  m.  Mary  C.  Hodgdon  ;  2d,  Sybil  Brackett ;  d. 
Nov.  30,  1881. 

Infant,  b.  May  15,  181 1,  d.  young. 

Mary  Ann,  b.  Sept.  7,  1813,  d.  young. 

Nahum,  b.  Apr.  25,  1815,  d.  Oct.  19,  1834. 
f  Harriet  B.,  b.  July  4,  1817,  m.  James  Lord,  Nov.  24,  1836. 

Martha  A.,  b.  May  13,  1.S20,  d.  Jan.  11,  1835. 

Leonard,  b.  June  i,  1822,  m.  Ellen  Crosby,  Jan.  9,  1855. 

Major,  b.  Oct.  12,  1824,  m.  Susan  McNalley,  Sept.  14,  1847  ;  d.  in  Clinton,  Feb. 
13,  1881. 

James,  b.  Apr.  13,  1S29,  d.  Nov.  25,  1834. 

Alvin  L.,  b.  June  8,  1831,  drowned  in  Detroit,  Sept.  19,  1833. 

Nahum  Lord  died  Oct.  26,  1846.  His  wife  died  March  12,  1870, 
aged  86. 

James  Lord,  brother  to  Nahum,  was  born  in  1782,  and  came  to 
Gorham  about  the  year  1800.  He  later  resided  in  Readfield,  Hal- 
lowell  and  Wiscasset,  Me.  He  built  a  house  and  mill  in  Detroit,  and 
at  one  time  kept  a  hotel  in  Stillwater.  He  married  Abigail,  daugh- 
ter of  Ephraim  and  Abigail  Hunt  (pub.  Feb.  iS,  1804).     Children: 

Mary  Ann,  b.  1S05,  m.  Hubbard  Nichols. 

Nancy,  b.  1806,  m.  William  Ross. 

Gracey,  b.  1807,  m.  John  Holbrook. 

Sarah,  b.  1809,  m.  Geo.  Sanborn. 

James,  b.  1810,  m.  Harriet  B.  Lord,  dau.  of  Nahum  ;  I'd  in  Dctioit,  Me. 

Charlotte,  b.  1812,  m.  Benjamin  Crawford. 

Abigail,  b.  181 5,  m.  Plumley. 

Augusta,  b.  1819,  m. Janvrin. 

James  Lord  died  at  Lincoln,  Me.,  Jan.  4,  1838. 


GENEALOGY.  643 

Anne  Lord,  sister  of  Nahum  and  James,  married  Austin  Alden, 
April  12,  1814.  They  removed  from  Gorham  to  Pownal.  Their 
eldest  daughter,  Sarah  Alden,  was  educated  in  Gorham.  She  mar- 
ried Simeon  T.  Rice  of  Portland  in  1855,  and  died  in  1869,  being 
buried  in  Gorham. 

(2)  Jeremiah   Lord,   son   of   Nahum,   lived  in   the  ''  heater  piece," 

between  the  County  road  and  the  Gorham  road  to  Scarborough,  near 

what  is  now  known  as  "  Bobadill."     He  kept  a  store  in  the  lower  part 

of  his  dwelling.     The  building  with  its  contents  was  destroyed  by  fire 

in  1 84 1.     After  this  fire  the  family  moved  to  the  eastern  part  of  the 

State.     Mr.  Lord  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Meshach  and   Sarah 

Purinton.     Children  : 

Charlotte  E.,  b.  Feb.  26,  1S32,  d.  Aug.  17,  1855. 

Harriet,  b.  Nov.  5,  1833. 

Sarah  F.,  b.  Feb.  iS,  1836. 

Charles  F.,  b.  Jan.  18,  1838. 

Elice  B.,  b.  Aug.  25,  1840. 

Mary  S.,  b.  Jan.  28,  1843. 

Ivory  Lord  came  to  Gorham  from  Springvale.     He  married,  Nov. 

26,  1834,  Mary  Jane,  daughter  of  John  Crockett.     They  lived  near 

White  Rock  on  the  place  now  owned  by  their  son  John  A.  Lord. 

Children  : 

Hannah  P.,  b.  Oct.  16,  1835,  d.  July  22,  1838. 

Charles  L.,  b.  June  14,  1838,  m.  Frances  Coburn  of  Vt.,  1874. 

Frances  E.,  b.  Dec.  17,  1S40. 

John  A.,  b.  July  7,  1843,  ^-  Alice  J.  Tyler,  1873. 

Sabin  B.,  b.  July  14,  1845,  ^-  Nov.  14,  1863. 

Otis,  b.  Mar.  24,  1851,  d.  Aug.  30,  1867. 

Abbie,  b. ,  d.  young. 

Ivory  Lord  died  May  3,  1891,  aged  80,  and  his  wife,  Jan.  25,  1861, 
aged  45. 

Isaac,  George  and  Samuel  Lord  were  brothers  ;  natives  of  Effing- 
ham, N.  H.,  and  sons  of  Isaac  and  Susan  Lord  of  that  place.  Isaac 
Lord  came  to  Gorham  about  1845,  and  went  into  business  with  his 
brother-in-law,  Rev.  Mr.  Jameson.  He  was  acting  postmaster  at  the 
village  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  married  Frances  Grant,  and 
their  children  were  Elizabeth  F.,  married  Geo.  Sanborn,  and  2d,  Mr. 
Foster;  Anna  G.,  married  Mr.  Lincoln;  Isaac;  and  Frank.  Isaac 
Lord  died  suddenly,  April  24,  1857,  aged  53.  His  wife  died  in 
Boston. 

Samuel  W.  Lord  came  to  Gorham  about  1846-7.  He  was  in  trade 
here  with  Mr.  Jameson,  and  afterwards  formed  a  partnership  with 
James  Mann,  under  the  firm  name  of  Lord  and  Mann.     Their  store 


644  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

was  that  which  was  burned  in  1892  on  the  spot  now  occupied  by  that 

of  F,  H,  Emery.      He  was  postmaster  at  the  village  from  1853  to  '57. 

He  was  also  town  treasurer  in   1853   and   from    1862   to  '65.     Mr. 

Lord  built  the  house  lately  occupied  by  Dr.  Straw  on  Main   St.     He 

married,  Nov.  2,  1842,  Ann,  daughter  of  John  and  Huldah  (Morrell) 

White  of  Windham.     Children,  all  born  in  Gorham,  but  John  who 

was  born  in  Effingham  : 

John,  m.  Frances  Bell  of  Kennebunk ;  2d,  Ella  Mason  of  S.  Boston. 

Charles,  m.  Mary  Warriner  of  Fryeburg. 

Helen  A.,  d.  March  8,  1S50. 

Annie,  m.  Fred  S.  Hawkes  of  Windham  Centre. 

Henry,  m.  Susie  Richardson  of  Boston. 

Samuel,  m.  Louise  Jordan  of  Portland. 

Edwin  A.,  d.  Mar.  28,  1857. 

Fannie,  m.  Loring  Hawkes. 

Edwin,  m.  Lizzie  Moore  of  Boston. 

Frank. 

Samuel  Lord  died  in  Windham  in  1887. 

LOWELL. 

The  Lowells  of  Gorham  claim  descent  from  Percival  Lowell,  who 
emigrated  from  Bristol,  England,  to  Newbury,  Mass.,  in  1639. 

Stephen  Lowell  was  the  son  of  Daniel  and  Mercy  Lowell  and  was 
born  in  Standish,  Sept.  27,  1781.  He  married,  Oct.  19,  1809, 
Wealthy,  daughter  of  Joel  Sawyer  who  was  an  early  settler  in  Gor- 
ham. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lowell  resided  in  Standish  till  about  1829,  when 
they  removed  to  Gorham.  Their  children  were  born  in  Standish. 
Mrs.  Lowell  was  a  worthy  and  consistent  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church  in  Gorham,  and  we  find  the  baptisms  of  her  children 
on  the  church  books,  recorded  by  Rev.  Mr.  Rand.  These  chil- 
dren were  : 

William,  b.  Nov.  17,  1810,  m.  Catherine  Ramsey;  moved  to  Mass. 

Amos,  b.  Feb.  9,  1814,  m.  Caroline  Cutts ;  I'd  in  Mass. 

Mary,  b.  May  14,  1816,  m. Anderson  of  Windham;  2d,  Henry  Broad; 

3d,  Stephen  Brown  of  Limington. 
Elizabeth,  b.  May  14,  1819,  m.  Arthur  M.  Benson,  Dec.  i,  1844. 
George  W.,  b.  Jan.  29,  1822,  m.  Lucy  J.  Landers,  Aug.  5,   1842;  2d,  Sarah  J. 

Lowell. 
Francis,  b.  Sept.  12,  1826,  went  whaling;  was  lost  at  sea. 

Stephen  Lowell  died  at  Gorham  village,  Aug.  7,  1848,  aged  67. 
Mrs.  Lowell  died  Sept.  18,  1859,  aged  71. 

(2)  George  W.  Lowell,  son  of  Stephen,  was  a  builder  and  con- 
tractor, and  designed  a  number  of  dwelling-houses  and  other  build- 
ings in  Gorham.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Lowell  and 
Shackford,  lumber  dealers.  He  married  Lucy  J.  Landers  of  Buck- 
field.     Children : 


GEORGE  W.  LOWELL. 


GENEALOGY.  645 

Lucy  A.,  b.  Mar.  5,  1845,  d.  young. 

Julia  Ella,  b.  Nov.  8,  1847,  d.  Oct.  4,  1881. 

Mrs.  Lucy  J.  Lowell  died  Aug.  17,  1849,  aged  24,  and  Mr.  Lowell 

married,  April  25,  185 1,  Sarah  J.  Lowell  of  Hiram.      Children  : 

Lucy  E..  b.  Feb.  19,  1852,  d.  Nov.  5,  1887. 
Edwin  H.,  b.  Apr.  2,  1855,  d.  June  19,  1855. 
Carrie  F.,  b.  Dec.  26,  1859,  d.  Jan.  8,  1865. 
George  A„  b.  Feb.  13,  1867,  d.  Apr.  2,  1867. 

Mr.  Lowell  died  at  his  residence  on  Main  St.,  April  10,  1897. 

Another  branch  of  the  Lowell  family  came  to  Gorham  from  Hiram, 
about  the  years  1836-40.  They  were  Reuben;  Henry;  Mary  Ann, 
who  married  Daniel  Douglass;  Sarah  J.,  who  married  George  W. 
Lowell ;  and  Rhoda,  who  married  Joseph  Cressey,  Jr.,  children  of 
Reuben  and  Rhoda  (Lord)  Lowell  of  Hiram,  and  grandchildren 
of  Jonathan  K.  Lowell  of  Flintstown  who  married,  Dec.  11.  1783, 
Rachel  Morton. 

Reuben  Lowell,  born  March  18,  18 16.  lived  at  West  Gorham, 
where  he  kept  a  team-tavern  for  several  years  till  the  days  of  rail-  1 
roads  destroyed  the  business  of  teaming.  He  married  Abigail  P., 
daughter  of  Greenleaf  P.  and  Lydia  Watson.  Their  children  were 
Ellen  A.,  Greenleaf,  and  Edward  G.,  who  are  all  dead,  Charles  who 
married  Elizabeth  Bean,  and  Abba  A.,  who  died  young.  Reuben 
Lowell  died  June  7,  1882,  aged  66.  His  wife  died  Oct.  17,  1896, 
aged  80. 

Henry  Lowell,   brother  of  Reuben,   married  Betsey,   daughter  of 

John  Rice  of  Gorham.     They  lived  where  Mr.  Bradbury  now  lives, 

on  the  new  road  to  Saccarappa.     Children  : 

John  R.,  b.  Dec.  2,  1842. 

Sarah  J.,  b.  Oct.  7,  1845,  m.  James  H.  M'erritt  of  Portland,  Oct.  23,  1865. 

Oscar  A.,  b.  Sept.  14,  1847,  d.  young. 

Louis  H.,  b.  July  4,  1852,  m.  Annie  S.  Faulkner  of  Westbrook,  May  2,  1874. 

Mary  L.,  b.  Aug.  22,  1854,  d.  May  22,  i860. 

Herbert  H.,  b.  Feb.  14,  1857,  d.  Aug.  26,  1863. 

Arthur,  b.  Mar.  4,  1859,  d.  young. 

Fred  E.,  b.  Aug.  24,  1861,  d.  July  11,  1880.  (Drowned.) 

Henry  Lowell  died  Nov.  13,  1862,  aged  43,  and  his  wife  Betsey, 
July  10,  1889,  aged  69. 

LOWREY. 

Robert  Lowrey  was  born  in  Belfast,  Ireland.  He  was  a  carpet 
weaver,  and  spent  some  years  at  work  at  this  trade  in  Edinburgh, 
Scotland,  where  he  had  relatives.  He  married  Mary  A.  Neil,  who 
was  born  in  the  Isle  of  Guernsey.    Soon  after  their  marriage  Mr.  and 


646  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Mrs.  Lowrey  came  to  America.  They  lived  for  a  time  in  Northamp- 
ton, Mass.  where  their  eldest  child  was  born.  From  that  place  they 
removed  to  Lowell  where  Mr.  Lowrey  was  employed  in  the  Talbot 
Carpet  Factory.  About  1835  he  moved  to  Gorham  to  become  the 
superintendent  of  the  carpet  factory  which  Gen.  Irish  was  about  put- 
ting in  operation.  Mr,  Lowrey  afterwards  built  a  factory  for  himself, 
on  the  west  side  of  Water  St.,  near  the  house  where  he  then  lived. 
This  house  and  factory  M'ere  burned  in  June,  1844.  When  John 
Tyler  became  President,  Mr.  Lowrey  presented  to  him  a  carpet  of  his 
own  manufacture  with  Tyler's  name  woven  in  the  pattern.  The  Pres- 
ident accepted  the  gift,  invited  the  donor  to  dine  with  him  at  the 
White  House,  gave  him  a  silver  mounted  cane,  and  an  appointment 
in  the  Custom  House  in  Portland.  This  office  he  held  during  Tyler's 
administration.  On  his  return  to  Gorham  he  bought  and  occupied 
the  Dr.  Baxter  house  on  South  St.  During  the  administrations  of 
Pierce  and  Buchanan,  Mr.  Lowrey  held  an  appointment  in  the  Boston 
Custom  House. 

The  children  of  Robert  and  Mary  A.  Lowrey  were  : 

Frances,  b.  Sept.  30,  1825,  m.  Thos.  Mulvey ;  I'd  in  Hollis  ;  d.  leaving  two  dau's. 

Sarah,  b.  July  6,  1827,  d.  unm.  in  Lewiston,  Me. 

James,  b.  Mar.  29,  1830,  d.  Aug.  8,  1841. 

Robert  B.,  b.  Oct.  29,  1832,  d.  Sept.  17,  1856,  in  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Mary  Ann,  b.  June  26,  1834,  d.  in  Lewiston. 

Margaret,  b.  June  2,  1836,  is  a  milliner  in  Portland. 

Julia  A.,  b.  Apr.  21,  1838,  d.  in  Lewiston. 

Jane,  b.  July  14,  1840,  d.  Mar.  7,  1842. 

Ellen  Jennie,  b.  June  18,  1842,  d.  July  9,  1868. 

Elizabeth  T.,  b,  Nov.  9,  1844,  d.  in  Portland,  Apr.,  1901. 

John  N.,  b.  Nov.  27,  1846,  d.  Mar.  3,  1847. 

Mrs.  Lowrey  died  March  4,  1854,  aged  48.     Mr.  Lowrey  died  in 

Augusta. 

MANN. 

William  Mann  came  from  England  with  some  of  the  earlier  settlers 
of  Massachusetts  and  settled  in  Cambridge,  and  married  Mary  Farrel. 
Their  only  child,  Samuel,  born  in  1647,  was  one  of  the  first  students 
of  Harvard.  He  preached  in  Wrentham  forty-seven  years,  and  died 
in  that  town  May  23,  17 19.  Daniel  Mann  was  born  in  Wrentham, 
Mass.,  Feb.  25,  1770,  and  was  probably  the  son  of  Daniel  and  great- 
grandson  of  Samuel  above.  When  a  young  man  he  came  to  Gorham 
where  he  was  for  some  time  engaged  in  teaching.  He  married,  Aug, 
23,  1792,  Hannah,  daughter  of  Decker  and  Hannah  (Hamblen) 
Phinney,  and  lived  on  Fort  Hill  in  the  old  Decker  Phinney  house, 
then  a  one  story  dwelling.    The  graves  still  to  be  seen  in  the  orchard 


GENEALOGY.  647 

on  the  easterly  side  of  the  Fort  Hill  road,  just  south  of  the  residence 

of  Mr.   i'almer,  are  those  of  Decker  Phinney  and  some  members  of 

the  Mann  family.     Children  of  Daniel  and  Hannah  Mann  : 

Edmund,  b.  Jan.  12,  1793,  ™-  ^ally  Gould,  Dec.  31,  181. ]. 
Hannah,  b.  Mar.  2,  1795,  no  record,  prob'y  d.  young. 

Mrs.  Hannah   Mann  died  Aug.  14,  1795,  aged  21,  and   Mr.  MaHn 

married,   Elizabeth,   daughter  of  Gershom  and    Deborah    (Jenkins) 

Hamblen.     Children : 

Daniel,  b.  in  Raymond,  Dec.  26,  1803,  m.  three  times  ;  was  a  physician. 
Hannah  Eliza,  b.  in  Portland, 1806,  m.  M.  F.  Haley  ;  d.  in  Salem,  Mass., 

Aug.  20,  1844. 
Katherine,  b.  in    Portland,  Apr.  9,   1809,  m.  Azariah    Edwards  of   Lincoln  ;  d. 

June,  1870. 
Mary  Hamblen,  b.   in    Portland,   Nov.   21,   1814,  m.   Ivory    K.    Maxwell;  d.   in 

Shrewsbury,  Mass.,  Jan.  12,  1853. 

Daniel  Mann  removed  to  Raymond,  and  thence  to  Portland.  On 
deeds  of  sale  of  his  property  in  Gorham  he  is  styled  "  mariner."  He 
was  at  one  time  engaged  in  the  coasting  trade.  He  was  a  lieutenant 
and  adjutant  in  the  War  of  18 12,  and  died  in  the  service  at  Bufifalo, 
N.  Y.,  in  1S14.  His  wife  Elizabeth  died  in  Lincoln  about  1850.  His 
daughters  Mrs.  Edwards  and  Mrs.  Maxwell  were  authoresses  of  repute. 

(2)  Edmund  Mann,  son  of  Daniel,  filled  many  offices  of  import- 
ance in  town  and  State.  He  was  selectman  for  eight  years,  and 
Representative  to  the  Legislature  in  1829-30.  He  was  a  member  of 
Gov.  Dunlap's  Council,  and  also  County  Commissioner.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Free  Baptist  Church,  and  took  an  active  an(^  promi- 
nent part  in  enlarging  and  improving  the  edifice  which  formerly  stood 
on  Fort  Hill.  He  resided  on  Fort  Hill  in  the  house  formerly 
occupied  by  his  father,  which  he  altered  and  enlarged  to  its  present 
form.      He  married  Sally  Gould,  and  their  children  were  : 

Betsey  P.,  b.  June  21,  1816,  d.  May  10,  1834. 

Hannah,  b.  Dec.  6,  1821,  d.  young. 

r-  )  C  unm.  ;  was  a   Dr.  in   Buffalo;  was  a  Capt.  in   the 

T  /  b.  June  22,  1822,  I       Confederate  army,  and  was  killed  at  Vicksburg. 

James,      i       ■"  '  1        t\.,-  ■        t?    i   \  -kt  o 

}  (  m.  Miriam  P.  Johnson,  Nov.  25,  1841. 

Hannah,  b.  Mar.  13,  1824,  m.  Rev.  Peletiah  liobson,  p.  Mar.  8,  1846. 
Hon.  Edmund  Mann  died  March  8,  1862,  and  his  wife  Sally,  July 
5,  1868,  aged  79. 

(3)  James  Mann,  son  of  Edmund,  lived  for  a  time  on  Fort  Mill  ;  (the 
house  has  since  burned).  He  afterwards  lived  at  the  village  in  the 
house  now  owned  by  Elisha  Douglass,  and  was  engaged  in  trade 
with  Samuel  W.  Lord,  under  the  firm  name  of  Lord  and  Mann. 
He  was   Representative   to   the   Legislature   in    1849-50,   and   State 


G48  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

senator  two  years.     He  was  also  County  Treasurer  in  1862.     In  the 

War  of  the  Rebellion  he  was  appointed  Paymaster  in  the  Union  army. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  he  went  South,  and  was  elected  to  Congress 

from  Louisiana.     His  wife  was  Miriam   F.,  daughter  of  Robert  R. 

Johnson  of  Gorham.      Children  : 

Horace  P.,  b.  Oct.  23,  1843,  m.  Nellie  Colby  of  Gorham. 
James  R.,  b.  Dec.  16,  1851,  m.  Lottie  Torrey  of  Deer  Isle,  Me. 
George  E.,  b.  Aug.  8,  1853,  m.  Florence  Green  of  Newton. 

Hon.  James  Mann  died  in  New  Orleans,  Aug.  26,  1868.  Mrs. 
Mann  died  Jan.  8,  1902. 

MARCH. 

Col.  James  March  was  the  son  of  Col.  Samuel  and  Annah   March 

of  Scarborough,  and  was  born  in  that  town,    Feb.  9,  1769.     When 

but  eleven  years  and  three  months  of  age,  on  May  15,  1780,  he  enlisted 

as  a  fifer  in  Capt.  Jedediah  Goodwin's  company.  Col.  Jos.   Prime's 

Mass.  regiment,  and  served  for  six  months  under  command  of  Brig. 

Gen.  Wadsworth.    About  the  year  1806  he  came  to  Gorham  where  he 

kept  the  "  Bell  Tavern  "  in  the  three  story  brick  house,  afterwards 

known  as  the   "  Gorham   House,"  and   since  burned.     His  mother, 

Mrs.  Annah  March,  died  at  his  home,  Nov.  15,  1815,  aged  84.     July 

9,   1800  Col.   March  was  married  by  the  Rev.  Paul  Coffin  to  Miss 

Sally  Jose  of  Buxton.     Their  children,  the  first  three  of  whom  were 

born  in  Scarborough,  were  : 

Ann,  b.  May  16,  1801,  m.  Capt.  John  Farnham,  Feb.  28,  1825. 

Abigail  M.,  b.  July  5,  1803,  m.  Daniel  Marrett  of  Standish,  Jan.  26,   1825  ;  d. 

Mar.  15,  1856;  he  d.  Dec.  3,  1875. 
Hannah,  b.  Dec.  9,  1805,  m.  Dr.  Wm.  H.  Peabody,  Sept.  9,  1828. 
Sarah  J.,  b.  Dec.  29,  1807,  m.  Col.   Samuel   L.  Valentine  of  Bangor,   Sept.  30, 

1833;  2d,  James  Ginn. 
Maria  M.,  b.  Jan.  21,  1809,  m.  Isaac  C.  Irish,  Sept.  5,  1830. 
Lucinda  P.,b.  Oct.  6,  1812,  m.  John  C.  Proctor  of  Portland,  Apr.  10,  1837. 
Emily  P.,  b.  Nov.  6,  1814,  m.  Charles  Robie,  Sept.  2,  1835. 
Caroline  E.,  b.  July  17,  1822,  m.  Augustus  F.  Gerrish  of  Portland,  Dec.  27,  1848. 

Col.  James  March  died  March  29,  1823,  and  his  wife  Sally,  Aug. 
22,  1863,  aged  83. 

MAYBERRY. 

Richard  Mayberry,  the  first  of  the  name  who  settled  in  Gorham, 
was  a  descendant  of  William  Mayberry,  who  came  to  this  country 
from  Ballemoney,  County  Antrim,  Ireland,  and  settled  in  Windham, 
where  he  died  in  1765.  Richard  was  the  son  of  William  and  Jane 
(Miller)  Mayberry,  and  was  born  in  Windham,  March  18,  1767. 
He   married,   Oct.  22,  1798,    Mary,    daughter    of  Simon  and    Eliza- 


GENEALOGY.  649 

beth  Huston   of  (jorham.      His  home  was  on  the  now  unused  road 

in  the  Horton  district,  known  as  the  Mayberry  road,  and  was  about 

a  half  mile  west  of  the  house  of  William  Cobb,  now  occupied  by 

Isaac  L.  Johnson.     Here  the  remains  of   his  cellar  are  still  to  be 

seen.      Children  : 

Lydia  il.,  b.  Aug.  8,  1799,  '^-  Mills  H.  Brown  of  Scarboro,  Dec.  7,  1834. 
Jane,  b.  Oct.  31,  tSoi,  m.  William  Mayberry  of  Gray,  Oct.  29,  1827. 

Simon,  b.  ,  d.  young. 

Stephen  P.,  b.  Mar.  12,  1804,  drowned  in  Little  river,  June  10,  1S24. 
Maty  Ann,  b.  June  5,  1S06,  d.  Aug.,  1S27. 

Mrs.  Mary  Mayberry  died  Nov.  7,  1826,  aged  55,  and  Mr. 
Mayberry  married  in  1828,  Betsey  Erackett  of  Limington.  Child  : 
Sarah  Ann. 

Richard  Mayberry  died  Jan.  13,  1853,  aged  87. 

Jefferson   Mabry,   son   of  Abraham  and  Ann   Maberry,   was  born 

in  Standish,   Jan.   30,    18 14.      He   lived   at  Great   Falls,   and    was   a 

lumberman   and  trader.      In    1841  he  married  Lucretia,  daughter  of 

Col.  Clark  Swett.     Children  : 

Martha  E.,  b.  Nov.  1 1,  1 843. 

Charles  H.,  b.  Sept.  13,  1845. 

Georgiana,  b.  Aug.  14,  1847,  m.  Charles  Nason,  d.  Apr.  23,  1875. 

Enoch,  b.  Aug.  17,  1849,  m.  .Susan  Dole;   2d,  Augusta  E.  Sprague. 

Ella  F.,  b.  June  14,  1854,  d.  July  29,  1855. 

Fannie  A.,  b.  June  28,  1863,  m.  Edward  Moses. 

Mr.  Maybeny  died  Dec.  30,  187  i.  and  his  wife,  July  3,  1885. 

Henry  Mayberry  came  from  Windham  in  1849  to  Gorham,  where 

he  lives  at  Great  Falls.     He  is  a  blacksmith.     In  1879,  '80  and  '81 

Mr.  Mayberry  was  one  of  the  board  of  selectmen  of  Gorham.      He 

married   Elizabeth  A.  Bennett  of  New  Gloucester.     Children  : 

Charles  Fred.  b.  Jan.  13,  1850,  is  Prof,  of  Chemistry  in  Case  School  of  Applied 

Sciences,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 
Emma,  b.  1856,  m.  John  Dowling  of  Bridgeport,  Conn. 
Cora  J.,  b.  i860,  d.  May  8,  1S76. 
Geo.  W.,b.  1862,  d.  Mar.  4,  1868. 

McCORRISON. 

Our  old  records  have  the  name  as  McCallister.  Whether  this  is 
the  right  spelling  or  not  we  do  not  say,  but  this  we  do  say,  that 
there  are  many  names  on  the  old  records  which  differ  surprisingly 
from  the  present  mode  of  writing  them.  We  find  this  name  writ- 
ten McCallister,  McCullister,  McCollister,  McCuUison  and  McCorson. 
The  latter  was  the  usual  name  the  Rev.  James  affixed  to  the  marriage 
certificates  he  returned  to   the   town   clerk ;    but  the  descendants  of 


650  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

William,  after  using  various  spellings,  have  finally  settled  down  on 
McCorrison,  by  which  name  the  numerous  members  of  the  family  are 
known  throughout  the  country;  which  name  we  shall  adopt  in  this 
notice. 

William  McCorrison  was  one  of  the  early  inhabitants  of  Narragan- 
sett  No.  7,  or  Gorhamtown,  and  was  one  of  those  who,  with  his 
family,  lived  in  the  old  fort  during  the  Indian  war  of  1746.  Of  his 
ancestors  we  know  nothing.  His  family  claim  that  they  are  English, 
but  it  will  be  seen  that  he  was  a  Mar.  Hence  it  appears  very  prob- 
able that  his  ancestors  were  either  Scotch  or  Irish.  His  name  does 
not  appear  on  the  old  Proprietors'  Records,  but  this  is  no  proof 
of  his  not  being  an  owner  of  land  and  an  inhabitant.  A  proprietor 
purchased  his  right  by  the  number  of  the  right,  with  all  the  after  divis- 
ions of  land  thereto  pertaining,  which  would  include  his  first  thirty 
acre  lot,  which  bore  the  number  of  his  right,  to  which  number  would 
be  drawn  an  hundred  acre  lot,  and  a  seventy  acre  lot ;  then  he  owned 
his  share  in  all  the  gores,  strips  and  other  common  land  within  the 
town.  A  person  was  not  called  a  proprietor,  by  simply  purchasing  a 
piece  of  land,  unless  the  settler  conveyed  his  right  as  proprietor  in 
all  the  after  divisions.  We  have  proof  that  William  McCorrison 
cleared  land  and  built  a  house  here,  although  he  may  never  have 
completed  a  purchase  of  land  in  Gorham  ;  for  in  a  Proprietors'  tax  to 
raise  the  sum  of  £6c^  lawful  money,  to  pay  the  debts  of  the  proprie- 
tary, including  the  balance  due  the  Rev.  Solomon  Lombard  in  the 
final  settlement ;  to  build  Little  river  bridge,  and  to  repair  roads, 
his  name  is  not  found.  The  first  tax  we  find  assessed  to  him  is  in  the 
County  rates  for  1763,  where  he  is  taxed  with  two  polls,  with  no  real 
estate  or  personal  property.  One  of  these  polls  was  for  his  son,  who 
must  have  been  between  sixteen  and  twenty-one  years  of  age.  By 
reference  to  the  Old  Colony  laws,  it  will  be  seen  that  poll  taxes  were 
assessed  on  all  males,  except  Church  Elders  and  magistrates ;  minors 
between  sixteen  and  twenty-one  to  be  assessed  to  their  parents  or 
guardians.  Mr.  McCorrison's  name  does  not  appear  in  the  bills  for 
1772,  or  after  that  time. 

We  do  not  know  where  or  to  whom  William  McCorrison  was  mar- 
ried. It  is  probable  he  came  into  town  with  a  family,  or  at  least 
with  a  wife.  There  was  a  Mary,  who  married  William  Irish,  July  18, 
1765  ;  Elizabeth,  who  married  a  Gershom  Davis,  Dec.  26,  1779,  and 
James,  who  married  Deliverance  Rich ;  consequently  we  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  William  had  at  least  three  children,  all  probably  born 
here;  whether  he  had  more  we  cannot  say.     When  or  where  William 


GENEALOGY.  651 

or  his  wife  died  we  can  find  no  record,  nor  have  we  been  able  to  find 
any  tradition  touching  the  fact. 

(2)  James  McCorrison,  who  was  a  prominent  Free  Will  Baptist 
preacher  of  the  old  style,  was  the  son  of  William.  He  was  born  in 
the  old  fort,  on  Fort  Hill.  Of  the  time  we  have  no  record,  but  some 
say  it  was  March  4,  1750.  It  is  more  probable  that  he  was  born 
about  the  year  1747.  From  a  careful  examination  and  comparison 
of  dates,  we  think  Maiy  was  born  in  1745,  James  about  1747.  and 
Elizabeth  in  1758,  or  near  to  these  dates.  Report  says  James  was 
married  when  about  seventeen  or  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  if  we 
add  eighteen  years  to  the  date  of  his  birth,  it  would  have  him  mar- 
ried in  1765,  and  at  his  death  he  would  have  been  not  far  from  73 
years  of  age.  James  married,  Oct.  6,  1765,  Deliverance,  daughter 
of  Lemuel  Rich,  who  came  to  Gorham  about  1762.  The  children  of 
James  and  Deliverance  McCorrison  were  : 

Lemuel,  b.  Aug.  28,  1767,  m.  Mehitable  Richardson  of  Standish,  Dec.  6,  1792. 

Amos,  b.  June  16,  1769. 

James,  Jr.,  b.  Oct.  11,  1771,  m.  Dorcas  Bracket!  of  Falmouth,  Feb.  19,  1801. 

Mary,  b.  Jan.  i,  1774. 

Patience,  b.  Feb.  22,  1776. 

Beity,  b.  Oct.  27,  1779,  ^-  Ebenezer  Hamblen,  Jr.,  Jan.  23,  1799. 

When   Deliverance  died  we  do  not  know,  but  in    1782,  Jan.  31, 

James  married   Mary  Flood  of  Portland,  a  sister  of  Edmund  Flood, 

late  of  Buxton,  near  Groveville.     By  her  he  had  : 

Benjamin,  b.  Jan.  10,  1783,  m.  Abigail  Richardson  of  Standish,  .Sept.  8,  1805. 

Hannah,  b.  Sept.  17,  1784. 

Rebecca,  b.  Apr.  4,  17S6. 

Mary,  b.  Feb.  16,  1789,  m.  a  Knight. 

Nabby,  b.  Feb   13,  1791. 

Isaac,  b.  Jan.  13,  1794. 

Daniel,  b.  Jan.  26,  1796. 

Joseph,  b.  July  6,  1798. 

Sarah,  b.  Sept.  7,  1800. 

After  Mr.  McCorrison's  marriage  with  Deliverance  Rich  he  pur- 
chased a  part  of  the  hundred  acre  lot,  8r,  next  north  of  that  part 
purchased  by  John  Watson,  and  built  himself  a  house  as  he  thought 
on  his  own  lot.  This  was  before  the  roads  in  that  part  of  the  town 
were  located.  \\'hen  the  road  from  Watson's  corner,  running  north- 
erly toward  West  Gorham,  was  opened,  he  found  his  farm  on  the 
west  and  his  house  on  the  east  side  of  the  road.  By  this  arrange- 
ment he  was  either  obliged  to  move  his  house,  or  purchase  a  house- 
lot.  He  took  the  latter  course,  and  bought  a  small  lot  from  No.  80. 
His  house  stood  opposite  where  the  house  of  the  late  Joseph  Gilkey 
now  stands,  and  where  his  old  cellar  is  to  be  seen.     When  he  made 


652  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

his  clearing  and  built  his  house  it  was  the  most  northwesterly  of  any 
in  town.  Mr.  Watson  had  not  at  that  time  built  on  the  southerly 
end  of  the  lot.  At  this  time  the  old  fort  was  standing,  and  a  part  of 
it  used  for  public  worship,  and  being  no  longer  of  use  for  defensive 
purposes,  it  had  several  rooms  which  could  be  had  rent  free.  They 
were  often  used  by  the  settlers  till  they  could  put  up  houses  on  their 
lots.  One  of  these  rooms  is  said  to  have  been  occupied  by  Mr. 
McCorrison  and  his  wife  for  a  short  time.  The  road  running  westerly 
from  the  Fort  Hill  road  between  the  land  now  owned  by  Archelaus 
L.  Hamblen  and  Mr.  Dyer,  past  where  Moses  Whitney  and  John 
Cressey  formerly  lived,  and  where  Charles  Cressey  has  more  recently 
resided,  on  to  the  saw  mill  which  stood  on  the  falls  below  what  is 
now  known  as  Stephenson's  bridge,  is  a  very  old  road,  and  is  said 
to  have  been  used  before  the  road  running  northerly  from  where 
Samuel  Cressey  recently  lived  to  the  saw  mill,  was  laid  out.  McCor- 
rison's  usual  track  from  the  fort  to  his  lot  was  across  lots  to  John 
Cressey's,  thence  westerly  down  the  hill  to  the  mill,  thence  through 
the  dark  hole,  so  called,  to  his  land.  He  must  have  been  a  man  of 
some  energy,  for  we  find  him  in  1772,  probably  four  years  after  he 
became  of  age,  possessed  of  but  little  real,  or  personal  estate,  and 
with  three  children  on  hand;  and  in  the  year  1780  he  had  increased 
in  worldly  goods  to  a  respectable  standing,  and  a  family  of  six  chil- 
dren, and  was  taxed  for  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  land, 
one  house,  one  barn,  one  horse,  one  colt,  two  oxen,  two  cows,  four 
young  cattle,  and  ten  sheep  ;  cut  twelve  tons  of  hay,  and  had  fifty- 
six  acres  of  tillage  ;  this  would  certainly  indicate  that  he  was  a  large 
cultivator  of  the  soil,  and  one  who  attended  well  to  his  business. 

Mr.  McCorrison  was  from  his  youth,  (so  says  our  informer,  who 
was  a  very  near  connection  of  his,)  a  very  moral  and  upright  man, 
early  impressed  with  religious  views,  but  could  not  make  his  ideals 
conform  to  the  standard  of  the  times.  His  belief  was  that  religion 
should  be  of  a  free  and  easy  kind  ;  that  the  teacher  needed  no  edu- 
cation, and  that  religion  should  be  under  no  restraint  of  forms  and 
ceremonies.  He  thought  that  God  would  give  utterance  and  find 
words  for  his  preachers  as  they  went  along  whether  they  were  ignorant 
or  learned  ;  that  religious  preaching  and  teaching  should  never  be 
paid  for ;  as  they  were  doing  God's  work,  he  would  abundantly 
provide  for  his  ministers  ;  and  that  a  paid  clergy  were  an  abomina- 
tion, and  the  hirelings  of  the  devil.  He  was  particularly  down  on 
the  old  standing  order,  and  the  learned  clergy,  and  the  payment  of 
the  ministerial  tax.      He  was  one  of  the  Come-outers,  as  they  were 


GENEALOGY.  653 

called.  But  with  all  this,  Mr.  McCorrison  was  an  honest  citizen, 
doing  what  he  conscientiously  thought  to  be  right,  according  to  the 
good  book,  as  he  believed  its  teachings  to  be.  He  died  in  Buxton, 
Oct.  14,  1820. 

McDonald. 

The  McDonalds,  or  McDaniels,  as  the  name  was  often  called, 
came  to  this  countiy  from  Glencoe,  Scotland,  and  landed  on  Cape 
Cod.  John  McDonald  probably  went  to  Wells  in  1726.  He  was  in 
the  war  against  the  Indians;  and  finally  came  to  Gorham,  where  he 
settled  in  the  western  part  of  the  town,  on  a  farm  adjoining  that  of 

the  late   William   Warren.      He   married  Susanna ,  and  had 

six  children  of  whom  we  have  record,  the  three  eldest  of  whom 
were  probably  born  in  \'ork  : 

John,  Jr.,  b. ,  m.  Joanna  Rounds  of  l-iuxton,  Feb.  25,  1762. 

Robert,  b.  Jan.  8,  1744,  m.  Mary  Kendrick,  July  i,  1770. 

Mary,  b.  May  10,  1746. 

Joseph,  b.  Sept.  3,  1748,  m.  Sarah  Towel,  p.  JSTov.  16,  1776. 

Peletiah,  b.  May  2,  1754,  m.  Elizabeth ;   2d,  Dorcas  Stuart. 

Abner,  b. ,  m.  Polly  Wiswell  of  Falmouth,  p.  July  21,  1781.  Ch  :  Wil- 
liam, b.  Mar.  13,  17S2;  Dorcas,  b.  Apr.  26,  1785;  Sally,  b.  Sept.  16, 
1787  ;  Enoch,  b.  Sept.  11,  1790. 

John  McDonald  died  on  his  farm  May  9,  1768. 

(2).  Robert  McDonald,  son  of  John,  married  Mary  Kendrick  of 
Pepperellborough,  now  Saco.      Children  : 

Samuel  M.,  b.  Jan.  28,  1771,  m.  Anna  Whitten,  Dec.  25,  1794;  I'd  in  Standish 

and  Chatham. 
John,  b.  Apr.  6,  1773,  settled  in  Limerick;   State  Senator  five  years;   Maj.  Gen. 

of  militia  ;  was  father  of  Moses  McDonald,  late  member  of  Congress, 

and  Collector  for  Dist.  of  Portland. 
Robert,  b   May  3,  1775,  I'd  in  Standish  ;  was  drowned. 
Abner.  b.  Jan.  14,  1778,  m.  Elizabeth  (Dyer)   Choat,  dau.  of  Capt.  Jonah   Dyer, 

June  28,   rSot.     Child:  Charles,  b.  Jan.  29,   1802,  m.  Elizabeth    Dyer. 

prob.  went  to  the  Provinces.     Capt.  Abner  McDonald  I'd  in   Buxton  ;  d. 

about  1803  ;  his  widow  m..  May  18,  1804,  David  H.  Bradley. 
Miriam,  b.  Jan.  21,  1782. 

Benoni,  b.  Jan.  28,  1785,  m.  Hannah  Emery  of  Buxton  ;  I'd  in  Hiram. 
.Susan,  b. ,  m.  Robert  Usher;  2d,  Seth  Hamblen  of  Limington. 

Robert  McDonald  died  in  Limerick. 

(2)  Joseph  McDonald,  son  of  John,  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers 

in    the   northeast  part  of  the  town.       In    1779   he  took  part  in   the 

15agaduce  expedition,  being  a  corporal  in  Capt.  McLellan's  company. 

He  married  Sarah  Towel.     She  was  the  daughter  of  Thomas  and 

Lydia  Towel,  and  was  born  in   Falmouth,  Dec.  27,  1752.      Children  : 

James,  b.  ,  m.  Rachel  Webb,  Jan.  20,  1S03. 

John,  b.  1782,  m.  Betsey  Jordan  of  Poland;  d.  in  Standish,  Apr.  8,  1857;  she, 
Apr.  8,  18S0,  ag.  93  y'rs. 


654  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Charles,  b.  ,  m.  Abigail  Morse  of  Gray  ;  d.  in  Windham. 

Joseph,  b.  1788,  m.  Dolly  Shaw,  June  30,  181 1. 

Stephen,  b. ,  was  in  War  of  1812  ;  d.  in  Sandy  Hill,  N.  Y.,  in  1828. 

Joseph  McDonald  died  in  1815,  and  was  buried  in  the  graveyard 
near  the  site  of  the  old  church  at  White  Rock.  Mrs.  McDonald  died 
Sept.  14,  1828. 

(2 )  Peletiah  McDonald,  son  of  John,  lived  at  West  Gorham.     He 

was   a   soldier  of  the    Revolution.      He    married    Elizabeth  . 

Children  on  record  were  : 

William,  b.  at  Fort  Putnam,  N.  Y.,  Apr.  3,  1779. 

Eleanor,  b.  at  Gorham,  June  14,  17S5,  m.  Benoni  Wood,  Apr.  4,  1807. 

Mr.  McDonald  married,  Aug.  17,  1787,  Dorcas,  daughter  of 
Wentworth  Stuart.  After  this  marriage  he  lived  in  Standish,  where 
other  children  were  born  :  Randolph,  died  at  sea  about  1 805  ;  Edmund  ; 
Catherine,  married  Robert  Nason  of  HoUis ;  George,  I'd  at  Bonny 
Eagle;  Joanna,  married  Wm.  R.  Sturgis  of  Gorham;  Mary;  Francis; 
Stuart;  John,  and  Abner,  who  married  Eunice  Shaw,  and  second, 
Esther  McDonald.  Peletiah  McDonald  died  near  Bonny  Eagle,  Aug. 
31,  1841,  and  his  wife  Dorcas,  March  3,  1847,  ^ged  80. 

(3)  James  McDonald,  son  of  Joseph,  kept  a  hotel  at  Windham 
Upper  Corner.  He  married  Rachel,  daughter  of  Eli  and  Sarah 
Webb.      Children : 

James,  b.  July  23,  1S03,  ni.  Abigail,  dau.  of  James  G.,  and  Molly  Sturgis,  July 
18,  1826.  Ch  :  Martha  E.,  b.  Sept.  20,  1S28,  d.  Sept.  20,  1832  ;  Frances 
O.,  b.  Aug.  6,  1829,  d.  Feb.  28,  1836;  James  G.,  b.  Oct.  3,  1832  ;  .Sidney 
S.,  b.  Nov.  24,  1834,  m.  Mary  H.  Bayley  of  Peru,  Feb.  5,  1854,  d.  Oct.  i, 
1855;  vSarah  E.,  b.  July  20,  1837;  Mary  A.,  b.  July  23,  1839;  Susan  S., 
b.  June  9,  1841,  d.  June  4,  1846.  James  McDonald,  Jr.,  I'd  near  the 
White  Rock  church;  d.  Oct.  i,  1870,  and  his  wife  Abigail,  Mar.  2,  1890. 

Betsey,  b.  June  16,  1805,  d.  June  30,  182S. 

EU,  b.  Aug.  8,  1807. 

Abner,  b.  Jan.  6,  1810. 

Edward,  b.  Jan.  29,  1812. 

Thomas,  b.  Oct.  12,  1814. 

Sally,   b.  Jan.  14,  1817. 

Mary  Ann,  b.  July  19,  1820. 

Mr.  McDonald  died  at  North  Windham. 

(3)  Joseph  McDonald,  son  of  Joseph,  was  for  many  years  collector 

of  taxes  in  Gorham.     He  lived  in   the  north  part  of  the  town  on  a 

farm  in  the  McDonald  district,  so  called.     He  married  Dolly  Shaw  of 

Standish.     Children  : 

Edmund  S.,  b.  Aug.  25,  1812. 

Esther  P.,  b.  Mar.  10,  1S14,  m.  Nov.  17,  1853,  Abner  McDonald,  (2d  wife)  ;  I'd 

in  Standish. 
Alvah.  b.  Nov.  4,  i8r6,  m.  Hannah  Harmon,  1844. 
Joseph,  b.  May  10,  1819,  m.  Rose;  I'd  in  Mass. 


GENEALOGY.  655 

Marshall,  b.  Aug.  ii,  1822,  m.  Anna  A.  Fickett,  Aug.  21,  1S52  ;  d.  in   Portland, 
July  8,  1896. 

Zebulon,  b. ,  d.  young. 

Enoch  8.,  b.  Sept.  17,  1829,  m.  Sarah  Thomes  of  Harrison. 

William  F.,  b. ,  d.  young. 

Frances  A.,  b.  Mar.  31,  1835,  m.  John  Iliggins  of  Standish  Neck. 

Mrs.  McDonald  died  March  31,  1845,  aged  53,  and  Mr.  McDonald 
married  in  1846,  Mrs.  Agnes  (Moulton)  Harding,  widow  of  William 
Harding.     Joseph  McDonald  died  Nov.  4,  1854. 

Charles  ATcDonald  was  probably  a  brother  to  John  McDonald,  Sr. 
He  owned  the  thirty  acre  lot,  53,  which  lot  he  exchanged  with  John 
Cressey  for  a  farm  west  of  Little  river,  near  where  David  Warren 
lived.  Dea.  Alden  in  his  diary  records  the  marriage  of  Charles 
"  McDaniels."  He  married  in  Gorham,  Jan.  21,  1762,  Priscilla  Davis 
of  Gorham,  probably  the  daughter  of  Capt.  Simon  and  Priscilla 
(Hamblen)  Davis  of  Barnstable,  and  sister  to  the  first  wife  of  Zeph- 
aniah  Harding.  Mr.  McDonald  was  a  private  in  Capt.  McLellan's 
company,  Col.  Mitchell's  regiment,  and  took  part  in  the  Bagaduce 
expedition,  in  the  Revolution.     Children  : 

Meribah,  b.  Nov.  21,  1763,  ni.  Cornelius  Bramhall,  Feb.  28,  1788. 

Susanna,  b.  July  21,  1766. 

Nancy,  b.  Aug.  10,  1769,  m.  William  Dyer,  Oct.  11,  1792. 

Simon  Davis,  b.  Aug.  19,  1773,  m.  July  16,  1800,  Betty,  prob.  dau.  of  Benjamin 

and  Sarah  Brown.     One  child  recorded,  Joseph  Brown,  b.  Sept.  19,  1801. 

Simon  D.  McDonald  was  a  "mariner."     He  owned  a  part  of  the  hundred 

acre    lot,    64,  on    the    Flaggy    Meadow  road,  where  he  probably  lived. 

This  he  sold  July  8,  1802,  to  Joseph  Cressey. 
Jacob,  b.  Nov.  14,  1775,  m.  Betsey  Morse  (?)  of  Gray,  p.  Sept.  17,  1799. 
Charles,  b.  May  16,  1777. 
Joseph,  b.  Nov.  23,  1779. 
Mary,  b.  Jan.  26,  1782. 
Elizabeth,  b.  Nov.  24,  1785. 

McDOUGALL. 

David  McDougall  was  born  in  Stroudwater.  about  the  year  1763  or 
I  764.  He  w-as  the  son  of  James  and  Mary  (Patrick)  McDougall.  We 
do  not  know  how  much  of  a  family  there  was,  but  David  had  a 
brother  James.  Their  father,  who  was  Scotch,  died  in  Stroudwater, 
when  David  was  a  lad.  He  and  his  widowed  mother  were  living  in 
(jorham  in  1779,  for  at  that  time  he,  with  the  consent  of  his  mother, 
bound  himself  as  an  apprentice,  to  Cary  McLellan.  I  lis  mother,  Mrs. 
Mary  McDougall,  was  a  cousin  to  Charles  Patrick,  the  mason,  who 
came  to  Gorham  from  Stroudwater  in  1776.  She  died  in  Gorham 
Feb.  I,  18 1 5,  aged  72.  David  McDougall  lived  on  the  farm  lately 
owned  by  Charles  Cushman,  near  the  Buxton  line.  He  married  Dec. 
20,   1786,  Anna,  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Mary  Elder.     She  died  July 


656  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

5,  1 79 1,  aged  26,  leaving  no  children,  and  he  married,  Jan.  11,  1794, 
Phebe,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Phebe  (Freeman)  Paine,  born  in 
Eastham,  Mass.,  March  23,  1771.     Their  children  were: 

Anna,  b.  Dec.  ii,  1794,  m.  Nathaniel  Hatch,  p.  Apr.  10,  1812. 

Thomas,  b.  Dec.  2,  1795,  d.  young. 

William,  b.  Mar.  i,  1797,  m.  Isabella  Melcher  of  Brunswick.  Two  ch  :  one  of 
whom  d.  y. ;  the  other,  Rev.  Edward  JMcDougall,  I's  in  Milton,  Florida. 
William  McDougall  died  in  Alabama.  Both  he  and  his  brother, 
Thomas,  were  graduates  of  Bowdoin  College. 

Thomas,  b.  Oct.  2,  1799,  went  to  Alabama,  when  a  young  man,  as  an  instructor 
in  Greek  and  Latin.     He  d.  there,  unm. 

David,  b.  Dec.  27,  1S02,  m.  Minerva  Garland;  went  to  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  when 
it  had  but  twenty-three  inhabitants  ;  d.  at  Kenosha,  Wis. ;  no  ch. 

Mary,  b.  Sept.  8,  1803,  d.  July  26,  1805. 

James,  b.  Apr.  13,  1805,  m.  Ann  L.  Tucker  of  Standish,  Sept.  12,  1835.  Ch.  b. 
in  Gorham:  Mary  Ann,  b.  Apr.  lo,  1836,  m.  Henry  Hills  of  Sheboygan 
Falls,Wis.,  1862;  Phebe  P.,  b.  Julys,  1838,  m.  Elisha  P.  Day  of  Nevin- 
ville,  Iowa,  i860,  d.  in  N.  in  1861 ;  David,  b.  Jan.  8,  1841,  d.  in  the  army 
hospital  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  in  1865,  unm.  James  McDougall  I'd  for 
some  years  in  Gorham  on  the  old  place  ;  then  moved  to  Nevinville,  Iowa, 
in  1857,  where  he  d.  in  1874  ;  his  wife  d.  at  Sheboygan  Falls,  Wis.,  in 
1888. 

Mary,  b.  Apr.  22,  1807,  m.  Chas.  Wilder  of  Me  ;  d.  in  Mich. 

Hannah,  b.  Feb.  9,  1809,  m.  Rev.  C.  O.  Libby,  May  21,  1834. 

David  McDougall  died  Jan.  3,  1849,  aged  85  ;  Mrs.  Phebe 
McDougall  died  Feb.  16,  1839,  aged  68. 

McINTOSH. 

James  Mcintosh  was  a  Scotchman.  It  is  probable  that  Jane, 
Sophia,  Catherine,  and  Polly  Mcintosh  were  his  sisters  :  Jane  married 
Asa  liatch,  Dec.  9,  1792  ;  Sophia  married  Dudley  Whitmore,  Nov. 
24,  1796;  Catherine  married  Dennis  Mulloy,  Oct.  2,  1796;  Polly 
married  Benjamin  Patrick,  March  27,  1796. 

James  Mcintosh  married,  March  13,  1798,  Peggy  Patrick,  daugh- 
ter of  Charles  and  Mehitable,  and  sister  of  Benjamin  Patrick.  His 
farm  was  on  the  new  road  to  Saccarappa,  just  east  of  the  Mulloy 
place.      Children  : 

Ann,  b.  May  22,  1800,  m.  Nicholas  M.  Knight ;  was  burned  to  death. 

William,  b.  July  22,  1802,  m. ;  d.  in  Gorham,  June  22,  1840. 

John,  b.  Oct.  9,  1805. 

Catherine,  b.  Mar.  21,   1808,  m.  Ephraim  Rounds,  July    14,   1835;    2d,  Wm. 

Johnson  of  Bangor. 
James,  b.  Aug.  9,  1810,  d.  Aug.  20,  1842. 
Stephen,   I  ^    t-,         q      q  i  *^-  unm.  in  Gorham  in  i88r. 

Charles,    (  °-  ^^'^-  '^'  ^^'4.     1  j„   yAIzh  Mitchell ;  I'd  in  Portland. 
Mary,  b.  July  18,  1816,  m.  Dr.  Wadlelgh  ;  I'd  in  Bangor. 

Margaret,  b. ,  m.  A.  Hutchins. 

George,  b.  June  9,  1820,  m.  Plarriet  Mulloy.     He  d.   Feb.   15.  1S57,  and  his 

widow  m.  2d,  Chas.  Roberts. 

Jam,es  Mcintosh  died  June  8,  185 1,  aged  83.  His  wife  Peggy 
died  March  4,  1863. 


GENEALOGY.  657 

McKENNEY. 

The  family  of  McKenney  is  of  Scotch  origin.  It  is  claimed  that 
the  name  is  only  another  form  of  McKenzie,  and  that  the  McKenneys 
are  a  branch  of  that  clan.  It  seems  probable,  that  John  McKenney, 
who  was  in  Scarborough  as  early  as  1668,  and  who  was  the  first  of 
the  name  of  whom  we  have  certain  record  in  this  part  of  the  country, 
is  identical  with  John  McKanne,  whose  name  is  found  in  a  list  of 
Scotch  prisoners  captured  at  the  battle  of  Dunbar,  and  who  came  to 
America  about  1651. 

David  Hasty  McKenney,  or  as  he  always  chose  to  write  his  name, 
McKenny,  was  of  the  sixth  generation  from  John  of  Scarborough. 
His  grandparents  Humphrey  and  Elizabeth  (Small)  McKenney,  were 
among  the  first  settlers  of  the  plantation  of  New  Ossipee,  now  Lim- 
ington.  He  was  the  youngest  child  of  Dominicirs  and  Mary  (Hasty) 
McKenney,  and  was  born  in  Limington,  Oct.  23,  1813.  When  about 
eighteen  years  of  age,  he  came  to  Gorham,  and  learned  the  trade  of 
tanning  and  shoemaking,  then  carried  on  here  by  Gen.  James  Irish, 
at  which  trade  he  worked  for  two  or  three  years.  Afterwards  he 
engaged  in  the  business  of  carpet-making,  at  first  with  Edward 
McDonald,  and  afterwards  on  his  own  account.  The  three-story 
building  at  the  junction  of  Main  and  Portland  Sts.,  was  built  by  him 
for  a  carpet  factory.  Originally  it  faced  on  Main  St.,  but  was  turned 
partly  around  when  it  was  converted  into  a  dwelling  house.  Con- 
nected with  this  was  another  large  building,  since  removed,  which 
was  used  for  a  dye-house.  The  house  next  east,  now  called  the 
Odiorne  house,  was  built  by  Mr.  McKenney  for  his  residence.  After 
discontinuing  the  business  of  carpet-making,  he  spent  two  years  in 
farming  in  Wisconsin,  and  several  years  in  the  manufacture  of  agri- 
cultural tools  in  Worcester,  Mass.,  to  which  latter  place  he  removed 
his  family.  Returning  to  Gorham,  in  1867,  he  bought  the  Boynton 
place,  so  called,  in  the  easterly  part  of  the  village.  In  this  home  he 
passed  his  declining  years,  dying  Feb.  27,  1893.  He  married,  July 
6,  1841,  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Samuel  McLellan.  Their  children 
were  : 

Sarah  Louise,  b.  June  8,  1846,  d.  Aug.  25,  1849. 

Howard  Augustus,  b.  July  15,  1848,  m.  Alice  I.  West  of  Brandon,  Vt.,  June  16, 

1874;  occupies  the  family  home  on  Main  St. ;  has  been  for  many  years  a 

member  of  the  school  committee  of  the  town. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  McKenney  were  early  and  active  supporters  of  the 
M.  E.  Church  in  this  village.  They  were  earnest  workers  for  the  erec- 
tion of  the  original  church  on   High   St.,  contributing   liberally  for 


658  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

that  purpose,  besides  paying  the  first  hundred  dollars  needed  to 
secure  the  lot  upon  which  to  build  it.  Mrs.  McKenney  died  March 
7,  1892,  aged  nearly  76. 

McLELLAN. 

The  McLellans  of  Gorham  are  descended  from  Hugh  and  Elizabeth 
McLellan,  whose  children  intermarried  with  those  of  Bryce  McLellan 
of  Portland,  and  James  McLellan  of  Saco.  James  was  a  brother  and 
Bryce  a  cousin  to  Hugh.  Hugh  and  Elizabeth  were  born  and  mar- 
ried in  County  Antrim,  in  the  north  of  Ireland.  Bryce  McLellan, 
the  ancestor  of  the  Portland  branch  of  the  family,  came  to  this 
country  several  years  before  Hugh,  and  settled  first  in  Wells,  where 
he  owned  land  July,  1720,  and  where  several  of  his  children  were 
born  and  christened.  He  moved  from  that  place  to  Cape  Elizabeth, 
and  about  the  year  1730  to  Falmouth  Neck. 

Hugh  was  the  .son  of  Hugh,  and  Elizabeth  was  the  daughter  of 
Cary  McLellan.  Their  families  were  remotely  connected,  and  were 
descended  from  Sir  Hugh  McLellan  of  Argyle,  Scotland,  who  was 
knighted  in  15 15.  This  branch  of  the  McLellans  migrated  from 
Scotland  (probably  the  southern  part  of  Ross,  where  the  name  is  still 
numerous)  to  the  north  of  Ireland,  with  a  colony  of  Scotch,  some 
seventy  or  a  hundred  years  previous  to  the  coming  to  America  of 
Hugh  and  Elizabeth. 

In  the  year  1733  with  their  first  child,  William,  they  sailed  from 
Londonderry,  and  after  a  rough,  stormy  passage  of  two  months 
arrived  m  Boston.  On  their  voyage  another  child  was  born  to  them, 
who  died  in  infancy.  From  Boston  they  went  to  York,  Me. ;  thence 
to  Wells,  where  they  purchased  land  and  remained  for  a  time,  but 
their  farm  proving  to  be  poor  and  unproductive,  they  disposed  of  it 
and  went  to  Saco,  where  Hugh's  brother  James  lived.  From  Saco 
they  went  to  Falmouth,  where  Hugh  had  a  sister.  Here  they  lived 
on  Moses  Pearson's  farm  at  Back  Cove,  but  fearing  Indian  depreda- 
tions, moved  to  Falmouth  Neck.  While  living  on  the  Neck,  Hugh 
purchased  a  grantee's  right  of  land  in  Narragansett  No.  7,  which 
right  consisted  of  two  hundred  acres.  For  this  grant  he  paid  ten 
pounds,  which  was  all  the  money  he  had.  The  deed  was  given 
by  Shubael  Gorham,  Aug.  10,  1739.  They  took  little  with  them 
besides  a  cow,  a  horse,  and  a  few  household  goods.  It  was  a  wild- 
almost  uninhabited  region  for  which  they  started  ;  but  as  they  were 
endowed  with  bold  hearts  and  industrious  hands,  and  trusted  in  God, 
there  was  nothing  to  deter  them  from  their  undertaking.     They  moved 


GENEALOGY.  059 

up  in  the  winter  of  1738-9,  and  at  first  lived  in  a  logging,  or  hunter's 
camp,  and  for  a  short  time  were  poor.  During  the  French  and  Indian 
war,  the  family  lived  in  the  fort  on  the  hill,  which  they  entered  on  the 
20th  of  April  (old  style)  1746,  the  day  following  the  massacre  of 
the  Bryant  family,  and  here  their  daughter  Jane  was  born.  After  the 
war,  or  in  about  seven  years,  they  returned  to  their  log-house,  and 
subsequently,  by  industry,  perseverance  and  prudence,  they  accumu- 
lated a  competency,  and  even  became  wealthy  for  the  times.  Hugh 
was  a  successful  farmer  and  lumberman,  and  in  1763  and  for  many 
years  thereafter,  he  paid  the  highest  provincial  tax  then  paid  in  the 
town.  About  the  year  1770  he  commenced  the  erection  of  the  brick 
house  which  stands  on  the  north  side  of  the  hill  called  Academy  Hill  ; 
it  was  not  completed,  however,  until  the  expiration  of  about  four 
years.  It  is  the  oldest  brick  house  in  the  county.  The  bricks,  used 
in  the  construction  of  the  house,  were  made  by  the  family  on  their 
own  land  near  the  brook.  The  old  hunter's  camp,  in  which  the  fam- 
ily first  lived,  stood  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  road,  nearly  opposite 
the  brick  house,  a  few  rods  northerly  from  the  house  lately  owned  by 
Dr.  Newman.  They  afterwards  built  a  log-house,  which  was  situated 
on  the  western  side  of  the  road,  and  a  little  northerly  from  the  site 
now  occupied  by  the  brick  house,  where  they  lived  until  the  comple- 
tion of  the  latter. 

At  the  time  of  the  Revolution  they  contributed  largely  of  their 
means  in  aid  of  the  cause.  All  their  sons  and  sons-in-law  were  in 
the  army.  At  a  time  when  the  families  of  the  Gorham  soldiers  in  the 
army  were  in  great  need,  the  town  being  poor  in  resources,  and 
money  hard  to  raise,  through  the  means  mostly  furnished  by  Hugh 
McLellan,  the  town  was  enabled  to  purchase  a  cargo  of  corn  for  dis- 
tribution to  the  soldiers'  families.  Hugh  McLellan  was  a  decided 
Presbyterian  in  belief,  although  he  became  a  ruling  elder  in  the 
Congregational  church,  which,  however,  for  a  few  years  after  its 
organization  in  Gorham,  leaned  a  little  towards  the  Presbyterian 
st)'le  of  church  government,  and  made  choice  of  elders  to  fill  the 
offices  afterwards  held  by  deacons.  He  was  universally  considered, 
both  within  and  without  the  church,  an  upright,  conscientious  man, 
hospitable  and  benevolent.  No  poor  man  ever  went  from  his  door 
without  aid.     The  children  of  Hugh  and  Elizabeth  McLellan  were  : 

William,  b.  in  Ireland.  Feb.  22,  1730,  m.  Rebecca  Huston,  Dec.  8,  1762. 
Gary,  bapt.  in  Wells,  Nov.  3,  1734,  d.  young. 
Abigail,  t).  in  Portland,  1738,  m.  James  McLellan,  Aug.  26,  1756. 
Mary,  b.  in  Gorham,  1740,  m.  Joseph  McLellan,  Sept.,  1756. 
Alexander,  b.  in  Gorham,  1742,  m.  Margaret  Johnson,  Oct.  21,  1765. 


660  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Gary,  b.  in  Gorham,  May   i,   1745,  m.  Eunice  Elder,  Jan.   i,   1767;  2d,  Mary 

Parker. 
Jane,  h.  in  Gorham,  Nov.  2,  174S,  m.  Actor  Patten  of  Topsham,  Nov.  20,  1766. 
Martha,  b.  in  Gorham,  1750,  d.  aged  3  years. 

Thomas,  b.  in  Gorham,  Oct.,  1753,  m.  Jane  Patterson,  Nov.  29,  1777. 
Martha,  b.  in  Gorham,  1755,  m.  "James  Warren,  Dec.  30,  1773. 

Hugh  McLellan  died  Jan.  2,  1787,  aged  77.  His  wife,  who  was 
a  remarkably  intelligent  woman,  retained  her  faculties  down  to  a  late 
period  in  her  life.  At  the  age  of  ninety  she  put  the  saddle  and  bridle 
upon  her  horse  and  mounting  from  the  horse-block  rode  over  two 
miles  to  the  house  of  her  daughter  Mrs.  Warren,  spent  the  day,  and 
returned  alone.  She  died  July  16,  1804,  in  the  96th  year  of  her 
age.  At  the  time  of  her  death  she  had  234  living  descendants.  Both 
she  and  her  husband  are  buried  in  the  old  cemetery  at  the  village. 

(2)  William  McLellan,  the  eldest  child  of  Hugh  and  Elizabeth, 
was  born  in  Ireland.  He  came  with  his  parents  to  Gorham  when 
about  nine  years  old.  His  home  lot  was  the  hundred  acre  lot  No.  2. 
When  he  commenced  to  clear  this  land  it  was  covered  with  so  dense 
a  growth  of  timber  that  he  was  obhged  to  take  off  the  wheels  from  his 
cart,  and  roll  them  in  one  by  one,  and  to  drive  his  oxen  in  singly 
between  the  trees.  Here  he  built  a  large  two-story  house,  on  the 
west  side  of  South  St.,  about  a  mile  from  the  village,  where  the  cellar 
and  the  old  orchard  are  still  to  be  seen.  This  house  was  raised  Sept. 
15,  1763,  and  a  jolly  time  they  had.  It  was  nearly,  if  not  quite,  the 
first  two-story  house  raised  in  town,  and  company  came  to  the  raising 
from  all  the  adjoining  towns,  and  probably  some  didn't  get  home  till 
morning.  This  house  was  taken  down  by  Alexander  McLellan,  Esq. 
about  the  year  1826,  and  most  of  the  material  worked  into  the  house, 
lately  owned  and  occupied  by  Elder  Joseph  Colby,  on  High  St.,  in 
the  village,  near  where  the   Methodist  meeting-house  formerly  stood. 

Mr.  McLellan  was  a  short,  thick-set  man,  strong  built,  rough  raised 
and  scrubby.  Early  inured  to  hardship  and  toil,  knowing  nothing  of 
fatigue,  he  was  energetic  and  persevering,  never  giving  up  what  it 
was  possible  to  accomplish,  brave  and  patriotic  to  the  back-bone  _ 
Hospitable  and  generous,  he  cared  but  little  about  the  rules  of  gen- 
teel society,  would  pay  you  every  cent  he  owed  you,  feed  you  if 
hungry,  clothe  you  if  naked,  house  you  if  homeless  ;  but  if  able,  you 
must  work  ayd  earn  your  living ;  laziness  he  depised.  His  house 
was  always  full,  if  hot  of  such  as  he  would  wish,  they  were  of  such  as 
were  picked  up  in  the  highways,  and  when  well  fed  were  required  to 
work  ;  if  they  refused  on  top  of  a  good  square  meal,  they  were  ordered 
to  march.     If  we  should  say  he  was  a  religious  man,  we  should  go 


GENEALOGY.  G61 

too  far ;  if  we  should  say  he  was  a  moral  man,  not  quite  up  to  the 
religious  standard,  probably  we  should  be  a  little  nearer  tHe  point, 
but  his  morals  were  of  a  peculiar  kind  ;  —  stick  to  his  agreement 
when  possible  to  do  so.  In  point,  when  the  frame  of  the  meeting- 
house fell  over,  when  Dr.  Bowman  and  Mr.  Tryon  were  killed,  more 
timber  of  a  nice  and  peculiar  description  was  wanted.  Mr.  McLellan 
agreed  with  the  committee  to  get  the  sticks,  and  deliver  them  on  the 
spot  within  a  given  number  of  days.  Inadvertently  the  time  was  made 
to  fall  on  Sunday.  Mr.  McLellan  tried  to  get  through  Saturday,  but 
the  thing  was  not  possible.  The  timber  was  hauled  on  Sunday 
and  the  committee  called  in  to  receive  it.  They  objected,  as  it  was 
Sunday.  The  reply  was,  "  There's  the  timber,  according  to  agreement 
made  by  yourselves.  If  you  don't  choose  to  take  it,  I  will  haul  it 
home  and  when  you  want  more  timber,  it's  not  I  that  will  get  it  for 
you."  This  they  knew  was  final,  and  they  were  compelled  to  let 
the  necessity  overcome  the  objection.  The  timber  was  received,  and 
Mr.  McLellan  went  home  satisfied,  for  he  had  done  according  to 
agreement. 

Mr.  McLellan  was  popularly  known  throughout  the  community  as 
"Uncle  Billy;"  a  name  by  which  he  is  still  known  by  the  present 
generation.  He  was  a  large  land  owner,  and  owned  mills.  He  kept 
a  large  stock  ;  at  times  over  a  hundred  head  of  cattle,  and  milked 
thirty  cows.  He  found  it  impossible  to  prevent  them  from  sometimes 
getting  into  the  road.  One  night  his  man  came  home  and  reported 
some  of  his  cattle  in  Pound,  at  the  village.  This  did  not  please  him, 
although  he  would  have  been  willing  to  give  Mr.  E.  twice  the  amount 
of  the  fine  if  he  had  needed  it.  But  having  his  cattle  taken  up,  and 
then  to  be  made  to  pay  for  it,  went  against  the  grain.  He  saddled 
his  old  horse,  called  his  negro  Prince,  and  with  a  stout  lever  on  his 
shoulder,  started  for  the  Pound.  The  gate  was  made  with  one  of  the 
side  pieces  long  and  rounded  at  the  ends.  These  ends  were  fitted 
to  play  in  holes  in  the  sill  and  cap-piece,  thus  making  the  hinge. 
The  lever  was  applied,  and  with  his  shoulder  under  the  cap-piece,  he 
soon  raised  it  so  as  to  completely  liberate  the  gate.  The  cattle  were 
turned  out,  gate  replaced  all  as  good  as  new ;  the  animals  were  driven 
home,  all  put  to  rights,  and  Mr.  McLellan  went  to  bed.  He  had  not 
been  there  long,  before  the  voice  of  Prince  was  heard  calling,  "  O 
Massa  Willum,  get  up,  get  up,  trap  spring.  Got  b'ar,  got  b'ar  here 
dis  time."  No  second  call  was  needed,  as  Mr.  McLellan  was  quite  a 
sportsman.  All  hands  went  to  the  corn  field,  back  of  the  house,  and 
sure  enough.    Prince   had    Mr.    Bruin   trapped    fast.     He  was  soon 


662  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

dispatched,  brought  down  to  the  house,  and  properly  dressed.  While 
skinning*  the  bear,  probably  Mr.  McLellan's  conscience  rather  told 
him  he  had  not  done  the  right  thing,  and  he  said  to  Prince,  "  Prince, 
you  take  the  old  horse  and  take  a  quarter  of  the  bear  up  to  the 
Corner,  and  leave  it  at  Mr.  E.'s  door,  tie  it  to  the  catch,  and  mind 
you  don't  make  any  noise."  "Yes,  Massa  Willum,"  said  Prince,  "if 
you  say  so,  I  jest  does  it,  but  I  t'ink  dis  b'ar  meat  too  good  pay  for 
pounding  cows,  any  way ;  but  Prince  does  dis  job  so  easy  you  don't 
hear  him  more  dan  a  mouse  in  de  cheese."  The  job  was  done, 
Prince  came  back,  and  all  went  to  bed.  Next  morning  Mr.  E.  found 
his  quarter  of  bear,  took  it  in,  found  the  cows  were  out  of  pound, 
smelt  a  rat,  but  said  nothing.  Soon  after,  he  met  Mr.  McLellan, 
took  him  by  the  hand,  and  pleasantly  said,  "  Sorry  I  put  you  to  so 
much  trouble  about  the  cows  last  night.  I  only  stopped  them  in 
the  road,  and  shut  them  up,  that  they  might  not  run  off.  I  did  not 
put  them  in  Pound,  only  shut  them  up.  If  you  had  just  spoken  to 
me,  I  would  have  let  them  out,  without  any  trouble."  This  rather 
took  Mr.  McLellan  aback.  He  looked  at  E.  and  said,  "  Well  E.,  if 
that  is  so,  I  like  a  kind  act  in  a  neighbor.  You  shan't  loose  any- 
thing." He  paid  him  more  than  twice  what  the  law  would  have 
claimed,  well  satisfied,  as  he  did  not  have  to  pay  for  impounding  his 
cattle.  Mr.  E.  was  a  good  neighbor,  and  had  done  him  a  kindness. 
Mr.  McLellan  was  a  lieutenant  in  Capt.  Hart  Williams'  company 
in  1775  and  '76,  under  Col.  Edmund  Phinney.  He  was  one  of  the 
original  trustees  of  Gorham  Academy  ;  and  was  a  man  of  great  influ- 
ence and  prominence  in  town  affairs.  He  married  Rebecca  Huston 
of  Falmouth.  They  had  no  children.  Mr.  McLellan  died  Nov.  19, 
1812,  aged  83,  and  his  wife,  Oct.  13,  1823,  aged  81. 

(2)  Abigail,  daughter  of  Hugh  and  Elizabeth  McLellan,  married 
James  McLellan,  son  of  Bryce  of  Portland,  and  settled  in  Gorham. 
James's  house,  which  stood  till  within  a  few  years,  was  situated  on 
the  easterly  side  of  South  St.,  about  half  a  mile  south  of  the  village. 
The  site  of  the  house  is  now  owned  by  Mr.  Russell.  The  building 
of  this  house  was  a  family  affair;  the  timber  was  cut  on  their  own 
land,  and  sawed  in  their  own  mills,  and  the  house  built  for  the 
daughter  and  her  husband,  as  was  their  custom  when  one  of  the  family 
"put  out."  Charles  Patrick,  who  moved  to  this  town  from  Stroud- 
water,  plastered  a  room  in  this  house,  which  was  the  first  room 
plastered  in  the  town  of  Gorham.  James  McLellan  was  a  cooper  by 
trade.     He  was  an  excellent  man  and  a  devoted  Christian,  and  long  a 


\ 


GENEALOGY, 


663 


deacon  in  the  First  Congregational  church. 
Abigail  McLellan  : 


Children  of  James  and 


Sarah,  b.  May  28,  1757,  m.  Benjamin  Hrown  of  Georgetown,  p.  Jan.  3,  1776. 

William,  b.  July  7,  1759,  m.  Jenny  Harding,  Aug.  27,  1782. 

Bryce,  b.  Dec.  21,  1761,  m.  Betty  Sampson,  1790;  I'd  in  Skowhegan;  was  Judge 

of  Probate  for  Somerset  Co. 
Elizabeth,  b.  Apr.  18,  1764,  m.  John  Smith,  p.  May  11,  1782. 
Rebecca,  b.  Oct.  8,  1766,  m.  James  McLellan  of  Pepperelboro,  June  25,  1786. 
George,  b.  Mar.  4,  1769,  m.  Rachel  Boothby  of  Scarboro,  June  4,  1801. 
Martha,  b.  Sept.  5,  1771,  d.  young. 

Martha,  b.  Nov.  6,  1774,  m.  Samuel  Edwards,  July  8,  1792. 
James,  b.  Dec.  30,  1776,  m.  Lois  Fogg,  Dec.  5,  1802. 
Abigail,  b.  Aug.  i,  1779,  m.  Enoch  Edwards,  June  16,  1799. 


Uea.  James  McLellan  died  Jan.   15,   179: 
Abigail,  May  14,  182 1,  aged  83. 


aged  58,  and  his  wife 


CAPT.    JOSKFIi    MCLELLAN,    OF    PORTLAND. 


(2)  Joseph  McLellan,  son  of  Bryce.  married  Mary  McLellan, 
daughter  of  Hugh.  'I'his  couple  settled  in  Portland.  Their  house 
was  77iade  in  Gorham.  hauled  to  Portland,  and  there  put  together  for 


664 


HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


them.  It  stood  on  Congress  St.,  nearly  opposite  the  head  of  Casco 
St.,  where  it  remained  for  over  a  hundred  years.  In  1866  it  was 
moved  to  the  foot  of  Preble  St.  Joseph  and  Mary  McLellan  had 
several   sons   and   daughters,   who  became  prominent    members    of 


MRS.    MARY    MCLELLAN,    WIFE    OF    CAPT.    JOSEPH    MCLELLAN. 

Portland  society.     They  were  the  grandparents  of  Rev.  Elijah  Kel- 
logg, and  of  the  late  Mrs.  Caroline  (Fox)  Smith  of  Gorham. 

(2)  Alexander  McLellan,  son  of  Hugh,  owned  and  lived  on  the 
thirty  acre  lot  No.  8,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Fort  Hill  road,  adjoining 
the  old  homestead  of  his  father.  The  house  in  which  he  lived  was 
torn  down  to  make  way  for  the  present  one,  now  owned  and  occupied 
by  Hon.  Isaac  W.  Dyer.  He  was  a  Captain  in  the  war  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  had  command  of  a  company  raised  in  Gorham,  which 
belonged  to  Col.  Jonathan  Mitchell's  regiment,  and  took  part  in  the 
expedition  against  Bagaduce,  in  1779.  He  died  at  home  soon  after 
his    return  from  that  disastrous  venture   of  a  fever   contracted   by 


GENEALOGY.  665 

fatigue  and  exposure  while  in  tlie  service.     He  married  Margaret, 
daughter  of  James  and  Jane  Johnson  of  Fahnouth.     Children  : 

Jenny,  b.  Jan.  i6,  1766,  d.  young. 

Jam.es,  b.  Jan.  4,  1768,  d.  Jan.  26,  1776. 

Isaac,  b.  Sept.  15,  1769,  m.  Mary  Blake  of  Boston;  2d,  P.liza  Hull;  I'd  in  Bos- 
ton ;  was  the  father  of  Isaac  McLellan,  Jr.,  the  poet. 

William,  b.  May  7,  1771,  m.  Sally  Preble  of  York;  I'd  in  Portland;  d.  there, 
Oct.  5,  1863. 

Nelly,  b.  Dec.  18,  1772,  m.  Elijah  Elder,  Aug.  19,  1798. 

Ale.xander,  b.  Dec.  20,  1774. 

Jame.s,  b.  May  15,  1777,  m.  Lydia  Osgood  of  Portland;  I'd  in  Bath. 

Jenny,  b.  Dec.  20,  177S,  m.  Samuel  Barker  of  Windham,  Dec.  16,  179S. 

Capt.  Ale.xander  McLellan  died  Oct.  4,  1779,  aged  37.  His 
widow  married,  April  15,  1781,  John  Miller,  and  died  in  (jorham, 
March  20,  1820. 

(2)  Gary  McLellan,  son  of  Hugh,  first  settled  on  the  hundred  acre 
lot,  No.  I,  adjoining  that  of  his  brother  William,  on  South  St.  Here 
he  built  the  large  two-story  house  which  was  taken  down  a  few  years 
since  by  Freeman  Higgins.  He  made  an  even  exchange  of  this  lot 
with  Daniel  Hamblen  for  the  sixty  acres  on  the  Buxton  road,  con- 
sisting of  the  two  thirty  acre  lots,  16  and  25.  This  farm,  on  which 
a  large  part  of  the  village  now  stands,  ran  west  from  the  Corner  to 
John  Harding's  farm.  Mr.  Hamblen  thought  he  made  a  grand 
trade,  as  he  could  raise  corn  on  his  new  farm  much  easier  than  on 
his  old  ;  it,  the  old,  being  much  harder  land  to  work.  At  the  head 
of  Portland  St.,  Mr.  McLellan  built  a  two-story  house,  where  he  kept 
a  hotel  till  his  death.  Within  a  comparatively  few  years  this  building 
has  been  altered  into  the  store  lately  occupied  by  R.  G.  Harding. 
Gary  McLellan  was  a  lieutenant  in  Capt.  Hart  Williams'  company, 
Col.  Phinney's  regiment.  He  served  through  three  campaigns ;  was 
at  the  siege  of  Boston,  and  at  the  taking  of  Ticonderoga.  His 
commission  and  discharge,  as  well  as  his  sword,  are  in  the  possession 
of  his  descendants.  He  also  served  as  lieutenant  of  marines  on 
several  of  the  American  privateers.  He  had  the  bad  fortune  to  be 
twice  captured  by  the  enemy :  once  on  board  of  the  Retrieve,  when 
the. crew  were  carried  to  Halifax  as  prisoners,  but  after  being  confined 
a  short  time  were  exchanged.  He  was  also  on  another  privateer 
that  was  captured,  when  he  was  confined  in  the  famous,  or  rather 
infamous,  pri.son  ship  Jersey,  from  which  he  succeeded  in  making  his 
escape,  as  elsewhere  related.  While  confined  on  board  this  ship  he 
was  shown  tnuch  kindness  by  Col.  Tyng.  When,  after  the  war,  Col. 
Tyng  made  his  first  appearance  in  Gorham,  at  the  door  of  the 
meeting-house    no   one    offered   him    a   seat,   when    Gary   McLellan 


6G6  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Stepped  forward,  and  escorted  him  to  his  own  pew.  Much  as  Col. 
Tyng  was  liked  and  respected,  it  is  said  that  on  account  of  the 
stringent  votes  and  resolutions  passed  by  the  town  against  all  tories, 
no  other  man  in  Gorham  would  have  dared  to  offer  the  Colonel  a 
seat.  In  1781  and  1783  Lieut.  McLellan  was  a  member  of  the  Gorham 
Committee  of  Correspondence.  Inspection  and  Safety.     He  married 

Eunice    Elder,    daughter    of    Samuel    and  —  (Huston)    Elder. 

Children  : 

Mary,  b.  AMg.  2,  1767,  m.  John  demons,  Feb.  6,  1789;  moved  to  Ohio. 

Eunice,  b.  Aug.  13,  1769,  d.  young. 

Nancy,  b.  Mar.  17,  1772,  d.  young. 

Nancy,  b.  Feb.  13,  1774,  m.  Samuel  Staples,  Apr.  28,  1794. 

Gary,  b.  Mar.  16,  1776,  d.  unm. 

Eunice,  b.  June  16,  1778,  m.  Ai  Staples,  May  28,  1801. 

Alexander,  b.  Feb.  28,  1780,  m.  Chloe  Uavis,  Feb.  9,  1S03  ;  2d,  Belinda  Don- 
aldson. 

William,  b.  May  14,  1782,  m.  Mehitable  Harmon,  Aug.  15,  1807. 

vSamueJ,  b.  Aug.  12,  1784,  m.  Sarah  B.  McLellan,  Feb.  8,  1810  ;  2d,  Rebecca 
McLellan;  3d,  Tabitha  Flood. 

Mrs.    Eunice   McLellan    died   Aug.    18,    1784,  and   Mr.  McLellan 

married,  Jan.  25,  1785,  Mrs.  Mary  (Strout)  Parker  of  Cape  Elizabeth, 

by  whom  he  had  : 

David,  b.  June  21,  1786,  m.  Betsey  Phinney,  p.  Nov.  5,  180S. 

Sally,  b.  Jan.  22,  1788,  m.  in  Troy,  N.  Y., Bailey;  no  ch ;  d.  in  Troy, 

Apr.  18,  1822. 

Betsey,  b.  Nov.  7,  1789,  m.  Ebenezer  Davis,  Apr.  26,  1809;  2d,  Elkanah  Mc- 
Lellan ;  d.  at  Farmington,  Sept.  19,  1873. 

Thomas,  b.  Nov.  14,  1791,  went  to  sea  on  board  privateer  Globe  of  Baltimore, 
in  the  War  of  18 12,  and  was  never  heard  from. 

John,  b.  Oct.  8,  1793,  d.  Oct.   11,  1793. 

Capt.  Cary  McLellan  died  May  12,  1805,  aged  60.  Mrs.  Mary 
McLellan  died  Dec.  27,  1807,  aged  52. 

(2)  Thomas  McLellan,  youngest  son  of  Hugh,  lived  and  died  in 
the  old  family  mansion  on  the  home  farm.  In  1803,  Mr.  McLellan 
gave,  from  the  old  farm,  the  land  on  which  the  Academy  stands  — 
one  acre,  valued  then  at  $350.  He  also  gave,  to  be  used  by  the 
First  Parish,  the  land  on  which  the  old  brick  vestry  belonging  to 
the  Congregational  church  is  built,  as  well  as  the  foundation,  or 
lower  story,  of  the  building.  He  married  Jenny  Patterson  of  Saco. 
Children  : 

Hugh,  b.  Apr.  i,  1779,  m.  Rhoda  Morris,  July  4,  1S02. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Jan.  6,  1781,  m.  Capt.  Ebenezer  Hatch,  Feb.  7,  1802;  2d,  Nathaniel 

Phinney,  1S22. 
Robert,  b.  Sept.  30,  17S2,  m.  Rebecca  Patten,  Mar.  16,  1813. 
Polly,  b.  Sept.  14,  17S5,  m.  Joseph  Hunt,  Nov.  14,  1803. 
Benjamin,  b.  July  6,  1787,  m.  Lydia  Fitch  ;  I'd  in  Baldwin,  or  Hiram. 
Jenny,  b.  Nov.  i,  1789,  m.  Thomas  Harding,  Aug.  30,  1S18. 
Mary  Ann,  b.  Aug.  i,  1791,  m.  Thomas  Harding  (ist  wife),  Jan.  18,  1810. 


GENEALOGY.  667 

Thomas,  b.  May  19,  1794,  m.  .Mercy  Willis.  Apr.  19,  1S29  ;  I'd  in  Jasper,  Ohio. 
John,  b.  Oct.  19,  1798,  m.  Rebecca  Hersey,  Mar.  31,   1831  ;  2d,  Mrs.  Eliza  A. 

(Cross)  Gary.     His    dau.  Mary  m.  Dea.  Marshall  Irish.     Mr.  McL.  d.  in 

Saccarappa. 

Thomas  McLellan  died  Jan.  13,  1829,  aged  75.  Mr.s.  McLellan 
died  Oct.  30,  1841,  aged  84. 

(3)  William  McLellan,  2d,  son  of  James  and  Abigail,  lived  in  the 
south  part  of  the  town,  where  his  grandchildren  now  reside,  on  the 
farm  opposite  that  lately  owned  by  Benjamin  Waterhouse.  His 
farm  formerly  comprised  parts  of  the  hundred  acre  lot,  21.  He  was 
a  soldier  in  the  Revolution,  and  served  in  the  Bagaduce  expedition. 
He  was  also  one  of  the  Gorhani  men  who  were  captured  in  the 
privateer,  confined  on,  and  made  their  escape  from,  the  old  prison 
ship  Jersey.  He  married  Jenny,  daughter  of  David  and  Sarah  Hard- 
ing.    Children  : 

Elkanah,  b.  May  22,   17S3,  m.  Anna  Roberts,  Aug.  4,   1805  ;  2d,  Mrs.  Betsey 

(McLellan)  Davis;  d.  Sept.  22,  1855. 
Sarah  B.,  b.  Avig.  9,  1785,  m.  Samuel  McLellan,  Feb.  8,  1810. 
Rebecca,  b.  Dec.  ii,  1787,  m.  vSamuel  McLellan  (2d  wife),  Dec.  22,    181 1, 
Elizabeth,  b.  July  2,  1790,  m.  Thos.  Blake  of  Westbrook,  Feb.  25,  1819. 
Martha,  b.  Feb.  15,  1793,  ™-  James  Harding  of  Standish,  Jan.  21,  1819. 
James,  b.  June  13,  1795,  m.  Mrs.  Abigail  Walker,  Dec.  25,  1820;  2d,  Sarah  A. 

Booker,  June  25,  1865;  I'd  in  Litchfield. 
Jane,  b.  Aug.  21,  1797,  m.  Simeon  Davis  of  Standish,  Nov.  27,  1824. 
Polly,  b.  Feb.  17,  1800,  m.  Geo.  Manson,  Oct.  26,  1835  ;  2d,  Rev.  John  Boothby. 
Samuel,  b.  Mar.  31,  1802,  m.  .Susan  Burbank  of  Portland,  Nov.  i,  1834. 
David,        ^  ^    .^   ^    jg^     (  m.  Mary  Libby,  Dec.  25,  1S36. 
William,    v    ■  ^  1    •     1         d'  ;  jj^.  Amanda  P.  Jones,  May   iS,   1S37;  moved  to 
)  (  Oldtown. 

William  McLellan  died  May  13,  1843,  aged  84.  Mrs.  Jenny 
McLellan  died  Sept.  i,  1845,  aged  88. 

(3)  James  McLellan,  son  of  James  and  Abigail,  married  Lois, 
daughter  of  Jeremiah  and  Mary  Fogg.  They  had  no  children.  Mr. 
McLellan  was  for  many  years  deacon  of  the  Congregational  church. 
He  is  remembered  by  many  still  living  as  cotemporary  with  Deas. 
Thos.  Robie,  Samuel  Paine  and  Nahum  Chadbourn.  His  home  was 
on  South  St.,  in  the  house  now  owned  by  Dea.  Albert  Sampson, 
Dea.  McLellan  died  Aug.  10,  1845,  aged  69.  Mrs.  Lois  McLellan 
died  Nov.  2-0,  1859,  aged  80.  . 

(3)  Alexander  McLellan,  son  of  Cary,  built  and  lived  in  the  large 
two-story  house  on  High  St.,  lately  occupied  by  his  son  Josiah. 
He  was  an  active  and  prominent  business  man.  He  kept  store,  and 
was  also  continuous  postmaster  from  Dec.  5,  1809,  to  April  18,  1837, 
The   building  which   he  occupied  for  store   and   post  office  is  still 


668  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

standing,  on  the  corner  of  High  and  School  Sts.,  opposite  the  Con- 
gregational church.  He  married  Chloe,  daughter  of  Sylvanus  and 
Elizabeth  (Dimmick)  Davis.     Children  : 

Hugh  Davis,  b.  Jan.  24,  1805,  m.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  P.  Staples,  Dec.  25,  1833. 

Eunice,  b.  Feb.  i,  1807,  m.  Rev.  Clark   Perry,  Aug.    24,  1840;  d.  Oct.  17,  1891. 

Elizabeth,  b.  June  12,  1808,  m.  Obed  Goodspeed  of  Falmouth,  Mass.,  Sept.  16, 
1845- 

Mrs.  Chloe  McLellan  died  June  4,  18 13,  aged  31.      Mr.  McLellan 

married    Aug.    27,    1815,    Belinda,    daughter    of    Hugh   and   Chloe 

(Dimmick)  Donaldson  of  Falmouth,  Mass.     She  was  a  cousin  to  his 

first  wife.     Children  : 

Chloe,  b.  Aug.  31,  1816,  m.  Dr.  John  Pierce,  Nov.  2,  1840. 

Alexander,  b.  Feb.  3,  18 18,  d.  June  17,  1830. 

Evelina  D.,  b.  June  11,  1819,  m.  Aaron  Clark,  Apr.  26,  1837. 

Cary,  b.  Nov.  28,  1820,  d.  Mar.  23,  1823. 

Belinda,  )  ,     ,  o        i  m-  lames  Paine,  Oct.  7,  i8t;6. 

,,  '     b.  June   7,  1822,     J     -  '  /I       3 

Son,         )       ■'  ' '  (  d.  young. 

Charles  A.,  b.  Dec.  18,  1823,  d.  May  27,  1825. 

Josiah  T.,  b.  May  17,  1825,  m.  Eliza  J.  Leavitt,  May  4,  1869. 

Charlotte  S.,  b.  Apr.  16,  1827,  m.  Jared  W.  Coffin,  Sept.  14,  1846. 

Alexander  McLellan's  descendants,  through  both  his  wives,  are 
descended  in  a  direct  line  from  Rev.  John  Robinson  of  Leyden, 
Holland,  the  Pilgrim  pastor  who  died  in  Holland  in  1625.  Mr. 
McLellan  died  Feb.  20,  1838,  aged  58.  His  wife  Belinda  died  Sept. 
29,  1862,  aged  78. 

(3)  William  McLellan,  son  of  Cary,  was  brought  up  as  a  son  by  his 

uncle,  William    McLellan,  Sr.,  who  gave   him,  at   his   marriage,  the 

farm  now  owned  by  his  grandson,  Chas.  I.  McLellan.      He  married 

Mehitable  Harmon  of  Scarboro.     Children  : 

Mary  C,  b.  July  16,  1808,  m.  Samuel  Allen,  May  6,  1829. 

Hugh,  b.   Oct.   8,    181 1,   m.   Abigail  E.   Norton,   Oct.  30,   1832;  I'd  and  d.  in 

Brunswick. 
William,  b.  Feb.  26,  1813,  m.  Mary  J.  Meserve,  June  i,  1837. 
John  C,  b.   May   6,    1815,   m.    Winfred   Shannon,   Nov.    12,  1846;  I'd  in  New 

Orleans  ;  d.  1S99. 
Eunice  S.,  b.  Nov.  25,  i8i8,  m.  Henry  Harmon,  Dec.  29,  1841;  d.  May  24,  1901. 
Samuel  E.,  b.  June  6,  1821,  m.  Sarah  Babb  of  Westbrook  ;  2d,  Rosabel  Bacon; 

I'd  in  Westbrook;  d.  in  Gorham,  Mar.  17,  1887. 
Ishmael  H.,  b.  May  2,  1824,  d.  Feb.  14,  1843. 
Arthur    M.,  b.  Mar.  2,   1827,  m.  Paulina  Atkinson,  Oct.  26,   1856;  2d,  Grace 

Lord;  d.  in  Boston,  June  2,  1892. 

William  McLellan  died  at  his  home  Aug.  13,  1833,  aged  51.  Mrs. 
McLellan  married  Samuel  Libby  of  Scarboro,  Aug.  16,  1835,  and 
after  his  death  in  1854,  Benjamin  Moses  of  Durham.  She  died 
March  28,  1870,  aged  84. 

(3)  Samuel  McLellan,  son  of  Cary,  was  a  carpenter.  He  built 
and  lived  in  the  house  on  School  St.,  now  occupied  by  his  son  Lewis 


GENEALOGY.  669 

McLellan,  Esq.,  who  has  remodelled,  and  enlarged  the  house  by  the 
addition  of  a  third  story  and  cupola.  Mr.  McLellan  was  Sergeant 
Major  of  Col.  Burbank's  regiment  in  Gen.  Irish's  brigade.  He  married 
Sarah,  daughter  of  William  and  jane  McLellan.  She  died  Sept.  lo, 
1810,  aged  25,  and  Mr.  McLellan  married,  Dec.  23,  181 1,  her  sister 
Rebecca.  She  died  Sept.  23,  18 12,  aged  25,  and  he  married,  Jan. 
10,  1813,  Tabitha,  daughter  of  Edmund  and  Martha  (Lombard) 
Flood  of  Buxton.  Mr.  McLellan  had  no  children  by  his  first  wives. 
By  his  third  wife,  Tabitha,  he  had  : 

Sarah  B.,  b.  Sept.  13,  181 3,  m.  Rev.  E.  W.  Jackson,  June  18,  1S40;  d.  Mar.  iS, 

1844. 
Alexander,  b.  May  19,  181 5,  d.  young. 

Rebecca,  b.  Apr.  23,  18 16,  ni.  David  H.  McKenney,  July  6,  1841. 
Mary  Ann,  b.  Mar.  3,  1818,  d.  young. 
Irene,  b.  Apr.  i,  181 9,  d.  young. 
Tabitha  E.,  b.  July  6,  1820,  m.  Rev.  E.  W.  Jackson  (2d  wife,)  Apr.  29,  1845;  '^■ 

in  Springfield,  Mass.,  Mar.  12,  1892. 
Martha  A.,  b.  Aug.  13,  1822,  d.  unm.  Sept.  7,  1867. 
Simon  E.,  b.  July  24,  1824,  m.  Mary  J.  Storer  of  Iliram,  Aug.  26,  1854. 
Louisa  R.,  b.  Oct.  2,  1826,  d.  Oct.  27,  1832. 
Isaac,  b.  Dec.    10,    1828,  m.  Delia  Bradbury,  Aug.   7,   1861  ;  was  selectman  of 

Gorham  for  some  years  ;   has  three  daughters. 
Lewis,  b.  Nov.  25,  1832,  m.  Mary  H.  Larrabee,  Dec.  26,  1867;  2d,  Fiances  A. 

Hall. 

Melville  Ix,  I  1     ,  o   ^   (  d.  voung. 

1^       1  ir    /-  b.  June  9,  iS-50,  !  J    '         '^ 

Gershom  r.  C,    \  ^       ^      /  d.  young. 

Mr.  McLellan  died  Oct.  20,  1853,  aged  69.  Mrs.  Tabitha 
McLellan,  who  was  the  great-granddaughter  of  the  Rev.  Solomon 
Lombard,  died  March  21,  1857,  aged  63. 

(3)   David  McLellan,  son   of  Cary,  lived  for  a  time  in  his  father's 

house  at  the  head  of  Portland  St.     He  afterwards  owned  and  lived 

on  the  farm  formerly  owned  by  Capt.  Daniel  Hunt,  now  the  property 

of  parties  in  Westbrook.     The  house  in  which  he  lived,  on  the  farm, 

was  burned  about   1890.     Me  married  Betsey,  daughter  of  Edmund 

Phinney,  Jr.     Children  : 

Emeline,  b.  Apr.  7,  iSio,  m.  James  H.  R.  Edwards,  p.  July  25,  1834. 

Mary  P.,  b.  May  31,  1813,  m.  Royal  Twombly,  i8j7;  d.  in  Mich. 

Thomas,  b   May  17,  181 5,  went  West. 

David,  Jr.,  b.  Feb.  19,  1818,  d.  Mar.  13,  1844. 

Betsey,  b.  Aug.  22,  1820,  d.  Mar.  2r,  1827. 

James,  b.  July  6,  1823,  m.  Angle  Jordan  of  Westbrook;  d.  in  Westbrook. 

Sarah  J.,  b.  July  27,  1826,  m.  Giles  Heath;  d.  in  Niles,  Mich. 

David  McLellan  died  March  3,  i860,  aged  73.  His  wife  Betsey 
died  April  21,  1865,  aged  78. 

(3)  Hugh  McLellan,  son  of  Thomas,  was  a  sea  captain.  He  died 
of  yellow  fever,  at  sea,  Aug.  21,  1803,  aged  25.  He  married  Rhoda, 
daughter  of  Charles  amd  Rhoda  Morris.     They  had  one  child  : 


670  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Charles  H.  P.,  b.  June  6,  1803,  m.  Rebecca  McLellan  of  Brunswick,  p.  Dec.  3, 
1S25;  was  a  physician;  d.  in  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y. 

Mrs.  Rhoda  McLellan  died  in  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  Sept.  23, 
1853,  aged  72. 

(3)  Robert  McLellan,  son  of  Thomas,  lived  in  the  house  occupied 
by  his  father  and  grandfather  before  him.  He  commanded  a  company 
of  Light  Infantry  in  Col.  Burbank's  regiment  in  the  War  of  181 2, 
and  went  to  the  defense  of  Portland  with  his  men.  He  married 
his  cousin  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Actor  and  Jane  (McLellan)  Patten. 
Children  of  Robert  and  Rebecca  McLellan  : 

Actor  P.,  b.  Dec.  28,  1813,  m.  Lucinda  Decker,  June,  1845  ;  was  a  soldier  in  the 

Mexican  war,  and  for  3  years  in  the  Rebellion. 
Augusta,  b.  Aug.   2,    1S16,  m.   Seman   Foster  of  Bangor,  Aug.   28,   1848;  2d, 

Thos.  Hooper;  d.  in  May,  18S6. 
Caroline  O.,  b.  Dec.  25,  1818,  m.  Capt.  Joseph  Hale  of  Limerick,  Mar.  13,  1844  ; 

2d,  Lot  Wiggin  of  Limerick,  Nov.  5,  1848. 
Francis  H.,  b.  Aug.  27,   1821,  m.  Almira  Hutchinson  of  Boston;  d.  Nov.   i, 

1853- 
Mary  E.,  b.  Oct.  19,  1824,  m.  Capt.  Wm.  A.  GoU  of  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Paulina  P.,  b.  Sept.  12,  1827. 
Charles  R.,  b.  May  20,  1830,  m.  Julia  Coffin  of  Thorndike. 

Capt.  Robert  McLellan  died  Nov.  28,  1830,  aged  48.  His  wife 
Rebecca  died  Jan.  20,  1861,  aged  75. 

(4)  David  McLellan,  son  of  William  and  Jenny  (Harding)  McLel- 
lan, lived  on  his  father's  farm,  in  the  south  part  of  the  town.  He 
married  Mary,  daughter  of  Demas  and  Mary  (Berry)  Libby  of 
Scarboro.     Children  : 

Charles  D.,  b.  July  21,  1838,  m.  Lizzie  F..  McLellan,  June,  1863  ;  d.  in  Boston, 

Aug.  9,  1872. 
William,  b.  Mar.  19,  1840,  I's  on  the  homestead,  unm. 
Mary  J.,  b.  May  8,  1843,  ™-  David  Wyman  of  Portland,  Mar.  i,  1861  ;  d.  Sept. 

10,  1865. 
Liberty,  b.  Aug.  16,  1846,  d.  young. 

Amanda  M.  F.,  b.  Nov.  18,  185 1,  m.  Abram  Bickford,  Nov.  28,  1878. 
Adriana,  b.  July  30,  1S57,  unm.,  I's  with  her  brother  William. 

David  McLellan  died  at  his  home  Jan.  26,  1870,  aged  65.  Mrs. 
McLellan  died  March  17,  1886,  aged  68. 

(4)  Hugh  1).  McLellan,  oldest  .son  of  Alexander,  was  for  many 
years  active  and  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  town.  He  was 
greatly  interested  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  its  history,  and  had  the 
present  volume  near  cotnpletion  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was 
chairman  of  the  board  of  selectmen  in  1842  and  1843,  and  repre- 
sented the  town  for  three  years  in  the  Legislature,  being  Speaker  of 
the  House  in  1847  ^^""^  1848.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Finance 
Committee  of  the  town  from  1856  till  his  death,  and  chairman  of  the 


JOSIAH    T.  McLELLAN. 


GENEALOGY.  671 

same  for  twenty-three  years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  New  England 
Historical  and  Genealogical  Society.  In  the  militia  he  took  a  promi- 
nent part,  holding  successively  the  rank  of  Ensign,  Captain,  Major 
and  Colonel,  receiving  his  commission  as  Colonel  of  the  2d  regiment 
when  but  twenty-four  years  of  age.  Col.  McLellan  married  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  P.  Staples,  the  daughter  of  Hon.  Lothrop  and  Mrs.  Mary 
Jackson  ( Prescott)  Lewis,  and  widow  of  Col.  Stephen  McL.  Staples. 
Their  children  were  Alexander  Prescott,  died  in  infancy ;  Katharine 
B.  L.,  married  Rev.  George  Lewis,  D.  D.  ;  Edward  Henry,  died  in 
infancy.  Mrs.  McLellan  died  Sept.  i,  1838,  aged  22.  Col.  McLel- 
lan died  Dec.  9,  1878,  aged  73. 

(4)  Josiah  T.  McLellan,  youngest  son  of  Alexander,  went  to  Cali- 
fornia in  1849,  where  he  remained  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  war 
of  the  Rebellion,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  ist  California  Cavalry. 
After  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  to  his  old  home  in  Gorham. 
He  married  Eliza  J.,  daughter  of  Capt.  Joseph  and  Eliza  J.  Leavitt. 
They  have  one  daughter,  Evelina  I).  Mr.  McLellan  died  in  Gorham, 
May  3,  1897. 

(4)  William   McLellan,  son  of  William  and  Mehitable,  lived  on  his 

father's  farm.     He  married  Mary  J.,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Meserve 

of  Freedom,  N.  H.     Children  : 

Eliza  Ann,  b.  June  27,  1838,  m.  Ezekiel  Harmon  of  Freedom,  N.  H.,  Jan.  12, 

1862,  d.  June  12,  1902. 
Ellen  R.,  b.  Oct.  30,  1839,  d.  young. 

Mary  Ware,  b.  Feb.  12,  1841,  m.  Alexander  Allen,  June  19,  1858. 
Charles  I.,  b.  June  6,  1843,  m.  Clara  A.  Libby,  Mar.  28,  1S66. 
William  H.,  b.  May  10,  1845,  ™'  Ella  Haskell  of  Windham. 
Harriet  L.,  b.  July  14,  1847,  d.  young. 

Winfred  M.,  b.  May  21,  1S49,  rn.  Geo.  Henry  Douglass,  Sept.  2,  iSyr. 
John  M.,  b.  May  17,  185 1,  m.  Cassia  Haskell  of  Windham. 

William  McLellan  died  Sept.   i,  1850,  aged  37.     His  wife  Mary 

died  Dec.  20,  1861,  aged  41. 

(4)  Simon  E.  McLellan,  son  of  Samuel,  is  a  watchmaker  and 
jeweler  at  Gorham  village.  He  and  his  brother  Lewis  spent  several 
years  in  Cuba  as  engineers  and  machinists  on  sugar  plantations  there. 
Mr.  McLellan  built  and  used,  for  a  machine  shop,  for  ten  years,  the 
building  now  occupied  by  him  as  a  dwelling  house.  He  married 
Mary  J.  Storer  of  Hiram.  One  son;  Samuel  E.,  born  Aug.  6,  1855, 
died  Feb.  4,  1881. 

(4)  Lewis  McLellan,  son  of  Samuel,  resides  at  the  village,  in  the 
house  built  by  his  father.  He  has  for  many  years  taken  an  active 
part  in  towm  matters.      He  has  been  one  of  the  board  of  selectmen 


672  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

in  1885-86-93-94-95-97  and  "98.  He  was  county  treasurer  three 
years.  He  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Capt.  John  Larrabee  of  Scar- 
boro.  One  child,  Maiy  L.  Mrs.  Mary  McLellan  died  Dec.  21, 
1874,  and  Mr.  McLellan  married,  Dec.  28,  1876,  Frances  A.  Hall  of 
Portland. 

Mcquillan. 

John    McQuillan  was   of    Scotch-Irish    descent.      He    came    here 

from  the  north  of  Ireland.     He  lived  in  a  one-story  house  on   South 

St.,    near  where    Daniel   Whittier   now   lives.     He   married    Abigail 

Cook.      Children  : 

John,  b.  Sept.  7,  1784,  m.  Jael  Towle,  May  4,  1S17. 

Rebecca,  b.  Feb.  7,  1787,  d.  unm. 

William,  b.  May  28,  1790,111.  Mary  Ward,  Oct.  22,  1812;  d.  Nov.  14,  1863. 

Peggy,  b.  Feb.  13,  1794,  m.  Thomas  Haiina  of  Portland,  1819. 

Mrs.  Abigail  McQuillan  died  in  1794  or  1795,  and  Mr.  McQuillan 

married,  Oct.  13,  1796,  Elizabeth   Brown,  who  died  in  1797,  leaving 

no   children,   and   Mr.    McQuillan  married,   Sept.   20,    1798,    Olive, 

daughter  of  Samuel  and  Mary  Edwards.     Children  : 

Elizabeth  B.,  b.  Feb.  3,  1799,  i"-  Rufus  Haynes  of  Saco,  about  1S25. 

Hannah,  b.  Apr.  6,  iSoo,  d.  young. 

Hugh  McL.,  b.  July  18,  1803,  m.  Elvira  Wight  of  Otisfield  ;  was  a  Chr.  Bapt. 

preacher;  d.  in  Casco,  Apr.  14,  1861. 
Sargent,  b. ,  d.  in  the  W.  Indies,  of  yellow  fever. 

John  McQuillan  died  about  1811;  his  wife  died  Sept.  17,  1821, 
aged  48. 

(2)  John  McQuillan,  son  of  John,  lived  about  a  mile  south  of  the 

village  on   the  farm  now  owned  by  George  L.   Day ;  the  house  in 

which  he  lived  stood  on  the  spot  now  occupied  by  the  residence  of 

Mr.  Day.     He  married  Jael  Towle.     Children  : 

Rebecca  M.,  b.  Apr.  25,  iSiS,  m.  Wm.  Riggs,  p.  Dec,  1839. 

Elizabeth  W.,  b.  Apr.  5,  1820,  d.  unm..  May  21,  1850. 

Jeremiah  T.,  b.  Apr.  14,   1822,  m.  Elmira  Lombard,  Jan.  31,   1854;  d.  Oct.  8, 

1863,  his  wife,  1866. 
Martha  Ann,  b.  Nov.  1 1,  1828,  m.  Cyrus  Sawyer  of  Buxton,  Jan.  8,  i860. 

John  McQuillan  died  Jan.  4,  1841,  and  his  wife  in  1875. 

MERRILL. 

Daniel  Merrill  was  born  Aug.  12,  1745.  He  married,  Jan.  12,  1775, 
Dorcas,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Priscilla  Crockett,  at  which  time  he 
was  of  Falmouth.  He  probably  came  to  Gorham  about  1779  or  1780, 
as  his  fourth  child  was  born  in  Gorham  in  1780.  He  was  a  farmer, 
and  lived  on  the  farm,  in  the  south  part  of  the  town,  since  owned  by 


LEWIS  McLELLAN. 


GENEALOGY.  678 

the  late  Reuben  Wescott.     Children  of  Daniel  and  Dorcas  Merrill, 

the  three  oldest  born  in  Falmouth  : 

John,  b.  Aug.  25,  1775,  m.  Lydia  Chamberlain,  Apr.  2t,  1799;  cl.  1849. 

Nancy,  b.  Apr.  21,  1777,  m.  Franci.s  Hunt,  Mar.  i,  1796. 

Priscilla,  b.  Jan.  23,  1778,  m.  Joseph  Roberts,  June  3,  1804. 

Daniel,  b.  Jan.  26,  1780,  m.  Rhoda  Roberts,  June  27,  1802. 

Samuel,  b.  Jan.  12,  17S2,  m.  Abigail  Plumer,  p.  May  23,  1827. 

Dorcas,  b.  Jan.  i,  1784,  m'.  William  Edwards,  Nov.  30,  1803. 

Seward,  b.  Mar.  5,  1 786,  d.  at  5  years  of  age. 

Nahum,  b.  June  21,  1788,  m.  Martha  Davis,  Jan.  9,  1812. 

Charity,  b.  Aug.  21,  1790,  m.  Samuel  Lombard,  Apr.  12,  1810. 

Seward,  b.  July  21,  1793,  m.  Joanna  Day,  Nov.  8,  1818;  2d,  Mary  Crockett. 

Betsey,  b.  July  4,  1795,  *^-  aged  6  y'rs. 

Gardner,  b.  Apr.  21,  1798,  m.  Clarissa  E.  Parker  of  Scarboro,  Mar.  9,  1S24  ;  d. 

Feb.  18,  1835. 
Stephen,  b.  Apr.  15,  1800. 
Harriet,  b.  Aug.  21,  1803,  m.  Lorenzo  Towle,  Oct.  10,  1830. 

Daniel  Merrill  died  July  11,  i<S3o,  aged  85.  Mrs.  Merrill  died 
June  22,  1830,  aged  75. 

(2)   Seward  Merrill,  .son  of  Daniel,  lived  on  the  Morris  place  in 

Scarborough,   now   Gorham,  in  the   large   two-story  house   built  by 

Charles  Morris,  and  since  owned  by  Mr.  Knight.     Col.  Merrill  was  a 

prominent  man  in  town  affairs.    He  married  Joanna  Day  of  Hallowell. 

Children  : 

Daniel,  b.  Mar.  3,  1820,  m.  Olive  Lombard. 
Clarissa  A.,  b.  Feb.  9,  1823,  m.  Charles  J.  Morris. 

Mrs.  Joanna  Merrill  died  Feb.  24,  1828,  aged  30,  and  Col.  Merrill 
married,  Sept.  13,  1829,  Mary,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth 
Crockett.     Children : 

Samuel  C,  b.  Oct.  2^,  1S30,  d.  Nov.  26,  1833. 

Nelson  H.  G.,  b.  Apr.  16,  1S33,  ^-  Mary  E.  Meserve,  Apr.  27,  1856;  d.  July  31, 

1857- 
Col.  Seward  Merrill  died  Jan.  7,  1863  ;   his  wife  Mary  died  July  27, 
1872,  aged  79. 

Nelson  Merrill  was  born  in  Portland,  from  which  place  he  came  to 

Gorham  about   1840.     He  purchased  and  lived  on  the  farm  in  the 

Shaker  neighborhood  which  Joshua  Berry  obtained  from  the  Shakers 

by   exchange  in    1819.      He  married   Betsey  Whitney  of   Standish. 

Children  : 

Lewis  F.,  b.  Sept.  16,  1837,  d.  young. 

Charles  F.,  b.  Feb.  22,  184 1,  m.  Emma  Whitney. 

Edwin  C,  b.  July  31,  1843,  m.  Carrie  Bacon;  2d,  Hattie  Fletcher;  d.  Nov.,  1882. 

Frank  W.,  b.  Jan.  27,  1848,  m.  Julia  Whitney. 

Carrie  A.,  b.  Nov.  17,  1850,  m.  Nathaniel  Hatch  of  Westbrook. 

Capt.  Nelson  Merrill  died  Oct.  27,  1877,  aged  67.  Mr.s:  Betsey 
Merrill  died  March  7,  1896. 


674  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Nathaniel  Merrill,  about  1825,  kept  a  store  in  the  Bailey  shop, 
which  then  stood  near  the  street.  Capt.  Charles  Harding  was  a  clerk 
in  this  store.  It  was  Mr.  Merrill's  intention  to  build  and  keep  a 
public  house  in  front  of  where  the  house  of  Alfred  A.  Bailey  now 
stands,  but  he  abandoned  this  idea  and  moved  to  Gray.  He  married 
Olive  Plaisted.  Their  children  were  William  Lambert,  George,  and 
a  child  born  in  1827. 

MESERVE. 

Of  the  dwellers  in  the  fort  on  Fort  Hill,  during  the  seven-years 
Indian  war  commencing  in  1745,  was  one  Clement  Meserve,  or  as  the 
name  was  often  called,  "  Harvey." 

On  consulting  the  best  authorities  within  our  reach,  we  have  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  Meserves  of  Scarboro  and  Gorham  came 
from  Dover  or  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  where  the  name  appears  to  have 
been  quite  common.  There  was  a  Lieut.  Col.  Nathaniel  Meserve,  of 
the  New  Hampshire  troops,  who  distinguished  himself  in  the  Louis- 
burg  expedition  in  1745  ;  he  is  said  to  have  been  of  the  same  family 
that  came  to  Maine,  and  a  brother  to  the  Gorham  Clement. 

Southgate,  in  his  history  of  Scarboro,  says  Clement  Meserve 
was  in  that  town  in  1725,  that  he  was  a  joiner  by  trade,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  John  and  Daniel.  This  is  right,  but  these  latter  Meserves 
were  not  a  new  emigration  from  the  west,  but  were  the  sons  of 
Clement.  This  Clement  left  to  his  son  Clement,  by  will  (proved 
Nov.  5,  1746),  30  acres  of  land.  The  latter,  who  was  the  Clement 
Meserve  of  Gorham,  was  the  eldest  son  of  the  Clement  of  Scarboro 
of  1725,  and  was  born,  either  in  Newington  or  Portsmouth,  N.  H., 
about  the  year  1703.  When  Clement  Meserve  first  lived  in  Scarboro 
his  residence  is  said  to  have  been  on  what  has  latterly  been  known 
as  the  Seth  Storer  farm,  near  the  old  Scarboro  turnpike.  But  the 
family  afterwards  settled  near  what  has  since  been  known  as  Wescott's 
Hill.  On  coming  to  Gorham,  Clement  brought  with  him  a  family  of 
children,  some  of  them  nearly  grown  up.  That  Clement  Meserve 
was  one  of  the  active  men  in  the  fort,  is  made  quite  certain  from  the 
fact,  which  has  been  handed  down  in  the  family,  that  when  Edmund 
Phinney  went  out  in  pursuit  of  the  cows,  was  attacked,  wounded,  and 
came  near  being  captured  by  the  Indians,  as  mentioned  elsewhere, 
Clement  Meserve  was  one  of  those  who  sallied  forth  to  the  rescue, 
and  brought  young  Phinney  into  the  fort,  which  act  was  highly  com- 
mended by  all  as  a  display  of  great  bravery  by  the  little  party,  as  the 
Indians    were    much    superior    in    numbers.       Whether    this    act    of 


GENEALOGY.  675 

the    elder    brought    about    any    remarkable    fondness    between    the 
younger  members  of  the  families,  we  cannot  say. 

Clement  Meserve  married  in  Newington,  Oct.  13,  1726,  Sarah 
Decker.  Aug.  14,  1738  he  married  Mrs.  Sarah  Stone  of  Scarboro. 
His  children  were  Betty,  born  Sept.  2,  1730;  Clement,  born  Sept.  2, 
1733;  John;  Margaret;  Hannah;  Joseph;  Benjamin,  bapt.  July  4, 
1744,  and  Nathaniel,  born  Jan.  26,  1749.  Elizabeth,  or  Betty,  was 
the  first  married  ;  she  married  Edmund  Phinney  after  the  close  of 
the  Indian  war,  probably  in  1750.  The  next  was  Hannah;  she  mar- 
ried Timothy  Crocker.  The  ceremony  was  performed  by  the  Rev. 
Solomon  Lombard,  December,  1754.  Who  Crocker  was,  or  from 
whence  he  came,  we  do  not  know  ;  it  was  not  a  Gorham  name.  It  is 
believed  they  settled  in  Scarboro,  though  at  this  time  no  trace  of  them 
can  be  found.  Some  of  the  name  left  Scarboro  at  or  near  the  time  that 
the  Scarboro  colony  went  to  Machias,  and  the  name  is  found  there 
amongst  the  early  settlers  of  that  town.  One  of  the  decendants  of 
the  Meserve  family  now  (1873)  living,  recollects  of  hearing  his  parents 
speak  of  visiting,  and  being  visited  by,  uncle  and  aunt  Crocker,  and 
that  they  lived  in  one  of  the  neighboring  towns,  but  cannot  remember 
where  it  was.  Clement,  the  son,  married  Mary  Wooster  of  Pearsons- 
town,  now  Standish,  Sept.  19,  1757.  There  Vas  another  Wooster 
girl  of  Pearsonstown  who  married  Dennis  Larry  of  Gorham.  We 
can  find  no  other  record  than  the  marriages  to  enlighten  us  as  to  who 
these  young  ladies  were;  but  we  have  found,  after  much  inquiry,  that 
the  region  around  Sebago  Pond  was  sometimes  called  Sebagotown  in 
early  times.  That  part  of  the  country  was  often  known  as  Hobbs- 
town,  then  Pearsonstown,  and  tinally  incorporated  as  Standish.  And 
then  we  find,  in  Parson  Smith's  Journal,  under  date  of  1757,  March 
13,  "One  Clark,  of  Sebago-town,  killed  Wooster,  and  wounded  Gray 
and  Sands."  The  history  of  these  persons,  or  what  was  the  cause  of 
the  affray,  is  now  lost ;  but  if  these  girls  were  the  daughters  of  this 
Wooster,  they  both  found  husbands  in  Gorham,  and  one  of  them,  and 
possibly  both,  have  descendants  now  living  in  town.  Clement 
Meserve,  the  husband  of  Mary  Wooster,  moved  to  Bristol  about  1771. 
The  last  we  find  of  his  name  is  where  he  was  paid  for  aiding  John 
Phinney  and  Hugh  McLellan  in  clearing  the  road  from  Gorham  cor- 
ner to  Bradgdon's  mill,  about  1762.  John  Meserve  married  Mary 
Yaton  of  Pearsonstown,  in  March,  1757,  and  if  there  was  no  other 
John,  which  we  believe  to  be  the  fact,  John  married  a  second  wife, 
Sarah  Strout  of  Gorham,  Jan.  28,  1762.  lie  purchased,  lot,  51,  on 
which  he  lived,  of  David  Gorham  —  deed  dated,  Aug.  29,  1753.     We 


676  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

find  no  other  record  of  him  in  town,  but  he  appears  in  Standish, 
where  he  had  a  family,  and  died,  probably  in  Bridgton,  within  the 
memoiy  of  some  now  (1873)  living.  Margaret  Meserve  married,  in 
February,  1757,  William  Wescott,  whose  father  lived  on  what  was 
known  as  Skillings'  Hill,  then  in  Falmouth.  They  settled  on  the 
farm  in  Scarboro  since  known  as  the  Theodore  Libby  farm. 
Nathaniel  Meserve  married  Rebecca  Martin. 

Clement  Meserve  did  not  remain  in  town  many  years,  —  going  to 
Pearsonstown  in  or  before  1753  — and  there  is  no  record  showing 
the  number  of  the  lot  he  owned  or  occupied  in  Gorham.  The  early 
settlers  were  not  always  particular  to  have  their  titles  recorded. 
Some  of  them  thought  it  sufficient  to  have  their  names  entered  on 
their  lot  on  the  Proprietors'  plan.  There  was  such  a  plan,  with  such 
entries,  for  which  I  have  made  diligent  search.  The  last  known  of 
it  was  that  it  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Rev.  Solomon  Lombard  at  his 
decease,  and  went  into  the  hands  of  his  executor.  Some  of  his  heirs 
have  seen  this  old  plan,  then  very  much  dilapidated  and  used  up. 

The  descendants  of  Clement  Meserve,  the  elder,  through  his  chil- 
dren and  the  various  intermarriages  of  his  kindred,  have  become  very 
numerous  in  Gorham,  and  among  them  we  reckon  some  of  our  best 
citizens. 

Samuel  Meserve  was  the  son  of  Andrew  and  Eunice   Meserve  of 

Scarboro,  in  which  town  he  was  born,  Aug.  17,  1804.     He  lived  at 

Parker's  corner,  on  the  Scarboro  Strip,  now  Gorham.     Mr.  Meserve 

was  a  deacon  of  the   Free  Baptist  Church.      He  married,  Sept.  10, 

1826,  Hannah,  daughter  of  John  and  Elizabeth  Rand  Green.  Children  : 

William  H.,  b.  Oct.  24,  1827,  m.  and  d.  in  Gold  Hill,  Nevada. 

Alvin  R.,  b.  June  23,  1833,  m.  in  Cal. 

Mary  E.,  b.  Feb.  20,  1S36,  m.  Nelson  H.  G.  Merrill,  Apr.  27,  1S56;  2d,  Merrill  T. 

Files,  Nov.  10,  1861. 
Sarah  M.,  b.  July  10.  1841,  m.  Gardner  M.  Parker. 
Esther  R.,  b.  Dec.  17,  1845,  d.  Jan.  9,  1871. 

Dea.  Samuel  Meserve  died  Jan.  28,  1870,  aged  65.     Mrs.  Meserve 

died  March  8,  1894,  aged  90. 

Robert  Meserve  came  to  Gorham  from  Limington  about  1836.     He 

lived  in  the  Quaker  neighborhood,  on  what  is  now  known  as  the 

Ansel  Stone  place.     His  wife  was  Mehitable  Sawyer.     Children  : 

Lucy  R.,  b.  Apr.  23,  1829,  m.  Ansel  Stone;  d.  Feb.  28,  1886. 

Mary  A.,  b.  Nov.  25,  1830. 

Catherine,  b.  June  5,  1833,  m.  Solomon  Brackett,  and  2d,  Tyng  W.  Libby. 

Almon,  b.  Jan.  8,  1836,  d.  Mar.  13,  1852. 

Ellen  F.,  b.  Nov.  12,  1837,  d.  Sept.  1 1,  1858. 


GENEALOGY.  677 

Mrs.  Mehitable  Meserve  died  June  17,  1865,  aged  70,  and  Mr. 
Meserve  married  Mrs.  Phebe  (Gates)  Willis,  daughter  of  Ebenezer 
and  Anna  Gates,  and  widow  of  Ebenezer  Willis.  Robert  Meserve 
died  Dec.  8,  1880,  aged  81  ;  his  widow  died  May  22,  1884,  aged  80. 

MILLER. 

John  Miller,  the  first  of  the  name  who  settled  in  Gorham,  was  from 
Gape  Elizabeth.  He  was  born  Jan.  4,  1745,  and  was  the  son  of 
James  Miller.  April  15,  1781,  he  married  Mrs.  Margaret  (Johnson) 
McLellan,  daughter  of  James  and  Jane  Johnson  of  Falmouth,  and 
widow  of  Gapt.  Alexander  McLellan,  and  settled  on  the  farm  on  the 
Fort  Hill  road,  then  owned  by  the  heirs  of  Gapt.  McLellan. 

Soon  after  the  marriage  of  John,  his  father,  James  Miller,  came 
from  Gape  Elizabeth,  and  resided  here  several  years  with  his  son. 
He  afterwards  went  to  Durham,  where  he  lived  with  his  sons,  James 
and  Joshua.  He  died  in  that  town  about  1798  or  1799,  at  the  age 
of  85  or  90.  In  youth  and  manhood  he  followed  the  occupation, 
then  so  common  with  the  inhabitants  of  Maine,  —  he  was  a  mariner 
and  fisherman.  This  elder  Miller  was  a  brother  of  John  Miller,  the 
husband  of  Jenny  (Graige)  Miller,  who  lived  in  Portland  about 
the  year  1740,  and  who  was  the  daughter  of  Mary  (McLellan)  Graige. 

The  children  of  John  and  Margaret  Miller  were  : 

Polly,  b.  Jan.  15,  1782,  d.  July  i,  1786. 

John,  b.  Mar.  4,  17S4,  d.  June,  17S6. 

Samuel,  b.  May  7,  1786,  m.  Jane  B.  Smith,  Apr.  12,  1810;  2d,  Mary  Johnson. 

John  Miller  and  his  wife  lived  on  the  farm  till  their  death,  exem- 
plary persons,  respected  by  all  who  knew  them.  She  died,  aged 
76,  March  20,  and  he  May  26,  1820,  aged  75.  Both  were  buried  in 
the  McLellan  tomb  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  old  cemetery  at  the 
village.  After  the  death  of  his  father  and  mother,  Samuel  Miller 
purchased  the  right  of  the  McLellan  heirs  to  the  farm,  and  owned 
and  occupied  it  many  years.  In  1840  he  sold  it  to  Dr.  Fabyan.  It 
is  now  owned  by  Hon.  Isaac  W.  Dyer.  Samuel  Miller  married  Jane 
Brackett  Smith,  daughter  of  James  and  Mary  Smith.  By  her  he  had 
one  child  : 

Jane  S.,  b.  Jan.  8,  181 2,  d.  unm  ,  in  Lewiston,  Nov.  22,  1888. 

Mrs.  Miller  died  Jan.  12,  18 12.  Gapt.  Miller  married,  Nov.  2, 
18 1 7,  Mary,  daughter  of  Randall  Johnson  of  Westbrook.      Ghildren  : 

Elizabeth,  b.  Aug.  20,  181S,  m.  Emery  S.  Warren  of  Durham. 

John,  b.  May  25,  1822,  m.  Kate  White  of  Castor,  England;  d.  Oct.  11,  1881. 

In  1840  Samuel  Miller  removed  to  Durham,  where  he  and  his  son 

kept  a  hotel.     He  died  April  21,  1861,  aged  75.     Mrs.  Mary  Miller 

died  at  Lewiston,  June  20,  1885. 


678  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


MILLETT. 


Thomas  Millet,  born  in  Chertsey,  England,  in  1605,  came  to 
America  with  his  wife  and  son  Thomas  in  1635,  and  settled  at 
Dorchester,  Mass.,  and  later  at  Brookfield,  Mass.  Several  of  his 
descendants  came  to  Maine  to  reside. 

Thomas  Millet,  Jr.,  probably  son  of  Thomas  and  Susanna  Millet, 
and  of  the  fifth  generation  from  the  emigrant,  bought,  April  2,  1774, 
of  Samuel  Dunn  of  Cape  Elizabeth  a  part  of  the  hundred  acre  lot  46 
in  Gorham.     He  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  enlisting  from  Gor- 

ham  in  the  army  for  three  years.     His  wife  was  Lydia  .     We 

have  been  unable  to  find  any  record  of  their  family.  A  Rhoda  Millet 
of  Gorham  was  published  with  David  Barker  of  Windham,  Sept.  8, 
1 78 1.  A  Betsey  Millet  of  Gorham  was  published  with  John  Mariner 
of  Gorham,  March  5,  1796.  Mr.  Millet  died  about  1786.  In  April, 
1787,  Lydia  Millet  as  administratrix  of  the  estate  of  Thomas  Millet, 
Jr.,  of  Gorham,  deceased,  deeded  to  David  Barker  of  Windham  two- 
thirds  of  the  real  estate  in  Gorham  belonging  to  her  late  husband, 
reserving  her  own  dower. 

Henry  R.  Millett,  of  the  seventh  generation  from  Thomas  Millet 
the  emigrant,  was  born  in  Leeds  Sept.  23,  1832.  His  great-grand- 
father, Thomas  Millet,  who  died  in  Leeds,  was  a  Revolutionary 
sodier.  Col.  Millett  came  to  Gorham  when  a  young  man  and  remained 
for  a  time.  After  a  short  absence  he  returned  here  in  i860  and  took 
charge  of  the  shoe  factory  of  Libby  and  Walker  at  Little  Falls.  This 
position  he  resigned  to  enlist  April  27,  186 1  in  company  A,  5th  Me. 
Vols.  After  an  honorable  service,  and  having  attained  the  rank  of 
lieut.  colonel  of  his  regiment,  he  was  mustered  out  July  27,  1864. 
(See  page  341.)  Col.  Millett  has  taken  a  prominent  part  in  town 
affairs,  and  has  been  collector  two  years,  and  in  1895  was  Repre- 
sentative to  the  Legislature.  He  has  held  the  office  of  postmaster  at 
the  village  for  two  terms.  For  more  than  twenty  years  he  has  been 
chairman  of  the  Republican  town  committee.  Col.  Millett  married, 
Dec.  29,  1870,  M.  Antoinette,  daughter  of  Freeman  and  Eliza  (Eaton) 
Whitney  of  Portland,  and  granddaughter  of  Stephen  and  Hannah 
(Freeman)  Whitney  of  Gorham. 

MORRIS. 

Charles  Morris  came  to  America  about  the  year  1768  from  Wales 
(Great  Britain)  where  he  was  born  Sept.  29,  1749-  The  tradition  in 
the  family  is  that  he  lost  his  father  in  early  life,  and  was  reared  by 
his  father's  brother,  the  Dean  of  Gloucester.     There  is  a  picture  in 


GENEALOGY.  679 

the  possession  of  his  descendants  supposed  to  be  that  of  the  Dean, 
his  uncle.  The  members  of  the  family  now  (1879)  living,  who  have 
a  recollection  of  Charles  Morris,  say  he  resembled  in  appearance  the 
picture  alluded  to. 

Charles  Morris  settled  and  lived  in  that  part  of  Scarboro,  now 
Gorham,  known  as  "the  strip,"  on  the  farm  since  known  as  the  Col. 
Seward  Merrill  place,  lie  built  the  large  two-story  house  which 
stood  just  east  of  John  Knight's  and  which  was  destroyed  by  fire 
some  years  since.  He  was  a  miller,  and  owned  the  mill  privilege, 
now  the  property  of  S.  B.  Knight.  He  married,  Sept.  2,  1770, 
Rhoda,  daughter  of  Dea.  Jonathan  Libby  of  Scarboro.     Children  : 

Martha,  b.  Feb.  24,  1772,  m.  Allen  Davis,  July  8,  1792. 

John  W.,  b.  May  25,  1775,  "^-  Betsey  Elder,  Nov.  18,  1798. 

Sally,  b.  May  7,  1777,  m.  Dennis  Marr;  d.  May  8,  1829. 

James  H.,  b.  Jan.  23,  1779,  m.  Abigail  Burnham  about  1811. 

Rhoda,  b.  Feb.  17,  1781,  m.  Hugh  McLellan,  July  4,  1802. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Mar.  4,  1783,  m.  Capt.  Samuel  Haines;  I'd  in  Portland. 

Charles,  b.  Apr.  14,  1785,  d.  June  9,  1792. 

Ann  Louisa,  b.  Sept.  16,  1787,  d.  Mar.  8,  1821. 

Polly,  b.  May  7,  1790,  m.  Josiah  Jose  of  Scarboro  ;  d.  in  1865. 

Charles,  b.  June  20,  1792,  m.  Eliza  Emerson,  Oct.  27,  1813. 

Charles  Morris  died  Feb.  6,  18 18,  and  his  wife,  Feb.  16,  1821. 

(2)  John  W.  Morris,  son  of  Charles,  lived  where  Liberty  Moulton 
now  lives,  in  the  south  part  of  the  town.  He  was  a  farmer  and  lum- 
berman. He  married  Betsey,  daughter  of  Samuel  Elder  of  Gorham. 
Children : 

Hannah  F.,  b.  Sept.  14,  1799,  d.  unm.  Aug.  14,  1817. 

Samuel  E.,  b.  July  10,  1801,  d.  July  5,  1810. 

Hugh  McL.,  b.  Nov.  2,   1803,  m.  S.  Augusta  Hill,  Sept.  12,  1847;  d.  Oct.  10, 

1863. 
Mary  Ann,  b.  Feb.  19,  1806,  m.  Sylvanus  Hayes  of  Limerick,  Nov.  23,  1823  ;  d. 

Feb.  18,  1888. 
Elizabeth,  b.  May  3,  1808,  m.  Rev.  Geo.  W.  Adams,  Sept.  6,  1837 ;  I'd  in   Mass. 
Martha  H.,  b.  Sept.  8,  1810,  m.  Joseph  Hale  of  Limerick,  Dec.  25,  1S39;  d.  July 

12,  1841. 
Catherine,  b.  Aug.  10,  1812,  d.  Sept.  25,  1812. 
Samuel   E.,    b.   Apr.    14,  1814,  m.  Mrs.  Abigail  Googin,  1S55  ;  no  children;  d. 

Oct.  19,  1892  ;  she,  Aug.  12,  1S88. 
Charles  R.,  b.  July   16,   1816,  m.  Susan  Tibbets,  Nov.  29,  1838;  2d,  Mary  A. 

Harding,  Jan.  27,  1840;  3d,  Jane  Clifford,  Oct.  9,  1S66 ;  d.  Nov.  8,  1896. 
John  W.,  b.  Mar.  14,  1819,  m.  Mary  J.  Monroe,  Dec.  25,  1845;  d.  ^eb.  26,  1871. 
Edward  S.,  b.  July  3,  1821,  m.  Lizzie  N.  Priest,  Sept.  18,  1851. 
Hannah  C,  b.  Apr.  26,  1824,  d.  Dec.  4,  1S43. 

John  \V.  Morris  moved  to  Limerick  in  1S34,  and  died  there  May 
ID,  1847. 

(2)  James  H.  Morris,  son  of  Charles,  lived  on  the  old  homestead, 
opposite  his  father.  He  married  Abigail  Burnham  of  Parsonsfield. 
Children  : 


G80  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

William  T.,  b.  June  20,  1S12,  m.  Sarah  A.  Harding,  Nov.  27,  1834;  d.  in  Port- 
land, Dec.  29,  1888. 
Harriet  N.,  b.  Nov.  24,  1S14,  d.  Aug.  4,  1833. 
Ann  Louisa,  b.  Oct.  4,  1822,  m.  Ally  Hawkes  of  Windham. 
Rhoda  C,  b.  June  23,  1S25,  d.  June  17,  1845. 

James  H.  Morris  died  Dec.  18,  1830,  aged  52.     Mrs.  Abigail  died 

Dec.  29,  1867,  aged  82.     Aiter  the  death  of  James  H.   Morris,  the 

homestead  became  the  property  of  his  son,  WiUiam.  who  sold  it  and 

moved  to  Limerick. 

(2)  Charles  Morris,  Jr.,  son  of  Charles,  lived  where  Asa  Burnham 
now  lives,  in  the  south  part  of  the  town.  He  moved  to  Portland. 
He  married  Eliza  Emerson,  sister  of  Rufus  Emerson,  Esq.  of  Port- 
land.    Children  : 

Sarah  L.,  b.  Jan.  2,  1815,  d.  unm.  in  Portland,  Nov.,  1S85. 

Wm.  Emerson,  b.  July  31,  1S16,  m.  Margery  Hammond;  2d,  Mary  C.  Merrill; 

I'd  in  Gorham,  then  in  Portland,  where  he  was  Judge  of  the  Municipal 

Court;  d.  in  1896-7. 
Charles  James,  b.  July  i,  1823,  m.  Clarissa  Merrill;  d.  May  25,  1875. 
Elizabeth  P.,  b.  July  21,  1826,  m.  Isaac  Libby,  Oct.  31,  1847;  d.  Aug.  28,  1856. 

Charles  Morris  died  March  29,  1840,  aged  47.  Mrs.  Eliza  Morris 
died  Sept.  5,  1855,  aged  64. 

MORTON.. 

The  first  we  know  of  Bryant  Morton  he  was  a  citizen  of  Falmouth 
(Cape  Elizabeth,)  about  the  year  1738.  He  was  a  tax  payer  there 
in  1743.  We  do  not  know  from  whence  he  came,  although  his 
descendants  claim  him  to  have  been  English.  His  wife,  to  whom  he 
must  have  been  married   as   early   as   the  year   1730,  was  Thankful 

.     She  was  the  mother  of   ten  of  his  children.     We  find  no 

record  of  her  death.  He  married  in  Cape  Elizabeth,  June  23,  1771, 
Mrs.  Lucy  (White)  Chamberlain,  born  in  Falmouth,  Dec.  i,  1732, 
daughter  of  John  and  Jerusha  W^hite.  She  was  the  widow  of  Aaron 
Chamberlain,  and  the  mother  of  Benjamin  Chamberlain,  for  many 
years  a  citizen  of  Gorham,  who  died  in  town,  Dec.  25,  1855,  at  the 
age  of  ninety-four  years  and  nineteen  days  ;  consequently  he  must 
have  been  born  Dec.  6,  1761. 

By  his  second  wife  Mr.  Morton  had  two  children.  All  of  Bryant 
Morton's  children,  except  the  two  last,  were  born  before  he  came  to 
Gorham,  probably  in  Falmouth  (Cape  Elizabeth).  By  record  we 
find  him  as  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  Sept.  28,  1750,  when  he  purchased 
Augustus  Bearse's  right  in  Gorhamtown.  In  1751,  June  28,  the 
Proprietors  of  Gorham  deed  him  land,  at  which  time  he  is  styled  as 
of  Gorhamtown.      He  probably  came  here  between   these  two  dates. 


GENEALOGY.        .  681 

He  was  a  large  dealer  in  lands.  Few  men  in  town  bought  and  sold 
more  lots  than  Bryant  Morton.  He  owned  and  lived  on  the  thirty 
acre  lot,  15,  at  Gorham  Corner.  His  dwelling-house  stood  back  and 
near  to  where  Mr.  Emery's  brick  store  now  stands,  and  his  barn  was 
on  the  lot  opposite,  across  the  street,  near  where  the  Methodist 
church  now  stands.  Back  of  the  barn  were  a  number  of  graves, 
where  some  of  the  early  settlers  were  buried,  but  not  a  stone  or  mark 
of  any  kind  remains  to  tell  their  names,  and  tradition  has  preserved 
but  few  of  them.  As  the  first  wife  of  Capt.  Bryant  Morton  must 
have  died  before  1771,  it  is  probable  she  was  buried  on  this  corner 
lot, —  then  owned  by  Mr.  Morton, —  back  of  the  present  Masonic 
building.  This  was  before  Mr.  Hamblen  presented  the  Corner 
burial  yard  to  the  town  in  177  i. 

In  1772  Mr.  Morton  was  one  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  and 
Correspondence;  and  was  a  delegate  to  the  Provincial  Congress 
held  at  Cambridge.  He  rode  to  Cambridge  on  horseback,  with 
Benjamin  Chamberlain  behind  him  to  bring  back  his  horse.  He 
was  Representative  to  the  General  Court  several  years  ;  and  a  captain 
in  the  army,  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  He  had  command 
of  a  company  of  eighty  men,  called  Sea-coast  Guards ;  and  was 
stationed  at  Fort  Hancock,  on  Cape  Elizabeth.  This  fort  was  located 
on  the  spot  now  occupied  by  Fort  Preble,  and  consisted  of  a  battery 
of  several  cannon  for  the  defence  of  Portland,  then  Falmouth. 

For  several  years  Mr.  Morton  was  a  firm  supporter  of  the  old 
Congregational  church,  and  was  one  of  its  ruling  elders  in  1758-59. 
With  many  others  he  became  dissatisfied  with  the  ministrations  of 
Mr.  Lombard,  and  with  them  drew  off,  built  a  new  meeting-house, 
and  settled  the  Rev.  Ebenezer  Townsend.  Capt.  Morton  in  his 
latter  days  became  a  zealous  Free  Will  Baptist.  Before  his  second 
marriage  he  provided  well  for  his  first  children.  His  homestead  at 
Gorham  Corner  he  conveyed  to  his  son  Bryant,  who  by  his  deed 
conveys  "  the  lot,  No.  15,  with  the  Bryant  Morton  house,  and  the  lot 
opposite,  where  the  Bryant  Morton  barn  stands,"  to  Cary  McLellan. 
After  his  second  marriage,  Capt.  Morton  moved  on  to  a  small  farm, 
since  called  the  "Chamberlain  place,"  situated  on  the  road  leading 
from  Main  St.,  near  the  house  formerly  owned  and  occupied  by  Mr. 
James  Phinney,  to  Scarborough.  Here  he  died  in  the  year  1793, 
aged  about  88.  At  his  death  his  estate,  real  and  personal,  was 
appraised  at  about  seven  hundred  dollars.  His  wife  survived  him 
many  years,  and  died  about  the  year  18 13.  The  children  of  Bryant 
and  Thankful  Morton  were : 


I 


682  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Thomas,  b.  about  1730,  m.  Rachel  Elwell,  May  9,  1751. 

Martha  (?),  b. ,  m.  James  Gilkey,  Sept.  11,  1748. 

Joseph,  b.  about  1734,  d.  (so  says  Dea.  Alden)  Jan.  29,  1763. 

Ebenezer,  b.  about  1737,  m.  Sarah  Whitney,  Dec.  27,  1758. 

Thankful,  b.  about  1739,  m.  Abel  Whitney,  Dec.  16,  1758. 

Jabez,  b.  about  1741,  m.  Lucy  Whitney,  C3ct.  u,  1764. 

Bryant,  b.  about  1743,  m.  Love  Frost  of  Berwick,  Dec.  30,  1766;  can  find  no 

record  of  their  family ;    I'd  in  the  south  part  of  the  town ;  afterwards 

moved  to  Berwick. 
Elisha,  b.  about  1745,  find  no  record  of  him. 
Anna,  b.  about  1747,  m.  Phineas  Whitney,  Oct.  19,  1769. 
Phineas,  b. ,  moved  out  of  town. 

By  his  second  wife,  Lucy  Chamberlain,  he  had  : 

Jerusha,  b.  Sept.  10,  1772. 
John,  b.  Feb.  1 1,  1775. 

(2)  Thomas  Morton,  son  of  Bryant,  married  Rachel  Elwell  of  Cape 

Elizabeth,  sister  to  Jonathan  Elwell  of  Gorham.     Children  : 

James,  b.  June,  1753,  m.  Susan  Dyer,  July  12,  1777. 
■  Elisha,  b.  1756,  I'd  in  Unity  or  Thorndike. 
Ebenezer,  b. ,  m.  Susan,  dau.  of  Thomas  and  Deliverance  Irish,  Dec.  7, 

1780;  I'd  and  d.  on  Standish  Neck;  served  in  the  Revolution,  enlisting 

in  Capt.  Jenkins's  company,  in  the  12th  Mass.,  when  little  more  than  a 

boy. 
David,  b.  June  22,  1761,  m.  Mary  Sanger  about  17S3. 

Thankful,  b. — ,  m.  Enos  Newcomb,  Jan.  23,  1783. 

Thomas,  b.  1765,  m.  Betty  Frost,  Aug.  23,  17S7  ;  2d,  Lydia  Cotton. 

William,  b.  ,  m.  Lydia  Strout  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  Nov.  29,  1787. 

Rachel,  b. ,  m.  Jonathan  K.  Lowell  of  Hiram,  Dec.  11,  1783. 

Reuben,  b. ,  m.  Mary  (or  Mercy)  Dyer  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  Jan.  27, 1793  ; 

merchant  in  Portland  in  1797. 
Abigail,  b. ,  m.  Ephraim  Ryle  (or  Riley)  of  Baldwin,  Nov.  6,  1791. 

(2)  Ebenezer  Morton,  son  of  Bryant,  enlisted  in  1775,  in  Capt. 
Stuart's  company,  31st  Mass.,  as  sergeant,  and  later  served  under 
Capt.  Jenkins,  in  the  12th  Mass.  He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of 
Nathan  and  Lydia  Whitney.     Children  : 

Mary,  b.  Mar.  6,  1760. 

Martha,  b.  May  19,  1762,  m.  Ebenezer  Irish,  Jan.  i,  1785. 

Joseph,  b.  Feb.  9,  1765,  m.  Lydia  Lombard,  Nov.  22,  1789. 

Matthias,  b.  Aug.  31,  1767. 

Elisha,  b.  Jan.  25,  1770,  m.  Bathshuah  Lombard,  Feb.  18,  1796. 

Ebenezer,  b.  July  15,  1771. 

Josiah,  b.  July  14,  1773. 

Daniel,  b.  Nov.  11,  1776. 

(2)  Jabez  Morton,  son  of  Bryant,  married  Lucy,  daughter  of  Isaac 
and  Sarah  Whitney.     Their  children  were  : 
Isaac,  b.  Aug.  18,  1767. 
Anna,  b.  Jan.  28,  1770. 
Hannah,  b.  July  17,  1772. 
Sarah,  b.  Dec.  28,  1774. 
Stephen,  b.  July   17,  1777. 
Reuben,  b.  May  12,  1780. 
Eunice,  b.  Nov.  23,  1782. 
Lucy,  b.  Apr.  28,  1785. 

This  family  is  said  to  have  moved  out  of  town. 


GENEALOGY.  G83 

(3)  James  Morton,  son  of  Thomas,  was  a  mason  by  trade.     He 

lived  on  the  Samuel   Libby  farm,  at  "the  North,"  where  Phineas  I. 

Libby  now  lives.      His  wife  was  Susan  Dyer    of    Cape    Elizabeth. 

Children  : 

Hannah,  b.  Aug.  12,  1778,  m.  Edmund  Wescott,  May  15,  1794. 

Thomas,  b.  Apr.  7,  1780,  m.  Hannah  Wescott,  Nov.  15,  1802. 

Anna,  b.  Mar.  30,  1781,  m.  Bryan  Martin,  Feb.  8,  1798. 

Mary,  b.  June  13,  1783,  m.  Bryant  Morton,  Jr.,  July  19,  1803. 

Elliot,  b.  Dec.  13,  1789,  d.  at  sea. 

James,  b.  Jan.  29,  1792,  m.  Mary  Page;  d.  in  Gorham,  Mar.  26,  1829. 

Betsey,  b.  Jan.  29,  1794,  m.  Taylor  of  Thorndike. 

Wealthy,  b.  Aug.  30,  1795,  ™-  Joseph  Wescott,  Oct.  9,  181 7. 
Major,  b.  Mar.  22,  1797,  m.  Mary  Wescott,  Feb.  8,  1819. 
Micah,  b.  June  5,  1798,  d.  in  (iorham  about  1S04. 

Randall,  b.  Aug.   16,   1800,  m.  Elizabeth   W^escott,   Nov.  18,    1821;  moved  to 
Thorndike. 

James  Morton  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  enlisting 
as  a  private  in  Capt.  Hart  Williams'  company  in  1775.  The  follow- 
ing year  he  served  as  sergeant  under  Capt.  Williams,  and  also  in 
Col.  Wigglesworth's  regiment.  Mr.  Morton  died  April  10,  1840, 
aged  87  ;  his  wife,  Oct.  8,  1816,  aged  62. 

(3)  David  Morton,  son  of  Thomas,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 
tion, serving  in  Capt.  Whitmore's  company,  Col.  Fogg's  regiment. 
After  he  was  discharged  from  the  army  he  hired  out  for  six  years,  in 
the  town  of  Watertowh,  Mass.,  to  work  on  a  farm,  where  he  married 
his  wife,  Mary  Sanger,  about  the  year  1783.  He  lived  in  Gorham, 
near  Horse  Beef.     Children  : 

John,  b.  Aug.  9,  1784,  m.  Rachel  Bolton,  May  10,  1807. 

Reuben,  b.   1786,  m.   Esther  Plummer,  Mar.  23,  1809;  d.  June  13,   1817.     His 

widow  m.  Joseph  Mussey  of  Standish,  Mar.  31,  181 9. 
Polly,  b.  1788,  m.  Jesse  Butterfield  of  Standish,  June  10,  1813. 
William,  b.  1790,  m.  Mary  Rich,  Jan.  21,  1819;  I'd  in  Conway,  N.  H. 
David,  b.  Jan.  9,  1792,  m.  Salome  Shaw,  Oct.  10,  1816;  moved  to  Standish. 
Richard,  b.  1794,  d.  young. 

Martha,  b.  1796,  m.  Daniel  Libby,  Jan.  22,  1S18;  d.  Dec.  31,  1821. 
Lydia,  b.  Jan.  2,  1798,  m.  Peter  Shaw  of  Standish,  Sept.  14,  181 7. 

^  f  m.  Zilpha  Bangs,  Dec.  26, 1825,  who  d.  Oct.  29,  1826, 

Bryant,  !  ,      .  ^      J      and  he  m.  Mary  Harmon,  Aug.  19,  1827;  I'd  in 

Anna,     ^-i^-  J""e  7,  i^oi,  ^       Bridgton. 

J  l^m.  Edmund  Rand  of  Standish,  p.  Oct.  30,  1S24. 

Elsey,  b.  Jan.  15,  1805,  m.  Daniel  Libby,  May  19,  1822  (2d  wife) ;  2d;  Henry  W. 

Elwell,  Sept.  29,  1828;  3d, Bourne;  d.  Apr.  6, 1874. 

Esther,  b.  1809,  m.  Lewis  Hall  of  Standish. 

David  Morton  died  June  22,  1827,  being  66  years  old  the  day  he 
died.     His  wife  Mary,  Jan.  20,  1841,  aged  74. 

(3)  Thomas  Morton,  son  of  Thomas,  was  also  a  Revolutionary 
soldier.  He  lived  on  the  place  where  Alston  Y.  Whitney  now  resides. 
He  married  Betty,  daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Susanna  Frost  of  Gor- 
ham.    Children  : 


684  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Samuel,  b.  May  25,  1790,  d.  unm.  , 

Benjamin,  b.  Feb.  14,  1792,  m.  Sarah  Green,  Aug.  15,  1818. 

Nathaniel,  b.  Jan.  11,  1794,  d.  unm.  Mar.  26,  1S2S. 

Hannah,  b.  Jan.  2,  1796,  m.  Elliot  Fickett  of  C.  Eliz'h,  p.  Dec.  25,  1821. 

Edmund,  b.  Oct.  11,  1797,  d.  unm. 

Thomas,  b.  Mar.  18,  1799. 

Paul,  b.  Mar.  5,  1801,  d.  unm. 

Isaac,  b.  about  1S05,  m.  Hannah  Hall,  May  26,  1832. 

Thomas  Morton  married,  June  17,  1835,  Lydia  Cotton  of  Standish. 
He  died  June  19,  1846,  aged  81. 

(4)  Major    Morton,    son    of  James,    married    Mary,    daughter    of 

Reuben  and  Abigail  Wescott.     Children  : 

Susan,  b.  1S21,  m.  Zebulon  Whitney,  Apr.  24,  1839. 
Abigail,  b.  1823,  m.  Wm.  S.  Whitney,  p.  June  7,  1840. 

Major  Morton  died  May   13,   1825,  and  his  wife  Mary,  Feb.  14, 

1864,  aged  67. 

(4)  Isaac  Morton,  son  of  Thomas,  lived  on  his  father's  place.  He 
married  Hannah,  daughter  of  Thomas,  and  sister  of  Ebenezer  Hall 
of  Gorham.  Child:  Martha,  born  Jan.  19,  1S33,  married  Capt. 
Marshall  Phillips  of  Taunton,  Mass. 

Isaac  Morton  died  Jan.  28,  1834,  aged  28,  and  his  widow  married 
Naphtali  Harmon,  and  died  July  17,  1S66,  aged  54. 

(4)  John  Morton,  son  of  David,  was  a  blacksmith,  and  lived  at 
Winship's  Corner,  where  his  son  William  lately  lived.  He  married 
Rachel,  daughter  of  William  Bolton.      Children  : 

Mary  Ann,  b.  Mar.  29,  180S,  m.  Daniel  Elliott  of  Parsonsfield,  p.  Dec.  4,  1830; 

d.  Dec.  17,  1865. 
Jane  McL.,  b.  Feb.  20,  iSio,  m.  Hugh   W.  Mosher,  Jan.  22,  1835;  2d,  Aug.  29, 

1853,  Freeman  Harding. 
William  B.,  b.  Feb.  6,  1812,  d.  Sept.  4,  1829. 
Clementine,  b.  Feb.  i,  181 4,  m.  Oliver  Winship,  Nov.  15,  1835. 
Marshall,  b.  Mar.   16,  1816,  m.  Abigail,  dau.  of  John  and  Martha  Wescott,  in 

1S44.     Ch:   Orlando,  b.  May  29,  1845,  d.  May  27,   1S65;   Emily,  b.  Apr. 

19,  1848,  m.  W^oodbury  Davis  (ist  wife);  d.  June  29,  1S68.     Mr.  Morton 

d.  Feb.  24,  1872,  and  his  wife  d.  May  8,  1876,  ag.  50. 
Twin  girls,  b.  Apr.  27,  1818,  d.  young. 
Eli  W.,  b.  May  24,  1819,  d.  young. 
R.  Eli,  b.  Aug.  23,   1821,  m.  Louisa  Rounds  of  Bu.xton,  Mar.  12,  1843;  ''^  ^^ 

Winship's  Corner.     Ch;  John,  b.  Apr.  9,  1850,  d.  Sept.  5,   1898;  Jenny 

M..  m.  Clarence  E.  Clay,  who  d.   Mar.   11,  1886;  Mary  Ella,  b.  Oct.  26, 

1856,  d.  Nov.  6,  1868  ;  Annie  W.,  m.  O.  P.  Sargent  of  Portland.     Mrs. 

Louisa  Morton  d.  Apr.  14,  i860,  ag.  38.  and  Mr.  Morton  m.  Mrs.  Sarah 

H.  (Foster)  Goshen,  who  d.  Nov.  30,  1876,  ag.  40;  no  ch.     Mr.  Morton 

d.  Nov.  S,  1896. 
Martha  B.,b.  July  21,  1824,  m.  Albert  B.  Stevens  of  Windham,  Apr.  26,  1846; 

d.  Apr.  8,  1847. 
Liicia  H.,  b.  Apr.  9,  1827,  m.  Samuel  Maberry  ;  d.  March  i,   1S82. 
William,  b.  Nov.  28,  1831,  m.  Mary  B.  Prince  of  Gray;  I'd  at  Winship's  Corner, 

on  his  father's  place.     Ch  :  Charles  F.,  m.  Ada  Paine;  Walter  H.,  m. 


GENEALOGY.  685 

Ida  Walton  ;  Brandon  K.,  m.  Addie  Meserve;  Lena  M.,  d.  Feb.  8,  1871, 
ag.  8  ;  Howard  M.,  d.  ag.  about  22  ;  Horace  W.;  Eveline.  Mr.  Morton 
d.  Aug.  24,  1SS2,  and  his  wife,  Mar.  4,  1S99,  ag.  66. 

John   Morton  died  Aug.  31,  1833,  and  his  wife  Rachel,  Aug.  26, 

1874,  aged  87. 

MOSHER. 

Daniel  Mosher  was  the  son  of  James,  and  grandson  of  Hugh 
Mosher,  who  came  to  this  country  about  1630,  from  Scotland.  It  is 
said  that  Hugh  Mosher  settled  first  in  New  London,  Conn.,  and 
afterwards  moved  to  Newport,  R.  I.  In  1640  he,  with  Thomas 
Wise,  received  from  George  Cleaves  and  Richard  Tucker  a  convey- 
ance of  two  hundred  acres  of  land  at  Back  Cove.  This  land  is 
situated  not  far  from  the  northern  end  of  Tukey's  bridge.  The 
estate  of  Hugh  Mosher  was  administered  upon  in  1666  by  his  son 
James. 

Daniel  Mosher  was  born  at  Falmouth,  on  what  is  now  called  the 
Deering  farm.  Here  he  lived  with  his  family  till  he  came  to  Gor- 
ham.  He  received  from  Shubael  Gorham  his  first  deed  of  a 
proprietor's  right  in  this  town  Aug.  10,  1739.  His  homestead  lot 
was  the  thirty  acre  lot  No.  4,  next  south  of  the  parsonage  lot,  on  the 
western  side  of  the  Fort  Hill  road,  and  is  the  lot  where  Archelaus  L. 
Hamblen  now  lives.  This  lot  he  conveyed,  Nov.  9,  1761,  to  his  son- 
in-law  Moses  Akers,  with  the  buildings  (houses  and  barn)  thereon. 
He  and  his  son  James  afterward  moved  to  the  place  where  Mark 
Mosher  lately  lived.  In  17 41  we  find  Daniel  Mosher  one  of  the 
committee  appointed  by  the  Proprietors  to  "lay  out  a  road  through 
the  woods,  from  the  end  of  Gorham  street  to  Saccarappa  mills,"  and 
in  1743  it  was  voted  to  -'raise  sixpence  on  a  right,  to  pay  Daniel 
Mosher,  provided  he  look  out  and  spot  a  road  direct  to  Black  Point." 
Daniel  Mosher's  wife  was  Jane  Brackett  of  Falmouth,  daughter  of 
Zachariah,  whose  father  Anthony  was  killed  by  the  Indians  in  1689. 
She  was  born  Jan.  13,  171 1.     Children: 

Hannah  B.,  b.  in  Falmouth,  Sept.  17,  1733,  m.  Moses  Akers,  Dec,  1753. 

James,  b.  July,  1735,  m.  Abigail  Frost,  Dec,  1758. 

Katherine,  bapt.  1735,  m.  Joseph  Weston,  Sept.  3,  1755;  2d,  William  Haskell, 

Feb.  II.  1773. 
A  child,  bapt.  1739. 

We  do  not  know  when  Daniel  Mosher  died,  but  it  was  previous  to 

the  year  1800. 

(2)  James  Mosher,  son  of  Daniel,  purchased  May  31,  1770,  the 
farm  since  owned  by  his  grand.son  Mark  Mosher.     This  farm,  con- 


686  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

sisting  of  eighty-eight  acres  and  twenty  rods,  and  located  near  what 

was  the  termination  of  "  Gorham  street  "  as  originally  laid  out,  was 

sold  by  Moses  Pearson  and   Enoch  Freeman,  at  a  "  public  vendue  " 

held  on  the  above  date  at  Capt.  Joshua  Freeman's  house.     About 

1772  James  built  a  house  on  the  site  of  the  present  one,  and  moved 

there  with  his  family  from  Fort  Hill.     His  wife  was  Abigail,  daughter 

of  Nathaniel  Frost.     Children  : 

Susanna,  b.  June  17,  1759,  m.  Joseph  Rounds  of  Buxton,  Nov.  5,  1778. 
.     Nathaniel,  b.  Oct.  21,  1762,  d.  Oct.  25,  1768. 

James,  b.  Apr.  25,  1767,  m.  Betsey  Frost,  p.  Oct.  5,  1793. 
Nathaniel,  b.  May  5,  1769,  m.  Eunice  Elder,  Nov.  15,  1795. 
Abigail,  b.  Sept.  i,  1771,  m.  James  Phinney,  Jr.,  July  17,  1791. 
Benjamin,  b.  Jan.  30,  1774,  m.  Polly  Warren,  p.  Nov.  23,  1805. 
Jenney,  b.  Oct.  4,  1776,  m.  Isaac  Carsley,  June  18,  1797. 

Betsey,  b.  Mar.  11,  1780,  m.  Thomas  Lothrop,  Apr.  14,  1799;  2d,  Uriel   Whit- 
ney of  No.  Yarmouth,  Aug.  7,  1819. 
Nancy,  b.  Nov.  18,  1783,  m.  Samuel  Elder,  Jr.,  Jan.  i.  1805. 
Daniel,  b.  Jan.  14,  1785,  m.  Octavia  Woodman,  Jan.  14,  1S16. 

James  Mosher  died  Oct.  2,  1834,  aged  99,  and  his  wife  Abigail, 

Oct.  24,  18 1 5,  aged  74. 

(3)  James  Mosher,  Jr.,  son  of  James,  married  Betsey,  daughter  of 
Peter  Frost  of  Somersworth,  N.  H,  About  the  year  1808  Mr. 
Mosher  built  on  his  farm  the  house  since  owned  and  occupied  by 
Freeman  Richardson.  This  house  was  not  completed  until  1831, 
when  Joseph  M.  Gerrish  of  Portland  bought  the  place  and  finished 
the  house,  throughout.  Mr.  Gerrish  lived  in  Gorham  until  1837, 
when  he  returned  to  Portland.  About  1830  Mr.  Mosher,  with  his 
wife  and  family,  moved  to  Farmington,  where  many  of  his  descend- 
ants are  now  living.  He  died  about  1836,  and  his  wife.  May  13, 
1850,  aged  77.     Children  : 

Samuel  F.,  b.  Apr.  28,  1795,  '^-  Mar.  4,  1819. 

Abigail,  b.  Apr.  24,  1797. 

George,  b.  July  28,  1800. 

William,  b.  May  28,  1802. 

Esther  F.,  b.  Jan.  26,  1S04. 

James  M.,  b.  Sept.  5,  1806. 

EHzabeth  G.,  b.  Nov.  28,  1808. 

John,  b.  Sept.  3,  1810. 

Catherine  H.,  b.  June  4,  181 2. 

Thomas,  b.  Aug.  i,  1814,  d.  Aug.  28,  1814. 

Samuel  F.,  b.  Mar.  4,  1819. 

(3)  Nathaniel  Mosher,  son  of  James,  built  the  house  now  owned 
and  occupied  by  Mrs.  Rufus  Mosher.  This  house  he  built  in  1798, 
before  which  time  he  lived  in  the  Joseph  Gilkey  house,  which  stood 
on  the  rising  ground  just  east  of  his  new  house,  and  was  torn  down 
about  1815.  He  married  Eunice,  daughter  of  Samuel  Elder.  Chil- 
dren : 


GENEALOGY.  687 

Samuel  E.,  b.  Nov.  lo,  1797,  m.  Martha  Flood  of  Buxton,  Jan.  21,  1826;  was  a 

Free  Bapt.  preacher. 
James,  b.  Jan.  21,  iSoo,  was  lost  at  sea. 
Nathaniel,  b.  July  30,  1803,  m.  .Susan  Barker,  Dec.  2,  1S24. 
Hannah  F.,  b.  Apr.  21,  1805,  d.  unm.  in  1S23. 

Edward,  b.  Apr.  i,  1807,  d.  unm.  Dec.  12,  1837;  k'd  by  an  accident  in  Bu.xton. 
Mary  G.,  b.  Oct.  15,  1809.  m.  Capt.  Joseph  Alexander  of  Brunswick,  in  1845. 
Peter  E.,  b.  May  6,  1813,  m.  Catherine  Edwards,  p.  Nov.  i,   1833  ;  2d,  Lorana 

Hobson ;  d.  Sept.,  1837,  in  Waterford. 
Rufus,  b.  Mar.  31.  1815,  m.   Dolly   Richardson,   Dec.   25,   1S44  ;   2d,  Martha  F. 

Woodman. 

Nathaniel  Mosher  died  May  29,  1848,  aged  79,  and  his  wife 
Eunice,  July  29,  1852,  aged  78. 

(3)  Benjamin  Mosher,  son  of  James,  lived  on  the  old  place.  About 
181  o  he  and  his  brother  Daniel  built  the  large  house  where  his  son 
Mark  Mosher  lately  lived.  He  married  Mrs.  Polly  (Foster)  Warren, 
widow  of  Hugh  Warren,  and  daughter  of  Ezekiel  and  Ruth  (Brad- 
bury) Foster  of  Biddeford.     Children  : 

Cynthia,  b.  Aug.  ri,  1806,  m.  James  Phinney,  Feb.  11,  1830. 

Hugh  W.,  b.  Sept.  6,  1809,  m.  Jane  M.  Morton,  Jan.  22,  1835. 

Benjamin,  b.  May  28,  1813,  m.  Mary  Elizabeth  Merrill  of  Biddeford,  1839;  was 

a  sea  captain  ;  d.  Dec    \2,  1885. 
Abigail  F.,  b.  Oct.  20,  1815,  m.  Dr.  G.  Thompson  of  Pownal,  June  7,  1842;  d. 

July  14,  1876. 
Mark,  b.  July  5,  1818,  m.  Lydia  McN.  Smith,  Jan.  1 1,  1849. 
Meribah  W.,  b.  Aug.  9,  1820,  d.  Feb.  i,  1825. 
Sarah  W.,  b.  Dec.  3,  1822,  d.  Aug.  24,  1846. 

Benjamin  Mosher  died  March  31,  1863,  aged  89,  and  his  wife 
Polly,  Nov.  23,  1850,  aged  68. 

(3)  Daniel   Mosher,  son   of  James,  built  the  house,  and  lived  on 

the  place  since  occupied  by  his  son  Merrill.     He  married  Octavia, 

daughter  of  Stephen  and  Ruth  Woodman  of  Buxton,  and  half  sister 

to  his  brother  Benjamin's  wife  Polly.     Children  : 

Merrill  W.,  b.  Oit.  10,  1816,  d.  unm.  in  Deering,  Mar.  25,  1880. 

Augustus  L.,  b.  Oct.  20,  1818,  d.  at  the  Old  Men's  Home  in  Portland,  in   1S95. 

Ruth  W.,  b.  Sept.  7,  1820,  m.  Daniel  C.  Libby,  Mar.  20,  1851. 

Abigail  P.,  b.  June  15,  1822,  d.  Mar.  4,  1823. 

Abigail,  b.  June  i,  1824,  d.  May  12,  1836. 

Daniel,  b.  Apr.  4,  1827,  m.  Almaria  C.  Flint  of  Baldwin,  Mar.  2,  1881. 

Stephen  \V.,  b.  June  26,  1828,  d.  Nov.  21,  1S29. 

Stephen  W.,  b.  Jan.  28,  1831,  d.  June  23,  1832. 

Andrew  J.,  b.  July  28,  1833,  m.  Julia  Woodford  of  Westbrook. 

Elbridge,  b.  July  31,  1836,  d.  Nov.  18,  1S37. 

Capt.  Daniel  Mosher  died  Sept.  9,  1848,  aged  63,  and  his  wife 
Octavia,  Jan.  3,  1853,  aged  58. 

(4)  Nathaniel  Mosher,  son  of  Nathaniel,  lived  and  died  with  his 
father,  on  the  farm  afterwards  occupied  by  his  brother  Rufus.  He 
married  Susan  Barker.     Children  : 


688  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Frederic  C,  d.  Aug.  26,  1S32,  aged  5  years. 

Frances  G.,  m.  Dan  Carpenter,  June,  1847  ;  I'd  in  Saccarappa. 

Ellen,  d.  unm.  in  Saccarappa  in  1S49. 

Nathaniel  Mosher  died  Nov.  26,  1830,  aged  27.      His  wife  survived 

him  for  some  years,  and  died  in   Saccarappa. 

(4)  Rufus  Mosher,  son  of  Nathaniel,  married  Dolly  F.,  daughter 

of  Isaac  Richardson.     Children  : 

Edward,  b.  Dec,  1845,  '^-  Apr.  i,  1846. 

Rufus,  b.  Jan.  17,  1847,  m.  Mary  H.  Finnard  of  Biddeford;  d.  Oct.  6,   1876; 
she,  Nov.  8,  1878. 

Mrs.    Dolly   F.    Mosher   died   June   25,    1847,   aged   25,  and    Mr. 

Mosher  married,  Dec.  17,  1848,  Martha  F.,  daughter  of  Stephen  and 

Mehitable  Woodman  of  Buxton,     Children  : 

Edward  F.,  b.  Oct.  8,  1849,  m.  Hannah  Everett  of  Boston,  Dec.  24,   1S77  ;  d. 

Aug.  21,  1897. 
Nellie  E.,  b.  Mar.  1,  1851,  m.  William  A.  Bodge  of  Portland,  Nov.  14,  1875  ;  d. 

Jan.  31,  1894. 
Estelle  W.,  b.  Jan.  17,  1854,  m.  Reuben  Wescott,  Nov.,  1876. 
Florence  F.,  b.  Dec.  23,   1S55,  m.   Horace   L.   Day,   June   6,    1878.     He   d.  at 

Castle  Rock,  Col,  June  r,  1891  ;  she  m.  2d,  Chas.  Bailey  of  Westbrook, 

1895;  d.  Sept.,  1898. 
Alice  O.,  b.  Sept.  14,  1858,  m.  B.  Frank  Andrews  of  Portland,  Apr.  26,  1886. 
Freddie  N.,  b.  Jan.  17,  iS6r,  d.  at  Butte  City,  Mont.,  Feb.  15,  1891. 
S.  Woodman,  b.  June  9,  1864,  m.  Gertrude  I.  Converse,  Mar.  6,  1S95. 
Clifford,  b.  Apr.  8,  1867,  I'd  on  the  homestead  ;  was  murdered  Jan.  12,  1901. 

Rufus  Mosher  died  from  injuries  received  from  his  horse,  June  25, 

1889. 

(4)  JJugh  Warren  Mosher,  son  of  Benjamin,  lived  in  the  same 
house  with  his  father.  He  married  Jane  McL.,  daughter  of  John 
Morton.     One  child  : 

Marshall  M.,  b.  Dec.  27,  1837,  m.  Sophia  Burbank.     He  d.  Apr.  7,  1863;  she, 
Sept.  i8,  1863,  and  their  son  Marshall  M.,  Nov.  8,  1863. 

Hugh   W.  Mosher   died    April   20,  1842,  and   his   widow  married 

Freeman  Harding,  Aug.  29,  1853. 

(4)  Mark  Mosher,  son  of  Benjamin,  lived  on  the  old  Mosher 
place,  on  the  old  road  to  Saccarappa,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Falls 
road.     He  married  Lydia  McNab  Smith  of  Biddeford.     Children  : 

Sarah  E.,  b.  Oct.  19,  1849,  d.  Sept.  5,  1S50. 

Foster,  b.  July  3,  1S51,  d.  May  ig,  1862. 

Wilhelmina,  b.  Aug.  24,  1853,  d.  Mar.  18,  1863. 

Clinton,  j  ,     .  o  ^    i  m.  Effie  Stone  of  Westbrook,  Oct.  27,  1886. 

Clara,    '  }  b.  Apr.   ^  1856,  |  ^   j^^^^  ^^  ^gg^ 

Albert  H.,  b.  Dec.  12,  1859,  m.  Mary  E.  Waterhouse  of  Westbrook,  Dec.  25, 

1890. 
Susan  S.,  b.  Apr.  15,  1862.  m.  Frank  Hopkinson,  Dec.  21,  1896. 
Mary  Belle,  b.  Nov.  8,  1864,  d.  Aug.  23,  1S65. 
Harry,  b.  Sept.  21,  1866,  m.  Mary  Douglass,  June  i,  1S92. 
Thomas  S.,  b.  Dec.  16,  1868,  d.  Aug.  6,  1S69. 

Mrs.  Lydia   Mosher  died  Feb.    11,   1887,  aged   59.     Mr.   Mosher 

died  Oct.  12,  1 901. 


GENEALOGY.  689 

MOTLEY. 

John  Motley  came  from  Belfast,  Ireland,  and  settled  in  Falmouth 
(Portland)  before  1738.  His  grandson  Robert  Motley,  son  of  Thomas 
of  Portland,  came  to  Gorham  and  lived  on  the  farm  on  the  northerly 
side  of  Foit  Hill  still  known  as  the  Motley  place.  He  married  his 
cousin  Nancy,  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Ann  Marble  of  Portland,  by 
whom  he  had  one  child  : 

Ann  Harriet,  b.  in  1803,  d.  unm.  Mar.  27,  1844. 

Capt.  Motley  married  second,  Mary  Ann  Marble,  sister  of  his  first 
wife.      Children  : 

George,  b.  about  1809,  m.  Harriet  S.  Stephenson,  Dec.  iS,  1850;  d.  in  Lowell, 

Mass.,  Apr.  12,  1900. 
Ellen  W.,  b.  Feb.  19,  1815,  d.  unm.  Sept.  7,  1855. 
Margaret  R.,  b.  Dec.  22,  1818,  m.  Rev.  Jos.  Bartlett,  Oct.  26,   1S47;  he  d.  in 

Gorliam  Aug.  12,  1882,  and  she  in  Westbrook,  in  1895. 

Capt.  Motley  died  at  his  home  on  Fort  Hill,  Feb.  27,  1848,  aged 
75.  and  Mrs.  Motley,  Sept.  13,  187 1,  aged  96.  Mrs.  Ann  Marble, 
mother  of  Mrs.  Robert  Motley,  died  in  Gorham,  Jan.  17,  1830,  aged 
86.  Richard  Motley,  brother  of  Capt.  Motley,  died  in  Gorham  Nov. 
19,  1848,  aged  73. 

MOULTON. 

The  Moulton  family  is  of  English  origin,  and  is  descended  from 
several  brothers  who  came  from  England  and  settled  in  and  about 
Hampton,  N.  H. 

Daniel  Moulton,  who  lived  in  the  north  part  of  the  town,  son  of 
Peter  and  Joanna  (Shaw)  Moulton  of  Standish,  was  born  April  i, 
1 78 1,  and  married  Anna,  daughter  of  Sargent  Shaw  of  Standish. 
Children  : 

Jonathan,  b.  Dec.  7.  1808,  m.  Lucy  A.  Manson,  p.  Oct.  21,  1S49 ;  d.  Oct.  8,  1852. 
Eben,  b.  Nov.  5,    1810,  m.    Al)i2;ail   Moulton;   moved   to    Harrison;  d.    Nov.   8, 

1887. 
Fanny,  b.  May  8,  1815,  d.  unm.  in  Gorham,  Apr.  3,  1887. 
Mart   }b.Aug.26,r8i7,     {- Geo.  Gould. 
Daniel,  b.  Feb.  2,  1820,  d.  young. 
Daniel,  b.  Feb.  4,  1822,  m.  Mary  A.  Shaw. 
Abigail,  b.  Apr.  2,  1824,  m.  .\lbion  Rounds. 
Hannah,  b.  June  15,  1826,  m.  Samuel  M.  Rand,  1850. 

Daniel  Moulton  died  Jan.  8,  1861. 

Charles  Moulton  lived  in  South  Gorham,  on  the  place  where  his 
son  Liberty  now  lives.  He  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade.  At  one  time 
he  was  one  of  the  selectmen  of  the  town.  He  was  born  May  8,  1801, 
and  was  the  son   of  Capt.   Joshua   Moulton,   and   a   descendant   of 


690  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

William  Moulton,  who  came  from  England  at  the  same  time  as  John 

who  was  the  ancestor  of  Daniel  above.     He  married,  Dec.  i6,  1829, 

Hannah  L.,  daughter  of  John  Meserve  of  Scarborough,     Children: 

John  B.,  b.  May  8,  1831,  m.  Ada  W.  Adams. 

Lydia,  b.  Feb.  2,  1833,  "^-  Johnson  Libby  of  Scarboro,  Jan.  24,  1855;  d.  Sept.  8, 

1884. 
Esther  J.,  b.  July  17,  1835,  m.  Stephen  F.  Brown,  Aug.  25,  1866. 
Matthias,  b.  May  8,  1839,  m.  Rose  A.  Bean  ;  was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  War. 
Olive,  b.  Oct.  14,  1841,  is  a  teacher. 

Charles  I.,  b.  Jan.  4,  1844,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  War. 
Liberty,  b.  Jan.  24,  1847,  m.  Fannie  O.  McKenney ;  has  one  son,  Oren. 

Charles  Moulton  died  Feb.  14,  1891,  and  his  wife  Hannah,  Jan.  17, 
1884,  aged  78. 

Zelotes  Moulton  was  the  son  of  John  S.  Moulton  of  Scarborough, 

and  a  descendant  of  the  immigrant,  John  Moulton  of  Hampton,  N. 

H.     Mr.  Moulton  built  the  house  on   Maple  St.     He  married,  Feb. 

12,  1835,.  Almeda  Weeks.     Children: 

Wendall  S.,  b.  Feb.  20,  1836,  m.  Ellen  S.  Symms,  Aug.  13,  1864. 

Charles  H.,  b.  Nov.  10,  1838,  m.  Esther  Greene;  2d,  Abby . 

Caroline  E.,  b. ,  d.  young. 

Keene,  b.  Oct.  13,  1843,  ^-  young. 

James  L.,  b.  Jan.  9,  1845,  m.  Martha  Crockett. 

George,  b.  ,  d.  young. 

Lucy  E.,  b.  May  15,  1S48,  m.  Joel  Guptill  of  Portland. 

John  vS.,  b.  Feb.  14,  1850,  I'd  in  Portland;  d.  June  23,  1896. 

Fred  C,  b.  Mar.  9,  1852,  m.  Annie  Parker. 

Clara  Etta,  b.  Dec.  11,  1854. 

Frank  R.,  b.  Nov.  4,  1856,  m.  Katie  Harrigan. 

Marshall  E.,  b.  Dec.  18,  1858,  m.  Marcia  V.  Pillsbury,  Feb.  18,  1883. 

Zelotes  Moulton  died  March  19,  1880,  aged  66,  and  his  wife 
Almeda,  Aug.  26,  1878,  aged  64. 

MURCH. 

A  tradition  has  been  handed  down  in  the  Murch  family,  that  one 
man  by  the  name  of  Murch  emigrated  from  the  north  of  England  to 
America,  settling  probably  on  Cape  Cod.  This  man  is  said  to  have 
had  seven  sons,  from  whom  have  descended  all  of  the  name  in  this 
country.  Ebenezer  Murch,  born  in  1786,  son  of  Lieut.  Ebenezer, 
aiTirmed  that  the  four  brothers,  Walter,  John,  Samuel  and  P^benezer, 
who  came  early  to  Gorham  from  Biddeford,  were  four  of  these  seven 
sons.  Another  member  of  the  family,  Daniel  Murch,  settled  just 
across  the  Gorham  line  in  the  edge  of  Buxton. 

Walter  Murch  Hved  on  the  Flaggy  Meadow  (old  Buxton)  road,  on 
the  Dea.  Paine  place,  now  occupied  by  David  Patrick.  Mr.  Murch 
married,  in  November,  1758,  Jerusha  Brown,  and  probably  came  to 
this  town  not  far  from  that  time.    He  was  a  lame  man,  and  we  find  a 


GENEALOGY.  691 

record  that  the  town  of  Saco  in  1756  voted  "to  pay  Dr.  Samuel 
White,  Esq.  (physician  and  magistrate)  of  Portland,  2  6*-6'*,  lawful 
money  for  service  done  in  dressing  Walter  Murch's  leg."  The 
children  of  Walter  Murch  and  his  wife  Jerusha  were  : 

James,  b.  Aug.  29,  1760,  m.  Jenney  Bailey  of  Falmouth,  1785.  Ch.  on  record 
in  Gorham:  Rebecca,  b.  Oct.  20, 1786,  m.  Jacob  B.  Owen,  Nov.  27,  1808  ; 
Edmund,  b.  Feb.  13,  1788;  William,  b.  Nov.  13,  1789,  d.  Mar.  i,  1831. 
About  1790  the  family  moved  to  Buxton,  where  other  ch.  were  b. 

Sarah,  b.  Dec.  4,  1762,  m.  William  Irish,  17S1. 

Benjamin,  b.  Jan.,  1765. 

Susanna,  b.  Sept.  12,  1766,  m.  Joshua  Newcomb^Nov.  26,  17S9.  (?) 

Simeon,  b.  Feb.  24,  1769,  m.  Rachel  Paine,  Jan.  21,  1791.  Ch  :  Rebecca,  b. 
Nov.  II,  1791  ;  Josiah,  b.  in  Buxton,  July  ii,  1793,  rn- Olive  Whitney,  I'd 
in  Unity;  Esther,  b.  at  25-mile  Pond,  Sept.  18,  1795;  Ephraim,  b.  at 
25 -mile  Pond,  Sept.  4,  1798,  I'd  in  Unity;  Jepthah,  went  to  Iowa; 
Bowdoin,  was  a  lawyer  at  Belfast;  Richard,  I'd  in  Unity.  Simeon 
Murch  d.  at  Unity. 

Zebulon,  b.  Mar.  19,  1771,  m.  Molly  Pennell  of  Buxton,  Oct.  23,  1794. 

Atilia,  b.  Apr.  12,  1773. 

Joanna,  b.  Sept.  27,  1775. 

Ephraim,  b.  Feb.  i,  1778. 

Edmund,  b.  Jan.  27,  1780. 

John  Murch  probably  came  to  Gorham  about  1760.  His  home 
was  on  the  seventy  acre  lot,  48,  at  White  Rock  near  where  his  great- 
grandson  Caleb  lately  resided.  His  wife  was  Annah .  Children  : 

Matthias,  b.  Mar.,  1759,  m.  Mary  Libby,  Mar.  i,  1781. 

Molly,  b.  May  7,  1761,  m.  John  Silla,  Dec.  15,  1786. 

William,  b.  June  29,  1763,  left  town. 

Eunice,  b.  Apr.  18,  1765. 

George,  b.  Feb.  8,  1767,  m.  Hannah  Roberts,  Mar.  24,  1791. 

Samuel,  b.  Nov.  29,  1769,  m.  Elizabeth  Murch,  May  6,  1798. 

Tabitha,  b.  Apr.  17,  1773. 

Joshua,  b.  Sept.  27,  1775. 

Martha,  b.  July  27,  1777,  m.  Josedeck  Sanborn,  Sept.  22,  1796. 

John  Murch's  name  disappears  from  the  tax  list  after  1792,  and  it 
seems  probable  that  this  is  about  the  time  of  his  death.  His  wife 
Annah  died  Nov.  15,  1815,  aged  84.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Murch 
were  buried  on  their  farm. 

Samuel   Murch  married,  Feb.  28,  1760,  Deborah  Emery  of  Bidde- 

ford.     They  lived  in  Gorham  on  the    Flagg}-   Meadow  road.     (See 

below.)     Their  children,  of  whose  birth  we  have  no  record,  were,  as 

far  as  can  be  ascertained  : 

Ebenezer,  m.  Hannah  Lombard,  Nov.  30,  17S6. 

Deborah,  m.  James  Whitney,  Aug.  15,  1785. 

Mary,  m.  Benjamin  Skillings  of  No.  Yarmouth,  July  10,  1794.  (?) 

Elizabeth,  m.  Samuel  Murch,  May  6,  179S. 

We  have  no  record  of  the  death  of  Samuel  Murch,  but  his  wife 
Deborah  died  April  27,  1803. 


692  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Ebenezer  Murch  and  his  brother  Samuel  settled  on  adjoining 
farms  ;  Samuel  where  Wesley  Murch  now  lives,  and  Ebenezer  on 
the  farm  where  Mr.  Stokes  lately  lived,  on  the  Flaggy  Meadow  road. 
This  farm,  which  was  the  southern  half  of  the  hundred  acre  lot,  68, 
Ebenezer  bought,  March  26,  1761,  of  Abijah  P.  Lewis,  he  having 
purchased  it  of  David  Gorham,  Esq.  At  the  time  the  brothers  came 
here  and  took  up  their  land  and  erected  their  dwellings,  they  were 
entirely  shut  in  by  the  thick  woods.  When  they  had  succeeded  in 
clearing  away  enough  of  the  dense  forest  to  enable  them  to  see  the 
light  shining  out  from  each  others  windows  they  said  it  gave  them  a 
very  comfortable  neighborly  feeling.  During  the  Revolutionary  war 
Ebenezer  Murch  was  first  lieut.  in  Capt.  Whitmore's  Gorham  com- 
pany of  militia.  In  1776  he  enlisted  as  second  lieut.  under  Capt. 
Paul  Ellis  of  Falmouth.  He  was  second  in  command  of  a  company 
of  soldiers,  which  was  raised  in  Gorham  in  1779,  under  command  of 
Capt.  Alexander  McLellan,  and  joined  the  forces  for  the  capture 
of  Bagaduce  (Castine).  On  the  failure  of  that  expedition  he,  with 
others  of  the  company,  made  their  way  home  through  the  woods. 
He  married,  Dec.  25,  1763,  Margery  Phillips  of  Pepperellborough. 
Children  : 

Joseph,  b.  Aug.  28,  1764,  m.  Mary  Small;  moved  to  Madison,  where  he  d. 
Jeremiah,  b.  Feb.  8,  1766,  m.  Ann  Murch,  Oct.  29,  1788.     Ch  :    George,  b.  July 

15,  1789;  John,  b.  Sept.  3,  1790;  Samuel,  b.  July  2,  1796.     L'd  for  a  time 

on  his  father's  place. 
Isaac,  b.  Nov.  23,  1767,  m.  Mary  Murray,  Sept.  12,  1790  (.-')  ;  2d,  Charity  Smith 

of  Little  Falls,  Feb.  19,  1795;  I'd  in  Skowhegan. 
John,  b.  Sept.  14,  1769,  m.  Polly  Boynton,  May  3,  1801. 
Lydia,  b.  Aug.  23,  1771,  d.  unm.  May  3,  1853. 
Moses,  b.  June  29,  1773,  d.  unm.  Mar.  i,  1835. 
Aaron,  b.  Mar.  8,  1777,  d.  unm. 
Sally,  b.  Nov.  23,  1778,  d.  Nov.  13,  1841. 
Betty,  b.  May  2,  1781,  d.  unm. 
Ebenezer,  b.  Nov.  11,  1785,  m.  Annie  Grant  of  Saco  in  1809  ;  moved  to  Unity; 

d.  in  Plymouth,  Me.,  in  1867. 

Lieut.  Murch  died  June  16,  1824,  aged  87.  Mrs.  Margery  Murch 
died  Oct.  20,  1829,  aged  86. 

(2)  Matthias  Murch,  son  of  John,  was  a  sea  faring  man  previous 
to  his  marriage.  He  settled  first  at  Horse  Beef,  where  he  married 
Polly,  daughter  of  Joseph  Libby,  and  owned  and  ran  the  saw  and 
grist  mills  formerly  the  property  of  his  father-in-law.  From  Horse 
Beef  he  removed  to  White  Rock.  He  was  in  the  Revolutionary  war 
three  years,  serving  in  Capt.  Williams'  company,  i8th  Continental, 
and  in  Capt.  Merrill's  company,  12th  Mass.,  and  for  these  services 
received  a  pension  from  the  government.  Children  of  Matthias  and 
Polly  Murch: 


GENEALOGY.  693 

William,  b. ,  d.  at  sea;  was  unm. 

Matthias,  b.  May,  1789,  ni.  Lydia  Shackford,  p.  Sept.  11,  1819. 

Mary,  b. ,  m.  Peter  Crockett,  p.  Jan.  6,  1815. 

Benjamin,  b. ,  d.  young. 

Joseph,  b. ,  d.  young. 

Eastman,  b.  ,  d.  young. 

Betsey,  b. ,  d.  voung. 

Charlotte,  b. m.  Jacob  Quinby,  of  Westbrook,  Nov.  4,  1823. 

Daniel,  b. ,  m.  Harriet  Wescott,  June  8,  1829. 

Dorcas,  b.  Oct.  18,  1819,  I'd  in  Portland;  unm.;  d.  in  1897. 

Mrs.   Mary  Murch  died  Oct.  6,    1831,  aged  70,  and  Mr.  Murch 

married   (pub.   Oct.    26,    1833)    Mrs.    Hannah   (Shackford)   Boston, 

daughter  of  Paul  Shackford;  Jr.,  of  Kennebunk.     Matthias  Murch 

died  Aug.  9,  1842,  aged  83.     Mrs.  Hannah  Mtirch  died  July  g,  1848, 

aged  63. 

(2)  George    Murch,  son  of  John,   married   Hannah,   daughter  of 

Joseph  and  Hannah  Roberts.     In  1797  he  sold  one-half  of  the  old 

place  to  his  brother  Samuel.     Children  : 

Betsey,  b.  Nov.  29,  1791,  m.  Hosea  White,  p.  Sept.  23,  1S09.  (?) 

Sally,  b.  June  23,  1793. 

Josiah,  b.  Jan.  23,  1796. 

Eunice,  b.  May  15,  1797. 

Dean,  b.  Dec.  21,  1800. 

Reuben,  b.  Apr.  8,  1802,  I'd  in  Portland. 

Nancy,  b.  Feb.  20,  1803,  m.  Jacob  Frost  of  Westbrook,  p.  Mar.  23,  1S22. 

Mary,  b.  Oct.  8,  1805. 

Martha,  b.  July  15,  1807. 

Melinda,  b.  Aug.  10,  1809,  m.  Nathaniel  Babb  of  Westbrook,  Nov.  5,  1827. 

William,  b.  Nov.  11,  1811,  I'd  in  Hampden. 

Mrs.  Hannah  Murch  died  Nov.  18,  1831. 

(2)  Sainuel  Murch,  son  of  John,  purchased  of  his  brother  George, 

Nov.  10,  1797,  a  half  of  the  seventy  acre  lot,  48,  at  White  Rock.     He 

married  his  cousin  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Samuel  Murch.     Children 

all  born  in  Gorham  : 

Eliza,  b.  Aug.  11,  1799,  d.  unm.  in  Bridgton. 

Thomas,  b.  Nov.  27,  1801,  m.  Mary  Norton  of  Baldwin;  I'd  in  Baldwin. 

Pamelia,  b.  - — ■ — •,  d.  when  a  young  lady. 

Sewall  L.,  b.  July  to,   1807,  m.   Martha  Tyler,  1846;  one  dau.  Mary  K.,  b.  in 

Sebago,  Sept.  24,  1847,  m.  Orin  Leavitt  of  Gorham. 
Haskett  D.,  b. ,  m.  Ann  Cook  ;  I'd  in  Bridgton. 

Samuel   Murch  about  1815   moved  to  Sebago,  where  he  died  in 

1849  or  1850.      Mrs.  Betsey  Murch  died  June  9,  1825. 

(2)  Ebenezer  Murch,  son  of  Samuel,  lived  on  the  homestead  of  his 

father.     He  married   Hannah,  daughter  of  Solomon,  Jr.  and  Lydia 

Lombard,     Children : 

Lydia,  b.  July  9,  1787,  m.  James  Grant,  Jr.,  of  Falmouth,  p.  Apr.  4,  1807;  I'd  in 

Westbrook. 
Richard,  b.  Jan.  16,  1789,  d.  young. 


694  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Lucy,  b.  Jan.  i6,  1791,  m.  David  Silla,  p.  Feb.  18,  1S15. 

Hannah,  b.  Feb.  28,  1793,  m.  Daniel  Lombard  of  Portland,  p.  Dec.  24,  18 14. 

Susanna,  b.  Feb.  6,  1795,  d.  Sept.  29,  1836. 

Deborah,  b.  Jan.  20,  1797,  d.  unm.  July  4,  1846. 

Solomon  L.,  b.  Nov.  30,  1798,  m.  Mary  Lowell  of  New  Portland;  d.  Dec,  1869. 

Rachel  G.,  b.  Jime  27,  1801,  d.  July,  1815. 

Samuel,  b.  July  9,  1805,  m.  Jane  Blake,  Nov.  2,  1836. 

Ebenezer  Murch  died  Dec.  29,  1837,  aged  77.  Mrs.  Murch  died 
in  November,  1831. 

(2)  John  Murch,  Jr.,  son  of  Lieut.  Ebenezer,  lived  on  the  old  Bux- 
ton road,  on  his  father's  homestead,  nearly  opposite  the  house  of 
Dea.  Samuel  Paine.     He  married  Polly  Boynton  of  Buxton.    Children  : 

Isaac,  m.  Achsah  Elwell,  p.  Dec.  14,  1834. 

Almira,  m.  William  Veazie,  April  30,  1834. 

Margery,  m.  Samuel  S.  Witherell,  p.  Nov.  8,  1834;  d.  about  1892  or  '93. 

Ansel,  d.  young. 

Rachel,  m.  Royal  B.  Elwell  of  Buxton,  p.  Apr.  i,  1838. 

Grata  R.,  d.  unm.  Feb.  26,  1857,  aged  38. 

John  Murch,  Jr.,  died  Oct.  21,   1851,  and  his  wife  Polly,  Aug.  6, 

1843. 

(3)  Matthias  Murch,  Jr.,  son  of  Matthias,  was  a  mason.  He  mar- 
ried Lydia,  daughter  of  Paul  Shackford,  Jr.  of  Kennebunk.    Children  : 

William,  d.  Apr.  8,  1S24,  ag.  3  y'rs,  7  mos. 

Abial  W.,  m.  Frances  Rand;  d.  Nov.  10,  1872. 

Lucy,  d.  Sept.  13,  1825,  ag.  i  y'r,  9  mos. 

Lucy  S.,  m.  Daniel  Peasley ;  2d,  Oliver  A.  Goold  of  Windham. 

Margaret  A.,  m.  William  Smith. 

William  Henry,  m.  Esther  Plummer  Libby,  June  17,  1853. 

Mr.  Murch  was  a  deacon  of  the  church  at  White  Rock.  He  died 
Dec.  23,  1865,  aged  76.     Mrs.   Murch  died  May  4,   1874,  aged  79, 

(3)  Daniel  Murch,  son  of  Matthias,  lived  first  on  the  place  where 
his  grandfather  John  Murch  had  resided,  but  afterwards  moved  to 
the  spot  where  his  son  and  daughter,  Caleb  and  Elizabeth,  have 
lately  lived.  He  married  Harriet,  daughter  of  Edmund  and  Hannah 
Wescott.     Children : 

Harvey  W.,  b.  Oct.  26,  1830,  m.  Adeline  Bragdon  ;  2d,  Mar.  31,   1863,  Lucinda 

P.  Files. 
Caleb  H.,    )    .     ,  jg         i  I'd  at  White  Rock;  d.  Sept.  20.  1900. 

Joshua  G.,  I  V'      3-'   ^  m.  Lydia  Cloudman ;  2d,  Sarah  Lambert. 

Harriet  E.,  b.  Nov.  14,  1836,  m.  Geo.  D.  Beck;  d.  Dec.  17,  1864. 
Frank  A.,  b.  1846,  is  a  physician. 
Elizabeth  €.,  b.  1849. 
Fred  C,  b.  1852,  d.  1875. 
Daniel  Murch  died  July,  1892.      Mrs.  Murch  died  April,  1889. 

(3)  Samuel  Murch,  son  of  Ebenezer,  lived  on  the  farm  occupied 
by  his  father  and  grandfather  before  him,  and  now  owned  by  his  son 
Wesley.     He  married  Jane  Blake  of  Buxton.     Children  : 


GENEALOGY.  695 

Lewis,  b.  Sept.  21,  1S37,  d.  Dec.  6,  1867. 
Wesley,  b.  June  3,  1839,  m.  Laura  Whitney. 
Ellen,  b.  June  14,  1842,  m.  John  Simmons. 
Charles  H.,  b.  July  15,  1858,  m.  Abbie  H.  Baker. 

Samuel  Murch  died  March  3,  1876.  Mrs.  Jane  Murch  died  Nov. 
28,  1884,  aged  66. 

(3)  Isaac  Murch,  son  of  John,  Jr.,  was  born  Oct.  7,  1802.  He 
Hved  on  the  old  Buxton  road,  on  the  old  Lieut.  Ebenezer  Murch 
place.  This  house  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1886.  Mr.  Murch  mar- 
ried Achsah  Elwell  of  Buxton.     Children  : 

Ansel,  b.  July  4,  1835. 

Charles,  b.  Feb.  17,  183S,  d.  in  the  Army,  Aug.  6,  1862. 

Albert,  b.  March  25,  1840. 

William  P.,  b.  Apr.  15,  1842,  d.  in  the  Army,  Aug.  4,  1864. 

Mary  E.,  b  Mar.  12,  1844. 

Ebenezer,  b.  Oct.  25,  1846,  I'd  in  Buxton. 

Isaac  Murch  moved  to  Buxton,  on  to  the  Daniel  Blake  place.  He 
died  Jan.  2,  1890,  and  his  wife  Achsah  in  August,  1880. 

John  Murch,  Jr.,  who  was  probably  the  son  of  John  Murch  of  Bid- 
deford,  married  Martha  Frost,  or  Foot,  Oct.  8,  1772,  and  lived  for  a 
time  in  Gorham.  Children:  Samuel,  born  April  24,  1773;  Thomas, 
born  Sept.  9,  1775  ;   Matthias,  b.  Aug.  23,  1779. 

Stephen  Murch,  son  of  Daniel  of  Buxton,  was  born  in  that  town, 
April  12,  1770.  Sept.  19,  1793,  he  married  Miriam,  daughter  of 
John  Watson  of  Gorham.  Their  daughter  Betsey,  born  in  1794,  mar- 
ried Samuel  Woodward  in  1815.  Mr.  Murch  lived  for  some  time  at 
Gorham  village.  He  died  Aug.  25,  1867.  Mrs.  Miriam  Murch  died 
in  1795,  aged  19. 

NASON. 

Uriah  Nason  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  the  northeast  part  of 
the  town,  near  Great  Falls.  He  came  from  Kittery  to  Gorham.  He 
was  the  son  of  John  and  Margaret  Nason,  and  was  born  in  Berwick, 
in  which  town  he  was  baptized  June  28,  1744.  His  father,  John 
Nason,  was  the  great-grandson  of  Richard  Nason,  who  emigrated 
from  England  about  1648,  and  was  an  early  proprietor  of  Kittery. 
It  is  said  that  Uriah  Nason  settled  in  Gorham  before  the  lines  of  the 
seventy  acre  lots  were  surveyed.  This  was  done  in  1765,  so  that  he 
was  here  as  early  as  1764;  perhaps  earlier.  He  married,  April  20, 
1765,  Abigail  Knight  of  Windham,  the  daughter  of  William  Knight. 
The  record  of  their  children  is  imperfect.     They  were : 


696  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Abraham,  b.  Nov.  22,  1765,  m.  Lydia  Lombard,  Feb.  14,  1793  ;  I'd  on  Standish 

Neck. 
William,  b.  Feb.  i,  1770,  m.  Betsey  Burnell,  Sept.  8,  1791. 

Samuel,  b. ,  1771,  m.  Patty  Mains,  p.  May  19,  1793. 

Lot,  b.  about  1775,  m.  Betsey  Lord,  July  3,  1797. 

Margaret,  b. ,  m.  Thomas  Cannell  of  Standish,  p.  June  30,  1797. 

Abigail,  b.  ,  m.  Benjamin  Mains  of  Windham,  May  30,  1799. 

Joseph,  b.  Jan.  30,  1783,  m.  Betsey  Waterhouse  of  Standish,  June  10,  1804. 
Uriah,  Jr.,  b.  about  1785,  m.  Jemima  Snow,  June  5,  1807. 

Uriah  Nason  died  May  13,  1833,  aged  gi,  and  Mrs.  Abigail  Nason, 
March  5,  1837,  aged  98. 

(2)  William  Nason,  son  of  Uriah,  lived  for  a  time  at  Dundy  Falls, 

where  he  built  a  saw  mill.     The  tradition  is  that  "  Dundy  "  was  a 

nickname  given  to  him,  hence  the  name  of  the  falls,  he  being  then 

their  owner.      He  moved  to  Baldwin  (now  Sebago),  where  he  was 

drowned.     He    married    Betsey,    daughter    of    John    and    Elizabeth 

Burnell.     Children  : 

John,  b.  Mar.  29,  1792. 

Samuel,  b.  Sept.  15,  1793. 

Lot,  b.  June  4,  1795,  '^-  ^ept.  30,  1798. 

Betsey,  b.  Apr.  4,  1797. 

Daniel,  b.  May  7,  1799,  m.  probably,  Jane  Cannell,  Sept.  21,  1828. 

Thomas,  b.  Feb.  16,  1801. 

Margery,  b. . 

Ann,  b. . 


Lydia,  b. . 

(2)  Samuel  Nason,  son  of  Uriah,  lived  and  died  at  Great  Falls. 
He  married  Patty  Mains.     Children  : 

James,  b.  Oct.  8,  1793,  m.  Susanna  Proctor  of  Windham,  p.  Mar.  iS,  1815  ;  I'd 
at  Great  Falls.  Ch:  William  P.,  b.  June  21,  1815,  d.  unm.  May  23, 
1871  ;  Sally,  b.  Apr.  7,  1818,  m.  Jeremiah  Parker,  p.  Apr.  10,  1836; 
James,  b.  Oct.  29,  1824,  m.  Frances  Oilman,  d.  Oct.  22,  1862.  Capt. 
James  Nason  d.  May  23,  1847  ;  his  wife  d.  Nov.  15,  1861,  ag.  68. 

Samuel,  Jr.,  b.  Dec.  13,  1798,  m.  Paulina  Whitmore,  Oct.  30,  1824.  Ch : 
Samuel,  b.  Jan.  22,  1825,  m.  Harriet  E.,  dau.  of  Samuel  and  Lorana 
Freeman  of  Windham,  p.  July  31,  1847;  Joseph,  b.  Apr.  4,  1829,  m. 
Eliza  F.,  dau.  of  Merrill  Thomas,  d.  Nov.  19,  1875.  Mrs.  Paulina  Nason 
d.  Oct.  4,  1854. 

(2)  Lot  Nason,  son  of  Uriah,  lived  in  what  is  called  the  Nason 
District,  as  did  also  his  brothers,  Joseph  and  Uriah,  Jr.  They  were 
farmers  and  good  citizens.  Lot  married  Betsey  Lord  of  No.  Yar- 
mouth.     Children  : 

Olive,  b.  Nov.  30,  1797,  m.  Henry  Hooper,  p.  Mar.  16,  1822. 

Abigail,  b.  July  6,  1799,  m.  William  Hall  of  Standish,  Jan.  10,  1822. 

Noah,  b.  Mar.  2,  1801,  m.  Susan  Smith  ;  d.  in  Westbrook. 

Lewis,  b.  Sept.  9,  1803,  m.   Lucy  Anderson  of   Windham,  Apr.   19,   1829;  d. 

Oct.  14,  1831. 
Mary,  b.  Mar.  7,  1805,  m.  Benjamin   Manchester  of  Windham, p.  Jan.  27,  1828. 
Charles  E.,  b. ,  d.  Sept.  6,  1807. 


GENEALOGY.  697 


Ebenezer  L.,  b.  Ff-b.  23,  1810.  m.  Comfort  Manchester  of  \Ymdham,  p.  Aug.  24, 

1833;   2d,  Mary  A.  Libby;  d.  in  1894. 
Ruth  Ann,  b.  Mar.  2,  1815,  d.  May  2,  1840. 

Lot  Nason  died  Aug.  7,  1840;  his  wife  died  Sept.  9,  1859  aged  84. 

(2)  Joseph  Nason,  son  of  Uriah,  married  Elizabeth  Waterhouse  of 

Standish.     Children : 

Almira,  b.  Feb.  19,  1S05,  d.  unm.  Jan.  i,  1891. 

Mehitable,  b.  Nov.  18,  1806,  m.  Joseph  Ward. 

Abigail,  b.  Nov.  2,  1809,  m.  Thomas    Kodge,Jr.,  of  Windham,  p.  Nov.  3,  1832. 

Dorcas,  b.  Nov.  12,  1813,  m.  John  H.  Files,  Dec.  21,  1834  ;  d.  in  Stoneham. 

Joseph  Nason  died  April  8,  i860  ;  his  wife  died  Aug.  6,  1863,  aged 


(2)  Uriah  Nason,  Jr.,  son  of  Uriah,  married  Jemina,  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Jane  Snow.     Children  : 

Earl,  b.  Nov.  21,  1807,  m.  Elmira  Morton  of  Standish,  Feb.  27,  1831  ;  I'd  in  the 
Nason  District.  Ch  :  Polly,  b.  Aug.  3,  1831,  m.  Preble  Hall,  son  of 
Wm.,  in  1850  ;  Elbridge  G.,  b.  Aug.  26,  1833;  Ellen  M.,  b.  Jan.  26,  1836, 

m.  Freeman  McKenney ;  Olive  S.,  b.  June  30,  1841,  m. Hurd.    Earl 

Nason  d.  Apr.  9,  1875,  and  his  wife  Elmira  d.  Feb.  22,  1849,  ^S'  3^- 

Asa,  b.  Apr.  25,  1810,  went  West. 

Simeon,  b.  Mar.  20,  1813,    m.  Louise  McKenney;  d.  in  Westbrook. 

Isaiah,  b.  Jan.  10,  1S17,  m.  Harriet  Manchester  in  1840.  Ch  :  Emeline,  b.  Jan. 
24,  1S42,  m.  Chas.  Abbott,  2d,  Geo.  Sawyer,  I's  on  the  old  Uriah  Nason 
place;  Uriah,  b.  Aug.  20,  1847,  m.  Wilma  Merrill;  Charles  A.,  b.  Mar. 
14,  1849,  m.  Georgiana  Mabry,  2d,  Marcia  Wilson,  3d,  Mrs.  Emily  Z. 
Bodge,  d.  Mar.  17,  1888.  Isaiah  Nason  d.  Dec.  13,  1881  ;  Mrs.  Harriet 
Nason  d.  Jan.  20,  1895,  ag.  76. 

Thomas,  b.  Sept.  30,  1820,  m.  Frances  McKenney;  d.  in  Westbrook. 

Rebecca,  b. ,  I's  on  her  father's  homestead. 

Uriah  Nason,  Jr.  died  Feb.  6,  1863  ;  Mrs.  Jemima  Nason  died  Feb. 
6,  1868,  aged  82. 

Ephraim  Nason's  name  appears  on  the  Gorham  tax  list  for  1787. 
He  lived  in  what  was  then  called  the  "  Gag  Corner  District."  He 
married,  Oct.  6,  1783,  Eleanor,  daughter  of  John  and  Abigail  (Libby) 
Dam.  Children,  all  born  in  Gorham,  but  Eunice,  who  was  born  in 
Cape  Elizabeth : 

Eunice,  b.  June  4,  1785,  m.  William  Bolton,  Oct.  15,  1S03. 

Richard,  b. ,  m.  Polly  Paine,  Dec.  31,  1809. 

Abigail,  b. ,  m.  Solomon  Newcomb,  Dec.  11,   181 1;  2d,  John  Crockett, 

June  22,  1815. 

Ephraim,  b. ,  moved  to  Eaton,  N.  H. 

Fanny,  b. ,  m.  Major  Wescott,  Apr.  8,  1S21. 

Eleanor,  b. ,  m.  Benjamin  Haskell;  I'd  on  Standish  Neck;  d.  in  1892. 

Ephraim  Nason  was  killed  by  an  accident  about  1795,  and  his 
widow  Eleanor  married,  April  10,  1796,  Nehemiah  Wescott. 


698  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Rev.  Reuben  Nason,  the  first  Principal  of  Gorham  Academy,  was 
the  son  of  John  and  Rebecca  (Perkins)  Nason,  and  was  born  in 
Dover,  N.  H.,  April  7,  1779.  He  was  descended  from  Richard 
Nason,  the  emigrant  who  came  to  Maine  about  1648,  and  whose 
name  appears  in  1652  in  the  list  of  inhabitants  of  Kittery  acknowledg- 
ing themselves  subject  to  the  government  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay 
Colony  in  New  England.  Reuben  Nason's  line  of  descent  from 
Richard  was :  Richard',  Jonathan^,  Jonathans,  Azariah-*,  Johns, 
Reuben*^. 

When  but  a  boy  of  thirteen  Reuben  began  his  special  preparation 
for  college,  and  from  the  time  he  was  fifteen  devoted  a  part  of  each 
year  to  teaching,  in  order  to  provide  means  to  carry  him  through  his 
course  of  study.  He  was  graduated  from  Harvard  in  the  class  of  1802, 
and  received  the  degree  of  A.  M.  in  1805.  He  studied  for  the  ministry 
under  Rev.  Jesse  Appleton,  then  of  Hampton,  N.  H.,  afterwards 
President  of  Bowdoin  College.  In  1803  he  was  "  approbated  "  by 
the  Piscataqua  Association,  and  "  recommended  to  the  use  of  the 
churches."  After  teaching  in  Gorham  from  1806  to  1810,  he  resigned 
his  office  of  preceptor,  and  in  February,  181  o,  was  ordained  pastor  of 
the  church  in  Freeport.  In  18 15  he  returned  to  Gorham  and  took 
charge  of  the  Academy  till  1834.  In  October  of  that  year  he  removed 
to  Clarkson,  N.  Y.,  to  take  charge  of  a  similar  institution.  After 
only  a  brief  service  there  he  died  suddenly  Sunday  morning,  Jan.  25, 
1835,  having  been  in  his  usual  health  the  day  before. 

Mr.  Nason  married,  Oct.  14,  1807,  Apphia,  daughter  of  Hon. 
Josiah  and  Apphia  (Mayo)  Thacher,  by  whom  he  had  one  child: 

Apphia  T.,  b.  July  30,  1S08,  d.  May  20,  1839. 

Mrs.  Apphia  Nason  died  Aug.  2,  1808,  aged  23,  and  Mr.   Nason 

married,    Nov.    17,    18 13,    Martha,  daughter   of  James   and  Martha 

(McLellan)  Coffin  of  Saco.     Children,  all  born  in  Gorham  excepting 

Martha,  born  in  Freeport : 

Martha  C,  b.  Sept.  12,  1814,  d.  in  Clarkson,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  23,  1835. 

Reuben,  b.  Oct.   10,  1816,  m.   Dec.  27,   1842,  at  Aberdeen,  Miss.,  Gabriella  B. 

Hansen  of  S.  C. ;  d.  in  Mobile,  Ala.,  Aug.  31,  1886. 
John,  b.  Aug.  22,  1818,  d.  in  Gorham,  Aug.  27,  1818. 
Jesse  A.,  b.  Oct.  2,   1819,   m.  in   Pekin,  111.,   Aug.    10,    1854,  Mrs.  Anna  M. 

(Coldren)  Doolittle;  d.  in  Scribner,  Neb.,  Sept.  21,  1^97. 
Elizabeth  T.,  b.  Nov.  22,  1821,  m.  in  Pekin,  111.,  Dec.  14,  1845,  Wm.  Wilkey  of 

N.  Y. ;  d.  in  Lincoln,  Neb.,  July  27,  1894. 
George,  b.  June  23,  1824,  drowned  at  sea,  June  21,  1844. 
Nathaniel  C.,  b.  Apr.  4,  1827,  m.  in  Peoria,  111.,  June  19,  1856,  Anna  D.  Bedel, 

who  d.  Jan.  4,  1882;  m.  2d,  in  Chicago,  111.,  Mar.  29,  1S85,  Mrs.   Kate  S. 

(Emery)  Parish,  b.  in  N.  J. ;  I's  on  a  farm  near  Shelbyville,  111. 
Mary  Shuah,  b.  Dec.  8,   1829,  m.  in  Pekin,  111.,  Oct.  3,  1854,  Wm.  C.  Hawley  ; 

I's  in  Lincoln,  Neb. 


GENEALOGY.  699 

Rev.  Reuben  Nason  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Overseers  of 
Bowdoin  College  ;  a  member  also  of  the  New  York  Hist.  Soc. ;  the  Am. 
Antiquarian  Soc. ;  the  Maine  Hist.  Soc. ;  the  Maine  Miss'y  Sor., and  the 
Soc.  for  Theol.  Education.  He  was  made  a  Mason  in  the  Saco  Lodge  as 
early  as  1803,  perhaps  in  1802  ;  was  more  than  any  other  instrumental 
in  the  formation  of  Harmony  Lodge  in  Gorham,  of  which  he  was  the 
first  Master ;  was  District  Deputy  Grand  Master  of  the  first  District 
of  Maine,  1827  to  1831,  and  Grand  Chaplain  of  the  Grand  Royal 
Arch  Chapter  of  Maine,  1825  to  1830.  As  has  been  said,  Mr.  Nason 
died  in  1835.  His  wife  Martha  died  at  Mt.  Pleasant,  Iowa,  Dec.  i, 
1871,  aged  85. 

NEWCOMB. 

Samuel  Newcomb  came  here  from  Cape  Cod  somewhere  about  the 
year  1778  or  1779.  He  had  but  one  child,  Enos,  born  Feb.  9,  1759, 
who  came  here  with  his  father,  and  together  they  cleared  the  land 
where  John  Nelson  Newcomb  now  lives  in  the  north  part  of  the 
town,  on  Mighty  street.  Enos  Newcomb  married,  Jan.  23, 1783,  Thank- 
ful, daughter  of  Thomas  Morton,  and  granddaughter  of  Capt.  Bryant 
Morton.     Children  : 

Deborah,  b.  Feb.  26,  1785,  m. Millions  of  Westbrook. 

Rachel,  b.  May  21,  17S6,  m.  Moses  Lowell  of  Hiram. 

David,  b.  Apr.  30,  17S8,  m.  Rebecca  McKenney  of  Scarboro,  p.  Mar.  12,  1814; 

removed  to  Hiram. 
Hannah,  b.  May  15,  1790,  d.  rmm.  in  Windham. 
Samuel,  b.  Apr.  16,  1792,  I'd  and  d.  in  Gardiner. 
Thankful,   b.   June  23,    1794,  m.  Jonathan    Stevens,   p.   Oct.   21,    1824;  I'd  in 

Windham. 

Mrs.   Thankful   Newcomb  died  April  29,  1796,  and  Mr.  Newcomb 

married,  Jan.  16,  1797,  Mrs.  Abigail  (Myrick)Libby,  widow  of  Hanson 

Libby,  by  whom  he  had : 

Gardner,  b.  Feb.  15,  1798,  m.  Elizabeth  Parker,  Dec.  26,  182 1. 
Eunice,  b.  Nov.  19,  1799,  m.  Charles  Berry  of  Gray,  June  26,  1823. 
Hanson,  b.  July  8,  1802,  m.  Delilah  Libby,  Nov.  27,  1827. 
Sarah,  b.  Sept.  17,  1804,  d.  Aug.  27,  1827. 
William,  b.  Aug.  15,  1806,  d.  May  23,  1878. 

Enos  Newcomb  died  April  10,  1843,  and  his  wife  Abigail,  Oct.  27, 
1834,  aged  70. 

(2)  Gardner  Newcomb,  son  of  Enos,  lived  in  Gorham  on  the 
"plains,''  near  Mr.  Dingley's.  He  married  Betsey  Parker  of  Stan- 
dish.      Children  : 

Eunice,  b.  Sept.  22,  1824,  m.  William  Quinn  of  Gorham. 

Isaac,  b.  Nov.  23,  1828,  m. ;  I'd  in  Virginia. 

Ehza  J.,  b.  Dec.  21,  1830,  m.  Geo.  W.  Crockett,  1851. 


700  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Mark  F.,  b.  Dec.  23,  1832,  m.  Sarah  Kennard. 

Leonard,  b.  Mar.  24,  1835,  m.  Julia  A.  Hanson,  Jan.  5,  1859;  d.  Dec.  6,  1875. 

Gardner  Newbomb  died  Dec.  3,  187 1. 

(2)  Hanson  Newcomb,  son  of  Enos,  lived  on  the  old  place.     He 

married     Delilah,    daughter    of     Reuben,    Jr.,    and    Abigail    Libby. 

Children  : 

Sally,  b.  Oct.  9,  1828,  m.  William  Wescott,  3d,  Apr.  2,  1851. 

John   Nelson,  b.  June   19,  1S32,  m.  Mary  Ellen   Wescott,  Mar.  23,  1857.     Ch  : 

Alvin  W.,  m.  Hattie  S.  Stone;   Helen  M.,  m.  James  Hamilton. 
Mary  Ann,  b.  Oct.  11,  1835,  d.  young. 
Emulis,  b.  June  15,  1838,  d.  Nov.  20,   1839. 
Caroline  M.,  b.  Apr.  lo,  184 1,  m.  Albion  K.  P.  Libby,  Aug.  31,  1864. 

Hanson  Newcomb  died  Aug.  i,  1872,  and  his  wife,  March  4, 
1892,  aged  85. 

Solomon  Newcomb  had  a  carding  mill  in  the  north  part  of  the 
town,  on  what  is  known  as  the  "  West  Branch,"  on  land  lately  owned 
by  Benjamin  Irish.  He  married,  Feb.  26,  1798,  Sarah,  daughter  of 
Isaac  and  Mary  Whitney.  We  have  record  of  but  one  child,  Isaac, 
born  about  18 10,  married  Martha  Paine,  Dec.  14,  1834;  died  Feb.  5, 
1858  ;  she,  Nov.  22,  1857.  Mrs.  Sarah  Newcomb  died  soon  after  the 
birth  of  her  son  Isaac,  and  Mr.  Newcomb  married,  Dec.  11,  181 1, 
Abigail,  daughter  of  Ephraim  and  Eleanor  Nason.  He  lived  but  a 
short  time  after  his  marriage,  and  his  widow  married,  June  22,  1815, 
John  Crockett. 

PAINE. 

The  Paine  family  of  America  is  descended  from  several  emigrants 
of  the  name,  which  is  spelled  also  Payne  or  Payn.  From  Thomas 
Paine,  one  of  these  emigrants,  comes  the  Eastham  branch  of  the 
family,  several  of  whom  were  early  settlers  in  Gorham. 

John  Paine,  son  of  Jonathan  and  Hannah  (Lombard)  Paine,  was 

born  in  Truro,  Mass.,  Aug.  20,  1749-     He  was  a  descendant  of  the 

Thomas  above  and  his  wife  Mary  (Snow)  of  Eastham.     He  married 

Anna  Pike  of  Truro,  where  he  lived  for  a  time  after  his  marriage ;  but 

finally  settled  in  Gorham,  in  the  upper  part  of  this  town.     Three  of 

the  children  of  John  and  Anna  were  baptized  in  Truro.     Children  : 

Mary,  bapt. ,  d.  young. 

John,  bapt. ,  m.  Hannah  McDonald,  p.  June  20,  179S. 

Solomon,  bapt.  June  18,  1777,  said  to  have  died  in  the  W.  Indies. 
Elisha,  b.  July  18,  1777,  d.  young. 

Thomas,  b.  July  2,  1784,  m.  Lydia  Blake,  Dec.  i,  1808. 
Leonard,  b.  Apr.  2,  1786,  m.  and  settled  in  Plymouth,  Me. 
Richard,  b.  May  18,  1788,  m.  Eunice  Blake,  Dec.  19,  1813. 
Mary,  b.  1792,  m.  Richard  Nason  of  Portland,  Dec.  31,  1809. 
Elisha,  b.  1798,  d.  in  the  W.  Indies. 


GENEALOGY.  701 

John  Paine  died  in  Gorham  about  1798.  His  wife  Anna  died  at 
the  house  of  her  son,  Nov.  13,  183 1,  aged  77. 

(2)  John  Paine,  son  of  John,  settled  in  Unity,  where  he  was  a  man 
of  standing.  He  married  Hannah  McDonald  of  Buxton.  They  had 
several  children,  one  of  whom  only  is  recorded  in  (}orham.  Abner, 
born  June  4,  1799,  married  Comfort  Winslow,  May,  182 1  ;  lived  in 
Charlestown,  Me.  John  of  Belfast,  and  William  E.  of  Bath  were 
also  sons  of  John,  Jr.     They  were  both  well-known  physicians. 

(2)  Richard  Paine,  son  of  John  and  Anna,  lived  with  his  father  on 
the  place  where  Mr.  Haynes  now  (1898)  lives,  in  the  north  part  of 
the  town.  He  married  Eunice,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Hannah 
Blake.     Children : 

Martha,  b.  Sept.  3,  1814,  m.  Isaac  Newcomb,  Dec.  14,  1834. 

Solomon,  b. ,  I'd  in  Westbrook. 

Freeman,  b.  May  21,  1817,  m.  Sarah  Brackett ;  2d,  Mary  J.  Varney. 

Almira,  b. ,  d.  in  Portland. 

Charles  B.,  b.  Apr.  15,  1820,  m.  Jane  Mabry  ;  I'd  in  Westbrook. 
William  H.,  b.  Apr.  2,  1822,  m.  Mary  E.  P.  Moulton,  Nov.  17,  1845. 
John,  b.  Aug.,  1824,  d.  young. 
John,  b.  Dec.  24,  1826,  m.,  and  is  d. 
Abner,  b.  Feb.  10,  1S29. 

Richard  Paine  died  May  29,  1859,  aged  71.  Mrs.  Eunice  Paine 
died  in  N.  Yarmouth,  Jan.  27,  187 1,  aged  83. 

Richard  Paine  of  Harwich,  Mass.,  married  Phebe  Myrick  of  East- 
ham,  Mass.  Their  fifth  child,  Richard,  born  Aug.  14,  1736,  and 
William,  their  eighth  child,  born  Sept.  30,  1743,  came  to  Gorham 
about  1770,  and  purchased  a  part  of  the  hundred  acre  lot,  63,  on 
which  they  settled.  This  spot  was  long  known  as  the  Paine,  and 
now  as  the  Osborne  neighborhood.  Richard  Paine  was  a  blacksmith 
and  farmer.  He  married,  Nov.  16,  1762,  Thankful  Harding,  who 
was  a  sister  of  Capt.  Samuel  Harding.     Children  : 

Josiah,  b. ,  m.  Elizabeth  Ayer  of  Buxton,  Nov.  24,  1791 ;  I'd  in  Buxton. 

Phebe,  b.  Jan.  7,  1771,  m.  Daniel  Hill  of  Buxton  (2d  wife),  p.  Feb.  6,  1801. 
Richard,  b.  June  17,  1773. 

Mr.    Paine    married,    March    17,    1774,    Elizabeth,    daughter   of 

William  and  Mary  (Hawkes)  Patrick  of  Stroudwater,  and  sister  of 

Charles  Patrick  of  Gorham.      By  her  he  had  : 

Thomas,  b.  Nov.  23,  1774,  m.  Sarah  Hill  of  Buxton,  Oct.  26,  1S02. 

Joseph,  b.  Feb.  21,  1777. 

James,  b.  Apr.  21,  1779. 

Thankful,  b.  Jan.  27,  1782,  m.  James  Patrick. 

David,  b.  May  30,  1784,  m.  Betsey  Lamb  of  Buxton,  Mar.  17,  1S08.  (?) 

Richard  Paine  died  June  14,  18 10,  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Paine, 
March  13,  1829,  aged  79. 


702  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

William  Paine,  the  brother  of  Richard,  was  a  shoemaker  by  trade. 

He  was  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  enlisting  in  1776  under  Capt.   Paul 

Ellis  of  Falmouth.      Dec.  5,  1766,  he  married  Sarah  Mayo.     Their 

children  were  all  born  in  Gorham,  except  the  eldest,  Mary,  who  was 

born  in  Eastham.     They  were  : 

Mary,  b.  Oct.  23,  1767,  m.  Ebenezer  Davis,  Feb.  18,  1790. 

William,  b.  Dec.  29,  1770,  m.  Hannah  Cressey  of  Buxton,  Jan.  29,  1798. 

Thankful,  b.  Nov.  26,  1773,  m.  James  Davis  of  Standish,  Mar.  21,  1793. 

Samuel,  b.  Nov.  10,  1775,  m.  Lucy  Junkins,  Apr.  24,  1804. 

Sarah,  b.  Oct.  22,   1779,  m.  Stephen  Jones  of  Buxton,   Sept.    12,    1802;  d.   in 

Thorndike. 
Hannah,  b.  Apr.  21,  1781,  m.  Luther  Crocker;  went  to  Lockport,  N.  Y. 
John,  b.  Sept.  i,  1783,  d.  unm.  a  young  man. 
Betsey,  b.  Nov.  5,  1785,  m.  David  Sturgis,  Feb.  i,  1806. 

William  Paine  died  Jan.   20,    1827,  aged  83.     Mrs.   Sarah  Paine 

died  Nov.  2,  18 17,  aged  72. 

(2)  Thomas  Paine,  son  of  Richard,  lived  for  a  time  in  the  Paine 
neighborhood,  where  Mr.  Osborne  now  lives.  He  then  moved  to 
Cornville,  Me.,  and  to  Skowhegan.  He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of 
Daniel  and  Sarah  Hill  of  Buxton.     Children  : 

Thankful,  b.  Apr.  10,  1804,  I'd  and  d.  in  Skowhegan. 

Daniel  H.,  b.  Aug.  ig,  1806,  I'd  and  d.  in  Skowhegan. 

Robert,  b.  Oct.  16,  1808,  d.  young. 

Rebecca,  b.  Nov.  5,  1810,  m.  Mr.  Robinson;  I'd  in  Cal. ;  d.  in  Buxton. 

Robert  S.,  b.  Mar.  22,  1813. 

John,  b.  Oct.  21,  1815,  went  to  California. 

Harriet,  b. ,  m.  Col.  Kilborn  of  Bridgton  ;  d.  June,  1896. 

Thomas,  b.  1820,  d.  Nov.  30,  1824. 

Samuel,  b.  about  1824,  moved  to  Cornville,  with  the  family. 

Joseph,  b.  1826,  d.  Nov.  3,  1827. 

(2)  William  Paine,  son  of  William,  lived  on  the  farm  afterwards 
owned  by  his  son  Charles  ;  now  owned  by  Charles  Osborne.  The 
old  cider  mill,  still  standing  on  the  premises,  was  formerly  the  house 
in  which  he  at  first  lived.  He  afterwards  built  the  two-story  house 
which  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  187 1.  Mr.  Paine  married  Hannah 
Cressey  of  Buxton.     Children  : 

Eliza,  b.  Oct.  19,  1800,  m.  Simon  Harding  of  Buxton;  2d,  Stephen  A.  Patrick. 

James,  b.  1803,  m.  Mary,  dau.  of  Jeremiah  and  Hannah  Frost,  May  4,  1831  ; 
one  son,  William  H.,  b.  Dec.  8,  1840,  d.  Feb.  27,  1856.  Mrs.  Paine  d. 
Apr.  12,  1853,  ag.  48,  and  Mr.  Paine  m.,  Oct.  7,  1856,  Belinda,  dau.  of 
Alexander  McLellan  ;  no  ch.     Mr.  Paine  d.  Apr.  15,  1S68. 

Charles,  b.  Apr.  10,  1806,  m.  Hannah  Lowell  of  Standish,  p.  May  6,  1838.  Ch: 
Abbie  L.,  b.  July  29,  1840,  d.  Sept.  20,  1864;  Charles  Henry,  b.  Aug.  31, 
1842,  was  town  clerk  from  1864  to  the  time  of  his  death,  served  in  the 
Army,  d.  May  25,  1866;  Maria,  b.  June  9,  1S44,  m.  Stephen  Hinkley, 
Jr.;  Hannah,  b.  June  5,  1S46,  m.  Rev.  Leonard  Z.  Ferris,  Nov.  5,  1895; 
Fred  L.,  b.  Jan.  4,  1848,  d.  Apr.  28,  1880;  Ella  S.,  b.  Aug.  30,  1850,  d. 
Oct.  8,  1853  ;  William,  b.  May  3,  1852,  m.  Alice  Holden,  d.  Jan.  20, 
1899.  Charles  Paine  was  for  four  years  one  of  the  town's  board  of 
selectmen,  and  represented  the  town  in  the  Legislature  in  1853  ^^^ 
1854;  he  d.  Apr.  8,  1874;  his  wife  d.  July  8,  1891,  ag.  80. 


GENEALOGY.  703 

William  Paine  died  Jan.  31,  1852,  aged  82  ;  Mrs.  Paine  died  Nov. 
22,  1846,  aged  70. 

(2)  Samuel  Paine,  son  of  William,  married  Lucy  Junkins  of  Buxton. 
They  had  no  children.  Mr.  Paine  was  for  many  years  a  deacon  of 
the  First  Congregational  church  in  Gorham  ;  he  was  a  man  respected 
and  beloved,  a  man  who  adorned  his  Christian  profession.  He 
lived  on  the  south  side  of  Flaggy  Meadow  road  on  his  farm  which  is 
now  owned  and  occupied  by  David  Patrick.  He  had  tw^o  adopted 
daughters,  Sally  and  Lucy  Googins ;  Sally  married  Maj.  William 
Warren  ;  Lucy  married  Charles  Patrick.  Dea.  Paine  died  June  8, 
1856,  aged  81  ;  Mrs.  Paine  died  Jan.  18,  1861,  aged  76. 

Thomas  Paine  was  probably  a  son  of  Jonathan  Paine,  who  was 
drowned  at  Casco  in  1762,  and  was  a  descendant  of  Thomas  and 
Mary  (Snow)  Paine,  of  Eastham.  He  married  in  Portland,  Dec.  6, 
1 78 1,  Anna  Haskell  of  Gorham.  Their  children  on  the  Gorham 
records  are  Joseph,  Nancy,  Peggy,  and  \\'i]liam  ;  no  dates.  There 
were  other  children  besides  these,  probably  born  after  the  family  left 
town.  Thomas  Paine  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution.  He  was 
living  in  Pownal  in  1840,  at  the  age  of  84. 

PARKER. 

Nathaniel  Parker  of  Cape  Elizabeth  purchased  in   177 1   of  Joseph 

Parker,  housewright,  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  the  hundred  acre  lot,  30,  in 

Gorham.     On  this  lot  he  made  his  home.     His  house  stood  on  the 

rising  ground  in  the  field,  west  and  back  of  the  house  now  occupied 

by  his  great-grandson  Albert  Riggs.     Some  of  the  stones  of  the  old 

cellar  are  still  to  be   seen   on   the   spot.     Nathaniel  Parker  was   a 

farmer.     He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  army,  enlisting  from 

the  militia  for  three  years.      He  married  (pub.  Jan.  7,  1758)  Hannah 

Roberts  of  Falmouth.     Their  children,  most  of  whom  were  probably 

born  before  the  family  came  to  Gorham  : 

John,  b.  ab  )ut  1758,  m.  Elizabeth  Warren,  p.  Jan.  9,  1779. 

Ebenezer,  b.  ,  m.   Mary — ;  was  deputy  sheriff,  and  was  killed  by 

Joseph  Drew  in  Westbrook,  May,  1808. 

Rebecca,  b. ,  m.  Nathaniel  Kimball  of  Buxton,  Nov.  23,  1788. 

Hannah,  b. ,  m.  'Wm.  Hardy  of  Falmouth,  Nov.  16,  1791. 

Lydia,  b. ,  m   Abner  Wescott,  Sept.  12,  1793  ;  2d,  Jos.  Waterhouse. 

.Sally,  b.  ,  m.  Samuel  Fickelt,  July  6,  1794. 

I  William  Hardy  is  said  to  liave  served  in  the  Revolutiouary  army.    He  lived  for  a  time 
in  Gorham  after  his  marriage.    His  children  were  Lucy  A.,  b.  Sept.  27,  1792,  m.  Henry 

Ficketc  of  Cape  Elizabeth;  Isaac,  b.  Oct.  29,  1796,  m.  Polly of  Wilton;  Parker,  b. 

Nov.  25,  1798,  d.  young;  Susannah,  b.  May  2,  1801,  m. Holden,  and  Nancy,  b.  Oct.  23, 

1806. 


704  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Polly,  b.  Oct.  i8,  1772,  m.  William  Riggs  of  Portland,  Dec.  9,  1792. 

Anna,  b. ,  m.  Thomas  Larrabee  of  Durham,  Mar.  i,  179S. 

Deborah,  b.  Jan.  13,  17S2,  m.  Isaac  Junkins  of  York,  Jan.  6,  1S05. 

Nathaniel  Parker  died  about  1789,  and  his  widow  Hannah  married, 
June  3,  1804,  Benjamin  Fickett.     She  died  June  23,  1833. 

(2)  John  Parker,  son  of  Nathaniel,  lived,  probably,  with  his  father 
on  the  homestead.  He  enlisted  in  Hart  Williams'  company  in  1775, 
and  served  till  discharged  Aug.  8,  1776.  He  was  also  under  Capt. 
McLellan  in  the  Bagaduce  expedition  in  1779.  He  married  Eliza- 
beth Warren.      Children : 

Nathaniel,  m.  Ruth  Stetson;  2d,  Abigail  Stetson;  3d,  Mrs.  Abigail  Wright; 

I'd  in  Durham;  d.  in  1S75,  aged  95. 
Joseph,  m.  Sarah  Newcomb  of  Bu.xton,  June  22,  1800  ;  I'd  and  d.  in  Cumberland. 
Amos  m.  Charlotte  Wormell  of  Durham  ;  I'd  in  Guilford. 
Elizabeth,  m.  Wm.  Larrabee  of  Durham,  Nov.  8,  1807. 
William,  m.  Priscilla  Wormell,  p.  Nov.  8,  1S16;  I'd  in  Guilford. 

John  Parker  was  lost  at  sea  about  1787.  His  widow  and  family 
moved  about  1802  to  Durham,  where  she  died  in  1858,  aged  112 
years  and  9  months. 

Eleazer  H.  Parker,  of  Standish,  and  Betsey  Rand,  of  Gorham, 
were  married  Nov.  20,  1794.  Mrs.  Parker  was  the  daughter  of 
Jeremiah  and  Lydia  (Blake)  Rand.  Mr.  Parker  and  his  daughter 
Esther  died  in  Standish  about  1813-14,  from  the  effects  of  the  bite 
of  a  wild  cat,  which  broke  into  the  house  during  the  night  and  made 
a  savage  attack  upon  the  family.  Mrs.  Parker  died  in  Gorham,  April 
4,  1858,  aged  83. 

Lydia  Parker,  daughter  of  Eleazer,  born  in  1797,  married  Josiah 
Moses  of  Standish  (pub.  June  6,  1822).  After  the  death  of  her 
husband  she  came  to  Gorham  to  live  with  her  son  Marshall  H. 
Moses,  and  died  at  his  house  at  Great  Falls,  June  30,  1879. 

Emily  Parker,  daughter  of  Eleazer,  born  about  1810,  married  (pub. 
Nov.  4,  1838)  Silas  Flood,  son  of  Morris  Flood,  and  lived  for  thirty- 
six  years  at  White  Rock.  After  the  death  of  her  husband  she  moved 
to  Great  Falls,  where  she  made  her  home  with  her  brother  Joseph 
where  she  died  June  23,  1882. 

Susan  Parker,  daughter  of  Eleazer,  married,  Dec.  11,  1825,  Eben- 
ezer  Hicks  of  Gorham,  and  her  sister  Esther  married,  Nov.  27,  1800, 
Isaac  Higgins,  son  of  Capt.  Joseph  Higgins  of  Gorham. 

Isaac  Parker,  son  of  Eleazer,  born  in  1800,  came  to  Gorham 
about  1830,  accompanied  by  his  brother  Joseph  W.  He  lived  at 
White  Rock,  where  Daniel  Plummer  now  lives.  From  this  place  he 
moved  to  West  Gorham,  on  to  the  Capt.  John  Stephenson  place,  then 


GENEALOGY.  705 

returned  to  White  Rock,  and  lived  near  the  church.     He  married,  in 

1823,  Ann,  daughter  of  Morris  and  Lydia  Flood.     Children: 

Jane,  b.  Nov.  26,  1824,  m.  Wm.  H.  Johnson,  1844. 

Higgins,  b.  Jan.  3,  1826,  m.  Mary  Proctor  of  Westbrook. 

Sarah  A.,  b.  Mar.  16,  182S,  m.  Henry  Gallison  of  Windham,  1845. 

Morris,  b.  July  15,  1830,  m.  Caroline  Allen  of  Falmouth. 

Emily,  b.  Jan.  9,  1833,  m.  Grenville  McDonald. 

Eliza  C,  b.  Feb.  8,    1835,   m.   Wm.  H.  Johnson   (2d  wife)  ;   2d,   Rev.  Jotham 

Johnson. 
Harriet,  b.  Aug.  8,  1838,  m.  Rodman  Allen. 
Ardella,  b.  Feb.  8,  1842,  m.  George  C.  Davis  of  Windham  Hill. 

Isaac  Parker  died  Sept.  24,  1879,  aged  79.  Hi.s  wife  Ann  died 
April  29,  1893,  aged  89. 

Jeremiah  Parker,  son  of  Eleazer,  born  in  1807,  came  from  Standish 

to  Gorham   in    1821.      He    lived   for   a   time   at   White   Rock,  with 

Robert  M.  Files,  but  finally  made  his  home  at  Great  Falls,  where  he 

was  in  trade  for  some  years.     He  was  one  of  the  board  of  selectmen 

in   1876,  '77  and  '78,  and  representative  to  the  Legislature  for  two 

years.     He  married,  in  1836,  Sally,  daughter  of  James  and  Susanna 

Nason.     Children  : 

Irving,  b.  Apr.  20,  1837,  m.  Hannah  Nuttir.g  of  Otisfield. 

Mary  A.,  b.  Oct.  30,  1839,  m.  Elias  Howard  of  Harrison. 

Winfield  S.,  b.  Nov.  25,  1841,  d.  young. 

Susan  A.,  b.  Apr.  5,  1843. 

Jane,  b.  May  31,  1846,  m.  Chas.  A.  Whipple. 

Albion,  b.  Sept.  19,  1848,  d.  young. 

Mrs.  Sally  Parker  died  March  19,  1850,  aged  32,  and  Mr.  Parker 
married,  in  185 1,  Ellen  A.  Plummer  of  Raymond.     Children  : 

Emma  A.,  b.  Dec.  22,  1851,  m.  Wm.  Merrill;  I'd  and  died  at  Great  Falls. 
Neal  Dow,  b.  Dec.  29,  1S52,  d.  May  11,  1861. 
Daniel  P.,  b.  Oct.  i,  1854,  m.  Sarah  Foster  of  Casco. 
Jeremiah,  b.  Jan.  5,  1S57,  m.  Lizzie  Towle  of  Saccarappa. 
Nellie  M.,  b.  — — ,  1861,  d.  June  4,  1879. 

Almon,  b. ,  m.  Martha  Jordan  ;  2d, in  Raymond;   d.  Mar.,  1898. 

Lydia,  b. ,  m.  Leslie  Higgins. 

Elizabeth,  b. ,  m.  Warren  Churchill  of  Raymond. 

Nina,  b. ,  m.  Chas.  Swett  of  Standish. 

Pitt  F.,  b.  . 

Jeremiah  Parker  died  Nov.  14,  1890. 

Joseph  W.  Parker,  son  of  Eleazer,  born  in  18 13,  came  to  Gorham 
with  his  brother  Isaac.  He  was  one  of  the  prominent  and  influential 
men  of  the  town.  He  was  selectman  in  1842  and  1843  ;  also  in  1864 
and  1865.  He  represented  the  town  in  the  Legislature  in  1863  and 
1864.  He  lived  at  Great  Falls,  where  he  was  in  trade  for  several 
years.  In  1846  Mr.  Parker  married  Mary  P.  Lombard  of  Standish. 
Children  : 


706  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

W.  Scott,  b.  Jan.  19,  1847,  ti-  Maria  Cook  of  Windham,  who  died  Dec.  16,  1882. 

Clara,  b.  Oct.  11,  1848,  m.  Carlyle  W.  Shaw. 

Adeline  H.,  b.  May  28,  1850,  m.  Horace  M.  Crockett;  d.  in  1889. 

Kate,  b.  June  10,  1852. 

Emily,  b.  Jan.  5,  1854,  d.  young. 

Emily  1-.,  b.  June  26,  1855. 

Lizzie,  b.  Jan.  27,  1859,  d.  young. 

Horace  G.,  b.  Sept.  i,  i860,  m.  Mary  Elwell  of  Wesibrook. 

Wendall  P.,  b.  Feb.  7,  1863,  m.  Frances  Swazey  of  Bucksport,  Dec.  25,  1897. 

Albert  J.,  b.  Apr.  29,  1864.  d.  young. 

Mary  Perkins,  b.  Aug.  2,  1870,  m.  Daniel  Fogg  of  Gorham. 

Mrs.  Mary  Parker  died  June  23,  1891,  aged  65.  Mr.  Parker  died 
Sept.  18,  1901. 

John  M.  Parker,  son  of  Moses  and  Mary  Parker  of  Standish,  lived 

in  that  part  of  Scarboro  which  is  now  Gorham,  and  is  still  known 

as  Parker's  Corner,  where  he  kept  a  store.    He  married,  June  3,  1825, 

Louisa,  daughter  of  Thomas  Worcester  of  Gorham.     Children  : 

George  W.,  b.  Mar.  22,  1826,  m.  Sarah  C.  Harmon,  Nov.  29,  1849;  has  been 

High  Sheriff,  City  Marshall  and  Supt.  of  the  Reform  School. 
Mary  A.,  b.  Oct.  28,  1827,  m.  Benjamin  Libby ;  d.  in  Portland. 
Harriet  S.,  b.  Oct.  25,  1829,  m.  Robert  McLaughlin. 

Elizabeth  B.,  b.  Aug.  26,  1831,  m.  Granville  McKenney;  d.  in   Scarboro. 
Gardner  M.,  b.  Sept.  26,  1833,  m.  Sarah  Meserve,  Jan.  i,  i860. 
Charles  L.,  b.  Aug.  12,  1836,  d.  Mar.  14,  1851. 
Martha  L.,  b.  July  21,  1838,  m.  Robert  Harmon. 

Mahlon  H.,  b.  Feb.  12,  1841,  killed  at  Port  Hudson,  La.,  May  31,  1863. 
John  M.,  b.  Mar.  4,  1843,  m.  Susan  Stiles. 
Almira  E.  W.,  b.  June  24, 1845,  m.  Merrill  Higgins  of  White  Rock. 

John  M.  Parker  died  in  Gorham,  July  31,  1873,  aged  74,  and  his 

wife  Louisa,  April  17,  1885,  aged  80. 

PATCH. 

Nehemiah  Patch  was  born  in  Plymouth,  Mass.,  Aug.  22,  1767. 
Dec.  19,  1797,  he  bought  of  Daniel  Mann  forty  acres  of  land  in 
Gorham  above  Fort  Hill,  being  the  thirty  acre  lot,  59,  and  ten  acres 
of  lot,  34,  which  adjoins  59  on  the  west.  This  land  Mann  bought  of 
Josiah  Morse  of  Gorham,  Dec.  30,  1794.  Mr.  Patch  moved  to  Fort 
Hill  soon  after  his  purchase,  and  lived  in  the  house  since  known  as 
the  Motley  house.  He  was  a  meat  packer,  and  also  engaged  in  the 
coopering  business.  He  also  opened  a  store  on  the  corner  on 
the  south  side  of  the  road  leading  from  Fort  Hill  to  West  Gorham. 
Here  he  carried  on  a  brisk  and  thriving  trade  for  some  years.  No 
trace  of  the  store  building  now  remains.  He  married  Peggy  Wyman, 
a  native  of  Small  Point,  Me.  Both  he  and  his  wife  were  prominent 
members  of  the  Free  Baptist  church  on  Fort  Hill.  Their  children 
were  : 


GENEALOGY.  707 

David,  b.  in  Brunswick,  July    19,    1796,   m.    Sally    Harding  of    Portland;  d.    in 

Minot,  Nov.  12,  1869. 
Sally,  b.  in  Gorham,  Sept.  2,  1799,  •"•  IraTibbetts;  d.  in  Portland,  Oct.  4,  1885. 
John,  b.  in  Gorham,  Aug.  14,  1S05,  d.  Sept.  4,  1825. 
Tracy,  b.  in  Gorham,  Dec.  22,  1809,  d.  Sept.  4,  1813. 
Ehza  Ann,  b,  in  Portland,  June  8,  1814,  d.  unm.  in  Portland,  June  30,  1880. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Patch  moved  to  Portland  about  18 12,  where  they 
died,  he,  May  30,  1846,  and  she,  Aug.  19,  1852.  Mr.  John  Patch, 
who  moved  to  Gorham  about  1894,  and  lives  on  the  old  Reuben 
Bangs  place,  is  the  son  of  David  and  grandson  of  Nehemiah  and 
Margaret  Patch. 

PATRICK. 

Charles  Patrick  was  born  at  Stroudwater  of  English  descent ;  and 
when  a  young  man  lived  at  what  is  now  called  Stroudwater  village. 
He  was  the  son  of  William  and  Mary  (  Hawkes)  Patrick.  His  father 
removed  from  Boston  to  Stroudwater  (Falmouth),  bringing  his  family 
and  goods  in  an  open  sail  boat.  It  is  said  that  the  passage  was  made 
in  one  day.  Charles  Patrick  came  to  Gorham  in  1776.  He  was  a 
mason  by  trade,  and  was  for  many  years  the  principal  one  in  town. 
He  built,  about  1782,  the  chimney  in  the  house  lately  owned  by  Col. 
Hugh  D.  McLellan  ;  and  plastered  the  first  room  that  was  plastered  in 
Gorham  :  this  was  in  the  house  built  by  Dea.  James  McLellan,  which 
stood  on  South  St.,  about  one-half  mile  from  the  Corner.  Mr.  Patrick 
lived  on  the  Charles  Robie  farm,  where  Marshall  Sturgis  now  lives. 
He  dressed  at  that  time  in  the  prevailing  fashion,  and  at  this  day 
would  appear  unique.  He  wore  a  three-cornered  cocked  hat  with  a 
button,  a  light  blue,  single-breasted,  broadcloth  coat  having  a  stand- 
ing collar,  large  brass  buttons  about  two  inches  in  diameter,  broad 
skirts,  and  muslin  ruffles  around  the  wrists,  a  red  vest,  a  ruffled  shirt, 
buff  breeches  or  small  clothes,  white  stockings,  shoes,  and  silver  shoe 
and  knee  buckles.  His  wife  was  Mehitable  Fickett.  Children,  the 
four  oldest  born  in  Stroudwater  : 

Benjamin,  b. ,  m.  Polly  Mcintosh,  Mar.  27,  1796,  d   Apr.  28,  1822. 

Peggy,  b.  ,  m.  James  Mcintosh,  Mar.  13,  1798. 

Polly,  b.  ,  m.  Moses  Dyer,  p.  -Nov.  20,  1797. 

Catherine,  b.  1773,  m. Dyer  of  Stroudwater;  d.  in  that  town. 

David,  b.  Sept.  i,  1776,  m.  Betsey  Jordan,  Nov.  20,  1803. 

Charles,  b.  Jan.  8,  1779,  m.  Susan  Grant. 

James,  b.  Aug.  19,  1780,  m.  Patty  Tibbetts  of  Buxton,  p.  Apr.  7,  1810. 

Thomas,  b.  Nov.  15,  1782,  m.  Mary  Fickett  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  p.  Aug.  15,  1818. 

Eleanor,  b.  Dec.  31,  1784,  m.  Samuel  Libby  of  Scarboro,  Apr.  14,  18 10. 

Stephen,  b.  Feb.  15,  17S7,  m.   Esther  Harmon  of  Buxton,  Jan.  2,  1814;  was  a 

soldier  in  the  War  of  1812  ;  d.  in  Portland. 
Nancy,  b.  Dec.  29,  1789,  d.  July  4,  1801. 
Christiana,  b. ,  m.  James  Bragdon  of  Scarboro,  Jan.  23,  1813. 


708  HISTORY    OF    QORHAM. 

Mrs.  Mehitable  Patrick  died  March  26,  1809  or  1810,  aged  62,  and 
Mr,  Patrick  married,  Jan.  ig,  181 1,  Mrs.  Betsey  Adams,  daughter  of 
Nathaniel  and  Elizabeth  Frost,  and  widow  of  Benjamin  Adams. 
Charles  Patrick  died  March  15,  1830,  aged  85.  His  wife  Betsey  died 
March  2,  1841,  aged  90. 

(2)  David  Patrick,  son  of  Charles,  lived  on  Flaggy  Meadow  road, 
in  a  house,  since  burned,  which  stood  opposite  to  that  of  the  late 
Samuel  Cressey.  He  married  Betsey,  daughter  of  Clement  and 
Sarah  Jordan.     Children : 

Stephen  A.,  b.  Feb.  7,  1804,  m.  Mrs.  Eliza  Harding,  Mar.  28,  1827;  2d,  Martha 
Watts  ;  I'd  in    Buxton. 

Clement,  b.  July  5, 1808,  m.  Eliza  A.  Harding  of  Baldwin,  in  1834  ;  went  to  N.  Y. 

Charles,  b.  Feb.  28,  181 1,  m.  Lucy  Paine,  the  adopted  dau.  of  Dea.  and  Mrs. 
Paine,  and  niece  of  Mrs.  Paine.  Ch  :  Lucy  P.,  b.  Sept.  8,  1839,  m.  Geo. 
Way,  d.  Jan.  16,  1891  ;  Samuel  P.,  b.  Apr.  23,  1841,  m.  Ellen  Delno  of 
Biddeford;  David,  b.  May  18,  1843,  ™-  Abbie  Skillings,  dau.  of  Thos.  of 
Stroudwater;  Chas.  H.,  b.  Oct.  10,  1845,  d.  young;  Henry  C,  b.  Sept. 
29,  1846;  Edward,  b.  Feb.  23,  1849,  m.  Kate  Miller  of  Worcester;  Sarah 
F.,  b.  Apr.  19,  1851  ;  Franklin,  b.  Oct.  i,  1853,  d.  young;  Ellen  C,  b. 
Sept.  20,  1854,  m.  Peter  Fogg;  Frank,  b.  Sept.  19,  1857,  m.  Effie  French. 
Charles  Patrick  d.  Aug.  27,  1S87  ;  his  wife  d.  Jan.  22,  1891,  aged  75. 

David,  b.  May  26,  1818,  m.  ;  2d,  Olive  Patrick. 

Elizabeth,  b.  July  3,  1827,  m.  Albert  Cressey,  June  4,  1854. 

David  Patrick  died  Sept.  4,  1838,  and  his  wife,  Jan.  15,  1850, 
aged  67. 

(2)  Charles  Patrick,  son  of  Charles,  married  Susan  Grant.  Chil- 
dren : 

Mary  A.  H.,  b.  May  22,  1S16,  m.  Capt.  Drinkwater. 

Olive  H.,  b.  June  26,  1818,  m.  David  Patrick  ;  d.  in  Gorham. 

Sarah  A.,  b.  Feb.  25,  1820,  d.  Oct.  26,  1838. 

John,  b.  Mar.  3,  1822,  moved  to  Jackson. 

Elizabeth  R.,  b.  Dec.  9,  1823. 

James  G.,  b.  May  5,  1825. 

Maria  A.,  b.  Feb.  25,  1827. 

William  P.,  b. . 

Emma  M.,  b.  Feb.  23,  1831,  m. Parker;  I's  in  Reed's  Ferry,  N.  H. 

Hannah  P.,  b.  Mar.  26,  1833. 
Charles  H.  H.,  b   Nov.  5,  1836. 
Laura  Ann,  b.  Nov.  18,  1838. 

Webster,  b. . 

Henry  Clay,  b.  . 

Nancie  F.,  b. • 


Charles  Patrick  lived  on  the  farm  once  owned  by  his  father.  He 
sold  this  place  in  1839  to  Toppan  Robie,  and  moved  to  Jackson. 
He  was  burned  to  death  by  a  fire  which  consumed  his  dwelling  house. 

(2)  Thomas  Patrick,  son  of  Charles,  married  Mary  Fickett  of  Cape 

Elizabeth.     Their  children  were  : 

Lucy  Ann,  b.  July  31,  1819,  m.  John  Smith  of  Hoilis;  d.  Mar.,  1896. 
Hannah  W.,  b.  Jan.  24,  1821,  m.  Joseph  G.  Tarbox,  Feb.  2,  1846. 


GENEALOGY.  709 

George,  b.  Dec.  5,  1822,  m.   Deborah  Quinby ;  she  d.  Feb.  16,  1863;  he  m.  2d, 

Mary  E.  Purinton. 
Harriet,  b.   Feb.  25,  1829,  m. Smith  of  Boston  ;  d.  in  Boston. 

Mr.  Patrick  died  at  his  home,  which  is  now  owned  and  occupied  by 
his  son  George,  Dec.  g,  1857,  aged  75.  His  wife  Mary  died  March 
22,  1864,  aged  76. 

PEABODY. 

Samuel  Peabody,  born  in  1722,  was  a  great-grandson  of  Lieut. 
Francis  Peabody  who  came  from  St.  Albans,  Hei:tfordshire,  England, 
in  1635  in  the  ship  "Planter."  Samuel  lived  in  Gorham  as  early  as 
1773.  In  1792  he  sold  his  estate  in  Gorham  to  Hon.  Stephen  Long- 
fellow and  moved  with  his  family  to  Union  in  Lincoln  Co.  We  have 
no  record  of  the  births  of  his  children  who  were  :  Josiah,  paid  a  poll 
tax  in  1773,  d.  in  Newbury,  Mass. ;  Ruth  ;  Mehitable  ;  Sarah  ;  Betsey  ; 
Anna,  b.  in  1767  ;  Lucy,  m.  in  Gorham,  Varnum  Beverly,  Jan.  28, 
1791  ;  Samuel,  lived  in  Dixmont,  Me.;  William,  paid  a  poll  tax  in 
1790,  and  1792;  Stephen,  and  Affia. 

Lieut.  Ebenezer  Peabody  of  Boxford,  was  also  a  descendant  of 
Lieut.  Francis  Peabody.  He  was  a  brave  officer  in  the  Revolution, 
and  fought  at  Bunker  Hill,  and  was  also  at  the  taking  of  Burgoyne, 
and  in  many  engagements.  His  son  Ebenezer  Peabody,  Jr.,  born 
Feb.  13,  1767,  came  in  early  life  to  Gorham,  where  he  married, 
March  9,  1792,  Sally,  daughter  of  Maj.  George  Lewis.  About  the 
year  1802,  he  removed  with  his  family  to  Peterborough,  N.  H.,  w'here 
he  engaged  in  farming.      Children  : 

Kendall  O.,  b.  Dec.  20,  1792,  I'd  in  Franklin,  N.  H. ;  was  a  prominent  business 
man;  m.  Alice  Clanchard;   2d,  Betsey  Austin;  d.  Jan.  23,  1855. 

Ebenezer,  b.  Sept.  3,  1794,  m.  Rebecca  Robertson;  d.  in  1847. 

Louisa,  b.  Aug.  10,  1796,  m.  Capt.  Charles  M.  Davis,  Sept.  4,  1S22  ;  I'd  in  Port- 
land; d.  Apr.  5,  1858. 

Caroline,  b.  July  9,  1798,  m.  Dexter  Baldwin,  May  27,  1824;  d.  in  Mt.  Vernon, 
Me.,  July  6,  1827. 

William  H.,  b.  Jan.  20,  1801,  m.  Hannah  March,  Sept.  9,  1828. 

James  Lewis,  b.  July  25,  1803,  m.  Sarah  J.  Blake,  Dec.  22,  1831 ;  I'd  in  Franklin, 
N.  H.;  d.  Aug.  7,  1866. 

Betsey  K.,  b.  May  5,  1805,  m.  Ebenezer  Robinson  of  Portland,  Dec.  25,  1827  ; 
d.  Apr.  8,  1832. 

Sarah  Lewis,  b.  Mar.  29,  1807,  m.  Ira  Greeley,  Aug.  30,  1832;  I'd  in  Franklin, 
N.  H. 

Ebenezer  Peabody  died  in  Peterborough,  N.   H.,  July  26,  18 16. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Peabody  removed  to  Franklin,  N.  H.,  about  181 7,  where 

she  died  Sept.  12,  1849,  aged  83. 

(2)  William  H.  Peabody,  son  of  Ebenezer,  studied  at  Hanover, 
and  took  the  degree  of  medicine  at  Dartmouth  in  1826.  He  estab- 
lished himself  in  his  native  town,  and  had  an  extensive  practice  here 


710  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

for  sixteen  years,  until  his  death.      He  was  devoted  to  his  calling, 

with  whose  progress  he  kept  pace  by  careful  and  assiduous  culture. 

He  was  a  Christian  gentleman  and  physician.      He  married  Hannah, 

daughter  of  Col.  James  March.     Children  : 

Caroline  B.,  b.  July  7,  1829,  m.  Orlando  Smith,  Nov.  20,  1850  ;  d.  in  Baltimore 

in  1895. 
William  H.,  b.  Dec.  30,  1830,  d.  July  7,  1832. 
Elizabeth  R.,  b.  Oct.  20,  1832,  d.  Mar.  10,  1834. 
Emily  E.,  b.  July  17,  1834,  d.  Feb.  20,  1847. 
William  Wirt,  b.  Mar.  20,  1836,  d.  young. 
William  Wirt,  b.  Oct.  26,  1838,  I's  in  Ohio. 
George  I.,  b.  Apr.  22,  1840,  d.  Aug.  28,  1840. 
Sargeant  P.,  b.  Mar.  2,  1842,  I'd  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

Dr.  Peabody  died  March  2,  1843.     His  widow  died  in  Ohio  in  1899, 
at  the  home  of  her  son. 


PENFIELD. 

The  Penfield  family  came  from  Cape  Cod,  and  settled  in  Gorham 
in  the  south  part  of  the  town,  on  the  farm  where  William  E.  Strout 
now  lives.  This  adjoins  the  farm  where  George  Strout,  grandfather 
of  William,  settled.  The  old  Penfield  house  formerly  stood  where 
Wm.  Strout's  house  now  stands,  but  has  been  moved  back,  and  now 
(1898)  forms  the  ell  of  the  house  of  Mr.  Strout. 

Nathan   Cook    Penfield   married,  Dec.    11,    1800,  Mary    Green   of 

Standish,  and  his  sister  Sally  married,  Dec.  15,  1796,  Ezra  Fickett  of 

Gorham.     The  children  of  Nathan  C.  and  Mary  Penfield  were  : 

Benjamin,  b.  Sept.  10,  1801,  d.  young. 

Sarah  F.,  b.  Sept.  29,  1803,  m.  Hugh  Edwards  of  Boston,  Oct.  11,  1827. 

Ann,  b,  Sept.  8,  1805,  m. Plummer. 

Patience  P.,  b.  Nov.  20,  1807,  m.  Geo.  Worcester,  Nov.  15,  1826. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Mar.  14,  1810,  d.  young. 

Benjamin,  b.  Mar.  29,  1812,  m.  Susan  Whitney  of  New  Hampshire. 

Charles  C,  b.  Jan.  20,  1814,  m.  Almira  Strout,  Aug.  26,  1835. 

Hannah  P.,  b.  Sept.  10,  1816,  d.  Oct.  i,  1835. 

Elizabeth  H.,  b.  Aug.  5,  18 18,  d.  in  Boston,  Aug.  30,  1840. 

Louisa  M.,  b.  Mar.  i,  1821,  m,  Wm.  F.  Veazie  of  Boston,  Apr.  14,  1842. 

Nathan  C.  Penfield  died  Oct.  14,  1850,  aged  74.  Mrs.  Penfield 
died  Aug.  29,  1853,  aged  74. 

(2)  Charles  C.  Penfield,  son  of  Nathan  C,  was  a  sea  captain.     He 

married  Almira,  daughter  of  Geo.,  Jr.  and  Comfort  Strout.     Children  : 

Charles  R.,  b.  1837,  d.  Mar.  7,  1851. 

Harriet,  b. ,  m.  Isaac  Brown. 

George  F.,  b. ,  I's  in  Topeka,  Kas. 

Capt.  Penfield  died  April  18,  1868,  and  his  wife  Aug.   19,  of  the 

same  year,  aged  53. 


GENEALOGY.  711 

PERKINS. 

The  names  of  John  Perkins  and  John  Perkins,  Jr.  appear  on  the 
tax  list  of  Gorham  for  the  year  1763.  James  Perkins  appears  with 
the  other  two  for  the  first  time  in  1774.  In  1768  John  Perkins  bought 
of  David  Gorham  one-half  of  the  hundred  acre  lot,  38,  on  which 
Perkins  was  then  living,  and  a  part  of  which  lot  he  sold  in  1772  to 
James  Mosher.  His  wife's  name  was  probably  Charlotte  Tuck,  of 
Boston.     We  hav^e  no  record  of  their  family,  but  there  were : 

John,  m.  Lois  Hadaway,  May  25,  1769. 

Susanna,  m.  Samuel  Gammon,  p.  Oct.  5,  1776. 

Esther,  m.  James  Gates,  Sept.  20,  i  76S. 

James,  was  a  sergeant  in  Gapt.  Williams'  company  in  both  the  31st  Mass.  and 
the  i8th  Gontinental  regiments,  and  was  then  promoted  to  ensign  in 
Gapt.  York's  company.  In  1777  he  enlisted  as  second  lieut.  in  the  15th 
Mass.,  and  resigned  Feb.  24,  1778.  After  his  military  service  he  does 
not  appear  to  have  resided  in  Goihani.     He  d.  Mar.  4,  1830. 

John   Perkins  was  a  sergeant  in  1775  in  Capt.  Williams'  company, 

and  ensign  under  the  same  officer  in  the  i8th  Continental  regiment, 

Jan.  I,  1776.      He  died  of  the  small  pox  in  Brookline  hospital,  April 

18,  1776. 

(2)  John  Perkins,  Jr.,  son  of  John,  was  a  cabinet  maker.  liis 
home  until  1783  was  on  the  south  side  of  Main  St.,  about  one-half 
mile  below  the  village.  The  lot  is  now  included  in  the  new  cemetery. 
In  February,  1783,  he  sold  this  place  to  Josiah  Swett,  and  bought 
of  Isaac  D.  Holbrook  the  west  half  of  the  hundred  acre  lot  No.  9. 
Here  he  lived  till  March,  1795,  when  he  sold  this  farm,  with  the 
buildings  and  cattle,  to  his  son-in-law,  Ephraim  Lombard.  He  mar- 
ried Lois,  daughter  of  James  and  Bethiah  Hadaway  of  Barnstable. 
Children  : 

Lucy,  b.  Sept.  16,  1770,  m.  Abiel  Briggs,  Aug.  26,  1786. 
Polly,  b.  Nov.  10,  1774,  m.  Ephraim  Lombard,  Nov.  20,  1794. 

Betty,  b. ,  d.  unm. 

Peggy,  b.  ,  d.  unm. 

John  Perkins,  Jr.,  died  Aug.  6,  1796.  Mrs.  Lois  Perkins  was  liv- 
ing as  late  as  March,  1795. 

PHINNEY. 

John  Phinney  was  the  first  settler  of  Gorham.  He  was  born  in 
Barnstable,  Mass.,  April  8,  1693,  and  was  the  son  of  Dea.  John 
Phinney  of  that  place.  His  grandfather,  John  Phinney,  was  one  of 
the  soldiers  in  the  fight  in  the  swamp  in  King  Philip's  war  in  1675. 

Capt.  Phinney  married,  Sept.  25,  17  18,  Martha,  daughter  of  James 
and  Patience  Colman  of  Barnstable,  and  about  1732   removed,  with 


712  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

his  family,  from   Barnstable   to   Falmouth,    Me.     In    May,  1736,  he, 

with  his  son  Edmund,  a  boy  of  thirteen,  came  up  the  Presumpscot 

river  to  make  a  settlement  in  the  wilderness  of  Narragansett,  No.  7. 

(See  Chapter  V.) 

He  was  a  brave,  energetic,  sagacious  man,  and  looked  after  the 

interests  of  the  little   colony  which  soon  grew  up  around  him,  with 

the  affection  and  discretion  of  a  father.     Beloved  and  respected,  he 

lived  to  see  the  forest  give  way  and  a  flourishing  little  hamlet  stand 

in  its  place,  dying  Dec.  29,   1780,  at  the  age  of  87.     His  wife  died 

Dec.  16,  1784,  aged  87.     They  are  both  buried  in  the  old  cemetery 

at  Gorham  village.     The  children  of  Capt.  John  and  his  wife  Martha 

(Colman)  Phinney  were  : 

Elizabeth,  b.  in  Barnstable,  July  15,  1721,  m.  Eliphalet  Watson  in  1740. 
Edmund,  b.  in  Barnstable,  July  27,  1723,  m.  Elizabeth  Meserve  in  1750. 
Stephen,  b.  in  Barnstable,  Dec.  16,  1725,  m.  Olive  Early. 
Martha,  b.  in  Barnstable,  Oct.  18,  1727,  m.   Hart  Williams  of  Falmouth,  Feb. 

18,  1750. 
Patience,  b.  in  Barnstable,  June  27,  1730,  m.  Thomas  Weston,  Feb.  3,  1750. 
John,  Jr.,  b.  in  Falmouth,  Mar.  18,  1732,  m.  Rebecca  Sawyer,  Jan.  24,  1755. 
Sarah,  b.  in  Falmouth,  May  18,  1734,  m.  Samuel  Leavitt  of  Buxton,  Jan.,  1756; 

d.  in  Apr.,  1793. 
Mary  G.,  b.  in  Gorham,  Aug.  13,  1736,  m.  James  Irish,  Mar.  10,  1756. 
Colman,  b.  in  Gorham,  July  18,  1738,  d.  young;  killed  by  a  falling  tree. 
James,  b.  Apr.  13,  1741,  m.  Martha   Hamblen,  Jan.   12,   1763;  2d,  Lucy  Cross. 

(2)  Edmund  Phinney,  the  eldest  son  of  Capt.  John  and  Martha  C. 
Phinne}^  came  with  his  father  to  Narragansett  No.  7,  and  felled  the 
first  tree  cut  in  town  for  the  purpose  of  settlement.  This  was  a  large 
basswood  tree,  and  stood  a  little  north  of  where  the  house  of  the 
late  Moses  Fogg  stands,  on  the  thirty  acre  lot,  No.  i.  Mr.  Phinney 
was  a  man  of  great  activity  and  energy,  and  all  his  life  held  a  promi- 
nent place  in  the  business  affairs  of  the  town,  serving  in  many  public 
capacities.  He  was  selectman,  one  of  the  Connnittee  of  Safety,  mem- 
ber of  the  Provincial  Congress,  and  Representative  to  the  General 
Court  of  Massachusetts.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  French  and  Indian 
wars,  serving  as  a  sergeant  in  both  Capt.  Berry's  and  Capt.  Hill's 
companies.  He  was  a  captain  in  Colonel  Samuel  Waldo,  Jr.'s  regi- 
ment about  1764,  and  later,  in  1772,  held  a  captain's  commission  in 
the  militia.  His  love  for  his  country  and  his  devotion  to  the  cause 
of  Liberty  was  intense.  In  1775  he  received  a  colonel's  commission, 
and  was  placed  in  command  of  the  31st  Mass.  regiment,  which  was 
composed  entirely  of  the  citizens  of  Gorham,  and  adjoining  towns. 
This  regiment  he,  in  July,  1775,  marched  to  Cambridge,  and  when 
the  British  evacuated  Boston  in  March,  1776,  it  entered  that  city  and 
was  stationed  near  Fort  Hill.     Tradition  says  it  was  the  first  regi- 


GENEALOGY.  713 

ment  to  enter  the  city  after  the  departure  of  the  enemy.  One  company 
of  Col.  Phinney's  regiment  which  was  noted  for  its  fine  appearance 
was  selected  to  march  at  the  head  of  the  procession  which  on  April 
8,  followed  Gen.  Warren's  body  to  its  resting  place  in  the  old  Granary 
burying-ground.  Jan.  i,  1776,  Col.  Phinney  was  commissioned 
colonel  of  the  i8th  Continental  regiment,  in  which  his  former  com- 
mand was  merged.  In  the  autumn  of  1776,  he  had  a  long  and 
tedious  march  with  his  regiment  to  Ticonderoga,  and  during  that 
and  the  following  year,  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  movements 
of  the  northern  army  until  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne,  when  being 
out  of  health  he  returned  to  his  home,  to  live  again  in  retirement 
with  his  family.  He  was  a  good  officer,  and  performed  his  duty  hon- 
orably ;  no  greater  proof  of  this  is  needed  than  to  know  the  high 
esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  his  old  soldiers  after  their  return 
home.  Notwithstanding  the  Scarborough  people  did  not  like  him 
overmuch  on  account  of  the  course  he  took  in  marching  a  company 
of  about  fifty  men  from  Gorham  and  Buxton,  armed  and  equipped, 
under  Capt.  Samuel  W'hitmore,  to  Saco  and  Scarborough  for  the 
purpose  of  regulating  the  political  morals  of  certain  persons,  among 
whom  were  Mr.  King  and  Dr.  Alden,  they  being  strongly  suspected 
of  toryism.  Dr.  Alden  was  compelled  to  make  his  recantation 
kneeling  on  the  top  of  a  hogshead  ;  this  he  would  not  do  till  he 
heard  the  cocking  of  several  muskets  around  him.  Mr.  King  was 
permitted  to  read  his,  standing  on  a  table  in  front  of  his  house  at 
Dunstan  Landing,  in  Scarborough.  But  after  a  more  cool  considera- 
tion of  the  thing  than  was  allowed  at  the  time,  it  is  believed  by  many 
that  Mr.  King  was  not  at  heart  a  tory,  but  was  fully  of  the  opinion  that 
the  Colonies  were  not  strong  enough  to  cope  with  the  Mother  Coun- 
try, that  the  Revolution  would  be  a  failure  and  bring  ruin  and  disaster 
to  all  engaged  in  it ;  therefore  he  hung  fire  and  did  not  come  up  to 
the  point  desired  by  the  more  ardent  spirits  of  the  day.  But  of  the 
patriotism  of  Col.  Phinney  there  is  no  doubt;  though  he  may  have 
erred  in  judgment  in  this  affair.  In  1781  he  was  colonel  of  the  3d 
regiment  of  militia  of  Cumberland  County. 

Col.  Phinney's  farm  was  composed  of  the  two  thirty  acre  lots,  106 
and  108,  which  are  located  on  the  northerly  side  of  the  old  road  to 
Saccarappa,  about  one  mile  from  Gorham  village.  His  house,  which 
he  built  before  the  war,  about  1765,  stood  where  the  Woodbury  house, 
so  called,  lately  stood.  He  joined  the  church  in  Windham,  Feb.  14, 
1748,  but  was  dismissed  to  unite  with  the  Gorham  church,  Dec. 
23,  1750.     He  was  one  of  the  three  first  ruling  elders  of  the  Gorham 


714  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

church,  the  others  being  Hugh  McLellan  and  Joseph   Gates.     He 

married  Betty,  daughter  of  Clement  and  Sarah   (Decker)  Meserve 

of  the  fort.     Children  : 

Patience,  b.  ,  m.  Ebenezer  Carsley,  Nov.  25,  1766. 

Decker,  b.  Nov.  17,  1752,  m.  Hannah  Hamblen,  Dec.  30,  1773. 
Sarah,  b.  Jan.  3,  1754,  m.  Benjamin  Brown. 
Joseph,  b.  Mar.  14,  1757,  m.  Susan  Crockett,  June  18,  1780. 
Betty,  b.  Apr.  i,  1759,  m.  Joseph  Whitney,  p.  Sept.  22,  1781. 
Edmund,  b.  Nov.  26,  1760,  m.  Sarah  Hamblen,  Mar.  26,  1780. 
Stephen,  b.  Mat.  10,  1763,  m.  Anna  Huston,  Sept.  22,  1788. 
James,  b.  Sept.  2,  1768,  m.  Abigail  Mosher,  July  17,  1791. 

Nathaniel,  b.  Aug.  19,  1771,  m.  Mary  Bangs,  Apr.  30,  1792  ;  2d,  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Hatch. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  M.  Phinney  died  Aug.  6,  1795,  aged  65  ;  she  was  a 
smart,  energetic,  Christian  woman,  a  good  wife,  a  kind  mother,  much 
respected  and  beloved  by  all  who  knew  her.  Col.  Phinney  married, 
Nov.  21,  1796,  Mrs.  Sarah  Stevens,  widow  of  Benjamin  Stevens.  Col. 
Edmund  Phinney  died  Dec.  15,  1808,  aged  85. 

(2)  Stephen  Phinney,  son  of  Capt.  John,  in  1757  owned  and  lived 
on  the  hundred  acre  lot,  42.  This  lot  is  located  on  the  westerly  side 
of  the  present  Gray  road,  and  there  his  old  cellar  is  still  to  be  seen. 
He  afterwards  lived  on  the  thirty  acre  lot,  102,  which  he  purchased 
in  1766,  and  some  seventeen  years  later  sold  to  Lieut.  Silas  Chad- 
bourn  together  with  his  house  and  barn,  and  moved  to  the  hundred 
acre  lot,  72.  Later,  he  and  his  wife  moved  to  Standish.  He  married 
Olive  Early,  who  was  probably  the  daughter  of  Anthony  and  Mehitable 
Early  of  Berwick,  where  she  was  baptized  Jan.  23,  1734/5.  Stephen 
Phinney  and  his  wife  Olive  had  but  one  child  : 
Mercy,  b. ,  m.  Ephraim  Jones,  Mar.  21,  1779. 

Mr.  Phinney  was  a  deacon  in  the  Congregational  church  in  Gorham 
as  early  as  1768.     He  died  in  Gorham,  June  19,  1796,  aged  71. 

(2)  John  Phinney,  Jr.,  son  of  Capt.  John,  was  but  four  years  old 
when  his  father's  family  came  to  Gorham.  Under  his  father's  direc- 
tion he  planted  the  first  hill  of  corn  which  was  planted  by  white 
hands  in  the  town.  In  1775  he  enlisted  as  a  sergeant  in  Capt.  Hart 
Williams'  company,  Col.  Phinney's  regiment,  and  served  out  his 
enlistment.  He  was  afterwards  drafted,  but,  as  he  was  a  well-to-do 
man,  it  was  thought  best  to  send  his  two  sons  Ebenezer  and  John,  in 
his  stead,  and  for  him  to  remain  and  assist  in  the  support  of  the 
families  of  some  of  the  poorer  Gorham  soldiers.  His  home  was  on 
the  thirty  acre  lot,  106,  which  his  father  in  1763  gave  him,  together 
with  a  house  and  barn  then  standing  on  the  place.  This  homestead 
lot,  together  with  the  thirty  acre  lot,  107,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 


GENEALOGY.  715 

road,  he  sold  in  1766  to  his  brother  Edmund.    John  Phinney  married 

Rebecca,  daughter  of  John,  and  sister  of  Capt.  Jonathan  Sawyer. 

Children  : 

Sarah,  b.  Nov.  21,  1755,  m.  John  Emery,  p.  Dec.  21,  1776. 

Rebecca,  b.  Aug.  18,  1757,  m.  Joshua  Moody  of  Staiidish,  p.  Nov.  8,  1788. 

Ebenezer,  b.    Dec.    14,   1759,  rn.  Sarah    P.,  dau.  of  Wentworth  and   Susanna 

Stuart,  p.  May  20,  1781.      He  I'd  and  d.  in  Standish,  but  most  of  his  ch. 

I'd  in  Gorham.     They  were:   Statira,  m.  Thomas   Files,  June  11,  1807; 

Wentworth   S.,  m.   Moore  of   N.   Y. ;    John,  I'd  in    Stockton; 

Patience,  m.   Robert   Files,  Apr.  2,   1818;  Isaac,  m.  Edie  Merrill;  and 

Rebecca,  who  m.  Charles  Jordan  of  Raymond,  and  I'd  and  d.  in  Gorham. 
John,  b.  Apr.  11,  1762,  m.  Susanna  Stone,  Feb.  16,  1786. 
Martha,  b.  Apr.  29,  1764,  m.  Jonathan  Haskell  of  Standish,  Sept.  19,  1793. 
Abigail,  b.  May  16,  1766,  d.  unm. 
Colman,  b.  Dec.  13,  1770,  m.  Peggy  Moore,  Sept.  18,  1793;  d.  in  Portland,  Aug. 

25,  1856. 

John  Phinney,  Jr.,  died  May  3,  1815,  aged  83.  His  wife  Rebecca 
died  not  far  from  the  same  time,  aged  about  80. 

(2)  James  Phinney,  the  youngest  son  of  Capt.  John,  lived  on  the 
westerly  side  of  School  St.,  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Queen  street, 
on  the  lot  lately  occupied  by  Samuel  Roberts.  Here  he  built  a  fine 
two-story  house,  where  he  resided  many  years.  Having  sold  this 
place  to  Rev.  Samuel  Clark,  he  moved  to  the  village,  and  lived  in  the 
house  which  stood  where  Mrs.  Cram's  house  now  stands,  and  has 
since  been  moved  back  on  to  Lincoln- St.  Mr.  Phinney  married 
Martha,  daughter  of  Gershom  and  Hannah  (Almery)  Hamblen.  She 
died  Sept.  3,  18 16,  aged  76,  leaving  no  children.  He  married  second 
June  30,  18 1 7,  Lucy  Cross,  daughter  of  Dea.  Thomas  Cross.  Their 
only  child,  Martha  C,  b.  Aug.  30,  182 1,  m.  Thomas  E.  Wentworth 
in  1840. 

Mr.  Phinney  was  long  one  of  the  officers  of  the  town,  and  a  trustee 
of  Gorham  Academy;  a  man  respected  and  trusted  by  all.  He  lived 
to  the  age  of  93  years,  retaining  his  faculties  in  a  wonderful  manner* 
and  died  Oct.  18,  1834.  Mrs.  Lucy  Phinney  died  Dec.  29,  1863, 
aged  82. 

(3)  Decker  Phinney,  son  of  Col.  Edmund,  married  Hannah,  daugh- 
ter of  Gershom  and  Hannah  (Almery)  Hamblen.      Children  : 

Hannah,  b.  Jan.  28,  1774,  d.  July  28.  1774. 

Hannah,  b.  ,  m.  Daniel  Mann,  Aug.  23,  1792. 

Eli,  b.  Apr.  9,  1777,  m.  Mercy  Mann,  Jan.  27,  1799. 

Martha,  b.  June  30,  1779,  d.  young. 

Patience,  b.  May  2,  1782,  m.  Stuart  Green,  Apr.  14,  1806. 

James,  b.  Apr.  12,  1785,  d.  Aug.  23,  1806. 

Stephen,  b.  May  4,  1788,  d.  Nov.  17,  1800. 

Betty,  b.  Apr.  9,  1793. 

Martha,  b. ,  m.  Isaac  Hamblen,  Oct.  27,  1825. 


716  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Phinney  were  among  those  who  became  disaffected 
during  the  ministrations  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thacher,  and  becoming 
impressed  with  religious  views  differing  from  the  old  standard  of  the 
Congregationalists,  finally  joined  the  Friends,  of  which  society  they 
were  exemplary  members  till  death.  The  house  in  which  they  lived, 
with  the  addition  of  a  second  story,  is  still  standing  on  the  old  spot, 
on  the  top  of  Fort  Hill,  and  has  since  been  owned  by  Mr.  Asa  Palmer, 
who  came  to  Gorham  from  Bath,  and  bought  the  place  in  1841. 
Decker  Phinney  died  in  January,  1806,  aged  53.  Mrs.  Phinney  died 
Oct.  8,  1820,  aged  63,  at  her  old  homestead,  then  owned  by  her 
grandson,  Hon.  Edmund  Mann. 

(3)  Joseph  Phinney,  son  of  Col.  Edmund,  lived  on  the  farm  in  the 

Blake   neighborhood,  afterwards  owned   by  Gen.  James  Irish.      He 

afterwards  lived  about  a  mile   northwest  of  the  North  meeting-house, 

where  William  Whitney  recently  lived.     He  was  a  plow  maker  by 

trade.     He  married  Susan  Crockett,  daughter  of  Peletiah  and  Mary. 

Children  : 

Mary,  b.  Mar.  17,  1781,  m.  Samuel  Shaw  of  Standish,  p.  Mar.  3,  1798. 
Eunice,  b.  Oct.  29,  1783,  m.  Ithiel  Blake,  Sept.  9,  1802. 
Hannah,  b.  July  25,  1787,  d.  in  Thorndike,  unm. 

Stephen,  b. ,  m.  Nancy  Dorsett,  p.  Nov.  8,  1823. 

Nathaniel,  b.  July  25,  1790,  m.  Lucy  Blake,  p.  Aug.  26,  1815. 

Rebecca,  b.  Apr.  14,  1794,  d.  in  Thorndike,  unm. 

Phebe,  b.  Apr.  20,  1797,  d.  young. 

Patience,  b.  Oct.  26,  1799,  m.  Ebenezer  Scott  Files,  May  14,  1818. 

Joseph  Phinney  died  Sept.  10,  1825,  aged  68,  and  his  wife  Susanna, 
Jan.  15,  1838,  aged  77. 

(3)  Edmund  Phinney,  Jr.,  son  of  Col.  Edmund,  married  Sarah, 
daughter  of  Joseph  and  Hannah  (Whitney)  Hamblen.  He  served 
as  a  private  under  Capt.  Alexander  McLellan  in  the  Penobscot  expe- 
dition in  1779.     Children: 

Clement,  b.  Aug.  16,  1780,  m.  Joanna  Wallace,  Mar.  24,  1803. 

John,  b.  Nov.  26,  1783,  m.  Nancy  Gammon,  May  4,  i8og. 

James,  b.  - — — ,  1785,  d.  Sept.  18,  1806. 

Betsey,  b.  May  i,  1787,  m.  David  McLellan,  p.  Nov.  5,  1808. 

Joseph   H.,  b.  Oct.  18,  1789,  m.  Sally  Whitney,  Sept.  26,  1812;  was  a  minister; 

d.  in  Harrison,  Dec.  3,  1869. 

Hannah,  b. ,  m.  Sa^muel  Gilkey,  May  5,  181 6. 

Thomas,  b.  May  5,  1798,  Vn.  Sally  Woodward,  Dec.  4,  1822. 

Edmund,  b.  Sept.  12,  1799,  m.  Eliza  Woodward  ;  d.  in  Saccarappa. 

Jane,  b.  June,  1803,  m.  Alvah   Scribner  of  Otisfield,  June  10,  1827;  d.  Oct.  13, 

1844. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Phinney  died  at  Harrison,  he,  June  18,  1828,  and  she, 
Feb.  15,  1833. 


I 


GENEALOGY.  717 

(3)  Stephen  Phinney,  son  of  Col.  Edmund,  married  Anna,  daugh- 
ter of  Simon  and  Elizabeth  Huston.      Children: 

Betsey,  b.  June  5,  1789,  m.  Joseph  C.  Libby,  Feb.  15,  1S09. 

David,  b,  Dec.  13,  1792,  d.  Oct.  22,  1801. 

Love,  b.  Nov.  12,  1796,  m.  Joseph  C.  Libby,  Oct.,  1826. 

Stephen  Phinney  died  Nov,  27,  1800,  aged  37.  His  widow  mar- 
ried, June  24,  1S07,  Simeon  Libby. 

(3)  James  Phinney,  Jr.,  son  of  Col.  Edmund,  lived  on  the  old  road 

to  Portland,  about  a  mile  below  the  village,  and  just  below  his  father, 

on  the  farm  now  owned  by  George  Alden.      His  house,  in  which   he 

lived  for  seventy-six  years,  was  built  on  the  hundred  acre  lot,  42,  which 

had  belonged  to  his  uncle  Stephen  on  the  westerly  side  of  the  Gray 

road,  and  was  hauled  across  to  its  present  location  where  the  two 

story  part  was   afterwards   added.     The  old   house  is  said  to    have 

been  built  by  a  Mr.  Whitney,  and  at  one  time  occupied  by  a  Gammon 

family.      Here  for  many  years  Mr.   Phinney  kept  a  tavern  which  was 

noted  for  its  good  cheer  and  was  a  favorite  resort  for  fashionable 

parties  from  the  village.    He  married  Abigail,  daughter  of  James  and 

Abigail  Mosher.     Children  : 

Eliza,  b.  Sept.  24,  1795,  d.  Oct.  19,  1800. 

Eliza,  b.  Aug.  26,  1801,  m.  Dr.  Greenleaf   P.  Thompson  of  Pownal,  Apr.    17, 

1820. 
James,  b.  Aug.  31,  1803,  m.  Cynthia  Mosher,  Feb.  11,  1S30. 
Abigail,  b   1806,  d.  Mar.  19,  1822. 
Asa   Rand,  b.   Jan.   18,   1809,  m.  Eliza  A.  Decker  of  Bowdoinham,  p.  Jan.  i, 

1837  ;  2d,  Louisa  Noyes  ;  d.  Nov.  5,   1897. 
Child,  b.  1813,  d.  Apr.  14,  1814. 
Sarah  E.,  bapt.  July  14,   1814,  m.  Hiram  K.  Alexander  of  Brunswick,  p.  Feb. 

9,  1836. 

James  Phinney,  Jr.,  died  Jan.  13,  i860,  aged  93,  and  his  wife 
Abigail,  Oct.  26,  1840,  aged  6g. 

(3)  Nathaniel  Phinney,  son  of  Col.  Edmund,  lived  on  the  farm 
and  in  the  house  of  his  father.  The  farm  was  afterwards  sold  to 
William  W.  Woodbury  of  Portland,  who  took  down  all  the  buildings 
upon  the  place,  and  erected  a  fine  and  costly  mansion  in  their  stead. 
This  house  was  taken  down  and  carried  to  Deering  by  F.  O.  J. 
Smith,  when  the  place  fell  into  his  hands.  Mr.  Phinney  taught 
school  in  the  schoolhouse  which  stood  on  the  parish  lot,  south  of  the 
church,  and  had  been  the  old  meeting-house.  Mr.  Phinney,  who 
was  known  as  "Master  Nat,"  was  a  teachei  of  great  dignity.  He 
was  a  rigid  disciplinarian,  and  allowed  no  laughing  or  smiling  in 
school.  He  made  free  use  of  the  switch  and  ferule ;  indeed,  his 
methods  of  discipline  would  hardly  be  tolerated  in  these  days.     For 


718  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

a  long  time  the  schoolhouse  was  heated  by  open  fireplaces,  but  iron 
stoves  coming  into  vogue,  one  was  placed  in  the  room.  It  struck 
Master  Nat  that  good  use  might  be  made  of  the  stovepipe  as  an 
assistant  in  discipline.  A  small  boy  of  seven,  having  committed 
some  misdemeanor,  Mr.  P.  proceeded  to  hoist  him  up  by  a  rope 
thrown  over  the  funnel,  the  other  end  being  tied  around  the  boy's 
waist.  The  strain  proved  too  great  for  the  pipe,  which  came  down, 
striking  the  master's  head,  and  scattering  ashes  liberally  over  him. 
The  smoke  filled  the  room,  and  of  course  discipline  was  at  an  end 
for  that  time,  and  the  school  had  a  recess.  Not  to  be  balked,  how- 
ever, the  master  afterwards  drove  a  large  spike  in  the  wall,  by  means 
of  which  he  could  "  hoist "  any  offenders.  Mr.  Phinney  was  a 
thorough  teacher,  and  a  man  who  filled  many  town  offices.  He 
married  Mary,  daughter  of  Heman  Bangs.     Children  : 

Heman,  b.  Nov.  1792,  d.  Oct.  5,  1793. 

Sally,  b.  — ,  m.  Stephen  D.  Harding,  Dec.  26,  1816. 

Benjamin,  b.  about  1797,  m.  Elizabeth  Sloper,  p.  Oct.  20,  1821  ;  2d.  Mrs.  Ange- 
lina Phinney. 
Eli,  b.  about  1801,  m.  Angelina  Crockett,  Feb.  23,  1828. 

Mrs.  Mary  Phinney  died  Aug.  17,  182 1,  aged  50,  and  Mr.  Phinney 

married,    in    1822,    Mrs.    Betsey    (McLellan)    Hatch,    daughter    of 

Thomas  McLellan,  and  widow  of  Ebenezer  Hatch.     Children  : 

Eunice,  b.  about  1824,  d.  Nov.  8,  1839,  ag.  15. 
Mary  A.  J.,  b.  May  6,  1825,  d.  unm.  in  1888. 
Thomas  McL.,  b.  Feb.  11,  1827,  I's  in  Gorham,  unm. 

Nathaniel    Phinney   died   Nov.    14,   1850,   aged  79,  and  his  wife 

Betsey,  Oct.  i,  1864,  aged  84. 

(3)  John  Phinney,  son  of  John,  Jr.,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 
tion, enlisting  when  but  sixteen  years  of  age.  He  took  part  in  the 
unfortunate  Bagaduce  expedition  in  1779,  under  Capt.  McLellan. 
He  enlisted  again  March  5,  1781,  under  Capt.  Whitmore  for  three 
years,  and  marched  to  White  Plains,  N.  Y.,  and  there  joined  Col. 
Sprout's  Mass.  regiment.  He  was  soon  after  transferred  to  Capt. 
Learned's  company,  Col.  Shepherd's  regiment.  He  was  again  trans- 
ferred to  Capt.  Pope's  company,  and  was  discharged  Dec.  27,  1783,  at 
Deansborough,  on  the  Hudson  river.  Mr.  Phinney  lived  on  the 
"  plains,"  where  his  grandson  Levi  afterwards  lived.  The  buildings 
have  been  burned.  He  married  Susanna  Stone,  sister  of  Jonathan 
Stone.     Children : 

Alexander,  m.  Tahpenes  Files,  Jan.  21,  1819. 
.  Samuel,  m.  Mary  Kimball  of  Buxton. 
Miriam,  m.  Dea.  Samuel  Mitchell  of  Standish,  Oct.  13,  1844. 
Sarah,  m.  Lemuel  Rich,  Feb.  25,  182 1. 


GENEALOGY.  719 

Ebenezer,  m.  Mary  Sanborn  of  Harrison,  p.  Sept.  8,  1835;  d.  Dec.  14,   1876, 

ag.  79-  ^     „ 

Susan,  m.  John  Rich  of  Standish,  Dec.  26,  1829. 
John,  m.  Polly  Plaisted,  p.  Jan.  17,  1824. 
Abigail,  m.  Benjamin  Sanborn  of  Harrison,  Dec.  21,  1841. 

Martha  H.,  m.  Freeman  Carsley,  p.  Aug.  31,  1834 ;  settled  in  Gray,  and  d.  there. 
James,  m.  Miriam  Sanborn,  p.  Oct.  12,  1834. 

John   Phinney  died  Oct.  10,    1844,   aged  82,  and  his  wife   Sukey, 

Dec.  20,  1840,  aged  74. 

(4)  EH  Phinney,  son  of  Decker,  married  Mercy  Mann,  probably  a 
sister  of  Daniel  Mann.  Their  only  child  was  Patty,  born  Sept.  17, 
1799.      Eli  Phinney  died  Aug.  31,  1800. 

(4)   Nathaniel    Phinney,   son    of    Joseph,    was  born   in    the    Blake 

neighborhood,  on  the  Gen.   James   Irish   farm.      He  married  Lucy, 

daughter  of  Joseph  Blake.     Children  : 

Major,  b.  Dec.  i,  1816,  m. Roberts,  at  Cape  Elizabeth. 

Maria,  b.  Mar.  23,  1818,  m.  Simon  H.  Lombard,  Sept.  22,  1839. 
Eliza  A.,  b.  May  6,  182 1,  d.  unm.  Sept.,  1839. 

Sargent,  b.  Sept.  30,  1823,  m. ;  d.  in  Portland,  Dec.  23,  1S67. 

Eunice,  b.  Dec.  22,  1825,  d.  Nov.  8,  1839. 

Stephen,  b.  July  4,  182S,  m.  Almira ;  d.  in  Portland,  May  16,  1886. 

Lsaac,  b.  Mar.  23,  1832. 

Nathaniel  Phinney  lived  above  West  Gorham  in  the  Hamblen 
house.  He  died  at  Cape  Elizabeth,  December,  1876,  his  wife  dying 
September  24th  of  the  same  year,  aged  83. 

(4)  Clement  Phinney,  son  of  Edmund,  Jr.,  was  a  Free  Will  Baptist 

preacher,    noted    for    much    power    and    earnestness.      He    married 

Joanna  Wallace,    who  was  a   niece  of  Mrs.  John   B.  Ryan,  and  was 

born  July  19,  1785.     Children  : 

Stephen,  b.  July  18,  1804,  m.  Ann  Somerby;  d.  in  Raymond. 

Decker,  b.  Sept.  27,  1806,  went  to  Cal. ;  d.  unm. 

Mary  A.,  b.  Nov.  Q,  1S08,  m.  Thomas  Foster  of  Harrison. 

Eliza   W.,  b.  Jan.  7,   181 1,  m.  Rice   Rovvell  of  Harrison;  2d,  Daniel  Holden 

of  Casco. 
Sarah  W.,  b.  Dec.  9,  1812,  m.  James  M.  Leach. 
Hannah,  b.  Sept.  20,  1814,  m.  George  McAllister. 
Almira  W.,  b.  Oct.  27,  ,1816,  m.  Hugh  W.  Simmes. 
Martha  B.,  b.  May  i,  1819,  m.  Hugh  M.  Plummer. 
Clarissa  C,  b.  Aug.  26,  i82i,m.  Hugh  M.  Plummer. 
Abigail  F.,  b.  Oct.  10,  1825,  d.  unm  ;  I'd  in  Raymond. 

Rev.  Clement  Phinney,  died  in  Portland,   March  2,  1855,  aged  74. 

(4)  James  Phinney,  Jr.,  son  of  James,  lived  for  some  years  on  the 
farm  once  owned  by  his  father.  He  afterwards  bought  the  house 
next  to  the  Academy  on  the  north,  and  moved  into  it.  Here  he  died, 
Sept.  27,  1876,  aged  73  years.  He  married  Cynthia,  daughter  of 
Benjamin  Mosher.     Children  : 


720  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Martha  C  ,  b   Apr.  30,  1831,  d.  May  13.  1837. 

Oliver  P.,  b.  Aug,  1833,  d.  Sept.  20,  1833. 

Harriet   b.  Oct.  3,  1834,  d.  unm.  in  Portland,  Sept    21,  1885. 

Arthur,  b.  Mar.  28,  1837,  m.  Sarah  Bell  of  Sandusky,  Ohio;   I'd  in  Sandusky. 

Frank,  b.  May  12,  1839,  m.  Mary  J.  Rand;  d.  May  25,  1893;  Mrs.  P.  d   May  29, 

1872. 
Helen,  b.  July  20,  1844.  d.  in  Portland,  unm.  Jan.  10,  1899. 
Lucien,  b.  Nov.  24,   1848,  m.  Georgie   Siemens  of  Westbrook  ;  has  one  son, 

\  I  arry. 

James  Phinney  died  Sept.  27,  1876,  Mrs.  Cynthia  Phinney  died 
March  20,  1869,  aged  63. 

(4)  Benjamin  Phinney,  son  of  Nathaniel,  married  Elizabeth  Sloper 

of  Portland.     Their  children  were : 

Lothrop  L.,  b.  Sept.  5,  1822. 

Maria  W.,  b.  July  26,  1824,  m.  John  W.  Marr ;  d.  Sept.  6,  1894. 

Simon  E.,  b.  Apr.  8,  1826. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Phinney  died  March  18,  1833,  aged  32,  and  Mr. 
Phinney  married  his  brother  Eli's  widow,  Mrs.  Angelina  (Crock- 
ett) Phinney.  Benjamin  Phinney  died  July  19,  1841,  and  his  widow 
married  Mr.  Magrath  of  Hiram.  After  his  death  she  married  fourth, 
Rev.  G.  W.  Whitney. 

(4)  Eli  Phinney,  son  of  Nathaniel,  married  Angelina,  daughter  of 
John  and  Betsey  (Hunt)  Crockett.  Child:  Edmund,  b.  May  10, 
1829. 

Eli  Phinney  died  Nov.  30,  1833,  and  his  widow  married  his  brother 
Benjamin. 

(4)  Alexander  Phinney,  son  of  John,  was  born  in  August,  1791. 
He  married  Tahpenes,  daughter  of  George  Files.     Children  : 

Abigail  K.,  b.  Apr.  21,  1819,  m.  Thomas  Skillings,  Feb.  22,  1844. 

Uavid,  b.  Dec.  12,  1821,  m.  Persis  Burbank  of  Windham.  Ch :  Frank,  b.  May 
2,  1853,  '^-  ^P^-  25)  1854  ;  Charles  Burbank,  b.  in  Windham,  Aug.  4,  1855, 

m. ,  Aug.  29,  1885 ;  Georgie  Manning,  b.  Dec.  21,  1861,  m.  George 

Sawyer,  Aug.  i,  1885;  Marshall  Mosher,  b.  Nov.  21,  1869,  m.  Petronila 
O.  Clarke,  Oct.  3,  1899,  is  in  the  electrical  business.  After  Mrs.  Persis 
Phinney's  death  Mr.  Phinney  m.  Mrs.  Nellie  (Nichols)  Sawyer,  widow  of 
Ellery  F.  Sawyer.  Mr.  Phinney  I'd  at  Little  Falls.  He  d.  in  1891  ;  his 
widow,  Sept.  11,  1894,  in  Windham. 

Alexander,  b.  Oct.  12,  1824,  m.  Ann  Maria  Rounds,  Apr.  17,  1851;  d.  Mar.  i, 
1854. 

Temperance  F.,  b.  May  17,  1826,  d.  unm.  Oct.  25,  1846. 

George  F.,  b.  Mar.  19,  1828,  m.  Delvma  Young  of  Westbrook. 

Samuel,  b.  Apr.  19,  1830,  killed  at  the  Powder  Mills,  Oct.  12,  1855. 

Fred  C,  b.  June  21,  1832,  m.  Ellen  Johnson,  Nov.  25,  1866.  Ch :  Jennie; 
Samuel. 

Louisa,  b.  Mar.  16,  1836,  d.  aged  2. 

Gorham  S.,  b.  Oct.  23,  1838,  m.  Annie  Wiggins. 

Alexander  Phinney  died  Feb.  8,  i866,-  aged  74,  and  his  wife 
Tahpenes,  June  21,  1864,  aged  67. 


GENEALOGY.  721 

(4)  John  Phinney,  son  of  John,  married  Polly,  daughter  of  Andrew 
Plaisted.  Child:  John,  b.  1825,  m.  Matilda  Corliss,  1850;  d.  May 
8,  1862. 

John  Phinney  died  April  22,  1826,  aged  26,  and  his  widow  mar- 
ried, July  4,  1847,  Oliver  Arthurton  of  Waterford. 

(4)  fames  Phinney,  4th,  son  of  John,  was  born  March  i,  18 10,  and 
lived  in  the  north  part  of  the  town,  about  two  miles  above  the  North 
church.     He  married  Miriam  B.  Sanborn.     Children  : 

Levi,  b.  Sept.  23,  1836,  m.  Mary,  dau.  of  Jacob  Dingley  of  Gorham ;  had  son 

Edwin;  d.  about  1S90. 
Almira,  b.  Aug.  30,  183S,  d.  Mar.,  1854. 
John,  b.  Mar.  i,  1846,  d.  young. 

Martha,  I  ,     .  „        (  m. . 

Mary,      S  ^^'  '^'       '^^'  i  m.  Walter  Tolman. 

Abba  S.,  b.  Aug.  24,  1848,  m.  Elbridge  Webster. 

James  Phinney  died  Dec.  24,  1867,  aged  57,  and  Mrs.  Phinney, 
June  27,  1874,  aged  68. 


PIERCE. 

Hon.  Josiah  Pierce  was  a  native  of  Baldwin,  —  the  son  of  Josiah 
Pierce  of  that  town.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Bowdoin  College,  of  the 
class  of  1818.  He  came  to  Gorham  in  182 1,  and  had  an  extensive 
law  practice  here  for  many  years.  From  1846  to  1856  he  was  Judge 
of  Probate  for  Cumberland  County.  He  was  one  of  the  board  of 
trustees  for  the  Academy  and  Seminary  ;  and  held  many  town  offices. 
In  1862,  he  wrote,  by  request  of  the  citizens,  a  History  of  the  Town 
of  Gorham.  He  married,  in  September,  1825,  Evelina,  daughter  of 
Maj.  Archelaus  and  Elizabeth  (Browne)  Lewis  of  VVestbrook. 
Children  : 

Josiah,  b.  June  14,   1827,  m.  Martha  Landers,   of  Salem,  Mass.;  2d,  Isabella 

Millett,  of  Portland;    Sec'y  of  the  American  Legation  in  Russia  in  1855; 

in  1865  received  an  order  of  knighthood  from  the  Emperor  of  Russia; 

lives  in  London,  Eng;  a  lawyer. 
Archelaus,  b.  Aug.  23,  1828,  d.  Dec.  11,  1829. 

Evelina  L.,  b.  June  3,  1830,  m.  Hon.  John  A.  Waterman,  June  23,  1853. 
Lewis,  b.  April    15,   1832,  m.  Emily  Willis;  2d,   Mary   B.    Hill;    a   lawyer  in 

Portland. 
Nancy,  b.  April  7,  1834,  m.  Edward  N.  Whittier,  M.  D. ;  d.  in  Boston,  Feb.  19, 

1893. 
George  W.,  b.  July  i,  1836,  I's  in  Baldwin,  unm. 
Eliza  L.,  b.  Aug.  4,  1838,  d.  unm.  Apr.  13,  1879. 

Judge  Pierce  died  June  26,  1866,  aged  73,  and  his  wife  Evelina, 
Oct.  5,  1870,  aged  75. 


722  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

PINKERTON. 

The  old  cellar  on  the  southwest  corner  of  the  old  Nathaniel  Gould 
lot,  No.  14,  on  South  St.,  was  where  the  Pinkertons,  or  Pilkertons, 
lived  in  old  times.  Joseph  Pinkerton  was  a  blacksmith,  and  is 
believed  to  have  been  the  first  of  that  trade  to  settle  in  town.  He 
served  in  the  Northern  Army,  in  Capt.  Joseph  Woodman's  company, 
from  May  2,  to  Nov.  14,  1757. 

PLAISTED. 

Samuel  and  Andrew  Plaisted  were  brothers,  sons  of  Samuel  and 
Elizabeth  (Libby)  Plaisted  of  Scarborough.  Samuel  Plaisted's  father 
was  Elisha  Plaisted,  Esq.,  of  Berwick,  one  of  the  original  proprietors 
of  Scarborough.  This  Elisha  Plaisted  married  Hannah,  daughter  of 
John  Wheelwright  of  Wells.  On  the  morning  following  his  wedding 
young  Plaisted  was  surprised  and  captured  by  the  Indians,  but  after 
being  kept  a  prisoner  by  them  for  a  few  days  was  ransomed  by  his 
friends  and  restored  in  safety  to  his  young  bride. 

Samuel  Plaisted,  Jr.,  married  Hannah  Cilley  of  Saco,  and  settled 
in  Gorham,  on  the  place  where  Reuben  Wescott  afterwards  lived. 
Mr.  Plaisted  died  Dec.  16,  1839,  ^"^  ^^^  ^^^^  Hannah,  Dec.  29, 
1847. 

Andrew  Plaisted  was  born  June  i,  1763,  and  lived  in  Scarborough 
previous  to  his  coming  to  Gorham.  He  lived  in  the  north  part  of  the 
town,  above  the  North  Branch,  on  the  seventy  acre  lot,  No.  8  ;  clear- 
ing the  land  and  building  the  house  where  his  son  Major  lately  lived. 
He  married,  Sept.  13,  1786,  Molly,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Libby  of 
Scarborough.     Children,  the  three  oldest  born  in  Scarborough  : 

Betsey,  b.  Dec.  20,  1787,  m.  Stephen  Cram  of  Standish,  Mar.  20,  [S22. 

Sarah  L.,  b.  July  i,  1788,  m.  William  Thomes  in  1S17. 

Joseph,    b.    May   9,    1790,   m.   Eunice   Thomes,   Dec.   5,    1820;   I'd   and  d.  in 

Harrison. 
Andrew,  b.  Sept.  18,  1792,  m.  Abigail  True. 

Polly,  b.  Oct.  30,  1795,  ™-  John  Phinney,  1824;   2d,  Oliver  Arthurton. 
Major,  b.  Mar.  17,  1799,  m.  Mary  G.  Libby,  June  10,  1849. 
Hannah,  b.  Apr.  10,  1803,  m.  William  Thomes  (2d  wife),  Mar.   17,  1854. 
Harriet,  b. • — ,  d.  when  about  four  years  old. 

Andrew  Plaisted  died  Nov.  27,  1855,  and  his  wife,  Nov.  6,  1839, 

aged  80. 

(2)  Andrew  Plaisted,  son  of  Andrew,  lived  on  a  part  of  his  father's 
farm,  in  the  house  just  east  of  the  old  one,  in  the  corner  of  the  main 
road.     He  married  Abigail  True,  and  had  one  child : 


GENEALOGY.  723 

William  T.,  b.  in  1821,  m.  Elizabeth  Griffin  of  Lisbon;  was  a  conductor  on  the 
B.  and  M.  R.  R.  for  nearly  thirty-five  yeais.  He  was  an  earnest  Chris- 
tian, and  a  member  of  the  Cong.  Church  ;  he  d.  at  his  home  in  E. 
Somerville,  Mass.,  Sept.  30,  1893. 

Andrew  Plaisted  died  Aug.  27,  1873,  and  his  wife  Abigail,  July  13, 

1883,  aged  85. 

(2)  Major  Plaisted,  son  of  Andrew,  lived  on   his   father's   place. 

He  married  Mary  Gage,  daughter  of  Allison  Libby.     Children  : 

John  M.,  b.  July  14,  1850,  m.  Kate  Alien  of  Ohio,  1889. 

Helen  A.,  b.  Sept.  11,  1852,  m.  Herman  S.  Whitney,  June  16,  1875. 

Louisa  M.,  b.  Aug.  27,  1854,  m.  J.  Granville  Clement,  Jan.  i,  1878. 

George  H.  P.,  b   Apr.  25,  1857,  m.  Elma  Robinson  of  Windham,  Sept.  i,  1887. 

Edward  W.,  b.  May  27,  i860,  m.  Maria  Young  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  June,  1887. 

Alice,  b.  May  30,  1870. 

Major   Plaisted  died   March   27,    1887.      His   wife   died   Nov.    14, 

1901. 

PLUMxMER. 

This  name  is  variously  spelled  by  the  different  branches  of  the 
family  Plummer  or  Plumer. 

Aaron,  Isaac  and  Christopher  Plumer  were  the  sons  of  Moses  and 
Mary  Plumer  of  Scarborough.  Aaron  Plumer  was  born  in  Scar- 
borough, March  10,  1750.  He  purchased,  April  8,  1783,  twenty-five 
acres  in  the  southern  part  of  Gorham.  This  land,  which  he  bought 
of  Nathaniel  Parker,  adjoined  Parker's  homestead,  and  is  the  place 
where  Daniel  Baker  now  lives.  He  was  a  shoemaker  and  farmer. 
Oct.  15,  1770,  he  married  Lydia  libby.  Children  ;  the  first  six  born 
in  Scarborough  : 

Sarah,  b.  Mar.  9,  1771,  m.  Joshua  Adams,  June  17,  1792. 

Mary,  b.  Sept.  12,  1772,  m.  Luther  Lombard,  Jan.  10,  1793. 

Dorcas,  b.  Apr.  18,  1774,  m.    Matthew  Hagens  of  Scarborough,  June  11,  1797; 

2d,  Frank  Libby,  of  Gorham. 
David,  b.  Oct.  4,  1776,  m.  Abigail  Haskell,  July  2,  1799;  ^'  O^^-  '^>  '^47;  she, 

July  31,  1846. 
Lydia,  b.  Oct.  23,  1778,  m.  Samuel  Haskell,  Mar.  17,  1799. 
Betsey,  b.  Nov.  6,  17S0,  d.  Jan.  6,  1799. 

Aaron,  b.  June  9,  1784,  m.  Anne  Andrews;   d.  in  Richmond. 
Martha,  b.  July  9,  1786,  d.  Oct.  12,  1804. 

Abigail,  b.  Sept.  14,  1788,  m.  Samuel  Merrill,  p.  May  23,  1807. 
Isaac,  b.  Feb.  3,  1790,  m.  Betsey  Andrews. 
Daniel,  b.  June  27,  1792,  d.  April  7,  1814. 
Rhoda,  b.  Sept.  i,  1795. 

Aaron  Plumer  went  to  Richmond,  Me.,  where  he  lived  with  his  son 
Aaron.     He  died  Sept.  3,  1839. 

Isaac  Plumer  was  born  in  Scarborough,  Feb.  6,  1758,  and  married, 
March  9,  1784,  Esther,  daughter  of  Andrew  Libby  of  Scarborough, 
He  came  to  Gorham  about  the  time  of  his  marriage,  and  settled  near 


724  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

White  Rock.     Mr.  Plumer  and  his  wife  had  no  children.     He  died 
July  12,-1821,  and  his  wife,  March  12,  1846,  aged  86. 

Christopher  Plumer  was  born  in  Scarborough,  xA.ug.  25,  1762,  and 
came  to  Gorham  at  the  same  time  as  his  brother  Isaac.  He  lived 
near  White  Rock  on  the  seventy  acre  lot,  31,  where  he  cleared  the 
farm  on  which  Gustavus  Plummet  now  lives.  He  married,  Oct.  11, 
1785,  Rebecca  Libby  of  Scarborough,  a  sister  to  his  brother  Isaac's 
wife.     Children : 

Esther,  b.  Jan.  15,  1787,  m.  Reuben  Morton,  Mar.  23,  1809;  2d,  Joseph  Mussey, 
Mar.  31,  1819.     Mr.  Mussey  d.  Aug.  15,  1842,  ag.  76;  she,  May  20,  1S55. 

Mary,  b.  Aug.  12,  1788,  ni.  Solomon  Crockett,  Sept.  14,  1809. 

Rebecca,  b.  Jan.  26,  1790,  m.  Daniel  Davis  of  Standish,  July  3,  1824;  I'd  and  d. 
at  White  Rock. 

Christopher,  b.  Aug.  27,  1791,  m.  Mary  Rounds,  Mar.  12,  1821. 

Isaac,  b.  Dec.  31,  1793,  ™-  ^^^''^h  Harmon;  2d,  Margaret  Smith. 

Ann,  b.  Oct.  21,  1795,  ^-  unm.  Jan.  12,  1879. 

Elizabeth,  b.  June  2,  1802,  m.  Russell  H.  Cole,  May  8,  1836;  d.  May   18,   18/5. 

Christopher  Plumer  died  Dec.  17,  1846,  and  Mrs.  Rebecca  Plumer, 
Feb.  15,  1847,  aged  80. 

(2)  Christopher  Plummer,  Jr.,  son  of  Christopher,  lived  at  one  time 

where   William   Purinton    now   lives   at   White   Rock.      He   married 

Mary,  daughter  of  Abial  and  Mary  Rounds.     Children  : 

Lucinda,  b.  Dec.  7,  1821,  m. Noyes  of  Portland. 

John  G.,  b.  Nov.  4,  1825,  was  a  physician;  d.  unm.  May  12,  1869. 

Christopher  Plummer,  Jr.,  died  Oct.  22,  1825,  aged  34,  and  his  wife, 
Oct.  22,  1846,  aged  49. 

(2)  Isaac  Plummer,  son  of  Christopher,  lived  on  the  old  place,  which 
is  now  occupied  by  his  son  Gustavus.  Both  Isaac  and  Christopher 
were  members  of  Capt.  Bettis's  company,  and  marched  to  Portland, 
in  the  fall  of  1814.  Isaac  Plummer  married  Sarah  Harmon  of  Ray- 
mond.     Children  : 

Joseph  M.,  b.  Aug.  8,  1820,  m.  Mary  H.  Harmon,  Sept.  22,  1843 !  -d,  Mrs. 

Rand. 
Albion  K.  P.,  b.  Feb.  20,  1823,  m.  Mary  A.  Nason,  Oct.  31,  1S47;  d.  May  7,  18^4. 
Mary  A.,  b.  Feb.  27,  1827,  m.  Robert  Barbour,  p.  Jan.  7,  1849  ;  d.  July  19,  1852. 
Elizabeth  J.,  Dec.  16,  1829,  m.  B.  Frank  Harmon  of  Thorndike,  1851. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Plummer  died  Nov.  14,  1832,  and  Mr.  Plummer  married, 

Margaret  Smith  of  Raymond.     Children  : 

Nehemiah,  d.  in  Otisfield. 

Christopher. 

Sarah  H.,  m.  Joseph  T.  Wentworth,  Oct.  11,  1868  ;  d.  in  Saco. 

Daniel  D.,  m.  Albina  Plummer  of  Foxcroft. 

Esther,  m.  Charles  Crockett. 

Russell  C. 

Elias,  m.  Nellie  Storer. 

Gustavus,  m.  Lizzie  A.  Carll,  Oct.  25,  1870. 

Ellen,  m.  Henry  Carll. 


GENEALOGY.  725 

Isaac  Plummer  died  May  27,  1883,  and  his  wife  Margaret,  Aug.  26, 
1884,  aged  75, 

(3)  Joseph  M.  Plummer,  son  of  Isaac,  lived  in  the  north  part  of  the 
town,  where  he  kept  a  store  for  some  years.  He  was  one  of  the 
selectmen  in  1848,  '49  and  '50.  He  married  Mary  H.,  daughter  of 
Israel  Harmon.  Their  children  were  Clara  M.,  Henry  A.,  Mary  E., 
Clara  E.,  all  of  whom  are  dead,  and  Isabelle  M.  Mrs.  Mary  Plummer 
died  Sept.  19,  1871,  aged  50,  and  Mr.  Plummer  married  Mrs.  Chris- 
tiana (Stone)  Rand.  By  her  he  had  one  child,  Joseph  Wilson,  who 
married  Lottie  C.  Williams,  May  12,  1897. 

Ai  Plummer  of  Scarborough,  who  was  born  Aug.  23,  1764,  was  the 

son  of  Moses  and  Mary  Plummer,  and  a  brother  to  Aaron,  Isaac  and 

Christopher  who  came  to  Gorham.      He  married,   March   15,  1787, 

Elizabeth  Plummer  of  Scarborough,  and  their  son  Alvin,  born  March 

16,  1807,  married,  Nov.  21,  1833,  Sally,  daughter  of  Robert  Weeks 

of   Gorham,   and  moved  to  Gorham,  where   he   lived   on    South   St. 

Children  of  Alvin  and  Sally  Plummer  : 

Sampson,  m.  Frances  Moody ;  2d,  Emma  Dudley. 

Susan,  m.  George  Rust  ;  d.  Dec.  5,  1S74. 

Robert,  m.  Georgiana  Boody. 

Ellen,  m.  Edwin  R.  Smith;  2d,  Alvin  Libby. 

Dana,  m.  Carrie  Belle  Sargent. 

William,  m.  Etta  Clay  of  Buxton. 

Marietta,  m.  Edward  Weeks,  Dec.  19,  1874. 

Alvina,  m.  George  Libby  of  Scarboro. 

Alvin  B. 

John  D.,  d.  Nov.  16,  1864,  ag.  13. 

Alvin  Plummer  died  Nov.  26,  1886,  aged  79.  His  wife  Sally  died 
June  27,  1879,  ag^d  62. 

POLAND. 

John   Poland  lived  on  a  part  of  what  is  now  the  farm  of  Frank 

Hopkinson.       He    married    Fear   Brown,   daughter  of   Sylvanus  and 

Fear  Brown  who  lived  near  what  is  now  called  West  Gorham.     Their 

children  were  : 

Moses,  b.  June  11,  1791. 

Sylvanus,  b.  Jan.  2,  1793- 

Arvada,  b.  May  9,  1795.  ^'^  Hartford. 

Dorcas,  b.  June  19,  1798. 

Zoe,  b.  July  19,  1800,  in  the  woods. 

John,  b.  May  5,  1803. 

Moses  Poland  of  Gorham,  who  served  in  the  Revolution  as  a 
private  in  Capt.  Jenkins'  company,  12th  Mass.  regiment,  in  1777,  was 
probably  the  father  of  John  Poland  above. 


726  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Francis  Poland  was  born  in  Portland  April  19,  1788.     He  was  the 

son  of  Benjamin  and  Sarah  (Magory)  Poland.     He  married,  April  2, 

18 10,  Nancy,  daughter  of  Capt.  Josiah  and  Mary  (Chipman)  Jenkins. 

Children  : 

Aurelia,  b.  Aug.  16,  181 1,  m.  Jonathan  Buck,  Jr.  of  Buckfield,  Mar.  20,  1837  ;  d. 

Oct.,  1902. 
John  Calvin,  b.  July  5,  1814,  m.  Celia  Stearns  of  Lovell;  d.  in  Boston. 

Mr.  Poland  was  in  the  War  of  18 12-14.  He  was  on  board  a 
privateer,  and  it  is  supposed  was  lost.  He  was  traced  as  far  as  the 
coast  of  Spain,  but  nothing  further  was  ever  heard  from  him.  Mrs. 
Poland  died  in  Gorham,  June  6,  1861. 

POMEROY. 

Rev.  Thaddeus  Pomeroy  was  minister  of  the  First  Congregational 

church  in  this  town  from  1822  to  1839.    ^^  ^^^  ^he  son  of    Ebenezer 

and  Experience  Pomeroy,  and  was  born  at  Southampton,  Mass.,  Feb. 

28,  1782.      He  married  at  Newburyport,  April  23,  1816,  Catherine, 

the  daughter  of  John  and  Hannah  Pearson  of  that  place.     She  was 

born  Sept.  26,  1794.     Children: 

Hannah   P.,   b.  Apr.    3,    1821,  m.    Rev.   Elijah    Kellogg  of    Harpswell ;    d.   at 

Harpswell. 
Thaddeus,  b.  1822,  d.  Jan.  14,  1831. 

Edward,  b.  ,  d.  young. 

Mary  H.,  b.  Apr.,  1824,  d.  Feb.  7,  1825. 

John  P.,  b.  1825,  d.  Sept.  26,  1826. 

Edward  P.,  b.  Nov.  13,  1827,  d.  June  4,  1888  at  Harpswell. 

Catherine  M.,  b.  July  17,  1830,  d.  May  16,  1831. 

Mrs.   Catherine   Pomeroy  died  Sept.  11,   1831,  and  Mr.   Pomeroy 
married  Harriet  Ruberry  of  Charleston,  S.  C,  by  whom  he  had  one 
child : 
Thaddeus  R.,  b.  May  16,  1833,  d.  Oct.  27,  1833. 

Mrs.    Harriet  R.   Pomeroy   died   Dec.   27,   1833,   aged   26.      Mr. 

Pomeroy  then  married  Mrs.  Emily  Sweetsir  of  Gorham,  (pub.  Oct.  9, 

1836).      Children: 

Allen  Ruberry,  b.  1837,  d.  Jan.  29,  1838. 

Charles,         (  ,    ^  §  (  d.  Apr.  15,  1839. 

Thomas  R.,  \  "•  ^^'-  "5'  '^39.     \  d.  Sept.  5,  1839. 

Rev.  Mr.  Pomeroy  died  at  De  Witt,  N.  Y.,  April  14,  1858,  aged 
76. 

POTE. 

William  Pote,  Jr.,  came  from  Marblehead,  Mass.,  to  Falmouth 
(Portland)  about  1728,  and  was  the  ancestor  of  all  of  the  name  in 


GENEALOGY.  727 

this  region.     He  was  the  son  of  William   and  Ann  (Hooper)   Pote, 

and  was  born  in  1689.     Mr.  Pote  appears  to  have  been  a  citizen  of 

Gorham  as  early  as  1741.      He  was  living  in  Gorham  in  1743,  for  in 

that  year  we  find  the   Proprietors  notified  to  hold  meetings  at  his 

dwelling  house  in  this  town.     He  owned  the  right  No.  73,  on  the 

thirty  acre  lot  belonging  to  which  it  seems  probable  that  he  made 

his  home.     At  the  time  of  the  French  and  Indian  war,  Mr.  Pote  with 

his  family   returned   to   Falmouth,   where   he    died.      His    wife  was 

Dorothy  Gatchell,  whom  he  married  June  2,  1715.     Children: 

Ann,  b.  Oct.  12,  1716,  m.  William  Buckman,  p.  Jan.  15,  1736. 

William,  b.  Dec.  15,  17 18,  d.  unm. 

Gamaliel,  b.  Oct.  ir,  1721,  m..  Mary  Irish  of  Gorham,  Aug.  7,  1743;  d.  in  New 

Casco. 
Jeremiah,  b.  Jan.  18,  1724,  m.  Elizabeth  Berry  of  Falmouth;  d.  in  St.  Andrew, 

N.  B.,  Nov.  23,  1796. 
Elisha,  b.  June  14,  1726,  d.  unm. 
Increase,  b.  Sept.  15,  1728,  d.  young. 
.Samuel,  b.  Oct.  5,  1731,  d.  in  Marblehead,  Sept.  12,  1789. 
Thomas,  b.  Feb.  25,  1734,  m.  Sarah  Merrill,  1757. 
Greenfield,  b.  May,  1736,  m.  Jane  Grant,  1758,  I'd  in  New  Casco;  d.  Sept.  29, 

1797. 

Of  these  children  of  William  Pote,  Jr.,  three,  Gamaliel,  Jeremiah 
and  Elisha  took  part  in  the  successful  expedition  against  Louisburg 
in  1745.  The  eldest  son,  William,  while  in  command  of  the  schooner 
Montague,  engaged  in  carrying  supplies  and  workmen  for  the  repair 
and  defence  of  the  fortifications  at  Annapolis  Royal,  was  captured  in 
Annapolis  Basin  on  May  17,  1745,  by  the  French  and  Indians  and 
carried  to  Quebec.  He  was  confined  there  for  a  little  over  two  years, 
during  which  time  he  kept  a  journal  of  the  daily  happenings.  In 
this  he  makes  mention  of  the  Gorham  captives,  Cloutman,  Read  and 
Mrs.  Bryant.  This  journal,  which  is  still  in  existence,  has  lately 
been  published. 

(2)  Thomas  Pote,  son  of  William,  Jr.,  was  living  in  Gorham  as 
early  as  1762,  probably  on  a  part  of  the  hundred  acre  lot,  No.  9, 
which  had  belonged  to  his  father's  right,  the  title  to  which  he  had 
acquired  partly  as  one  of  his  heirs  and  partly  by  purchase  from  the 
other  heirs'.  In  1769  Thomas  sold  twenty-five  acres  of  this  lot  to 
Joseph  Roberts,  and  in  1771  he  sold  a  like  amount  to  Benjamin 
Roberts,  brother  of  Joseph.  In  1782  he  disposed  of  the  west  half  of 
the  lot  to  Isaac  D.  Holbrook.  Mr.  Pote  married  Sarah  Merrill. 
Children,  the  two  oldest  baptized  in  Falmouth : 

Samuel,  bapt.  1758,  m.  Priscilla  Douty,  Oct.,  1779. 
Hannah,  bapt.  June  3,  1759,  m.  Wm.  Proctor,  Jan.  11,  1778. 

I  Cumberland  County  Registry  of  Deeds,  Vol.  14,  p.  86. 


728  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Judith,  b.  May  16,  1762. 

Elisha,  b.  July  25,  1764,  d.  with  the  Shakers,  July  14,  1845. 

Dorothy,  b.  Oct.  29,  1766,  d.  with  the  Shakers,  Jan.  10,  1843. 

Jamts,  b.  Aug.  7,  1768. 

Deborah,  b.  Nov.  21,  1774. 

Betty,  b.  July  31,  1780. 

About  the  year  1782,  Elisha,  son  of  Thomas,  who  had  been  a  sailor, 

became  converted  to  the  doctrines  of  Shakerism.     His  father  and 

mother  soon  afterwards  embraced  the  same  faith,   and  with    their 

family  joined  the  Shakers  at  New  Gloucester.     Thomas  Pote  died 

there  in  1816,  aged  83. 

PREBLE. 

Eben  Preble  came  to  Gorham  from   Portland,  where  he  was  born 

Oct.  10,  1802.     He  was  the  son  of  Capt.  Enoch  and  Sally  (Cross) 

Preble,  and  grandson  of  Gen.  Jedediah  Preble.     He  was  a  merchant, 

and  traded  in  a  store  which  stood  on  the  spot  where  F.  H.  Emery's 

store  now  stands.     At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  town  clerk  of 

Gorham.      He  married,  June  20,  1829,  Agnes  D.  T,  Archer  of  Salem, 

Mass.,   daughter  of    Samuel   and    Deborah   (McNutt)   Archer,   and 

adopted  daughter  of  Gen.  Amos  Hovey  of  Salem.     Children  : 

Sarah  Ellen,  b.  June  18,  1830,  d.  July  30,  1832. 
Mary  Elizabeth,  b.  June  24,  1833. 

'  Mr.  Preble  died  Jan.  17,  1845,  and  in  1849   Mrs.  Preble  married 

Joseph  Barbour.     She  died  Feb.  25,  1889,  aged  80. 

PRENTISS. 

Samuel  Prentiss  was  born  in  Cambridge,  Mass.     The  name  was  at 

that  time   spelled   Prentice.     He   was   a  grandson   of   Dea.    Henry 

Prentice  who  came  from  England  and  who  owned  the  Fresh  Pond 

property   in   Cambridge,   near   Mt.   Auburn,  and   afterwards   built  a 

mansion   in    Cambridge,   near   Brattle   Square,   long  known   as   the 

Prentice  house.     The  father  of  Samuel  was  Caleb  Prentice  whose 

first  wife  was  Lydia  Whitmore  of  Cambridge.      His  second  wife  was 

Rebecca   Rockwell  of  Charlestown,   Mass.     Children  of  Caleb  and 

Lydia  Prentice  : 

Caleb,  b.  Apr.  17,  1745,  d.  young. 

Caleb,  b.  Nov.   14,   1746,  m.   Judy   Mellen    (sister  of   Hon.   Judge   Mellen)    of 

Portland,  and  was  for  thirty-one  years  minister  in  Reading,  Mass. 
Betsey,  b.  Sept.  24,  1748,  m.  Mr.  Hill. 
Samuel,  b.  Feb.  10,  1750,  d.  young. 

Samuel,  b.  May  26,  1753,  m.  Dolly  Day;  2d,  Rebecca  Cook. 
William,  b.  Dec.  i,  1754,  m.  Mary  Gorham  of  Barnstable,  Mass.,  sister  of  Hon. 

Wm.  Gorham  and  of  the  first  wife  of  Dr.  Jeremiah  Barker  of  Gorham  ; 


GENEALOGY.  729 

was  a  physician  of  good  standing  in  Philadelphia  and  in  practice  at  the 

time  of  the  plague  there.     He  died  in  London. 
Henry,  b.  Feb.  4,  1757. 
Lydia,  b.  Jan.  27,  1759,  m.  S.  S.  Smith,  a  merchant  of  Cape  Ann,  Mass. 

Samuel  Prentiss  was  a  graduate  of  Harvard,  of  the  class  of  177 1. 
His  first  business  after  leaving  college  was  teaching.  He  taught  for 
a  time  in  Kennebunk,  and  was  the  first  commissioned  Justice  of  the 
Peace  in  that  town.  He  married,  Oct.  24,  1776,  Dolly,  daughter  of 
Benjamin  Day  of  Kennebunk.      Children  : 

Mary,     i  i      i\  t        ^     „,o       fm.  Ebenezer  Freeman,  Feb.  3, 1799. 

Lydia,    j     "  •   ->     /7  >        j^    Jq^j   Watson  of    Providence,  Jan.,  1798;  2d, 

Jotham  Partridge  of  Westbrook,  about  1809;  3d, 
Thomas  Stiaw  of  Standish,  Mar.  9,  1826;  d.  Apr. 
^3,1858. 

Sargent  S.,  b. ,  d.  at  sea,  on  his  passage  home  from  Surinam,  ag.  about  20. 

William,  b.  Oct.  11,  1782,  m.  Abigail  Lewis,  Dec.  11,  1804. 

Elizabeth  S.,  b. . 

Dolly,  b.  Feb.  29,  1785,  d.  young. 

John,  b.  about  1787,  d.  young. 

Mrs.  Dolly  Prentiss  died  May  23,  1787,  and  Mr.  Prentiss  married, 
Nov.  29,  1787,  Rebecca  Cook  of  Gorham.     Children: 

Hannah,  b.  July  2,  1788,  d.  in  Gorham,  June,  1816. 

Rebecca,  b.  Aug.  20,  1790,  m.   Geo.    Rounds,  Mar.    17,    1818;    I'd  and  d.  in 

Bridgton. 
Phebe,  b.  Dec.  14,  1791,  d.  in  Gorham,  Jan.  29,  1810. 

Joanna,  b.  Nov.  5,  1793,  ™-  Thomas  Burnham,  Feb.  10,  1828  ;  I'd  in  Bridgton. 
Betsey,  b.  Sept.  3,  1795,  m.  James  Deering  of  Denmark,  Me.,  Mar.  27,  1822. 
Frances,  b.  Nov.  13,  1798,  d.  in  Bridgton. 

Samuel  Prentiss  came  to  Gorham  about  the  year  1776,  in  which 
year  we  find  him  licensed  here  as  an  inn-holder.  He  soon  went  into 
mercantile  pursuits.  He  bought  of  Isaac  D.  Holbrook  the  seven 
acres  of  land  on  the  north  side  of  Main  St.,  still  known  as  the  Pren- 
tiss lot,  together  with  the  house  and  barn  standing  on  the  lot,  and 
the  right  and  privilege  in  the  well  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road. 
On  this  lot,  on  the  northeast  corner  of  the  Portland  and  the  then 
Standish  road,  he  built  a  store,  known  for  many  years  afterwards  as 
"  the  Old  Yellow  Shop."  This  building  becoming  dilapidated  was 
probably  set  on  fire,  and  was  burned  in  1859.  His  house  was  a  one- 
story  building  on  the  Portland  road,  directly  east  of  the  store,  and 
near  thereto.  It  stood  high  up  from  the  street  on  a  bank  made  with 
logs,  and  was  always  called  the  old  Prentiss  house.  This  house 
stood  where  the  store  occupied  by  J.  C.  Summersides  now  stands, 
and  was  taken  down  and  disappeared  many  years  before  the  old  store 
was  burned.  Mr.  Prentiss  traded  in  his  store  quite  a  number  of 
years.  His  property  finally  came  into  the  hands  of  Hon.  Lothrop 
Lewis,  and  a  part   of  it   is   still   owned  by  the  Lewis  heirs.     This 


730  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Prentiss,  or  corner  lot,  was  sold  by  Bryant  Morton  to  Caleb  Chase, 
Oct.  13,  1769.  He  only  says  a  "barn  on  it."  Caleb  Chase  sold  the 
lot  to  Isaac  Doane  Holbrook,  Oct.  21,  1778.  He  says  "house,  barn 
and  shed."  Holbrook  sold  it  to  Samuel  Prentiss  with  "house  and 
barn,"  Aug.  2,  1784. 

In  September,  1797,  Mr.  Prentiss  was  appointed  the  first  post- 
master at  Gorham.     This  office  he  held  for  ten  years. 

Samuel  Prentiss  died  at  West  Gorham,  at  the  house  of  his  son 
Capt.  Wm.  Prentiss,  Jan.  10,  1815,  aged  63.  Mrs.  Rebecca  Prentiss 
died  in  Bridgton,  at  the  house  of  her  daughter  Mrs.  Burnham,  in 
1844,  at  the  age  of  88. 

(2)  William  Prentiss,  son  of  Samuel,  was  a  successful  sea  captain 
for  many  years.  He  resided  in  Portland  till  about  1812,  when  he 
returned  to  Gorham  and  purchased  a  farm  at  West  Gorham  near  that 
of  his  father-in-law,  Maj.  George  Lewis.  Upon  this  lot  he  built  a 
large  two-story  house  which  is  still  standing.  The  place  was  after- 
wards owned  by  Zebediah  Jackson  and  Joseph  Gilkey,  and  later  by 
Mrs.  Cyrus  Rounds.  Capt.  Prentiss  married  Abigail,  daughter  of 
Maj.  George  Lewis.     Children,  the  first  four  born  in  Portland  : 

Caroline,  b.  Dec.  29,  1805,  d.  in  iSio. 

William  S.,  b.  Aug.  5,  1807,  m.  Angelina  Hunt  of  Gorham,  Sept.  12,  1834;  was 

a  merchant  in  New  York  ;  d.  Dec.  7,  1867;  Mrs.  P  ,  Aug.  23,  1885. 
Seargent  S.,  b.  Sept.  30,  1808,  m.  Mary  J.  Williams  of  Natchez,  Miss.,  Mar.  3, 

1842. 
Samuel,  b.  Apr.  29,  181 1,  resided  in  Missouri. 
Mary  C,  b.  Mar.  16,  1813,  d.  Mar.  18,  1815. 
Abigail  L.,  b.  Nov.  3,  1814,  d.  unm.  Jan.  30,  1847. 
George  Lewis,  b.  May   12,   1816,  m.  Elizabeth,  dau.  of  Rev.  Edward  Payson, 

D.  D.,  of  Portland,  Apr.  16,  1845. 
Hannah   S.,  b.   Feb.  21,  1818,  m.  Rev.  Jonathan  F.  Stearns,  D.  D.,  1843  ;  d.  in 

Newark,  N.  J.,  Jan.  2,  1869. 
Mary  S.,  b.  Jan.  10,  1821,  d.  unm.  May  10,  1881. 

Capt.  Prentiss  died  at  his  home,  Feb.  23,  1826.  After  his  death 
his  widow  sold  the  farm  to  Thomas  S.  Bowles,  and  moved  to  the 
village,  and  after  some  years  to  Portland.  She  died  in  Newark,  N. 
J.,  Aug.  9,  1865. 

(3)  The  history  of  Gorham  would  not  be  complete  without  a  notice 
of  him  w^ho  was  perhaps  the  most  widely  known  of  all  her  citizens  — 
Seargent  Smith  Prentiss,  son  of  William  and  Abigail  (Lewis)  Prentiss. 
He  was  a  student  of  Gorham  Academy,  and  received  the  thorough 
training  of  Rev.  Reuben  Nason  who  gave  so  many  boys  of  this  town 
their  mental  outfit  for  Bowdoin.  At  fifteen  years  of  age  Seargent 
entered  the  Junior  class  at  that  college,  and  graduated  in  1826. 
He  at  once  entered  the  law  office  of  the  late  Judge  Pierce  of  Gorham, 


WILLIAM  PRENTISS 


r   '/  ^1^^^ 

^^^^^^t V 

j^B 

'.-^^^^yl 

nB 

iiT  iPBI^B 

■■1 

REV.  (;K()R(;K  L.  PRKNTISS,  D.  I). 


GENEALOGY.  731 

and  there  began  his  legal  training.  At  the  completion  of  his  law 
studies  he  went  to  Mississippi,  and  in  a  very  few  years  he  had  not 
only  risen  to  the  leadership  of  the  bar  in  that  State,  but  he  had  made 
himself  one  of  the  most  famous  and  forcible  orators  in  the  whole 
country.  Of  course  he  entered  political  life,  and  there  he  became 
one  of  the  leaders  of  the  leaders  of  his  party.  Men  like  Webster  and 
Clay  often  sought  his  counsel  though  he  was  far  younger  than  they. 
As  a  platform  speaker  with  power  to  sway  an  audience  he  has  perhaps 
had  no  superior  in  the  whole  nation.  The  young  and  the  illiterate 
were  fascinated  by  his  eloquence,  and  grave  judges  and  senators 
were  glad  to  be  swept  along  on  the  rich  tide  of  his  reasoning.  In 
the  too  few  years  of  his  life  the  whole  South  came  to  know  him  well 
and  to  be  very  proud  of  him.  While  born  in  the  North,  the  warm 
and  impulsive  South  was  his  true  home.  There  his  heart  went  out  to 
the  people,  and  theirs  to  him.  In  nearly  every  cabin  of  the  Gulf 
States  his  name  was  familiar,  and  his  influence  as  wide  as  the  United 
States.  The  Whig  party  of  this  country  lost  a  great  man  and  a 
brilliant  champion  when  S.  S.  Prentiss  died,  July  i,  1850. 

(3)  George  L.  Prentiss,  son  of  W^illiam  and  Abigail,  has  been  for 
many  years  a  resident  of  New  York  City.  He  fitted  for  college  at 
the  Academy  in  Gorham,  and  graduated  from  Bowdoin  in  the  class 
of  1835.  After  teaching  for  awhile  in  the  Academy  of  his  native 
town,  he  studied  for  a  considerable  period  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
and  then  continued  his  theological  studies  in  the  universities  of  Halle 
and  Berlin.  He  became  a  scholar  of  very  rare  and  high  attainments, 
the  associate,  friend,  and  peer  of  many  in  Germany  and  in  England 
whose  reputation  is  world-wide.  In  1845  he  assumed  the  pastoral 
charge  of  a  church  in  New  Bedford,  Mass.,  from  which  he  was  soon 
called  to  the  Mercer  St.  Presbyterian  church  in  New  York  City,  and 
from  that  to  the  Church  of  the  Covenant  on  Murray  Hill.  In  1873 
he  was  invited  to  the  Professorship  of  Pastoral  Theology  in  Union 
Seminary,  which  chair  he  filled  with  great  honor  until  his  voluntary 
retirement  in  1897.  Many  of  his  addresses  have  been  printed  and 
widely  read,  and  the  memorial  volumes  he  has  published  of  his  wife, 
Elizabeth  (Payson)  Prentiss,  and  of  his  brother  Seargent,  are  models 
in  that  class  of  literature. 

PURINTON. 

The  Purinton  family  is  said  to  be  of  Welch  origin.  The  Purintons 
of   Gorham    are   descended   from    David    Purinton    who   came   from 


732  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Salisbury  in  1763,  and  after  remaining  for  a  time  in  Falmouth,  settled 

in  Windham,  of  which  town  he  became  a  prominent  citizen. 

Meshach   Purinton,  the  sixth   son   of  David   and  his   wife,  Sarah 

(Davis),    married    Sarah    Gerrish    of    Durham.     Their    oldest    son, 

Lorenzo  D.,  born  in  Durham,  Oct.  31,  1801,  came  to  Gorham  where 

he  owned  and  occupied  the  old   Harris  place  near  Pleasant  Ridge, 

now  in  the  possession  of  Frank  Mayberry.      He  married  Sally  Downes 

of  Portland.     Children  : 

Charles  A.,  m.  Elmira  Graffam  of  Moderation  ;  d.  at  Cumb.  Mills. 

Abba,  d.  unm.  on  the  Harris  place. 

Sidney,  d.  unm.  in  Windham,  aged  about  22. 

Mary  Ellen,  m.  George  Patrick  of  Gorham. 

Moses  D.,  m.  Ellen  Yale. 

Lorenzo  D.  Purinton  died  March  8,  1881,  and  his  wife,  Jan.   10, 

1881,  aged  79. 

Frederick  Purinton,  son  of  Meshach,  born  in   Windham,  May  20, 

18 15,  married    Margaret    C.   Loveitt.     They  lived  at  White  Rock, 

near  the  church.     Children  : 

Sarah  E.,  b.  Oct.  25,  1844,  m.  Ed.  H.  Sampson  of  Westbrook  ;  d.  in   1896. 

Georgiana  J.,  b.  Mar.  12,  1846. 

Arabella  J.,  b.  June  10,  1S48,  m.  Daniel  Wescott. 

Frederick  Purinton  died  April  11,  1897. 

Otis  Purington,  youngest  son  of  Meshach,  born  in  Windham,  Feb. 

15,  1819,  married,  July  9,  1843,  Lydia  Small.     Mr.   Purington,  after 

living  for  a  time  in  Farmington  and  Windham,  removed  to  Gorham, 

where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life,  with  the  exception  of  two 

years  spent  in  Portland.      He  purchased  the  farm  formerly  owned  by 

his  brother-in-law,   Capt.   John   Sturgis,   at   White   Rock,   and    died 

there,  Feb.  2,  1899  ;  his  wife  died  Dec.  18,  1894.     Children: 

William  G.,  b.  Mar.  13,  1844,  m.  Mary  Chute  of  Westbrook,  June  29,  1873. 
Ellen  M.,  b.  Oct.  11,  1846,  m.  Emery  O.  Walker  of  Portland,  May  2,  1869. 
Albert  N.,  b.  May  11,  1851,  m.  Abbie  J.  Grant  of  Saco,  Sept.  25,  1879. 
Charles  S.,  b.  June  14,  1859,  m.  Carrie  Kimball  of  Saco,  Uec.  28,  1882  ;  select- 
man in  1897,  1898,  1899,  1900,  1901. 

RAND. 

The  name  of  Rand  appears  quite  early  in  the  history  of  the  town. 
Lazarus  Rand  enlisted  in  the  Revolutionary  army  in  Capt.  Abraham 
Tyler's  Scarborough  company.  Col.  Phinney's  regiment,  in  1776. 
The  tax  lists  show  that  he  was  of  Gorham  as  early  as  1780.  From 
this  town  he  probably  removed  to  Windham.  Christopher  Rand 
was  in  town  before  June,  1789,  for  at  that  time  he  bought  land  in 


GENEALOGY.  733 

Gorham  of  Joseph  Fogg,  and  gave  his  residence  as  Gorham.     His 

wife  was  Hannah .     Previous  to  coming  to  Gorham  he  lived  in 

Scarborough,  where  his  daughter  Poline  was  baptized  in  1773. 

Jeremiah  Rand  was  in  town  as  early  as  1777,  for  we  find  his  name 
on  a  tax  list  for  that  year.  He  married  Lydia  Blake,  probably  the 
daughter  of  Ithiel  and  Susannah  (Martin)  Blake.  The  record  of 
their  children  is  imperfect,  but  there  were  : 

Lydia,  b. ,  m.  Jedediah  Lombard,  Jr.,  July  12,  1785. 

Jeremiah,  b.  about  1769,  m.  Apr.  14,  1791,  Lydia,  dau.  of  Henry  and  Lydia 
Jones.  Cli:  Mary,  b.  Nov.  17,  1791,  m.  Jonathan  Sparrow  of  Standish, 
Feb.  23,  1813,  {?);  Henry,  b.  June  30,  1794;  George,  b.  Dec.  11,  1796; 
Sally,  b.  Apr.  15,  1799;  Ephraim  Jones,  bapt.  by  Rev.  Asa  Rand,  May, 
181 1  ;  Lucinda,  bapt.  by  Mr.  Rand,  Oct.  7,  181 2;  Stillman.  This  family 
moved  to  Thorndike. 

Betsey,  b.  Nov.,  1774,  m.  Eleazer  Parker  of  Standish,  Nov.  20,  1794. 

Mary  J.,  b. — ,  m.  Noles  Higgins  of  Standish,  Mar.  26,  1795. 

John  B.,  b.  Oct.  10,  1781,  m.  Ruth  Blake,  July  15,  1799. 

Jeremiah  Rand  died  Oct.  17,  18 18,  aged  76. 

(2)  John  B.  Rand,  son  of  Jeremiah,  lived  about  two  miles  above 
West  Gorham  village,  on  the  main  road  to  Standish.  He  married 
Ruth,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  Mary  Blake.     Children  : 

Hannah  W.,  b.  Dec.  10,  1799,  m.  Seth  Blake,  Jr.,  of  Limington,  Nov.  29, 182 1. 

Ithiel,  b. ,  I'd  in  Saccarappa. 

Jeremiah,  b.  ,  d.  young. 

Diadema,  b. ,  m.  Levi  Elvvell. 

Leah  B.,  b.  about  1S06,  d.  unm.  Mar.  11,  1845. 

Ephraim,  b. ,  I'd  and  d.  in  Phillips.* 

Noles  H.,  b.  about  iSio,  m.  Ann  Ridlon,  1838.  Ch  :  Abigail,  b.  Oct.  5,  1838, 
m.  Chas.  H.Blake,  Jan.  i,  1859;  Freedom  D.,  b.  Jan.  15,  1840,  k'd  at 
the  Battle  of  the  Wilderness,  May  7,  1864;  Ephraim,  b.  May  21,  1844, 
d.  Dec.  18,  1848;  Emily  R.,  b.  July  25,  1847,  m-  Charles  J.  Clement; 
Ephraim,  b.  Nov.  14,  1851,  m.  Sarah  Ray  of  N.  H.  Noles  H.  Rand  I'd 
on  his  father's  place.     He  d.  Jan.  3,  1872  ;  Mrs.  Rand  d.  vSept.  7,  1881. 

Mary,  b. ,  m.  Nicholas  Ridlon  of  Buxton,  1836. 

Esther,  b.  about  1817,  m.  Charles  Lewis  of  Harrison,  1847. 

Abigail  L.,  b.  about  182 1,  d.  Nov.  15,  1832. 

John  B.  Rand  died  June  18,  1863  ;  his  wife  survived  him  some 
years. 

Rev.    Asa  Rand  was  born  in  Rindge,  N.  H.,  Aug.  6,  1783.     He 

was  settled  over  the  First  Parish  in  Gorham,  Jan.  18,  1809,  where  he 

remained    till   he  resigned  the  pastoral  office,  June   12,   1822.     He 

married,  Nov.  6,  18 12,  Grata,  the  daughter  of  Rev.  Seth  Payson,  D.  D., 

of  Rindge.     Children  : 

Harriet  N.,  b.  Dec.  8,  1814,  m.  Jan.  22,   1841,  Rev.  Russell  S.  Cook,  Sec'y  of 

Am.  Tract  Society;  d.  Feb.  15,  1843. 
William  W.,  b.  Dec.  8,  181 6,  m.  1841,  Marcia  S.  Dunning  of  Brunswick,  Me. 

Mrs.  Grata  Rand  died  April  29,  18 18,  and  Mr.  Rand  married,  Feb. 

8,  1820,  Clarissa,  daughter  of  Capt.  Nicholas  Thorndike.     Children: 


734  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Thorndike,  b.  Nov.   15,  1820,  m.  Hannah  P.  Nourse;  d.  at   Bahia,  Brazil,  in 

1854. 
Charles  Asa,  b.  May  21,  1822,  d.  in  Brownville,  Texas,  July  7,  1863. 
Annie  T.,  b.  Oct.  26,  1824,  m.  John  F.  Nourse.     He  d.  Jan.   17,   1854;  she  m., 

2d,  Wm.  Endicott,  Jr.,  of  Boston. 

Mrs.  Clarissa  Rand  died  July  7,  1825,  and  Mr.  Rand  married,  July 
6,  1826,  Mrs.  Mary  (Gushing)  Coolidge  of  Ashburnham,  Mass.  She 
died  June  12,  187 1;     Mr.  Rand  died  in  Ashburnham,  Aug.  24,  187 1. 

RICE. 

The  Rice  family  are  descended  from  two  emigrants,  Edmund  and 
Thomas,  who  came  to  this  country  from  Wales.  They  were  probably 
brothers,  or  uncle  and  nephew.  One  stayed  in  Massachusetts,  and 
the  other,  Thomas,  came  to  Kittery,  Me. 

Lemuel  Rice,  the  grandson  of  Thomas,  was  the  son  of  Joseph  and 

Ruth  (Thompson)  Rice,  who  were  married  Aug.  12,  1755.     Lemuel, 

who  was  born  May  2,  1756,  enlisted  from   Scarborough  in    1775   in 

Capt.  John  Rice's  company,  Col.  Phinney's  regiment,  and  served  five 

years  in  the  army,  being  among  other  places  at  the  siege  of  Boston, 

at  Valley  Forge,  and  at  Saratoga.     From  Scarborough  he  came  to 

Gorham,  where  he  purchased  a  tannery.     He  lived  nearly  opposite 

what  has  since  been  known  as  the  John  Rice  place.      His  wife,  whom 

he  married  April 3,  1777,  was  Anna  Stone  of  Scarborough.     Children 

born  in  Scarborough  : 

George,  b.  Sept.  21,  1780,  m.  Hannah  Hanscom,  1807  ;  2d,  Dorcas  Larrabee. 
Ruth,  b.  Dec.  7,  1781,  m.  Thomas  Fickett,  July  23,  1807  ;  I'd  in  Durham. 
John,  b.  Oct.  7,  1784,  m.  Mary  Hanscom,  Nov.  12,  181 2;  2d,  Salome  Hanson; 

3d,  Mary  Kilbourn. 

Moses,  b. ,  m.  Mary,  dau.  of  Matthias  Libby  of  Scarboro,  Aug.  7,  1815. 

Lemuel,  b.  about  1790,  m.  Catherine  Noyes ;  2d,  Mary  J.  Cushman  ;  d.  Mar.  18, 

1870. 

Daniel,  b.  ,  m.  Sarah  P.  Larry  of  Westbrook,  1822  ;  went  to  Derry. 

Simeon,  b. ,  m. . 

James,  b. ,  d.  in  Gorham,  Feb.  6,  1880. 

Lemuel  Rice  died  in  Durham,  Jan.  16,  1827,  and  his  wife  Anna, 
Aug.  8,  1836,  aged  80. 

(2)  George  Rice  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  18 12.  He  lived  for 
a  time  on  his  father's  place,  but  after  some  years,  accompanied 
by  his  brother  Lemuel,  moved  to  Durham.  He  married  Hannah, 
daughter  of  Moses  Hanscom.  She  died  Oct.  20,  1826,  and  he  mar- 
ried, April  27,   1827,   Dorcas,  daughter  of  Thomas  Larrabee.     His 

children  were  Charles  who  married  Ann  ,  and  died  in  Pownal, 

his  wife  dying  in  Gorham  June  2,  1877,  John  who  was  a  minister  and 
died  in  Gray,  Mary,  Hanson  who  died  young,  Hannah,  and  Phebe. 


GENEALOGY.  735 

George  Rice  died  Sept.  21,  1859,  and  his  wife  Dorcas,  September, 
1859. 

(2)  John    Rice,  son   of   Lemuel,  lived    in    the   eastern   part  of  the 

town  not  far  from  the  Westbrook  line  on  the  farm  now  occupied  by 

his  grandsons,  John   R.,  and  Louis  H.  Lowell.     He  married  Mary 

Hanscom,  sister  to  his  brother  George's  wife.     Children  : 

Betsey,  b.  May  3,  1813,  d.  June  14,  1818. 
Betsey,  b.  Jan.  25,  1820,  m.  Henry  Lowell,  1842. 
Anna,  b.  May  27,  1823,  d.  Jan.  24,  1827. 

Mrs.  Mary  Rice  died  April  26,  1827,  aged  36,  and  Mr.  Rice  mar- 
ried (pub.  Dec.  8,  1827)  Salome,  daughter  of  Ezra  and  Catherine 
(Hanscom)  Hanson  of  Windham.  She  died  Nov.  9,  1852,  aged  63, 
and  Mr.  Rice  married  third,  Mary  Kilbourn  of  Scarboro.  John  Rice 
died  May  24,  1863,  aged  78,  and  his  wife,  Mary  K.,  Oct.  i,  1880, 
aged  95. 

William  A.  Rice  came  to  Gorham  from  Portland,  about  1832-33. 

He  settled  at  Great  Falls,  where  he  opened  and  ran  a  public  house 

which  was  the  first  in   that   place.     It   stood   on  the   corner  of  the 

Whipple  road  facing  the  main  street.     He  also  kept  a  store  here, 

where  he  sold  salt,  plaster,  etc.,  which  he  used  to  bring  from  Portland 

and  grind  at  the  Falls.     He  also  ran  a  pleasure  boat  on  the  Oxford 

and  Cumberland  canal,  from  Portland,  on  board  of  which  he  furnished 

refreshments,  and  music  for  dancing.       He  built  the  house  at  the 

Falls  where  H.  G.  Parker  lives.     His  wife  was  Elizabeth  S.  Wilson. 

Children  : 

William,  b.  Jan.  6,  1826,  m.  Abbie . 

Lucy  Ann,  b.  May,  1S30,  d.  Feb.  22,  1S34. 

Sophia  W.,  b.  Dec.  31,  1833,  ni.  James  R.  Hunnewell,  Nov.  15,   1854;  2d,  Mr. 

Jenkins. 
Mary  C,  b.  .May  6,  1835,  d.  June  16,  1852. 
Jeannette  L.,  b.  Oct.  15,  1839,  m.  Edwin  R.  Varney  of  Windham,  about   1857  ; 

2d,  Wm.  Joslin. 
Elizabeth,  b.  Nov.  i,  1840,  I's  in  Leominster,  Mass. 
Harriet  H.,  b.  July  5,  1843,  ™-  Clark;  I's  in  Leominster. 

Mr.  Rice  moved  to  Massachusetts  about  1862,  where  he  died  Oct. 

25,    187 1,   of    injuries   received  from   the   cars.      His   wife   died   in 

Chelsea,  March  7,  1880,  aged  77. 

RICH. 

Lemuel  Rich  with  his  wife,  who  was  Elizabeth  Harding,  came  to 
Gorham  from  Truro,  Mass.,  probably  about  the  year  1762.  He  pur- 
chased of  David  Gorham,  Feb.  11,  1762,  the  two  thirty  acre  lots,  63 
and  64,  together  with  one-half  of  the  mill  and  mill  dam.    This  mill  was 


736  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

situated  above  Fort  Hill,  on  Little  river,  where  the  mill  owned  by  John 

T.  Parkhurst  now  stands.     This  half  of  the  saw  mill,  and  one-half  of  a 

grist  mill,  dam  and  the  privilege  of  the  stream,  together  with  half  of  his 

half  of  the  thirty  acre  lot,  64,  Mr.  Rich  sold  Feb.  12,  1765,  to  Enoch 

Freeman.      Mr.    and   Mrs.    Rich  brought   with   them   to   Gorham    a 

family  of  children.     We  have  no  perfect  list  of  them,  but  they  were  : 

Ezekiel,  b.  Nov.  25,  1738,  m.  Sarah  Stevens,  Nov.  21,  1765. 
Lemuel,  b.  1740,  m.  Molly  Colley. 

Samuel,  b. ,  m.  Sarah  Fogg  of  Machias,  p.  Mar.  9,  1767. 

Martha,  bapt.  Dec.  2,  1744,  m.  Jonathan  Sawyer,  Oct.  17,  1763. 

Zephaniah,  bapt.  Feb.  8,  1747,  m.  Sarah  Snow. 

James,  bapt.  Apr.  2,  1749,  m.  Abigail  Stevens,  p.  May  3,  1775. 

Deliverance,  b. ,  m.  James  McColHster,  Oct.  6,  1765. 

Mary,  b. ,  m.  Lemuel  Hicks,  p.  Apr.  20,  1771. 

Sarah,  b.  Nov.  23,  1755,  m.  George  Hamblen,  Dec.  20,  1773. 

Joel,  b. ,  m.  Elizabeth  Gates,  May  16,  1779  ;  moved  to  Waldo  Co. 

Barnabas,  b. ,  m.  Lydia  Brown,  June  28,  1779. 

Amos,  b.  May  17,  1759,  m.  Eunice  Woodman  of  New  Gloucester,  June  4,  1781. 

Lemuel  Rich  and  his  wife  both  died  in  March,  1791,  being  between 
85  and  90  years  of  age. 

(2)  Ezekiel  Rich,  son  of  Lemuel,  was  born  in  Truro.  He  married 
Sarah,  daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Sarah  Stevens  of  Gorham.  Chil- 
dren : 

Ezekiel,  )  ,     t  r 

Samuel!  r-  J^"^  ^3.  1767. 

Reuben,  b.  Jan.  7,  1769. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Jan.  12,  1771. 

Benjamin,  b.  Mar.  4,  1773,  moved  to  O.xford  Co. ;  was  the  ancestor  of  all  of  the 

name  in  that  region. 
Sarah,  b.  Apr.  4,  1775,  m.  Benjamin  Stevens,  Oct.  27,  1793. 

Jerusha,  b.  May  17,  1777,  m. Burns,  in  Oxford  Co. 

William,  b.  July  g,  1779. 

Mehitable,  b.  July  6,  1781. 

Peter,  b.  July  26,  1783. 

Eunice,  b.  June  16,  1786. 

Stephen,  b.  Nov.  27,  1789,  at  Phillips  Gore. 

Ezekiel  Rich  and  his  family  moved  to  Oxford  County. 

(2)  Lemuel   Rich,  Jr.,  son  of  Lemuel,  lived  in  Gorham  for  many 

years  on  the  Amos  Rich  place.     About   1789  he  moved  to  Standish 

and  founded  what  is  now  known  as  "Richville,"  building  the  first  log 

house  in  that  locality.      He  married,  after  coming  to  Gorham,  Molly 

Colley  of  Gray.     Children,  all  born  in  Gorham  : 

Lemuel,  b.  Jan.  3,  1770,  m.  Elizabeth  Smith,  Jan.  23,  1794;  d.  in  Standish. 
Boaz,  b.  Feb.  23,  1772,  m.  Molly  Richardson,  Aug.  7,  1796;  moved  to  Exeter. 
Samuel,  b.   May  13,  1774,  m.  Esther  Richardson  of  Standish,  July  12,  179S;  d. 

in  Portland. 
Israel,  b.  July   25,    1776,   m.    Rhoda   Smith   of  Buxton,    Dec.   27,  1798;  I'd  in 

Standish. 
Mary,  b.  Jan.  30,  1779,  m.  William  Merrill  of  Buxton,  Jan.  28,  1806. 
Zachariah,  b.  Apr.  15,  1781,  m.  Lydia  Dearborn  of  Buxton,  June  18,  1809. 


GENEALOGY.  737 

John,  b. '■ ,   m.   Elizabeth    Dearborn  of    Buxton,   June    17,    1811;  went   to 

Exeter. 
Deliverance,  b.  ,  m.  Joseph  Thompson  of  Standish,  May  18,  1806. 

Lemuel  Rich  died  July  8,  1804.      Mrs.  Rich  died  Nov.  24,  1805. 

(2)   Zephaniah  Rich,  son  of  Lemuel,  lived  in  the  north  part  of  the 

town.      He  was  a  sea  faring  man.     He  moved  to  Portland.     His  wife 

was  Sarah  Snow.     Children  ; 

Jonathan,  b.  Mar.  23,  1771. 

Ebenezer,  b.  Sept.  12,  1774. 

Zephaniah,  b.  Jan.  30,  1777. 

Samuel  Snow,  b.  Mar.  27,  1779. 

Ephraim,  b.  Aug.  19,  1781,  lost  his  sight  by  a  4th  of  July  explosion. 

Benjamin,  b.  Feb.  19,  1784. 

William,  b.  Apr.  13,  17S6. 

(2)  James  Rich,  son  of  Lemuel,  married  Abigail,  daughter  of  Ben- 
jamin and  Sarah  Stevens.     Children  : 

Robert,  b.  Feb.  4,  1776. 

Mary,  b.  Feb.  15,  1778. 

Abigail,  b.  Apr.  23,  1780. 

Joseph,  b.  June  17,  1782  near  the  mouth  of  the  Ossipee  river. 

Moses,  b.  ,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Ossipee  river. 

This  family  moved  to  Thorndike,  and  Waldo  County. 

(2)  Barnabas  Rich,  son  of  Lemuel,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary army;  a  private  in  Capt.  Stuart's  company,  31st  Mass.  He 
married  Lydia  Brown.      Children  : 

Martha,  b.  in  Gorham,  June  4,  178 1. 
Samuel,  b.  in  Sharon,  June  26,  1783. 

(2)  Amos  Rich,  son  of  Lemuel,  lived  for  a  time  on  the  hundred 
acre  lot,  92,  which  he  purchased  of  Timothy  Hamblen.  This  farm  is 
now  occupied  by  Mr.  David  F.  Rolfe.  He  married  Eunice  Woodman. 
Children  : 

Moses,  b.  June  22,  1783,   m.  Dorcas  Higgins,  p.   Oct.   21,    1806;  their  oldest 

child,  Jos.  H.,  was  b.  in  Gorham,  Feb.  2,  1808,  after  which  they  removed 

to  Standish. 
John  W.,  b.  Dec.   25,    1785,   m.   Polly  Cushman,  p.  Dec.   8,    1810;   2d,   Rosie 

Newcomb. 
Sally,  b.  Apr.  19,  1788,  m.  Jonathan  Moore  of  Buxton,  Dec.  12,  1809  ;  d.  Sept. 

16,  1S58. 
Betsey,  b.  July  19,  1790,  m.  Samuel  Cushman  of  New  Gloucester;  d.  Nov.  26, 

1827. 
Lydia,  b.  May  2,  1792,  m.  John  Owen,  1838;  I'd  in  China;  d.  in  Portland,  1854. 
Eunice,  b.  June  20,  1794,  m.  Nathaniel  Hobbs  of  Waterboro,  Jan.  6,  181 5; 

2d,  Henry  Baker  of  Albion. 
Isaac  G.,  b.  Oct.  3,  1796,  lost  at  sea,  i<S26. 

Rufus,  b.  Feb.  6,  1799,  m.  Mary  B.  Harrington  ;  moved  West. 
Ruth  W.,  b.  May  2,  1802,  m.  Oliver  Hanscome,  Mar.  20,  1823  ;  I'd  in  China;  d. 

Dec.  16,  1893. 
Louisa,  b.  Aug.  22,  1805,  m.  Jabez  C.  Woodman  of  Poland,  Jan.  17,  1830  ;  I'd 

in  Portland;  he  d.  Nov.  8,  1869;  she  May  26,  1856. 


738  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Mr.  Rich  moved  to  China,  Me.,  where  he  kept  a  public  house.  He 
died  March  12,  1847.     Mrs.  Rich,  Dec.  10,  1854. 

(3)  John  Woodman  Rich,  son  of  Amos,  lived  in  No.  Yarmouth, 

Gray  and  Gorham.     He  sold  his  place  in  No.  Yarmouth,  and  bought 

the  place  on   Fort  Hill  on  the  east  side  of  the  road,  nearly  opposite 

the  Motley  place.     He  married  Polly  Cushman,  of  New  Gloucester, 

by  whom  he  had  one  child : 

Jabez  C,  b.  in  1812,  m.  in  Philadelphia;  d.  Mar.  25,  1865;  two  sons,  Thomas 
H.,  was  in  the  Union  army,  d.  when  a  young  man  ;  John,  served  in 
U.  S.  Navy. 

Mrs.  Polly  Rich  died  June  13,  1862,  aged  73,  and  Mr.  Rich  mar- 
ried second,  Rosie  Newcomb.  He  died  July  27,  1866,  and  his  widow 
married  Zenas  S.  Chase,  and  third,  OUver  Murch  of  Baldwin. 

RICHARDSON. 

Joseph  Richardson,  son  of  Joseph  who  came  from   Scotland,  was 

born  in  Lyndesborough,  N.  H.,  Nov.  i,  1761,  and  married  Mehitable, 

daughter  of  Andrew  and  Rebecca  (Hunt)  Crockett  of  Gorham.    They 

had  six  children,  three  of  whom  were  born  in  Gorham  : 

Benjamin,  b.  Nov.  10,  1801,  m.  Ella  Weeks  of  Bartlett,  N.  H.,  1828. 
Ebenezer  C,  b.  July  23,  1803,  d.  July  4,  1834. 
Emeline,  b.  July  24,  1805. 

Their  other  children,  Mark,  Elliot    and  Eunice,  were  born  after  the 

family  left  Gorham.      Mr.    Richardson   died  in   Standish,   Nov.    12, 

1833- 

Isaac   Richardson,   son   of   David   Richardson,   came   to   Gorham 

from  Limington  about  the  year  1840.     He  lived  on  the  Joseph   M. 

Gerrish  place,  near  the  William  Gorham  place.      He  married  Abigail 

Chick,  and  their  children  were  : 

Louisa  M.,b.  Jan.  14,  1820,  m.  Isaac  Cobb,  Apr.  5,  1855. 

Dolly  F.,  b.  Nov.  19,  1821,  m.  Rufus  Mosher,  Dec.  25,  1844. 

Lydia  McD.,  b.  Apr.  12,  1824,  d.  unm.  July  19,  1893. 

Isaac,  b.  July  19,  1826,  m.  Caroline  L.,  dau.  of  John  and  Mary  Sanborn,  1852. 

Ch:  Isaac,  b.  Feb.  6,   1853;  George  F.,  b.  Sept.  22,   1855,  d.  Nov.  16, 

1856;  George  F.,  b.  Aug.  23,  1857  ;  Edward  M.,  b.  Aug.  21,  1859.     Mr. 

Richardson  served  in  the  Civil  War,  and  was  wounded  by  a  ball  through 

the  hand.     He  d.  in  1SS8. 
Freeman  L.,  b.  Aug.  26,  1828,  m.  Abigail,  dau.  of  Daniel  Irish,  Mar.  23,  1856. 

Ch:  Arthur  L.,  b.  Nov.  24,   1858,  d.  y. ;  Arthur  F.,  b.  July  23,  1863,  m. 

Sadie  Willis.     Mr.   Richardson  I'd   on  the  farm  formerly  owned  by  his 

father.     He  d.  Apr.,  1902  ;  his  wife  d.  Feb.  7, 1901. 
John  M.,  b.  Dec.  13,  1830,  ni.  Dorcas  A.  Freeman  of  Windham;  was  a  soldier 

in  the  Civil  War. 

Isaac  Richardson  died  Oct.  4,  1872,  aged  79.  Mrs.  Richardson 
died  Jan.  18,  1875,  aged  80. 


JOSEPH    KIDLON. 


GENEALOGY.  739 


RIDLON. 


Joseph  Ridlon,  son  of  Joseph  and  Mary  (Hopkinson)  Ridlon,  was 
born  in  HolHs,  Sept.  8,  1815.  September,  1840,  he  entered  the 
employ  of  McArthur  &  Smith,  successors  to  T.  &  T.  S.  Robie  of 
Gorham,  traders.  In  the  year  1844.  Mr.  Ridlon  formed  a  copartner- 
ship with  Dominicus  Jordan,  and  they  established  themselves  in  what 
is  known  as  the  Alexander  McLellan  store.  Some  two  years  later  he 
formed  another  partnership  with  George  Robie,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Robie  and  Ridlon,  occupying  the  Robie  store,  so  called.  In  the 
year  1848  Mr.  Robie  sold  his  interest  in  the  firm  to  John  C.  Card,  and 
a  partnership  was  formed  under  the  name  of  Ridlon  and  Card,  which 
firm  continued  until  1879.  At  that  time  a  division  took  place,  Mr. 
Ridlon  remaining  in  the  same  place  and  Mr.  Card  occupying  what  is 
now  known  as  the  Card  store. 

March  25,  1845,  ^''-  R'dlon  married  Sarah  Ellen,  daughter  of 
Abijah,  Jr.,  and  Susan  (Nason)  Usher  of  Hollis.  They  have  two 
children:  Francis  A.,  born  Oct.  13,  1849,  married  Mary  Evelyn 
Randall;  and  Mary  S.,  born  Aug.  2,  185 1,  married  Nathan  Clifford 
Cummings.      Mrs.  Sarah  E.  Ridlon  died  June  3,  1901,  aged  83. 

RIGGS. 

William  Riggs  was  born  May  2,  1769.     He  was  a  ship  carpenter 

of  Portland,  from  which  place  he  moved  to   Gorham  where  he  built 

the  house  in  the  south  part  of  the  town  where  his  grandson  Albert 

Riggs   now   lives.     He   married,    Dec.   9,    1792,    Polly,   daughter  of 

Nathaniel  and  Hannah  Parker.     Children  : 

Fanny,  b.  Sept.  10,  1793,  m.  John  Hanscom,  Oct.,  18 13. 

Daniel,  b.  Aug.  11,  1796,  d.  young. 

Eliza,  b.  Aug.  22,  1797,  d.  Oct.  28,  iScg. 

Mary,  b.  Aug.  13,  1799,  d.  Mar.  8,  1805. 

Hannah,  b.  Nov.  12,  iSoi,  d.  Feb.,  1805. 

Joanna,  b.  P'eb.  14,  1804,  m.  William  Silla,  Apr.  11,  1824;   d    July  15,  1S26. 

Mary,  b.  Feb.  4,  1806,  d.  young. 

Hannah,  b.  Jan.  24,  1807,  d.  1809. 

William,  b.  Jan.  22,  1810,  m.  Rebecca  M.  McQuillan,  p.  Dec,  1839;  2d,  Lucinda 

Wescott. 
Jane,  b.  Mar.  5,  1813,  m.  Jerome  Fickett  of  Portland. 
Eliza  N.,  b.  Mar.  11,  1815,  m.  John  E.  We.scott,  Apr.  12,  1842. 
Mary,  b.  Aug  25,  18 19,  d.  unm.  in  1866. 

Mrs.  Mary  Riggs  died  March  i,  1827,  aged  55,  and  Mr.  Riggs 
married,  Aug.  16,  1827,  Rebecca  Silla.  William  Riggs  died  July  14, 
1840. 

(2)  William  Riggs,  Jr.,  son  of  William,  lived  on  the  farm  owned  by 
his  father.  He  married  Rebecca  M.,  daughter  of  John  and  Jael 
McQuillan.     Child : 


740  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Charles  F.,  b.   Sept.   14,   1840,  m.   Lydia  Bickford  of  Scarboro,  Dec.  22,  i860; 
killed  in  the  army  at  Petersburg,  Va.,  Dec.  5,  1S64. 

Mrs.  Rebecca  Riggs  died  June  20,  1842,  aged  24,  and  Mr.  Riggs 
married  June  5,  1845,  Lucinda  Wescott,  by  whom  he  had: 

Eliza  R.,  b.  Mar.  11,  1S46,  d.  Aug.  15,  1864. 

Albert  S  ,  b.  Mar.  14,  1852,  m.  Glara  Waterhouse,  June  12,  1879. 

Jane  W.,  b.  Apr.  12,  1854,  m.  Chas.  F.  Libby,  Oct.  15,  1879;  d.    July   15,    1885. 

William  E.,  b.  Sept.  27,  1856,  d.  Feb.  8,  1S88. 

William  Riggs  died  Nov.  13,  1S61,  and  his  wife  Lucinda,  Feb.  6, 
1878,  aged  53. 

William  Tyng  Riggs  lived  at  one  time  in  Gorham,  where  his  chil- 
dren were  born.  He  married,  April  13,  1794,  Mary,  daughter  of  John 
and  Lydia  Burnell.     Children  : 

William,   1  ,     , 

c  y  b.  Ian.  -51,  17QS. 

Susanna,   J       "        o  '     /  ^j 

Hannah,  b.  Mar.  21,  1797,  m.  David  Burnell,  p.  Aug.  15,  1818;   2d,  John  Libby, 

Dec.  9,  1838. 

Jane,  b.  Jan.  27,  1799. 

Eunice,  b. ,  m.  Joseph  M.  Libby,  Oct.  17,  1833. 

This  family  moved  to  Bridgton. 

ROBERTS. 

The  family  of  Roberts  is  of  English  descent.  They  came  to  this 
part  of  the  country  from  Cape  Cod.  Benjamin  and  Joseph  Roberts 
were  brothers.  They  lived  in  Cape  Elizabeth  before  coming  to  Gor- 
ham and  came  here  about  1769-74.  Both  were  members  of  the 
Society  of  Friends,  and  Joseph  wore  for  the  most  of  his  life  the  typ- 
ical Quaker  garb,  which  consisted  of  a  broad-brimmed  hat,  a  coat 
with  full  skirts,  and  drab  breeches.  Benjamin  Roberts  was  a  ship 
carpenter.     He  married  Mary  Weeks.     Children  : 

Mary,  b.  in  Falmouth,  Apr.  30,  1767.  m.  James  G.  Sturgis,  Dec.  14,  1792. 
Benjamin,  b.  in  Falmouth,  Aug.  29,  1768,  m.  Rebecca,  dau.  of  Joshua  Dyer,  of 

C.  Eliz'h  ;  I'd  in  Westbrook. 
John,  b.  in  Falmouth,  May  17,  1770,  m.  Lucy  Libby,  July  30,  1794. 
Jane,  b.  in  Falmouth,  Nov.  13,  1771,  m.  John  Whitmore,  Oct.  4,  1792. 
William,  b.  in  C.  Eliz'h,  Oct.  23,  1774,  m.  Betsey,  dau.  of  Rev.  Nathaniel  Hatch 

of  Westbrook;  2d,  Dorcas,  dau.  of  John  Johnson  of  Falmouth;  I'd  and 

d.  in  Westbrook. 
Susanna,  b.  in  Gorham,  Oct.  5,  1776,  m.  Nathaniel  Knight  of  Falmouth,  Jan. 

ID,  1799. 
Stephen,  b.  in  Gorham,  Aug.  28,  1778,  m.  Abigail  Tibbetts  ;  d.  about  1830. 
Dorcas,  b.  in  Gorham,  Aug.  27,  1781,  m.  John  Libby  of  Scarboro,  July  29,  1802. 

Benjamin  Roberts  after  coming  to  Gorham  lived  in  the  south  part 

of  the  town  on  the  hundred  acre  lot,  No.  9,  the  same  lot  on  which  his 

brother  Joseph   lived,   and  which   the   brothers  bought   of   Thomas 

Pote. 


GENEALOGY.  741 

Joseph  Roberts  lived  on  the  hundred  acre  lot,  No.  9,  on   the  farm 

now  owned  and  occupied  by  John   Meserve.     He  married   Hannah 

Freeman.     Children,  the  first  two  born  in  Cape  Elizabeth  : 

William,  b.  May  26,  1766,  d.  young. 

Lucy,  b.  Dec.  10,  1767,  m.  Philip  Seiver  of  Portland,  July  26,  1789. 

Hannah,  b.  June  26,  1769,  m.  Geo.  Murch,  Mar.  24,  1791. 

Catherine,  b.  Mar.  9,  1771,  m.  John  Hood  of  Eaton,  Jan.  13,  1791. 

Lydia,  b.  Sept.  14,  1772,  m.  Morris  Flood,  June  17,  1793. 

Joseph,  b.   July   10,   1773,  ^-  ^^^^V  i'ord,   Oct.   21,    1793;   -'^'  Sally  Strout  ;  3d, 

Priscilla  Merrill;  4th,  Mrs.  Mary  Mayberry. 
Elizabeth,  b.  Sept.  16,  1775,  m.  Solomon  Morton  of  Falmouth,  Sept.  30,   1798. 
William,  b.  Aug.  22,  177S,  d.  Oct.  5,  1780. 
Eunice,  b.  Apr.  9,  17S0,  d.  young. 

Joshua,  b.  Mar.  8,  1783,  m.  Mary  Thomes,  Apr.  15,  1810. 
Anna,  b.  Apr.  ii,  1785,  m.  Ebenezer  Moore  of  Falmouth,  July,  1808. 
Miriam,  b.  June  26,  1787,  m.  Abraham  Morton,  Jan.  25,  1803. 

(2)  Joseph  Roberts,  son  of  Joseph,  lived  in  what  is  known  as  the 
"  Hurricane  "  district.  His  first  wife  was  Oily  Ford.  There  is  no 
record  of  any  children  by  her,  or  of  her  death.  December  16,  1801, 
he  married  Sally,  daughter  of  George  and  Rebecca  Strout.  By  her 
he  had  one  child:  Eliza,  born  Aug.  i,  1803,  married  Col.  A'ndorus 
Kilgore  of  Waterford,  p.  Oct.  21,  1826. 

June  3,  1804,  Mr.  Roberts  married  Priscilla,  daughter  of  Daniel 
and  Dorcas  Merrill.  His  fourth  wife  was  Mrs.  Mary  Mayberry. 
The  remainder  of  his  children  were  : 

Lydia,  b.  Oct.  21,  1S05,  m.  Daniel  Crockett,  p.  July  27,  1827. 

Mary,  b.  Dec.  20,  1807,  m.  Ira  Legrow  of  Windham,  May  23,  1829. 

Rebecca,  b.  Nov.  30,  1810,  m.  Peter  Mayberry;  went  West. 

George  VV.,  b.  Oct.  30,  181  3,  m.  Emeline  Mayberry  of  Windham,  Aug.  23,  1834; 

went  to  Minn. 
Almira,  b.  Oct.  24,  18 16,  m.  Israel  Parker  of  Solon  ;  went  West. 
Gardner,  b.  Sept.  16,  1820,  m.  Adeline  Mayberry;  2d,  Mrs.  Mayberry. 

(2)  Joshua  Roberts,  son  of  Joseph,  married  Mary,  daughter  of 
Charles  and  Anna  Thomes.     Children  : 

Ann  T.,  b.  Feb.  28,  18 11,  m.  Amos  Libby,  Dec.  i,  1S30;  d.  June  30,  183S. 

Hannah,  b.  May  24,  1812,  m.  Levi  Dyer;  d.  in  Gorham,  Nov.  20,  1S8S. 

William,  b.  Apr.  9,  1814,  m.  Ann  Libby,  Sept.  18,  1834;  2d,  Lucy  Kidsmore ;  d. 
in  1893  '  his  son,  Daniel  T.,  enlisted  from  Gorham,  in  1861,  in  the  12th 
Me. 

Charles  T.,  b.  Jan.  14,  1817,  m.  Harriet  (MuUoy)  Mcintosh,  dau.  of  Thos.  Mul- 
loy,  and  widow  of  George  Mcintosh.  Child:  Jeff  D.,  b.  Nov.  17,  1862, 
m.  Flora  Dyer.  Mr.  Roberts  I'd  on  the  old  Mcintosh  place  ;  d.  June  23, 
1900;  his  wife  d.  July  24,  1891,  ag.  68. 

Daniel  C.,  b.  F'eb.  24,  1819,  m.  Sarah  Jewell;  d.  in  Solon,  Apr.  28,  1892. 

Leonard  C,  b.  May  24,  182 1,  m.  Mehitable,  dau.  of  David  and  Sophia  Water- 
house,  1845.  Ch  :  Charles  J.,  b.  May  27,  1846,  m.  Julia  Pierce  of  Hiram, 
2d,  Abbie  Banks,  3d,  Maggie  Henderson,  wiio  d.  June,  1897,  he  d.  Jan.  6, 
1898;  George,  b.  1853,  d.  y.  Mrs.  Hetty  Roberts  d.  Sept.  4,  1854,  ag.28, 
and  Air.  R.  m.  Jan.  i,  1857,  Maria  L.,  dau.  of  Nathaniel  and  Sally 
Hamblen.  Ch:  Mary  T.,  b.  Nov.  17,  1858,  d.  July  27,  1S63;  Edward, 
b.  Apr.  14,  1861,  m.  Elizabeth  Palmer,  Dec.  24,  1890;  George  T.  F.,  b. 
June  27,  1863;  Nellie,  b.  June   26,  1866,   m.   Dr.   E.   I.  Talbot,   June  4, 


742  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

1S90,  d.  Mar.   15,   1S91  ;   Hattie,  b.  Mar.   18,   1870;  Wilbur,  b.  Nov.  4, 

1872,  m.  Hattie    Hanscom,  Mar.  23,  1895.      ^^-  K.oberts  was  a  farmer, 

and  I'd  at  Fort  Hill  on  the  old  Thomes  place  ;  he  d.  Dec.  19,  1892. 

Samuel  A.,  )  1     c     *.      _     o  (  ni-  Hannah  E.  Jewell  of  Solon  ;  no  ch. 

^  >  b.  sept.  11;,  1024,    i   , 

George,         )  r-       j'        ^'    (  d.  young. 

John  C,  b.  July,  1827,  d.  young. 

John  R.,  b.  Apr.  4,   1830,  m.  Lydia  A.  Woodsum,  Oct.  9,  1858.     Ch :  Addie; 

Elmer;  Lester. 

Eliza  R.,  b.  Apr.  19,  1834,  m.  Eli  S.  Ayer,  May  23,  1858;  d.  Nov.  20,  1864. 

Joshua  Roberts  moved  to  Solon,  then  returned  to    Gorham  ;  he 

died  Sept.  16,  1855  ;  his  wife,  Aug.  25,  1869,  aged  79. 

Joseph  Roberts,  who  owned  and  lived  on  the  farm  in  the  south 
part  of  the  town  afterwards  owned  by  his  son  Samuel  and  recently 
by  Frank  Deering,  came  to  Gorham  from  Cape  Elizabeth  about  1783. 
He  was  the  son  of  George  and  Catherine  (Skillings)  Roberts,  and 
was  born  June  i,  1738.  He  married,  Feb.  8,  1776,  Anna,  daughter 
of  Samuel  and  Rachel  (Marriner)  Fogg  of  Scarborough.  Children 
of  Joseph  and  Anna,  of  whom  the  two  eldest  were  born  in  Cape 
Elizabeth  : 

Joseph,  b.  Mar.  5,  1777,  m.,  I'd  and  d.  in  Gardiner. 

Samuel,  b.  June  2,  1779,  m.   Elizabeth    Staples,  p.  Sept.  30,   1809;  2d,  Betsey 

Huston. 
Rhoda,  b.  Nov.  27,  1782,  m.  Daniel  Merrill,  Jr.,  June  27,  1802. 
Rachel,  b  July  13,  1785,  d.  unm. 
Anna,  b.  Mar.  17,  1789,  m.  Elkanah  McLellan,  Aug.  4,  1805. 

Joseph  Roberts  died  Oct.  12,  1798.  His  wife  Anna  died  in 
Gardiner. 

(2)  Samuel  Roberts,  son  of  Joseph,  lived  on  his  father's  homestead 
in  the  south  part  of  the  town.  He  married  Elizabeth  Staples  of 
Scarborough.  She  died  in  July,  181 1,  aged  29,  her  only  child,  a  few 
days  old,  dying  near  the  same  time.  Mr.  Roberts  married,  May  3, 
18 1 2,  Betsey,  daughter  of  Capt.  William  and  Rebecca  (Horton) 
Huston  of  Portland.     Children  : 

William  Huston,  b.  Feb.  13,  1813,  m.  Martha  J.  Benson  of  Limington,  Sept.  22, 

1839. 
Joseph,  b.  Sept.  7,  1814,  d.  Sept.  18,  1814. 
Samuel,  b.  Jan.  13,  1816,  m.  Olive  Stetson  of  Cape  Cod,  Mass.,  Nov.  12,  1845  > 

d.  Dec.  31,  1887. 
John  Horton,  b.  Jan.  21,  1818,  m.  Dec.  8,  1850,  Martha  A.,  dau.  of  Thomas 
Worcester.  Ch:  Samuel;  Ella,  m.  John  H.  Harmon  of  Buxton;  Mat- 
tie,  m.  J.  H.  Russell  of  Worcester,  Mass.  Mr.  Roberts  enlisted  in  1862, 
as  a  soldier  in  the  17th  Me.,  Co.  I,  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion.  He  d. 
Sept.  15,  1864,  in  Washington,  from  the  effects  of  wounds  received  at 
vSpottsylvania,  when  Gen.  Hancock  made  his  charge  on  the  enemy. 
Betsey,  b.  Apr.  30,  1819,  m.  James  Johnson  of  Westbrook,  Oct.   12,   1859;  d. 

Sept.  27,  1867. 
Joseph  Fogg,  b.  Jan.  24,  1822,  m.  Eliza  Ann  Bond,  Oct.  25,  1849. 
Charles  E.,  b.  Apr.   13,   1825,  m.  Frances  Ellen  Dodge  of  Portland,  Sept.  25, 

1850. 
Francis,  b.  Feb.  19,  1828,  d.  unm.  June  22,  1850. 

Samuel  Roberts  died  Aug.  5,  1849,  aged  70  ;  his  wife  died  Nov.  4, 
1873,  aged  86. 


TOPPAN    ROBIE. 


GENEALOGY.  743 

ROBIE. 

Toppan  Robie,  the  first  of  this  name  in  town,  came  to  Gorham  in 
March,  1799.  He  was  the  son  of  Edward  and  Sarah  (Smith)  Robie, 
and  was  born  in  Candia,  N.  H.,  Jan.  27,  1782.  He  was  descended, 
sixth  generation,  from  Henry  Robie,  who  came  from  England,  was 
living  in  Dorchester,  Mass.,  in  1639,  and  was  one  of  the  early  settlers 
in  Exeter,  N.  H.  Toppan  Robie  was  named  for  his  great-uncle,  on 
the  maternal  side.  Col.  Christopher  Toppan  of  Hampton,  N.  H., 
who  gave  him  a  pistareen  (a  Spanish  coin,  worth  twenty  cents),  for 
his  name.  When  seventeen  years  of  age  he  came  here  as  clerk  in 
the  store  of  John  Horton,  and  after  a  few  months  went  into  the 
employ  of  Daniel  Cressey,  then  a  leading  trader  in  Gorham.  Before 
he  was  twenty-one,  in  September,  1802,  he  formed  a  partnership 
with  Sewall  Lancaster,  having  by  his  prudence  and  economy  laid  by 
from  his  earnings  quite  a  respectable  sum  with  which  to  commence 
business  for  himself.  In  18 15  he  and  his  younger  brother,  Thomas, 
formed  a  partnership  as  retail  merchants,  which  continued  for  more 
than  twenty  years.  The  firm  of  T.  and  T.  S.  Robie  was  widely 
known  for  its  activity  and  square  dealing.  This  was  before  the  days 
of  railroads,  when  long  lines  of  loaded  teams  and  sleighs  came  from 
Coos  County,  through  the  Notch,  and  from  Vermont,  on  their  way  to 
Portland,  and  a  good  share  of  their  trade  fell  to  Gorham.  The  store 
of  the  Messrs.  Robie  was  that  now  occupied  by  Jos.  Ridlon  and  Son. 
State  St.  was  not  then  opened,  and  the  business  centre  of  the 
village  was  on  the  hill.  Mr.  Robie  continued  in  business  till  1850, 
when  he  retired,  having  by  his  energy  and  strict  attention  to  business, 
accumulated  a  large  fortune.  From  this  he  made  many  liberal  gifts 
to  his  adopted  town,  among  which  were  two  thousand  dollars  for  the 
Soldiers'  Monument,  and  five  hundred  dollars  for  the  Town  Clock. 

Mr.  Robie  was  Representative  to  the  General  Court  of  Massachu- 
setts from  1813  to  1819,  ^^^  to  the  Maine  Legislature  in  1820  and 
182 1,  and  was  a  member  of  Gov.  Kent's  Executive  Council  in  1837. 
He  was  for  fifty  years  a  trustee  of  Gorham  Academy,  and  long  its 
treasurer,  contributing  largely  to  the  Institution.  He  was  also  for 
many  years  the  treasurer  of  the  Congregational  Parish  and  of  its 
Ministerial  Fund,  to  which  latter  he  contributed  nine  thousand  dol- 
lars. In  the  War  of  18 12  he  was  captain  of  a  company  of  militia, 
and  with  his  men  marched  to  Portland  in  18 14  for  the  defence  of 
the  city.  He  married,  Oct.  8,  1804,  Lydia  Brown  of  Chester,  N.  H., 
daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Prudence,  and  sister  to  the  late  Francis 


744  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Brown,  D.  D.,  President  of  Dartmouth   College  from   1815   to   1820. 
Children  : 

Harriet,  b.  Aug.  9,   1805,  m.  Oliver  Lincoln  of  Boston,  Aug.  29,   1829;  d.  in 

1832. 
Francis  B.,  b.  Aug.  19,  1S09,  m.  Martha  L.  Prince  of  No.  Yarmouth,  Mar.  27, 

1S38. 

Mrs.    Lydia   Robie  died   Feb.   23,  i8ii,aged  29,  and   Mr.  Robie 

married,  Sept.  17,  181 1,  Sarah  T.,  daughter  of  Capt.  John  and  Bethia 

Lincoln.     Children : 

Charles,  b.  July  30,  1812,  m.  Emily  March,  Sept.  2,  1835. 
George,  b.  Oct.  i,  18 r 6,  m.  Frances  M.  Barrett,  Apr.  27,  1841. 
Frederick,  b.  Aug.  12,  1822,  m.  Mary  Olivia  Priest,  Nov.  27,  1847  ;  2d,  Martha 
E.  Cressey. 

Mrs.  Sarah  T.  Robie  died  April  23,  1828,  and  Capt.  Robie  mar- 
ried, in  November,  1828,  Mrs.  Eliza  (Stevens)  Cross,  daughter  of 
William  Stevens  of  Portland,  and  widow  of  Capt.  William  Cross. 
Toppan  Robie  died  in  Gorham,  Jan.  14,  1871,  aged  89,  and  his  wife 
Eliza,  Nov.  2,  1865,  aged  83. 

Thomas  S.  Robie,  son  of  Edward  and  Sarah  (Smith)  Robie,  was 
born  in  Chester,  N.  H.,  Jan.  14,  1791.  When  a  lad  of  thirteen  he 
came  to  Gorham,  and  was  employed  in  the  store  of  his  brother,  Capt. 
Toppan  Robie,  till  18 15,  when  he  entered  into  partnership  with  him. 
Mr.  Robie  was  a  man  honored  for  his  piety  and  benevolence,  an 
earnest  and  consistent  Christian.  He  was  a  deacon  of  the  Congre- 
gational church,  and  was  always  much  interested  with,  and  active  in, 
all  affairs  pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  the  Society.  When  the  brick 
vestry  was  built  in  1828,  he  subscribed  five  hundred  dollars  for  it, 
and  was  largely  instrumental  in  its  erection.  He  married,  in  1820, 
Clarissa  Adams  of  Sudbury,  Mass.     Children  : 

Edward,  b.  Apr.  8,   1821,   m.    Susan  E.   Jameson;  pastor  of  Cong,   church  in 

Greenland,  N.  H.,  for  more  than  fifty  years. 
Lucinda  A.,  b.  Nov.  i,  1822,  d.  Aug.  13,  1832. 
Thomas  S.,  b.  Dec.  22,  1826,  d.  July  31,  1832. 
Benjamin  A.,  b.  July  i,  1828,  d.  Sept.  13,  1832. 
Joseph  Adams,  b.  Jan.  9.  1830,  d.  July  31,  1832. 
Catherine  P.,  b.  Apr.  19,  1831,  d.  Dec.  11,  1834. 
Lucinda  E.,  b.  Feb.  8,  1833,  I's  with  her  brother  Edward. 
Thomas  S.,  b.  Sept.  21,  1834,  m.  Virginia  D.  Pendleton,  Sept.  21,   1859;  is  a 

clergyman. 
Benjamin  A.,  b.  .Sept.  9,  1836,  m.  Lucy  Wiggin  ;  was  a  clergyman;  d.  1900. 

Dea.  Thomas  S.  Robie  died  Oct.  22,  1838,  aged  47,  and  his  wife 
Clarissa,  July  27,  i860,  aged  68. 

(2)  Francis  B.  Robie,  son  of  Toppan,  fitted  for  college  at  Gorham 
Academy,  and  was  graduated  from   Bowdoin  in   1829.     He  studied 


FREDERICK  ROBIE 


GENEALOGY.  745 

medicine  with  Dr.  Oilman  of  Portland,  and  received  a  diploma  from 
Bowdoin  Medical  School.  He  lost  his  eyesight,  Oct.  ii,  1833,  by 
the  explosion  of  a  bottle  of  fulminating  powder  which  he  was  holding 
in  his  hand.     He  married  Martha  L.  Prince.     Children  : 

Toppan,  b.  Mar.  17,  1S39,  m.  Abbie  Inez  Gardiner  of  Hallowell,  Nov.  12,  1863; 

d.  in  Woburn,  Mass.,  Jan.  30,  1875. 
George  F.,  b.  Mar.  20,  1S44,  m.  Susan   E.  Farwell  of   Hyde   Park,  Mass.,  Feb. 

II,   1872. 

Silvanus  P.,  b.  Aug.  25,  1S48,  m.  Lena  M.  Smith  of  Lewiston,  Nov.  25,  1875. 
Francis  B.  Robie  died  Oct.  8,  1876,  aged  67.     His  wife  died  Jan. 
12,  1886,  aged  73. 

(2)  Charles  Robie,  son  of  Toppan,  married  Emily,  daughter  of  Col. 

James  and  Sally  March.    At  the  time  of  his  marriage  he  was  a  trader 

in  Harrison.     He  afterwards  returned  to  his  native  town  and  lived  in 

Gorham  for  some  years  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Marshall  Sturgis. 

He  then  removed  to  the  brick  house  on  State  St.,  now  owned  by  his 

niece  Miss  Sarah  Robie,  and  kept  store  for  a  time  in  the  building 

lately  occupied  by  Roscoe  G.  Harding.     Children  : 

Charles  T.,  b.  1836,  d.  Oct.  5,  1853. 

Eliza,  b.  June  28,  1S41,  d.  Sept.  23,  1852. 

Lincoln,  b.  Oct.  3,  1842,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  War;  d.  in  1S67. 

Charles  Robie  died  Dec.  21,  1886,  aged  74.  His  wife,  Emily,  died 
Oct.  II,  1893,  aged  79. 

(2)  George  Robie,  son  of  Toppan,  was  for  some  years  a  teacher 
in  the  South.  He  afterwards  returned  to  Gorham  and  engaged  in 
trade  with  Joseph  Ridlon.  About  1852  he  moved  to  Portland,  and 
went  into  the  dr)^  goods  business  with  Jose  and  Marrett,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Jose,  Marrett  &  Robie.  He  married  in  Madison,  Flor- 
ida, Frances  Barrett  of  Troy,  N.  Y.     Children  : 

Georgia  A.,  b.  in  Troupville,  Ga.,  d.  in  1859;  ag.  17. 

Sarah  L.,  b.  in  Gorham. 

Prescott,  b.  in  Gorham,  d.  in  1862;  ag.  17. 

George  T.,  b.  in  Gorham,  d.  Sept.  19,  1S50. 

Chester,  b.  in  Gorham,  m.  Ella  Randolph  of  Pittsburg,  Pa.;  d.  July,  1S93. 

Mrs.  Frances  Robie  died  Jan.  25,  1854,  and  Mr.  Robie  married, 
Aug.  3,  1854,  her  cousin  Mary  Palmer  of  Stillwater,  N.  Y.  Mr. 
Robie  died  in  Gorham,  Dec.  2,  1856. 

( 2 )  Frederick,  son  of  Toppan  Robie,  fitted  for  college  at  Gorham 
Academy,  and  was  graduated  at  Bowdoin  in  the  class  of  1841.  After 
teaching  for  a  time  in  Georgia  and  Florida  he  decided  to  study  medi- 
cine, and  entered  Jefferson  Medical  College  in  Philadelphia,  from 
which  institution   he   was   graduated   in    1844.     In    April,    1844,    he 


746  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

opened  an  office  in  Biddeford,  where  he  remained  eleven  years.  He 
then  removed  to  Waldoboro  in  which  town  he  practiced  successfully 
for  three  years  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  returned  to  his  native  town. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  he  was  appointed  addi- 
tional Paymaster  by  President  Lincoln.  He  was  stationed  at  Boston 
in  1863  as  chief  paymaster  of  the  Department  of  New  England.  In 
1864  he  was  transferred  to  the  Department  of  the  Gulf  at  New 
Orleans.  At  the  end  of  the  war  he  returned  to  Maine  where  he  had 
charge  of  the  paying  off  of  the  Maine  soldiers.  His  efficient  services 
at  that  time  earned  for  him  the  honor  of  being  the  first  Maine  pay- 
master to  receive  the  brevet  of  Lieut.  Col.  He  was  honorably 
mustered  out  July  20,  1866.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Maine  Senate 
in  1866  and  1867.  He  was  also  appointed  in  1866  by  William  Pitt 
Fessenden  as  special  agent  of  the  Treasury  Department  in  which 
capacity  he  served  two  years.  From  1868  to  1873  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Republican  State  Committee.  He  was  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  eight  years,  and  Speaker  of  the  House  in  1872 
and  1876.  He  was  a  member  of  Gov.  Washburn's  Executive  Coun- 
cil in  1 86 1,  of  that  of  Gov.  Davis  in  1880,  and  of  that  of  Gov.  Plaisted 
in  1881  and  1882.  The  establishment  of  the  State  Normal  School  at 
Gorham  was  largely  due  to  his  influence  while  in  the  Legislature. 
In  1878  he  was  one  of  the  Committee  to  the  Paris  Exposition,  and 
travelled  extensively  in  Europe.  In  1882  he  was  chosen  Worthy 
Master  of  the  State  Grange,  and  was  its  chief  officer  for  eight  years. 
In  the  fall  of  1882  he  was  elected  Governor  of  the  State  by  a  large 
majority  ;  and  was  reelected  in  1884  by  a  majority  still  larger.  He 
was  in  office  from  January,  1883  to  1887,  and  was  one  of  the  most 
efficient  and  popular  chief  magistrates  the  State  has  ever  had.  He 
has  been  for  many  years  a  director  of  the  Portland  and  Rochester 
R.  R.  Company;  also  a  director  of  the  First  Nat.  Bank  of  Portland, 
of  which  he  is  now  president.  In  1885  he  was  president  of  the 
Eastern  Telegraph  Co. ;  and  a  director  of  the  Financial  Committee 
of  the  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Co.,  and  at  one  time  business  manager  of 
the  Portland  Press  Publishing  Co.  He  was  State  Commander  of  the 
G.  A.  R.  for  1899.  He  married  Mary  Olivia  Priest  of  Biddeford. 
Children  : 

Harriet,  b.  Sept.  3,  1848,  m.  Clark  Barker. 

Mary  F.,  b.  Mar.  3,  1852,  m.  George  F.  McQuillan. 

Eliza,  b.  Feb.,  1856,  d.  Sept.  3,  1863. 

William  P.  F.,  b.  Nov.  5,  1863,  m.  Flora  Barton  of  Cherryfield. 

Mrs.  Robie  died  Nov.  5,  1898,  aged  70  years,  and  Mr.  Robie  mar- 
ried, Jan.  10,  1900,  Martha  E.  Cressey. 


GENEALOGY.  747 


ROLFE. 


We  find  the  name  of  Rolfe  quite  early  in  the  history  of  the  town. 
Daniel  Rolfe  lived  on  Queen  street,  near  the  brook,  easterly  from  the 
Moses  Fogg  farm.  His  house  was  on  the  thirty  acre  lot,  82,  which, 
with  84,  comprised  his  farm  and  homestead.  This  land  he  bought  of 
Gov.  Shirley,  and  on  April  16,  1760,  sold  to  Joseph  Libby  of  Gorham. 
He  also  purchased,  in  1750,  of  Bryant  Morton,  the  hundred  acre  lot, 
No.  94,  which  lot  he  sold  in  1764  to  William  Wood  for  ;^i3o-6s-8d. 
Of  his  family  we  can  find  no  record,  other  than  that  he  had  a  wife 
Elizabeth. 

Moses  Rolfe  lived  in  Gorham  at  one  time.  He  married,  Nov.  12, 
1759,  Abigail  Jones  of  Gorham.  By  Mr.  Alden's  diary  we  find  that 
she  died  Jan.  24,  1763. 

The  Rolfes  now  in  town  are  descended  from  Capt.  Benjamin  Rolfe, 
whose  father  came  over  from  France  with  Lafayette.  After  the  Rev- 
olution he  settled  in  Portland.  Capt.  Benjamin  Rolfe  was  born  in 
Portland,  Jan.  18,  1780.  He  was  a  sea  captain,  and  had  his  home 
in  Portland.  He  owned  a  farm  in  Gorham  on  Horse  Meadow  road 
above  Fort  Hill  (where  Vincent  Hanson  lately  lived)  where  he  was 
fond  of  spending  some  of  his  time  when  on  shore.  He  married, 
June  7,  1804,  Rebecca  Williams  of  Portland,  by  whom  he  had  seven 
children.  In  1813  he  moved  to  Gorham,  where  he  lived  until  1818, 
when  the  family  moved  back  to  Portland.     Children  : 

Eliza  Ann,  b.  Mar.  26,  1806. 

Rebecca,  b.  June  26,  1807. 

Joseph,  b.  Feb.  27,  1809. 

Benjamin,  b.  June  26,  181 1.  ^ 

Daniel,  b.  in  Gorham,  July  7,  1813. 

William,  b.  in  Gorham,  Oct.  26,  1814. 

Dudley,  b.  in  Gorham,  Apr.  24,  1816,  d.  July  27,  18 16. 

Mrs.  Rebecca  Rolfe  died  May  26,  1816,  aged  32,  and  Capt.  Rolfe 
married,  Oct.  20,  18 16,  Nancy,  daughter  of  Thomas  Bangs  of  Gor- 
ham, by  whom  he  had  one  child  : 

David  F.,  b.  July  25,  1817,  m.  Elizabeth  Buzzell ;  2d,  Kate  B.  Eastman. 

Capt.  Rolfe  died  Aug.  6,  18 18.  Mrs.  Nancy  Rolfe  died  Nov.  6, 
1824. 

ROSS  AND  TYNG. 

After  the  conclusion  of  the  Indian  war  of  1744,  Capt.  Alexander- 
Ross  came  to  Portland.  He  brought  his  family  Nov.  23,  1753.  He 
had  but  one  child,  Elizabeth,  who  was  born  in  South  Ronaldsha,  one 
of  the  Orkney  Islands,  about  175 1,  and  afterwards  married  Col. 
Tyng.     They  came  from  Stroma,  in   Scotland.     Capt.  Ross  carried 


748 


HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 


on  a  large  business,  and  was  thought  to  be  one  of  the  most  wealthy 
men  in  Falmouth.  He  was  a  large  proprietor  in  Gorhamtown.  We 
find  his  name  as  early  as  1756  in  a  call  for  a  Proprietors'  meeting. 
Capt.  Ross  was  never  a  resident  of  Gorham.  He  died  in  Portland, 
Nov.  24,  1768,  aged  59.     After  his  death  his  widow,  Madam  Elizabeth 


ELIZABETH    (rOSS)    TYNG. 

AT    THE    AGE   OF   SIXTEEN. 

— From  Portla7td  in  the  Past. 


Ross  lived  some  years  in  Portland.  On  the  breaking  out  of  the  war 
of  the  Revolution  she  built  a  house  —  at  that  time  thought  to  be  one  of 
the  most  elegant  country  mansions  in  the  State  —  on  a  part  of  her 
late  husband's  Gorham  property,  into  which  she  moved  with  her 
daughter  Mrs.  Tyng,  soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  war.  This 
house,  which  was  on  what  is  called  the  old  Tyng  place,  on  the  road 


GENEALOGY.  749 

from  Gorham  village  to  Saccarappa,  near  the  eastern  line  of  the 
town,  was  completed  about  1 781,.  and  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  June, 
1808.  Afterwards,  Mrs.  Tyng  had  the  present  house  much  in  the 
style  of  the  old  one  erected  on  the  old  foundations.  We  find  many 
deeds  on  record  from  Madam  Elizabeth  Ross  showing  that  the  family 


COL.    WILLLA.M    TYNG. 

— From  Portland  in  t/ie  Past. 

had  a  large  landed  interest  here  in  town.     Madam  Ross  died  at  her 
house  in  Gorham,  March  i,  1798,  aged  80. 

Col.  Tyng  who  married  the  daughter  Elizabeth,  Nov.  3,  1769,  was 
born  in  Boston  in  1737,  where  he  resided  many  years,  doing  business 
as  a  merchant.  He  was  a  descendant  from  George  Cleves,  the  first 
settler  in  Portland.     Maine  being  under  the  government  of  Massa- 


750  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

chusetts,  he  received  the  appointment  of  sheriff  for  the  County  of 
Cumberland  in  1767,  and  soon  after  made  Portland  his  home.  Col. 
Tyng  was  a  decided  royalist,  not  because  he  did  not  love  his  native 
country,  but  from  an  honest  conviction  in  his  mind  that  the  American 
people  were  wrong ;  that  they  were  rebels  against  one  of  the  best  of 
kings  and  against  a  nation  that  would  ultimately  crush  them,  and 
that  their  fate  would  be  that  of  traitors  and  rebels.  In  1774  he 
received  a  commission  as  colonel,  from  Gen.  Gage,  the  royal  Gover- 
nor of  Massachusetts.  Finding  his  situation  unpleasant,  and  being 
denounced  as  a  tory,  he  went  to  New  York,  then  under  the  English, 
leaving  his  wife  with  her  mother.  Madam  Ross.  In  May,  1775,  while 
Col.  Tyng  was  in  New  York,  Capt.  Mowatt  went  to  Portland  with  his 
armed  ship,  and  while  walking  on  the  hill  with  his  surgeon  and  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Wiswall,  all  three  were  made  prisoners.  For  fear  that  there 
might  be  a  rescue  all  the  fighting  men  from  the  neighboring  towns 
came  into  town,  and  among  them  Col.  Phinney  and  his  Gorham  men. 
The  next  morning  they  were  much  exasperated  on  finding  that  the 
prisoners  had  been  liberated  on  their  parole  of  honor.  This,  with 
the  great  quantity  of  spirits  both  good  and  bad  going  about,  made  the 
troops  rather  demoralized,  and  their  conduct  rather  disorderly. 
Among  other  excesses  several  houses  and  places  of  business  belong- 
ing to  the  disaffected,  or  tories  as  they  were  called,  were  broken  into 
and  rifled  of  valuable  property.  Amongst  others,  the  houses  of  Capt. 
Coulson  and  Col.  Tyng  were  rifled  of  their  family  plate.  Coulson's 
loss  was  about  ;^i4i-i-i,  that  of  Tyng  ^50-0-0.  These  articles 
were  carried  to  Gorham  by  Phinney's  men,  and  secreted.  There  was 
at  the  time  some  trouble  in  finding  the  goods,  which  was  finally 
accomplished,  and  they  were  delivered  to  the  proper  authorities. 
There  was  great  excitement  in  town  about  this  property.  Several 
town  meetings  were  held.  Mrs.  Ross  claiming  that  taken  from  the 
house  of  Tyng  as  being  her  property,  and  she  not  being  attainted  as 
a  rebel,  the  Tyng  plate  was  returned  to  her,  by  order  of  Congress. 
Among  her  property  was  a  silver  cup,  silver  tankard  and  gold-laced 
hat.  A  silver  tankard,  supposed  to  be  the  same  mentioned  above,  is 
now  in  the  possession  of  the  Burton  family,  having  descended  through 
the  Ross  family.  This  tankard  was  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Merrill 
Burton,  late  president  of  the  Portland  Savings  Bank,  at  the  time  of  his 
decease. 

Col.  Tyng,  as  has  been  said,  removed  to  New  York  during  the  war. 
Though  a  confirmed  tory,  he  was  nevertheless  kind  and  benevolent 
toward  the  American  prisoners  confined  in  the  prisons  and  prison- 


GENEALOGY.  751 

ships.  He  often  visited  them  and  administered  to  their  wants  by 
lending  them  money  and  giving  them  food  and  clothing.  He  looked 
more  particularly  after  those  from  Portland,  Gorham  and  the  vicinity. 
Many  a  Gorham  man  received  his  bounty  with  grateful  heart,  and 
never  forgot  him  ;  and  by  them  at  least,  he  was  kindly  received  and 
respected  when  he  returned  to  Gorham.  Col.  Tyng  did  not  return 
to  Gorham  immediately  after  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  appointed 
Judge  of  the  Courts  in  Nova  Scotia,  where  he  went  with  his  family  ; 
Madam  Ross  remaining  to  take  care  of  the  property.  By  reference  to 
an  Act  of  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  to  prevent  the  return 
of  certain  persons  to  the  State,  who  left  to  join  the  enemy  (1785),  the 
name  of  William  Tyng  is  found,  whereby  he  was  thus  prevented  from 
returning  and  all  his  estate  was  confiscated.  As  to  property  this  did 
not  have  much  effect,  as  Madam  Ross  claimed  and  was  allowed  to 
hold  about  all  that  belonged  to  the  family. 

A  story  was  told  of  Col.  Phinney  and  Col.  Tyng  —  of  their  first 
meeting  after  Tyng's  return,  on  Sunday  in  front  of  the  old  meeting- 
house. Tyng  offered  his  hand  to  Phinney,  who  turning  on  his  heel 
muttered  (in  the  hearing  of  some  twenty  of  the  good  citizens  who 
had  been  watching  to  see  the  interview)  that  he  would  not  take  the 
hand  of  a  tory.  At  this  all  within  hearing  rushed  up  to  Tyng, 
extending  their  hands,  and  greeted  him  pleasantly.  This  seemed  to 
please  Tyng  more  than  it  did  Phinney,  for  he  immediately  disap- 
peared into  the  meeting-house,  and  probably  enjoyed  the  sermon. 
However  they  afterward  became  reconciled,  and  were  passable  friends 
during  after  life. 

Mrs.  Ross  and  Col.  Tyng  owned  several  slaves,  some  of  whom 
continued  in  the  service  of  Mrs.  Tyng  several  years  after  their  liber- 
tion  by  the  Act  of  Massachusetts.  Col.  Tyng  was  the  first  person 
who  brought  a  four-wheeled  pleasure  carriage  into  Gorham.  It  was 
a  lumbering  old  affair  compared  to  the  present  but  a  big  thing  in  its 
day,  with  two  horses,  and  a  colored  man  in  livery  for  a  driver ;  the 
wonder  of  the  young,  and  the  envy  of  the  old. 

Col.  Tyng  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days,  after  his  return,  on  his 
farm,  in  easy  circumstances,  neither  seeking  or  having  any  offices  ;  a 
benevolent  and  kind-hearted  gentleman,  much  beloved  and  respected 
by  a  large  circle  of  friends  and  neighbors.  He  received  a  pension 
from  the  English  government,  which  at  his  death  was  continued  to 
his  wife  during  her  life.  No  mansion  in  town  was  more  noted  for  its 
hospitality  and  politeness  than  that  of  Col.  Tyng,  none  of  which  was 
lost  while  in  the  hands  of  his  estimable  lady,  and  her  family.     Having 


752  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

no  children  Madam  Tyng  brought  from  Scotland  her  niece,  Eliza 
Heddle,  whom  she  adopted.  Miss  Heddle  was  to  her  a  daughter,  to 
whom  at  her  decease  she  gave  her  property.  Miss  Heddle  married 
Rev.  Timothy  Hilliard.  Col.  Tyng  died  in  Gorham  Dec.  lo,  1807, 
aged  70,  and  was  buried  in  the  cemetery  on  Munjoy,  Portland. 
Madam  Tyng  died  in  Gorham,  Oct.  25,  183 1,  aged  81,  and  was  buried 
in  the  new  yard,  so  called,  at  the  village. 

James  Ross  was  probably  the  brother  of  Capt.  Alexander  Ross  of 
Portland.  He  was  taxed  in  Gorham  in  1772  for  one  poll.  He  was 
one  of  the  first  schoolmasters  in  the  town  of  Gorham.  Mr.  Ross 
owned  a  farm  of  about  fifty  acres,  situated  opposite  to  that  of  Charles 
Horton,  in  the  Quaker  neighborhood,  on  the  Gov.  Shirley  grant. 
His  house  stood  opposite  Mr.  Horton's  barn.  His  wife's  name  was 
Hannah  Dyer.     The  record  of  their  children  is  imperfect. 

Mary,  b.  about  1758,  m.  William  Burton,  Apr.  26,  17S1. 

Rebecca,  b. ,  m.  Jasper  Johnson,  Dec.  23,  17S4;  2d,  David  Johnson. 

Elizabeth,  b. ,  m.  Jotham  Whitney,  Apr.  i,  1792. 

Sarah,  b.  Dec.  13,  1766,  m.  Richard  Libby,  Nov.  16,  1788. 

Alexander,  b.  Aug.  7,  1769,  m.  Patience  Howell,  Mar.  8,  1789;  d.  in  Gray,  leav- 
ing a  family. 

Walter,  b.  Apr.  20,  1771,  m.  Elinor  Purington,  Sept.  21,  iSoo  ;  d.  in  Chesterville  ; 
had  a  family. 

Olley,  b.  Oct.  i,  1773,  m.  John  Marston  of  No.  Yarmouth,  Sept.  13,  1795. 

John  Fleet,  b.  May,  177S,  d.  June,  1779. 

Anna,  b.  Sept.  15,  1780,  m.  William  Thomas,  Nov.  29,  179S. 

James  Ross  died  in  1780,  aged  68.  Hannah  his  wife  died  Oct.  19, 
1833,  aged  98. 

ROUNDS. 

Abial  Rounds  was  an   Englishman.     He  came  to  Gorham  early  in 

life,  and  settled  at  White  Rock,  near  where   Merrill  T.   Files's  store 

now  stands.      He  was  a  farmer.      He   married    Mary,  daughter  of 

Joseph  and  Mehitable  Whitney,  (pub.  March  12,  1791).     Children: 

Hezekiah,  b.  • ,  m.  in  Troy,  N.  Y. ;  d.  there. 

James,  b.  ,  m.  Betsey  Porterfield  ;  I'd  in  Biddeford. 

John,  b. ,  m.  Catherine  Badger  of  Boston ;  I'd  in  Portland. 

Mary,  b.  1797,  m.  Christopher  Plummer,  Jr.,  Mar.  12,  1821. 
Robert,  b.  1800,  m.  Harriet  Sturgis,  p.  Dec.  28,  1828. 

Cyrus,  b. ,  d.  unm.,  in  the  West. 

Phebe,  b.  1805,  m.  Sylvanus  Files,  Mar.  i,  1827. 

Sarah,  b. ,  m.  Capt.  Lunt  of  Portland.     He  was  a  sea  captain. 

Eunice,  b. ,  m.  Erastus  Emerson  of  Portland. 

Abial  Rounds  died  Nov.  16,  18 15,  aged  45.  Mrs.  Rounds  died  at 
Mr.  Harvey  Murch's  Nov.  10,  1854,  aged  87. 

(2)  Robert  Rounds,  son  of  Abial,  lived  at  West  Gorham,  on  the 
farm  once  owned  by  Dea.  George  Lewis.  He  married  Harriet, 
daughter  of  David  and  Betsey  Sturgis.     Children  : 


AILLIAM    APPLETON    RUST. 


NATHANIEL    J.    RUST. 


GENEALOGY.  753 

Emily,  b.  Dec.  21,  1829,  m.  Chas.  Jone.s  of  Windham,  Sept.  12,  1855. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Mar.  31,  1831,  d.  Dec.  16,  1846. 

Frances  E.,  b.  June  9,  ii>2\'  '"•  William  Cressey,  Jan.  26,  1854. 

Abial,  b.  Sept.  4,  1835,  m.  Carrie  E.  Cressey,  Nov.  iS,    1891  ;  I's  on  his  father's 

place  ;   has  one  son,  Robert. 
Sarah  L.,  b.  Jan.  26,  1838,  I's  with  her  brother. 
Harriet,  b.  June  13,  1844,  m.  Geo.  F.  Ilawkes  of  Kiddeford  ;  d.  Nov.  13,  1886. 

Capt.  Robert  Rounds  died  March  6,  i860,  aged  60.  Mrs.  Rounds 
died  Feb.  20,  1889,  aged  82. 

RUST. 

Meshach  Rust,  who  came  to  (lorham  from  Wolfboro,  N.  H.,  was 
the  son  of  William  Rust,  and  was  one  of  triplets  who  were  named 
respectively  INleshach,  Shadrach,  and  Abed-nego.  Shadrach  died 
young.  Abed-nego  was  long  a  citizen  of  Great  Falls,  N.  H. 
Meshach  for  many  years  worked  here  in  Gorham  at  his  trade,  that 
of  a  tailor.  His  shop  stood  on  the  northerly  side  of  Main  St.,  where 
the  store  of  the  late  John  C.  Card  now  stands.  This  shop  was 
bought  by  Jos.  Harmon  and  moved  on  to  High  St.,  above  the  town 
house,  and  made  into  the  dwelling  house  now  occupied  by  Chas.  B. 
Harding.  Mr.  Rust  married,  Nov.  25,  182 1,  Martha,  daughter  of 
.Capt.  Nathaniel  Frost.     Children  : 

William  Appleton,  b.  June  22,  1823,  m.  Frances  Goodnovv ;  2d,  Sarah  Good- 
now;  graduated  at  the  Medical  dept.  of  N.  Y.  University  in  1846,  and 
practiced  at  S.  Paris,  Me.  for  eighteen  years;  moved  to  Boston  in  1866. 

Martha  A.,  h.  Nov.  3,  1S25,  d.  Aug.  5,  1832. 

Sarah  Jane,  b.  Jan.  21,  1828,  m.  Horatio  Russ  of  Paris,  Nov.  19,  i860. 

Susan  Maria,  b.  Mar.  15,  1830,  d.  Sept.  10,  1832. 

Nathaniel  Johnson,  b.  Nov.  28,  1833,  m.  Martha  C.  Carter,  Apr.  27,  1S63. 

Mrs.  Rust  died   March  25,  1835,  and   Mr.   Rust  married,  July  27, 

1836,  Sally,  daughter  of  Geo.  and  Dorcas  Waterhouse.     Children  : 

Charles,  b.  Apr.  21,  1837,  d.  Jan.  19,  1843. 

George  W,,  b.  Feb.  17,  1S42,  m.  Susan  Plummer;  2d,  Mrs.  Jane  M.  York. 

Meshach  Rust  died  Aug.  5,  1874,  aged  78,  and  his  wife  Sally,  Feb. 
23,  1 88 1,  aged  80. 

William  Appleton  Rust  and  his  brother  Nathaniel  Johnson  Rust 
were  for  many  years  in  the  wholesale  drug  business  in  Boston.  They 
have  been  prominent  men  in  the  municipal  affairs  of  that  city,  where 
they  now  reside. 

RYAN. 

John  B.  Ryan  was  the  adopted  son  of  Capt.  Hart  Williams  and  his 
wife  Martha.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  lived  on  the  old  Portland  road, 
on  the  farm  owned  and  occupied,  not  many  years  since,  by  Mr. 
Joseph  Barbour.     This  farm  was  left  to  Mr.  Ryan  by  Capt.  Williams. 


754  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

In  1 79 1   Mr.  Ryan  married  Hannah  Wallace  of  Portland,  and  their 

children  were  : 

Sarah,  b.  Feb.  27,  1792,  m.  Capt.  Robert  Harding,  May  i,   1814;  2d,  Nathan 

Harris. 
Mary,  b.  June  8,  1794,  m.  Capt.  William  Cammett  of  Portland,  p.  June  15,  1816. 
Martha  W.,  b.  Apr.  i,  1801,  m.  Chas.  Harding,  Oct.  11,  1827  ;  2d,  Caleb  Adams. 
Louisa,  b.  Mar.  18,  1803,  m.  Hervey  Kimball,  Jan.  29,  1829. 

Mr.  Ryan  died  July  22,  1839,  aged  68,  and  his  wife  Hannah,  in 
Portland,  Aug.  15,  1858,  aged  87. 

SANBORN. 

John  Sanborn,  who  died  in  England,  had  two  sons  John  and 
William,  born  about  1620  and  1622,  who  came  to  America  with  Rev. 
Mr,  Bachelder,  and  moved  with  him  to  Hampton,  N.  H.,  where  they 
settled.  They  had  large  families,  and  are  the  ancestors  of  all  the 
Sanborns  in  this  country,  so  far  as  known. 

Joseph  Sanborn's  name  appears  on  a  Gorham  tax  bill  for  the  year 

1779,  which  is  probably  about  the  time  he  came  to  town.     He  was  a 

soldier  in  the  Revolution.     His  wife  was  Esther  Tuttle.     Children  : 

Betsey,  b. ,  m.  Abraham  Hall,  Apr.  18,  1790. 

Miriam,  b. . 

Josedeck,  b.  about  1775,  m.  Martha  Murch,  Sept.  22,  1796. 
Elisha,  b.  Nov.  28,  1777,  m.  Eunice  Hanscom,  Dec.  22,  1799. 

Sarah,  b. ,  m.  James  Crockett,  Dec.  25,  1796. 

Drusilla,  b.  Aug.  7,  1782,  m.  Enoch  Crockett,  Sept.  13,  1801. 
Samuel  Bursley,  b.  Feb.  25,  1793,  d.  when  a  young  man. 

(2)  Josedeck   Sanborn,  son  of   Joseph,  was  a  farmer.     He   lived 

near  White  Rock,  on  the  place  where  Isaiah  Nason  now  lives.     He 

married  Martha,  daughter  of  John  and  Anna  Murch.     There  is  no 

record  of  the  births  of  their  children.     They  were  : 

Esther,  b.  1798,  d.  unm.  Aug.  29,  1876. 

Achsah,  b.  ,  d.  unm. 

Betsey,  b. ,  m.  George  Murch  of  Portland,  Apr.  7,  1823. 

Sally,  b.  1804,  m.  Rev.    King  Atkinson,   Nov.  20,   1832  ;  d.  in  Eaton,   N.   H., 

Aug.,   1897. 

Anna,  b.  ,  d.  unm.,  Feb.  2,  1824. 

John,  b.  June  30,  1806,  m.  Mary  J.  Beck,  Mar.  2,  1S31. 

Rebecca,  b.  • -,  m.  John  A.  Odell,  Oct.  27,  1831. 

Samuel,  b. ,  d.  unm.  in  Mexico. 

Mary,  b. ,  m.  Jolin  Harvey. 

Joanna,  b.  — ,  m.  David  Davison  of  California. 

Martha,  b. ,  d.  young. 

Martha,  b. ,  m.  George  Murch  (2d  wife). 

Caleb,  b.  Apr.   12,   1814,   m.  Catharine    Fernald  ;  2d,  Mary  Harvey ;  d.  in  So. 

Berwick,  Dec.  20,  1871  ;  was  a  doctor. 

Josedeck  Sanborn  died  May  31,  1820.  Mrs.  Martha,  his  wife, 
died  Oct.  12,  1824,  aged  47. 


GENEALOGY.  755 

(2)  Elisha    Sanborn,  son  of    Joseph,    married    Eunice    lianscom, 

probably  daughter  of  George  and  Eunice  Hanscom.      Children  : 

Martha,  b.  Oct.  ii,  1800. 

Mary,  b.  Apr.  i,  1S03,  m. Chesley. 

Eunice,  b. ,  m. Anderson  ;  I'd  in  Windham. 

(3)  John  Sanborn,  son  of  Josedeck,  lived  at  VVinship's  corner  in 
the  house  lately  occupied  by  his  widow,  Mrs.  Tyler.  He  married 
Mary  Jane,  daughter  of  Capt.  Thomas  and  Jane  Beck.  Their  chil- 
dren were  : 

Caroline  L.,  b.  Nov.  24,  183 1,  ni.  Isaac  Richardson,  1852. 

John  Jay,  b.  Nov.  30,  1833,  d.  Jan.  i,  1836, 

Jane  L.,  b.  Nov.  i,  1835,  m.  John  Gilman  of  So.  Berwick  ;  2d,  J.  D.  Moore  of 

Portland. 
Martha  M.,  b.  Sept.  9,  1837.  m.  William  Tompson  of  So.  Berwick. 
EHzabeth  F.,  b.  Oct.  9,  1839,  m.  Seward  Wescott,  Dec.  12,  1858. 
Harriet  B.,  b.  Oct.  20,    1841,   m.    B.   F.   Tyler  of   Gorham ;  d.   in   Hyde   Park, 

Mass.,  Nov.  8,  1896. 
Frederic  C,  b.  Oct.  10,  1843,  d.  Oct.  3,  1849. 
John,  Jr.,  b.  June  21,  1846,  d.  Apr.  24,  1848. 

Louisa  C,  b.  Mar.   24,  1848,  m.  E.  G.  Goodwin  of  Boston;  d.  Oct.,  1893. 
Leroy  S.,  b.  Apr.  5,  1S50,  m.  Julia  Hall  of  Portland. 
John  T.  G.,  b.  Mar.  25,  1853,  m.  Julia ;  I's  in  Brainard,  Minn. 

Dr.  John  Sanborn  died  in  March,  1854.  Mrs.  Mary  J.  Sanborn 
married  second,  James  E.  Tyler.      She  died  Dec.  3,  1891. 

SAWYER. 

John  Sawyer,  son  of  James  and  Sarah  (Bray)  Sawyer,  came  from 
Gloucester,  Mass.,  to  Falmouth,  where  in  17 19  he  kept  the  Cape 
Elizabeth  ferry.  He  married,  in  Gloucester,  Rebecca  Stanford.  His 
second  child,  John  Sawyer,  Jr.,  was  born  in  Gloucester,  Jan.  24,  1704, 
and  married,  July  4,  1726,  Sarah,  daughter  of  Abraham  and  Sarah 
(York)  Robinson.  John  and  Sarah  Sawyer  came  from  Cape  Eliza- 
beth to  Gorham  to  live  about  1754.  He  owned,  and  in  1764  sold  to 
Josiah  Noyes  of  Falmouth,  the  thirty  acre  lot,  in.  This  is  the  lot 
on  which  the  pumping  station  is  now  located.  In  September,  1777, 
he  sold  to  his  grandson,  Nathaniel  Hatch,  one-half  of  the  thirty  acre 
lot,  113,  on  which  he  then  lived,  together  with  half  the  house,  barn 
and  fences  thereon.  This  lot  was  near  the  mouth  of  the  Black  Brook 
road,  and  west  of  the  house  where  Mrs.  Rufus  Alosher  now  lives. 
Children,  all  born  in  Falmouth : 

John,  b,  Dec.  22,  1726,  d.  young. 

Sarah,  b.  Nov.  19,  1728,  m.  Joseph  Hatch. 

Mary,  b.  Sept.  8,  1731,  m.  Samuel   Yeaton,  Jr.,  Apr.  6,  1751.  (?) 

Rebecca,  b.  June  13,  1735,  m.  John  Phinney,  Jr.,  Jan.   24,  1755. 

Jonathan,  b.  Oct.  22,  1736,  m.  Martha  Rich,  Oct.  17,  1763. 

David,  b. ,  served  in  the  Provincial  Army  in  1757. 


756  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

We  find  no  record  of  the  death  of  either  Mr.  or  Mrs.  Sawyer,  but 
Mrs.  Sawyer  was  living  Sept.  17,  1777,  and  her  husband,  Jan.  31, 
1778. 

(2)  Jonathan  Sawyer,  son  of  John  and  Sarah,  was  a  member, 
together  with  his  brother  David,  in  1757,  of  Capt.  Joseph  Woodman's 
company  of  Provincial  troops.  He  was  then  of  Gorham.  Later  he 
was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution,  enlisting  April  24,  1775,  as  first  lieu- 
tenant in  Capt.  Stuart's  company,  Col.  Phinney's  31st  regiment;  and 
Jan.  I,  1776,  joined  the  i8th  Continental,  under  the  same  officers. 
On  the  death  of  Capt.  Stuart,  April  17,  1776,  Lieut.  Sawyer  succeeded 
to  the  command  of  the  company.  He  served  through  the  siege  of 
Boston,  at  Cambridge,  and  marched  to  Fort  Ticonderoga.  He  was 
discharged  at  Fort  George,  Dec,  1776.  In  1762,  Nov.  15,  he  pur- 
chased of  David  Gorham  of  Barnstable  the  hundred  acre  lot.  No.  25. 
The  eastern  half  of  this  lot  he  sold  to  Peletiah  Crockett.  March  29, 
1773,  he  sold  the  western  half  of  the  lot  to  Charles  Patrick.  Mr. 
Sawyer  married  Martha,  daughter  of  Lemuel  and  Elizabeth  (Harding) 
Rich.     Children : 

Elizabeth,  b.  Mar.  12,  1765,  m.  John  Lombard,  Jan.  13,  1785. 

Martha,  b.  June  5,  1767,  m.  J.  Millett. 

John,  b.  May  8,  1769,  m.  Hannah  Edwards,  Oct.  4,  1792. 

David,  b.  Mar.  27,  177 1,  m.  Mary  Gieeley. 

Barnabas,  b.  Mar.  25,  1773,  m.  Sarah  Rich,  Oct.  27,  1793. 

Sarah,  b.  Feb.  25,  1775,  m.  Benjamin  Stevens  of  Russfield,  Oct.  27,  1793. 

Mary,  b.  Apr.  13,  177S,  m.  Jeremiah  Styles. 

Deliverance,  b.  Apr.  15,  17S0,  m,  Levi  Sargent  of  Otisfield,  Mar.  11,  181 1. 

Jonathan,  b.  July  16,  17S2,  m.  Lucretia  Goss  of  Otisfield,  Aug.  25,  1808. 

Eunice,  b.  Apr.  20,  1785,  m.  Richard  Lombard. 

Samuel,  b.  June  7,  1787,  m.  Relief  Moore  of  Otisfield,  Apr.  20,  1808. 

Capt.  Sawyer  removed  to  Otisfield,  which  was  then  called  Phillips 
Gore.  Not  long  after,  he  returned  to  Gorham  for  a  visit,  and  died 
here  in  November,  1789.  Mrs.  Sawyer  died  in  Otisfield,  Aug.  13, 
1813. 

In  1754  Stephen  Sawyer  and  his  wife  Sarah  were  living  in  Scar- 
borough, in  which  town  their  children  Rhoda,  Mary,  Sarah,  Catherine, 
and  Phebe  were  baptized.  This  is  probably  the  Stephen  Sawyer 
who,  being  then  of  Gorham,  purchased  in  1757  of  Joseph  Weston  of 
Gorham  fifty  acres  from  the  hundred  acre  lot,  20.  This  lot  he  and 
his  wife  Sarah  sold,  April  5,  1775,  to  George  Waterhouse,  with  the 
buildings  thereon.  Stephen  Sawyer  was  taxed  for  one  poll  in  1778, 
but  his  name  does  not  appear  after  that  time.  Rhoda,  who  married 
Stephen  Trip,  April  12,  1765,  Sarah,  who  married  Abner  Trip,  May 
12,  1767,  and  Catherine,  who  married  Joseph  Weymouth,  Nov.  3, 
1768,  were  probably  daughters  of  Stephen  and  Sarah  Sawyer. 


GENEALOGY.  757 

In  1777  there  was  in  Gorham  a  Solomon  Sawyer,  and  also  a  Sol- 
omon, Jr.  Solomon  does  not  appear  on  the  tax  lists  after  1783. 
Solomon,  Jr.,  married  Phebe  Strout  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  Oct.  lo,  1779, 
and  probably  left  town  soon  after  as  his  name  does  not  appear  after 
1780. 

Joel  Sawyer  came  to   Gorham  from   Harrison  or   Bridgton.     He 

lived  on  what  is  now  called  the  John  Irish  farm,  near  VVm.  E.  Files's. 

He  was  a  corporal  in  Capt.  Stuart's  company  in  the  Revolutionary 

army.     He  married  (pub.  December,  1773)  Elizabeth  Stone,  then  of 

Cape  Elizabeth,  sister  of  Jonathan  Stone  of  Gorham.     Children  : 

Eunice,  b.  Feb.  19,  1775,  ^-  I'^ufus  Harmon,  Mar.  14,  1798. 

Polly,  b.  May  22,  1778,  m.  Daniel  Moody,  Dec.  3,  1795. 

Betsey,  b.  July  22,  1783,  m.  Wm.  Moody  of  Standish,  Sept.  10,  1803. 

Dorcas,  b.  Mar.  29,  17S6,  m.  Enoch  Moody  of  Standish,  Feb.  16,  1S09;  d.  1S14. 

Wealthy,  b.  ,  1788,  m.  Stephen  Lowell  of  .Standish,  Oct.  19,  1809. 

Isaac,  b. ,  m.  Eleanor,   dau.    of   Reuben   and  Abigail   Wescott,  P'eb.  19, 

I  Si  7.     Ch.,  ail  born  in  Gorham,  except  Abigail  :  Marshall  H.  ;  Reuben  ; 

Albion,    m.    Jan.    i,    1S54,    Eliza   C.    Gilkey;    Sarah;   Harriet;    Abigail. 

Isaac  Sawyer  d.  in  Gorham  at  the  age  of  90;  Mrs.  Sawyer  d.  May,  1868. 

.Joel  Sawyer  died  Feb.  11,  1825.     Mrs.  Sawyer  died  Oct.  31,  1823. 

SCAMMAN. 

Edward  Scamman,  son  of  Nathaniel  and  Rachel  (Foss)  Scamman, 
was  born  in  Saco,  April  30,  1790.  He  was  a  descendant  of  Humphrey 
Scamman,  who  came  to  Saco  about  1680.  Mr.  Scamman  was  for 
some  time  a  teacher.  He  married,  Sept.  28,  18 19,  Polly,  daughter  of 
Allen  and  Martha  Davis,  and  lived  on  the  farm  formerly  owned  by 
his  father-in-law.     Children  : 

Mary  E.,  b.  June  20,  1822,  m.  Jos.  W.  Goodwin  of  Bu.xton,  Mar.  20,  1851. 

Edward  A.,  b.  Aug.  28,  1S25,  m.  Sarah  P.,  dau.  of  Capt.  John  Wingate.  Ch  : 
Elizabeth  E.,  b.  in  Orono,  Oct.  4,  1848;  Anna  M.,  b.  in  Gorham  Sept. 
22,  1851  ;  Edward  A.,  d.  ag.  about  25.  Mr.  Scamman  enlisted  in  1861, 
in  Co.  H.,  5th  Me.  Regt.,  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  and  in  November, 
1862  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  colonel.  He  resigned  in  Januarv, 
1863,  and  d.  in  Beaufort,  N.  C,  Oct.  26,  1864.  Mrs.  Sarah  Scamman  d. 
Nov.  26,  1867,  ag.  42. 

Mrs.  Polly  Scamman  died  Oct.  3,  1825,  aged  ^;^,  and  Mr.  Scamman 
married,  Oct.  28,  1827,  her  sister  Annah  Davis.     Children  : 

Josiah  D.,  b.  May  3,  1831,  m.  Mary  Swett,  Jan.  i,  1S57. 

Charles  D.,  b.  Dec.  4,  1833,  m.  Frances  Smith  of  Hollis. 

Frederick  D.,  b.  Sept.  10,  1838,  m.  Arzilla  Whitney  of  Bu.xton,  May  26,  1871  ; 
no  ch. ;  I's  on  the  farm  wliich  was  settled  by  his  great-grandfather, 
Josiah  Davis,and  which  has  been  owned  and  occupied  by  four  successive 
generations  of  the  family.  Mr.  Scamman  has  served  several  terms  on  the 
town's  board  of  selectmen. 

Mr.    Scamman    died    at    his    home    on    the    old    I3uxton    (Flaggy 

Meadow)  road  Dec.  29,  1869.     Mrs.  Annah  Scamman  died  June  4, 

1875,  aged  76. 


758  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

SHACKFORD. 

Theodore  Shackford  was  the  son  of  Paul  Shackford,  Jr.,  of  Kenne- 
bunk,  and  the  grandson  of  Paul  Shackford  who  settled  in  York,  or 
Wells,  sometime  before  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  In  1756  Paul 
Shackford,  then  of  Wells,  took  part  in  an  expedition  against  the 
French  and  Indians. 

Mr.  Shackford  was  born  Sept.  3,  1802,  and  came  to  Gorham  in 
1830.  He  worked  for  a  time  at  White  Rock  for  Matthias  Murch,  Jr., 
who  had  married  his  sister  Lydia.  Subsequently  he  was  watchman 
in  the  cotton  factory  at  Little  Falls,  from  which  place  he  removed  to 
Saccarappa  where  he  lived  for  twelve  years  after  his  marriage.  He 
also  worked  between  1834  and  1839  for  Hoyt  and  Hayes,  tool  makers, 
at  Gorham  village,  grinding  and  polishing  hoes.  Mr.  Shackford  was 
a  worthy  citizen,  and  a  member  of  the  Gen.  Baptist  church  at  White 
Rock.  He  married  Eliza,  daughter  of  Joseph  Shackford  of  Liming- 
ton,  by  whom  he  had  six  children,  three  of  whom  died  young.  The 
other  three  were  : 

William  H.,  b.  Dec.  23,  1834,  m.  Elizabeth  J.  Haggett  of  Standish. 

Joseph  F.,  b.  Mar.  30,  1839,  m.  Lizzie  Wood  ;  has  been  a  trader  in  Gorham 
village  for  many  years. 

Theodore,  b.  Mar.  22,  1842,  m.  Sarah  Bradbury;  is  a  house  carpenter  and  con- 
tractor. 

Mrs.  Eliza  Shackford  died  July  22,  1845,  ^^^  Mr.  Shackford  mar- 
ried in  1846  Hannah  Winship  of  Otisfield  by  whom  he  had  one  child  : 

Robert  F.,  b.  July  23,  1849,  "''•  Carrie  Usher  of  Baldwin. 

In  the  spring  of  1846  Mr.  Shackford  moved  on  to  a  farm  in  the 
White  Rock  neighborhood,  where  he  died  Aug.  24,  187  i.  His  wife 
died  in  1886. 

SHAW. 

Josiah  and  Enoch  Shaw  were  sons  of  Josiah  Shaw  of  Falmouth 
(Portland).  Their  grandfather,  Caleb  Shaw,  moved  from  Hampton, 
N.  H.,  to  Falmouth  about  1760.  Josiah  was  baptized  July  31,  1774; 
Enoch,  March  7,  1779. 

Josiah   Shaw  was  a  saddler  by  trade.      He  was  also  an  inn  keeper 

in  the  house  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Lucian  Hunt.     In  those  times 

Shaw's  tavern  was  famous  for  good  living,  and  second  to  none  on  the 

road   to   Coos.      He    married,   Tabitha,   daughter   of  John    Watson. 

Children  : 

James,  b.  June  10,  1797. 
John,  b.  Nov.  29,  1798. 
Samuel,  b.  Aug.  29,  1800. 


GENEALOGY.  759 

Leonard,  b.  Jan.  14,  1804. 
Josiah,  b.  Dec.  13,  1807,  d.  Dec.  17,  1850. 
William,  b.  Sept.  10,  181 1,  went  to  Illinois. 

IJenjamin  F.,  b.  Oct.  11,  1814,  m.  Mary  Pratt  of  Yarmouth,  1842. 
Ann  Maria,  b.  June  19,  1816,  m.  Dr.  N.  \V.  Oliver  of  Portsmouth,  N.   H.,  Sept. 
2,  1841 ;  d.  in  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  in  1893  °^  1894. 

Benjamin  F.,  son  of  Josiah,  was  a  Baptist  minister,  residing  in 
Waterville.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  in  1837  ;  a  trustee  of 
Colby  University,  and  secretary  of  the  Board  for  some  years,  and 
received  from  them  the  degree  of  D.  D.  in  1872,  as  well  as  that  of  A. 
M.  in  187 1.  He  died  Feb.  23,  1897.  All  the  other  sons,  excepting 
Josiah,  died  in  the  far  West. 

Mr.  Josiah  Shaw  died  in  Gorham,  Nov.  7,  1852,  aged  78.  Mrs. 
Shaw  died  at  the  house  of  her  son  Benjamin  F.  in  Waterville,  March 
27,  1868,  in  her  92d  year. 

Enoch  Shaw,  brother  of  Josiah,  married   Betsey  King  of  Rainham, 

May  3,  1804.     She  died  Oct.  15,  1806,  at  the  age  of  21,  leaving  one 

child,  George  K.,  born  Jan.  i,  1805,    clergyman  and  editor  (1876)  of 

a  paper  in   Biddeford.     Mr.  Shaw  married  April  26,   18 12,  Bethiah 

Freeman.      There   are   seven    children   from    this   marriage   on   our 

records. 

Elbridge  G.,  b.  Mar.  20,  1813,  d.  May  26,  1814. 

Mary  Elizabeth,  b.  Dec.  18,  1814. 

Harriet,  b.  May  15,  1817. 

Rebecca,  b.  Sept.  26,  1819. 

William,  b.  Jan.  24,  1822. 

Joseph  F.,  b.  Apr.  14,  1825. 

John  F.,  b.  May  5,  1827. 

Enoch  Shaw  moved  to  Moosehead  Lake.      He  died  in  Readfield, 

May  16,  1S68,  aged  89. 

Josiah  B.   Shaw  was  born  in  Standish  May  12,  1805,  and  was  the 

son   of  Joseph   and    Eunice    (Bean)   Shaw.     He  moved  to  Gorham 

about  1848,  and  lived  on  the  river  road,  between  Great  Falls  and  the 

Hurricane.    He  married  in  1832  Polly,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Haskell. 

Children  : 

Cyrus  H.,  b.  Nov.  15,  1833. 

Chauncey  C,  b.  Mar.  4,  1835. 

Chester  B.,  b.  May  4,  1837,  d.  July  18,  1863. 

Clinton  D.  W.,  b.  Aug.  6,   1839. 

Carlyle  W.,  b.  Feb.  24,  1842,  m.  Clara  Parker. 

All  of  these  sons  served  in  the  Union  Army  in  the  Civil  War. 
Capt.  Chester  B.  Shaw  was  killed  in  the  night  assault  on  Fort 
Wagner. 

Josiah  B.  Shaw  died  April  22,  1883,  and  his  wife,  in  August,  1894. 


760  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

SILLA. 

The  first  of  this  name  in  Gorham  were  William  Silla  and  his  wife 

Anna.     There  is  no  record  showing  from  whence  they  came.     Mr. 

Silla  was  taxed  here  in   1772  for  one  poll  and  one  cow.      His  first 

child  recorded  as  being  born  in  Gorham,  was  born  in   1765.      He 

probably  had  others  born  before  coming  here.     We  find  John,  Sarah, 

and  Elizabeth  who  are  said  to  have  been  of  this  family ;  if  so,  the 

children  were : 

John,  b. ,  m.  Molly  Murch,  Dec.  15,  1786. 

Sarah,  b. ,  m.  Amos  Brown,  p.  Jan.  25,  1777. 

Elizabeth,  b. ,  m.  Benjamin  Skillings,  Aug.  5,  1784. 

Mary,  b.  Sept.  22,  1765. 

Anna,      lu    \  (^s    5  ™'  Zachariah  Weston,  p.  Dec.  9,  1786. 

Fanny,    \  °-  ^P""'  9'  '70^  |  j„   Joseph  Lombard,  May  12,  1788. 
William,  b.  Mar.  27,  1770. 

Snah,    I  b.  Apr.  re,  1772. 
Simon,  b.  June  13,  1774. 

(2)  John  Silla,  son  of  William,  owned  and  lived  on  the  farm  at 
White  Rock  which  is  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Mrs.  Frederick 
Purinton.  He  married  Molly,  daughter  of  John  and  Anna  Murch. 
Children  : 

Rebecca,  b.  Feb.  23,  17S8,  m.  William  Riggs,  Aug.  16,  1S27. 

David,  b.  July  15,  1790,  m.  Lucy  Murch,  p.  Feb.  18,  181 5  ;  2d,  Hannah    Keyes. 

William,  b. ,  m.  Joanna  Riggs,  Apr.  11,  1824;  2d,  Mary  Hicks,  Sept.  13, 

1827  ;  no  ch. ;  d.  in  Ohio. 

Fanny,  b. ,  m.  Joel  Libby  (2d  wife),  Jan.  31,  1819. 

Polly,  b. ,  m.  Samuel  Bolton  of  Windham,  Oct.  26,  1817. 

John,  b. ,  m.   Lydia  Moulton,  p.  Sept.  2,  1821  ;  I'd  in  Waterford;  d.  in 

Farmington. 

Ephraim,  b. ,  m.  Martha  Bacon,  Mar.  19,  1820;  moved  East. 

Ezra,  b. ,  was  lost  at  sea. 

Hannah,  b. ,  m.  John  Cook  of  Baldwin,  p.  Nov.  20,  1824;  2d,  Benjamin 

Jordan. 
Mrs.  Molly  Silla  died  July  5,  1840,  aged  79. 

(3)  David  Silla,  son  of  John,  lived  at  Little   Falls,  on  the  Gorham 

side.     About    1830    he   moved  to   Otisfield,    and  later   returned   to 

Gorham.       He    married   Lucy,    daughter  of  Ebenezer  and  Hannah 

Murch,  by  whom  he  had  one  child  : 

Mary  L.,  b.  Jan.  18,  1816,  m.  Jeremiah  Green  of  Naples,  p.  Dec,  1843;  d. 
1893. 

Mrs.  Lucy  Silla  died  Jan.  21,   181 7,  and  Mr.  Silla  married  Mrs. 

Hannah  (Lombard)  Keyes,  widow  of  Geo.   Keyes.     Soon  after  his 

second  marriage  Mr.   Silla  moved  to  Seneca,  Onondaga  Co.,  N.  Y., 

where  three  daughters  were  born  : 

Lucinda,  b.  Aug.  13,  i82i,m.  Marquis  D.  P.  Carswell  of  Harrison,  Jan.  i,  1843. 
Cynthia  W.,  b.  Nov.  19,  1823,  m.  Albert  Hamblen,  Oct.  30,  1842. 


I 


GENEALOGY.  761 

.    Clorinda  T.,  b.  Feb.  8,  1826,  m.  J.  W.  Gallison  of  Windham,  Aug.,  1845;  2d, 
Edwin  Rogers ;  3d,  Chas.  Winter. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Silla  died  in  Gorham ;  she,  .•\pril  27,  1872,  aged  87, 

and  he  Oct.  27  of  the  same  year, 

SKILLINGS. 

Benjamin  Skillings  married  in  Falmouth,  March  16,  1740,  Mary 
Pride,  and  must  have  come  into  (Gorham  as  early  as  Oct.  15,  1741, 
for  at  that  time  his  daughter  Deliverance  was  born  here.  On  account 
of  the  Indian  war  the  family  left  town  and  returned  to  Falmouth, 
where  they  had  a  child  born  in  1746  and  one  in  1748.  Some- 
time before  March,  1753,  the  family  returned  to  Gorham,  and 
reoccupied  their  farm.     Children  of  Benjamin  and  Mary  Skillings  : 

Deliverance,  b.  Oct.  15,  174 1,  m.  Thomas  Irish,  July  6,  1759. 

Isaac,         I  t     T  (  m.  Susanna  Watson,  Jan.  8,  1766. 

c  }•  b-  Jan.  22, 1744,  <^  ,  J     ru 

Susanna,  \       ■'  '^^    \  have  no  record  or  her. 

John.  b.  Mar.  2,  1746,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution. 

Thomas,  b.  May  8,  1748,  m.  Maiy  Burnell,  1781. 

Abigail,  b.  Mar.  30,  1753,  m.  Caleb  Kimball,  Feb.  17,  1774. 

Anna,  b.  May  2,  1755,  m.  Benjamin  Gates,  Aug.  18,  1774. 

Martha,  b.  ^Iar.  2,  1760,  find  no  record  of  her. 

Benjamin,  b.  Apr.  2,  1763,  m.  Elizabeth  Silla,  Aug.  5,  1784. 

(2)  Isaac  Skillings,  son  of  Benjamin,  was  one  of  the  earliest  set- 
tlers at  what  is  now  West  Gorham.  He  purchased  his  land  there  of 
Mr.  Alexander  Ross,  Aug.  8,  1767.  Immediately  after  this  purchase 
he  built  his  house,  and  moved  in  his  family  and  occupied  it  till  his 
death.  This  same  house  is  now  occupied  by  his  grandson,  George 
Skillings,  who  lives  on  and  owns  the  old  farm.  Isaac  Skillings  mar- 
ried Susanna,  daughter  of  Eliphalet  Watson.     Children  : 

Mary,  b.  Jan.  13,  1767,  m.  Samuel  Davis,  Nov.  11,  1784. 

Elizabeth,  b.  June  16,  1768,  m.  Edmund  Brown,  Aug.  6,  1797. 

Tabitha,  b.  Nov.  23,  1770,  m.  Nathan  Sawyer  of  Westbrook,  Mar.  17,  1796;  d. 

about  1850;  her  husband  d.  many  years  previous. 
Susanna,  b.  Nov.  10,  1772,  d.  unm. 
Daniel,  b.  Mar.  5,  1775,  I'd  in  Portland. 

John,  b.  Jan.  15,  1777,  m.  Betty  Irish,  Oct.  3,  1802;  2d,  Peggy  Riggs. 
Joseph,  b.  Jan.  2,  1779,  m.  Susan  Clark,  Feb.  6,  1808. 

Isaac  Skillings  died  in  Gorham  in  October, '  1779.  His  widow 
Susanna  married.  May  13,  1784,  Zachariah  Sawyer  of  Westbrook, 
the  father  of  her  son-in-law,  Nathan.  By  Mr.  Sawyer  she  had  two 
children,  Mark,  who  died  young,  and  Levi,  who  lived  in  Portland  on 
the  corner  of  High  and  Danforth  Sts.,  and  for  many  years  was  well 
known  as  a  wood  and  coal  merchant,  and  one  of  the  prominent  citi- 
zens of  the  place.     Mrs.  Sawyer  died  October,  1834,  aged  88. 


762  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

(2)  Thomas  Skillings,  son  of  Benjamin,  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revo- 
lution, serving  as  a  private  in  1775  in  Capt.  Williams'  company,  Col. 
Phinney's  regiment.  He  married  Mary,  daughter  of  John  and  Eliz- 
abeth Burnell.     Children  : 

Benjamin,  b.  Oct.  12,  1782,  m.  Anna  Hamblen,  Mar.  14,  1804. 

John  H.,  b.  Aug.  2,  1784,  m.  Mary  Cobb,  p.  Apr.  6,  1822  ;  went  to  Strong. 

Isaac,  b.  May  24,  1786,  m.  Elizabeth  Thomes  of  Standish,  June  8,  181  o  ;  I'd  in 

Standish. 
Thomas,  b.  Apr.  12,  1788,  d.  unm.,  Nov.  19,  1850. 

Mehitable,  b.  June  19,  I79i,m.  John  Thomes  of  Standish,  Dec.  19,  1813. 
Betsey,  b.  Nov.  15,  1793.  ^-  unm.  Nov.  26,  1850. 
Polly,  b.  Sept.  20,  1796,  d.  unm.  Dec.  14,   1850. 
Caleb,  b.  Dec.  3,  179S,  m.  Esther  Irish,  Nov.  21,  1833. 

Daniel,  b.  Dec.  15,  1802,  d.  Aug.,  1847.  (Is  recorded  on  town  books  as  "Mary".) 
Martha,  b. . 

Thomas  Skillings  died  May  12,  1810,  aged  61,  and  his  wife  Mary, 

Aug.  5,  1846,  aged  82. 

(2)  Benjamin  Skillings,  Jr.,  son  of  Benjamin,  married   Elizabeth, 

daughter  of  William  and  Anna  Silla.     Children  : 

Mary,  b.  Nov.  5,  1787. 
Anna,  b.  Nov.  7,  1789. 
Isaac,  b.  Nov.  12,  1791. 
William,  b.  Mar.  12,  1794. 
Frances,  b.  May  12,  1797. 
Abigail,  b.  Sept.  4,  1799. 
Nathaniel,  b.  Jan.  26,  1802. 

(3)  Joseph  Skillings,  the  youngest  child  of  Isaac,  owned  and  occu- 
pied the  ancestralfarm  in  West  Gorham.  He  married  Susan,  daugh- 
ter of  Moses  and  Martha  Clark.     Their  children  were  : 

Leonard,  b.  July  25,  1808,  d.  Sept.  6,  1808. 

Isaac,  b.  Aug.  14,1809,  d.  Nov.   15,  1826. 

Rufus,  b.  Sept.  9,  181 1,  m.  Lidania  Bean  ;  2d,  Diana  Littlehale  ;  I'd  in  Bethel. 

Joseph,  b.  Jan.  20,  1814,  m.  Mary  Nason,  Dec.  25,   1848.     Ch :  Horatio  C,  b. 

Nov.  6,  1849,  m.  Martha  E.  Lowell,  May  8,  1899,  who  d.  Apr.  19,   1900; 

Frank,  b.  July  6,  1S54,  d.  unm.  Nov.  13,  1893.     Mr.  Skillings  d.  June  15, 

1888,  and  his  wife  Mary,  June  16,  1894,  ag.  72. 
Mary  L.,  b.  May  10,  1816,  d.  Sept.  11,  1857. 
Horatio  C,  b.  Oct.  26,  1818,  d.  Mar.,  1819. 
Susan  C,  b.  Aug.  31,  1821. 
Clark,  b.  Jan.  10,  1824,  d.  Mar.  16,   1825. 
George,  b.  Sept.  22,   1826,  m.  Mary  A.  Hill  of  Bu.xton,  Nov.   16,   1858.     Ch  : 

Walter,  b.  July  21,  1859,  m.  Nellie  M.  Hanscom  of  Buxton  ;  Celia  I.,  b. 

Oct.  20,  1861,  d.  y. ;  George  E.,  b.  Feb.  20,  1863,  m.  Susan  Day ;  Martha 

J.,  b.  Jan.  14,  1865,  d.  Oct.  27,  1883;   Herbert  N.,  b.  Nov.  i,  1867  ;  Mary 

E.,  b.  July  2,  1869,  d.  Dec.  8,  1880;  John  A.,  b.  Oct.  26,   1874,  m.   Mrs. 

Agnes  Cash.     Mrs.  Mary  A.  Skillings  d.  Apr.  30,  1893,  ^g-  ^'• 
William  P.,  b.  Feb.  26,  1831,  m.  Julia  Bean  ;  I'd  in  Bethel. 

Joseph  Skillings  died  April  5,  1853,  aged  74,  and  his  wife,  Susan, 

March  2,  1834,  aged  44. 

(3)  Benjamin  Skillings,  son  of  Thomas,  lived  together  with  his 
brother  Caleb  for  some  years  on   Skillings   Hill,  in  the  house  which 


GENEALOGY.  763 

had  been  their  father's.     Benjamin  sold  his  share  in  the  place  to 

Caleb,   and  moved  to  Westbrook.      He  married  Anna,  daughter  of 

Timothy  and  Anna  Hamblen.      Children  : 

Martha,  b.  May  21,  1804,  m.  Ai  Libby,  Dec.  i,  1824. 

Mary  Ann,  b.  July  9,  1S06,  m.  William  Wescott,  Mar.  4,  1824. 

Timothy  A.,  h.  Dec.  5,  180S.  m.  Rachel  Hopkinson,  p.  Nov.,  1837. 

Barnabas,  b.  Mar.  19,  181 1,  d.  Mar.  7,  1826. 

Thoma.s,  b.  May  12,  1814,  m.  Abigail  K.,  dau.  of  Alexander  and  Tahpenes  Phin- 

ney,  Feb.  22,  1844.     Ch  :  Abba  F.,  b.  July  31,   1S44,  m.   David   Patrick  ; 

Sarah  L.,  b.  Apr.  3,  1846,  m.  Charles  P.  Winship.     Mr.  Skillings  d.  Oct. 

I,  1850,  and  his  wife,  June  3,  1862,  ag.  43. 
Gershom  H.,  b.  Aug.  2,  1816,  m.  Patience  Files,  Apr.   12,   1843;  no  ch  ;  he  d. 

Feb.  19,  1873;  ^h^'  Nov.  17,  i8go. 
Esther  F.,  b.  May  5,  1819,  m.  Rufus  Whitney. 
Harriet  M.,  b.  Apr.  4,  1822,  m.  Edward  Faulkner. 
Benjamin  F.,  b.  Apr.  i,  1825,  d.  Nov.  15,  1829. 

Benjamin  Skillings  died  Jan.  28,  1856,  aged  74,  and  his  wife, 
Anna,  Dec.  31,  185 1,  aged  69. 

(3)  Caleb  Skillings,  son  of  Thomas,  lived  at  the  north  part  of  the 
town  about  one- half  mile  above  the  meeting-house,  on  Skillings  Hill, 
on  the  place  where  his  father  had  lived  before  him.  He  married 
Esther,  daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Jenny  Irish.     Children  : 

William,  b.  Mar.  29,  1835,  m.  Annie  Wilband. 

Mary  J.,  b.  Nov.  i,  1840,  m.  Wm.  B.  Libby,  Apr.  24,  i860;  2d,  Robert  Rounds 

of  Limington. 
Benjamin  F.,  b.  June  27,  1845,  <^-  J^"-  ^^'  185 1. 

Mrs.  Esther  Skillings  died  Aug.  31,  1881,  aged  75.  Caleb  Skil- 
lings died  a  few  years  after  the  decease  of  his  wife. 

SMITH. 

Capt.  Samuel  Smith  came  to  Gorham,  from  Eastham  (or  Wellfleet), 
Mass.,  with  his  sons  Ephraim  and  Hezekiah,  as  early  as  1782.  He 
owned  the  hundred  acre  lot.  No.  19,  (now  known  as  the  "Weeks 
farm,")  with  his  son  Ephraim,  and  they  built  the  house  recently 
standing  there.  Subsequently  he  purchased  Ephraim's  half  of  the 
lot.  Samuel  appears  by  record  to  have  been  in  town  as  late  as  May, 
1792.  Tradition  says  he  returned  to  Eastham,  where  he  had  some 
property. 

Of  the  number  or  names  of  Samuel  Smith's  children  we  have  no 
record.  We  hear  of  but  three,  Hezekiah,  Ephraim,  and  one  daugh- 
ter, whose  name  we  think  was  Betsey.  It  is  said  that  she  married  a 
man  by  the  name  of  Hathaway.  We  do  not  find  Hathaway's  name 
on  record  in  Gorham.  If  he  came  here,  he  probably  returned  to 
Massachusetts  with  Mr.  Smith,  his  father-in-law.  Of  this  Hathaway 
an  anecdote  has  been  told  us  by  one  of  the  family,  which  if  true,  is 


764  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

curious.  He  believed  himself  to  be  rich,  and  thought  that  poverty 
was  a  contingency  that  could  not  come  to  him.  When  out  fishing  in 
a  boat,  some  of  his  companions  for  some  reason  reminded  him  that 
though  now  rich  he  might  possibly  become  as  poor  as  any  of  them. 
He  immediately  took  from  his  finger  a  ring  and  casting  it  into  the 
sea  remarked  that  "  It  is  as  possible  to  find  that  ring  as  it  is  for 
God  to  make  me  a  poor  man."  In  a  few  minutes  a  fish  was  drawn 
in  with  the  ring  in  his  mouth,  and  restored  to  him.  He  died  a  poor 
man. 

Hezekiah  first  settled  on  a  part  of  the  hundred  acre  lot,  No.  20, 
but  at  the  disappearance  of  his  father,  he  appears  to  be  the  owner  of 
and  occupied  the  home  farm  (lot,  19)  and  remained  on  it  till  Dec.  30, 
1796,  when  he  sold  it  to  his  son-in-law,  James  Lombard. 

He  married  a  Miss  Cook,  probably  of  Eastham,  for  his  first 
wife.  By  her  he  had  one  daughter,  Bethiah,  who  was  born  about  the 
year  1776.  She  came  to  Gorham  with  the  family,  and  married,  Dec. 
13,  1792,  James  Lombard,  before  mentioned.  The  mother  died  soon 
after  the  marriage  of  her  daughter  to  Lombard.  Hezekiah,  soon  after 
coming  to  Gorham,  went  into  trade  at  the  village  with  Samuel  Pren- 
tiss, in  the  old  Prentiss  store.  They  carried  on  the  potash  and 
pottery  business  (the  manufacture  of  brown  earthern  ware)  quite 
largely,  but  failed  to  make  a  success  of  it.  In  January,  1797,  Heze- 
kiah married  his  second  wife,  Sally,  daughter  of  Rev.  Peter  Smith  of 
Windham.  He  left  Gorham  about  this  time,  and  after  several  moves 
finally  settled  in  Windham,  where  he  reared  a  family,  and  where  he 
and  his  wife  lived  till  their  death.  The  old  farm  was  occupied  by 
James  Lombard  till  his  death.  His  widow  Bethiah  married  Robert 
Weeks,  and  the  place  is  still  owned  by  her  children. 

Ephraim  Smith,  the  son  of  Samuel  aforesaid,  was  probably  born  in 
Eastham,  Mass.  After  he  sold  out  to  his  father  his  interest  in  the 
lot.  No.  19,  he  purchased  a  hundred  acre  lot  in  the  easterly  part  of 
the  town,  about  one  mile  westerly  from  Little  Falls,  probably  lot,  107, 
near  what  is  now  the  town  farm.  Here  he  built  the  house  and  build- 
ings afterwards  owned  and  occupied  by  his  grandson,  Samuel  S. 
Waterhouse,  Esq.  In  his  early  life  Ephraim  was  a  sailor.  He 
followed  going  to  sea  after  he  came. to  Gorham,  and  finally  became 
master  or  captain.  He  was  a  man  of  good  attainments.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1773,  he  was  in  Boston  with  his  vessel.  Seeing  a  crowd  he 
joined  in  and  was  one  of  the  men  who  went  on  board  the  English 
vessels,  and  threw  the  tea  overboard.  He  often  told  the  story  of 
one  of  the  men,  who,  wishing  to  carry  a  little  tea  home  to  his  wife, 


GENEALOGY.  765 

unwittingly  put  so  much  into  his  coat-tail  pocket  as  to  make  it  too 
prominent.  This  was  discovered  by  some  co-patriots,  when  a  jack- 
knife  soon  made  his  coat  into  a  short  jacket.  That  part  containing 
the  obnoxious  weed  was  thrown  into  the  dock  much  to  his  disgust, 
and  the  amusement  of  the  boys  and  the  crowd  generally.  Capt. 
Smith  before  he  came  to  Gorham  married  Elizabeth  Harding,  prob- 
ably in  Eastham,  somewhere  about  the  year  1776.  Their  first  child, 
Ephraim,  was  born  in  Eastham.  We  have  no  record  of  the  date  of 
his  birth;  but  their  second  child  was  born  in  Gorham,  in  17S0. 
Elizabeth  Harding  was  the  daughter  of  David  Harding,  and  sister  of 
Elkanah  and  David,  Jr.  The  children  of  Capt.  Ephraim  Smith  and 
his  wife  Elizabeth  were  : 

Ephraim,  b. ■ — ,  m.  Mary  Brown,  Oct.  30,  1796. 

Sarah  B.,  b.  Aug.  13,  1780,  m.  William  H.  Waterhouse,  Jan.  31,  1802. 

Hezekiah,  b.  June  12,  1782,  d.  Apr.  i,  17S3. 

Hannah,  b.  Apr.  4,  17S4,  m.  Jacob  P.  Bettis,  Mar.  21,  1807. 

Hezekiah,  b.  Feb.  10,  1786,  d.  Oct.  i,  1791. 

Betsey,  b.  June  4,  1789,  m.  Peter  Strout  of  Limington,  Oct.   i,   1808;  d.  Apr., 

i860. 
Samuel,  b.  June  12,  1792,  m.  Sarah  Hacker  of  Portland,  Jan.  27,  1816. 
Mary,  b.  July  17,  1794,  m.  Joseph  Webster  of  Standish,  Nov.  8,  1824. 
Thomas,  b.  Jan.  27,  1798,  d.  Sept.  i,  1800. 

Capt.  Smith  and  his  wife  died  at  their  old  homestead  in  Gorham, 
leaving  many  friends,  and  much  beloved  and  respected  by  all. 
Though  they  had  a  large  family  of  children  and  grandchildren,  there 
are  but  few  of  their  descendants  remaining  in  town.  Capt.  Smith 
died  Jan.  13,  1835,  aged  84;   Mrs.  Smith  died  Dec.  9,  1834,  aged  78. 

(2)    Ephraim  Smith,  Jr.,  son  of  Capt.  Ephraim,  married  Maiy,  the 

daughter  of  Ezra  and  Mary  Brown  of  Wmdham.     Children  : 

Nancy,  b.  May  12,  1797,  m.  George  Hacker,  181 5. 

Sarah  G.,  b.  July  27,  1799,  m.  Daniel  H.  Frost,  Dec.  16,  1818. 

Elizabeth  H.,  b.  July  17,  1801,  m.  J.  Pray. 

Rebecca,  b.  July  15,  1803. 

Eliza  B.,  b.  June  30,  1805,  m.  Alexander  Pray  of  Windham,  p.  Oct.  11,  1823. 

Lois,  b.  July  9,  1807,  m.  Alexander  Pray  of  Windham,  p.  Apr.  12,  1S38. 

Peter  B.,  b.  May  20,  181 1,  d.  uam.  June,  1847. 

Samuel,  b.  Mar.  i,  1814.   Capt.  Samuel;  d.  unm.  July  20,  1850. 

Emeline  H.,  b.  Dec.  24,  1816,  m.   Ezra  Brown  of  Windham,  Aug.  9,  1840 ;  d, 

July  29,  1848. 
William,  b.  Mar.  18,    1820,   m.   Margaret  Murch  ;  I'd   on  his  father's  farm;  d. 

Apr.  14,  i860;  two  ch  :  Frank  and  Emeline. 
Albion  E.,  b.  Jan.  29,  1824,  d.  Sept.  25,  1851. 

Ephraim  Smith  died  about  1830,  and  his  wife  Mary,  May  19,  1849, 
aged  70. 

Col.  John  Tyng  Smith  was  the  son  of  Rev.  Peter  T.  and  Elizabeth 
(Wendell)  Smith  of  Windham,  and  grandson  of  Rev.  Thomas  and 
Sarah  (Tyng)  Smith  of  Falmouth.     He  was  born  May  6,  1772,  and 


766  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

married  in  April,  1798,  Miss  Mary  Duguid  from  Scotland,  the  niece 
of  Madam  Elizabeth  Tyng.  They  settled  on  the  three  hundred  acre 
lot,  which  was  originally  granted  to  John  Tyng,  Esq.,  of  Tyngsbor- 
ough,  Mass.  This  was  one  of  the  best  farms  in  Gorham,  and  Col. 
Smith  knew  well  how  to  manage  it.  They  lived  in  good  style  ; 
brought  up  a  large  family,  and  for  hospitality  none  stood  ahead  of 
them.     Children  : 

William  Tyng,  b.  Sept.  21,  1800,  d.   July  15,  1801. 

William  Tyng,  b.  June  19,  1802,  m.  Margaret  Duncan. 

Peter  Wendell,  b.  June  6,  1805,  m.  Mary  Shaw  ;  d.  Mar.  28,  1862. 

Edward  Tyng,  b.  Dec.  17,  1807,  m.  Margaret  Foster,  1837. 

Arthur  McL.,  b.  Dec.  8,  1810,  d.  unm.,  Aug.  4,  1847. 

John  Duguid,  b.  Dec.  2,  1813,  d.  in  Alabama,  May  29,  1836. 

Thomas  S.,  b.  Oct.  17,  1816,  d.  unm.,  in  Windham,  Dec.  15,  1894. 

They  also  had  an  adopted  daughter,  Elizabeth  Webb,  who  died 
Dec.  4,  1845,  aged  26.  Col.  John  T.  Smith  and  his  wife  were  both 
members  of  the  Congregational  church  in  Gorham ;  excellent, 
upright,  Christian  people.  They  had  the  respect  of  their  townsmen, 
as  well  as  of  a  large  circle  of  acquaintances.  Col.  Smith  in  his 
younger  days  had  command  of  the  Gorham  regiment  of  militia,  and 
was  called  to  Portland  for  the  defence  of  the  town  in  the  War  of 
1812.  He  died  in  Gorham,  Oct.  22,  1856,  aged  84,  and  his  wife, 
Jan.  19,  1855,  aged  84. 

(2)  Edward  T.  Smith,  son  of  John  T.,  lived  near  his  father,  on 
what  had  been  a  part  of  the  latter's  farm.  He  held  the  rank  of  brig- 
adier general  in  the  militia.  He  married  Margaret,  daughter  of 
William  H.  and  Betsey  Foster.     Children  : 

Mary  D.,  b.  May  8,  1839,  m.  William  H.  White  of  Windham;  d.  July  30,  1869. 

Edward  H.  F.,  b.  Aug.  30,  1844,  m.  Bertha  Humphrey  of  Yarmouth. 

Gen.  Edward  T.  Smith  died  April  20,  1885,  and  his  wife  Margaret 
July  21,  1897. 

Jacob  Sheaflf  Smith,  son  of  Ebenezer  and  Mehitable  (SheafT) 
Smith,  was  born  in  Durham,  N.  H.,  April  28,  1786.  He  came  to 
Gorham  in  1808,  and  took  the  office  at  the  village  made  vacant  by 
the  death  of  Col.  Samuel  Whitmore.  Here  he  continued  in  the  prac- 
tice of  law  till  1833,  when  he  bought  a  farm  about  two  miles  south  of 
the  village,  where  he  spent  thirty-four  years  of  quiet  home  life.  In 
1867  he  removed  to  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  where  he  spent  the  remainder 
of  his  days  in  the  home  of  his  son,  Lothrop  L.  Smith.  He  married, 
Oct.  12,  18 16,  Mary  L.,  daughter  of  lion.  Lothrop  and  Tabitha 
(Longfellow)  Lewis.     Children  : 

Lothrop  L.,  b.  Aug.  24,  1817,  m.  Margaret  J.  Mallett ;  d.  in  Brooklyn,  Apr.  14, 
1872. 

Samuel  L.,  b.  Dec.  13,  1818,  d.  Nov.   5,  1839. 


GENEALOGY.  767 

Mrs.  Mary  L.  Smith  died  Feb.  15,  1820,  aged  23, 'and  Mr.  Smith 
married  Tabitha,  daughter  of  John  and  Tabitha  (Longfellow) 
Stephenson  (pub.  March  24,  182 1).  There  were  no  children  by  this 
marriage.  Mrs.  Tabitha  Smith  died  Dec.  i,  1857,  aged  69.  Lawyer 
Smith  died  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  May  i,  1880,  aged  94. 

James  Smith  married,  about  the  year  1785,  Mrs.  Mary  (Brackett) 
Halliday,  daughter  of  Anthony  and  Kerenhappuck  Brackett  of  Port- 
land.    Children  : 

Jane  B.,  b.  about  1786,  m.  Samuel  Miller,  Apr.  12,  iSio. 

William  H.,  b.  about  1787,  m.  Sally,  dau.  of  William  and  Jane  Mayberry  of 
Windham,  Dec.  25,  1810.  Ch:  Samuel,  Simeon,  Jane,  and  William  M. 
Mrs.  Sally  Smith  d.  Oct.  20,  1821,  aged  35.  Mr.  Smith  m.  Oct.  27,  1823, 
Esther,  dau.  of  Cornelius  and  Meribah  Bramhall,  and  moved  to  Wind- 
ham, where  he  d.      He  was  a  joiner  by  trade. 

James,  b.  about  1792,  m.  Mary  L.,  dau.  of  John  and  Anna  Darling,  June  20, 
1814.  Ch:  Caroline  P.,  b.  Apr.  4,  1815,  d.  unm.  in  New  York  ;  Mary  B., 
b.  Jan.  I,  i8i7,m.  Charles  O.  Cole  of  Portland,  d.  in  Maiden,  Mass. 
Mr.  Smith  built  the  house  on  the  western  side  of  South  St.,  now  occu- 
pied by  Gardner  M.  Parker.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  removed  to  New  York 
where  Mrs.  Smith  d.     Mr.  Smith  d.  in  Portland,  Sept.  27,  1875. 

Keziah,  b.  about  1794,  m.  Elisha  A.  Whitmore,  Jan.  28,  1821. 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  Smith  his  widow  married,  in  1800,  Capt. 
Isaiah  Thomas. 

Stevens  Smith  was  born  in  Epping,  N.  H.,  July  17,  1796.      He 

came  to  Gorham,   and   kept    a   watchmaker's    and    jeweller's    store 

on    the    hill    at    the    village.     He    afterwards    went    into    the    boot 

business.     He  was  postmaster  in  Gorham  for  four  years,  from   1841 

to  1845.     He  married  in  1829,  Nancy,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Nancy 

(McLellan)  Staples.  "  She  died  Oct.   23,   1829.     Mr.  Smith  married, 

Oct.   30,    1 83 1,   Sophia,   daughter   of  Nahum   and   Desire  (Watson) 

Chadbourne.      Children : 

Frederic  C.,b.  Oct.  10,  1832,  m.  Elvira  Crane  of  Quincy,  Mass.,  Oct.   16,  i860; 

was  Adj.  in  an  Ohio  regt.  in  war  of  '61  ;  d.  in  W.  Va.,  Apr.  16,  1862. 
Emeline,  b.  June  3,  1835,  m.Josiah  S.  Hobbs,  May  13,  1858. 
Nancy  S.,  b.  June  12,  1837,  m.  Chandler  A.  Libby,  Jan.  i,  1866. 
Charles  L.,  b.  Apr.  10,  1839,  d.  Sept.  9,  1840. 
Martha  L.,  b.  Mar.  10,  iS-)!,  d.  Oct.  31,  1861. 
Francis  M.,  b.  Nov.  6,  1842,  d.  Mar.  14,  1843. 
Hendric,  b.  June  30,  1844. 
Charles,  b.  Aug.  29,  1845. 
Alfred  S.,  b.  Dec.  10,  1847. 
Ella,  b.  Aug.  10,  1850,  m.  Elmer  H.  Marble,  Aug.  25,  1870. 

Mr.  Smith  bought  a  farm  in  Waterford,  and  moved  to  that  place 
from  Gorham.  His  wafe  Sophia  died  in  Waterford,  Oct.  8,  1859, 
aged  52,  and  he  married  Mrs.  Sanborn.  He  died  at  Paris,  Me., 
Sept.  13,  1876,  aged  80. 


768  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Henry  P.  A.  Smith,  son  of  Isaac  and  Priscilla  (Welch)  Smith  of 

Portland,  was  a  lawyer  here  for  a  few  years.   He  came  to  town  about 

1842,  in  which  year,  Sept.  14,  he  married  Caroline  Fox  of  Portland, 

Children  : 

Francis  W.,  b.  Aug.  27,  1843,  was  in  the  Union  Army. 

Horatio  F.,  b.  July  4,  1845,  was  in  the  Union  Army ;  d.  Aug.  28,  1864. 

Emma  C,  b.  Aug.  21,    1847,  m-    Prof.    H.    L.  Chapman   of   Bowdoin   College, 

Aug.,  1S70;  d.  in  Brunswick,  June  14,  1892. 
Mary  E.,  b.  Oct.  26,  1849,  m.  Hon.  John  A.  Waterman,  Sept.,  1885. 

Mrs.  Smith  and  family  resided  in  Gorham  for  many  years.  She 
died  at  the  home  of  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Waterman,  Nov.  4,  1896, 
aged  75.  Mr.  Smith  died  in  Helena,  Montana,  Nov.  20,  1870,  aged 
50.  Mrs.  Priscilla  P.  Smith,  mother  of  H.  P.  A.  Smith,  died  in  Gor- 
ham, May  10,  1877. 

SNOW. 

Benjamin    Snow,  said  to  have  come  from  Barnstable,  bought  in 

November,  1773,  of  Daniel  Eldridge  a  part  of  the  hundred  acre  lot, 

58,  and  about  this  time  moved  here  with  his  family  consisting  of  his 

mother,  wife  and  seven  children.     He  was  living  in  a  part  of  Capt. 

Eldridge's  house  when  it  was  burned  in  1774.      His  wife's  name  was 

Bathsheba .    They  have  the  births  of  two  children  recorded  in 

Gorham  : 

Ruth,  b.  Sept.  8,  1774. 

Hannah,  b.  Dec.  27,  1777,  m.  Samuel  Whitney,  Aug.  24,  1798. 

Among  other  children  in  this  family,  born  before  coming  to  Gor- 
ham, were  probably  : 

Bathsheba,  m.  Nathaniel  Edwards,  Sept.  29,  1786. 
Jenny,  m.  Michael  Philbrick,  Jr.,  of  Standish,  Sept.  4,  1788. 
Mary,  m.  Joseph  Hodgdon,  Feb.  24,  1789. 
Lucy,  m.  Israel  Hodgdon. 

Benjamin   Snow  left  town    about    1794,  going  to  Orrington,  and 

from  there  moving  to  Bucksport. 

William   Snow  came   from    Eastham,   Mass.,  in   1778,  with  Capt. 

Joseph  Higgins,  and  bought  land  with  him.     Mr.  Snow  lived  on  the 

hundred  acre  lot,  118,  on  the  farm  since  owned  by  Lewis  Douglass, 

and  which  joined  that  of  Capt.  Higgins  on  the  east.      His  wife  was 

Dorcas  Cook,  sister  of  Mrs.  Higgins.     She  was  born  in    1753.     The 

children  of  William  and  Dorcas  (Cook)  Snow  on  the  Gorham  records 

are  : 

William,  b.  July  i,  1795,  ^-  Betsey  Bacon,  p.  July  8,  1815. 
Mehitable,  b.  1797,  m.  Joseph  Cotton,  Nov.  20,  1817. 


GENEALOGY.  769 

William  Snow  had  also  a  daughter  Harriet,  who  married  Samuel 
Whitney,  and  as  he  was  taxed  for  two  polls  in  1795  it  is  probable 
that  he  had  other  children.  Samuel  Snow  who  married  Polly  McCol- 
liff,  March  26,  1798,  and  Thankful  Snow  who  married  Samuel 
Jenkins,  Jr.,  Jan.  23,  1794,  may  have  been  among  these.  William 
Snow  died  Jan.  24,  1832,  aged  85,  and  his  wife  Dorcas,  Jan.  9,  1832, 
aged  79. 

Edward  Snow's  name  appears  on  the  tax  lists  for  1781-82-83. 
He  came  from  Eastham,   Mass.,  where  he    married,  Jan.  23,   1755, 

Martha   ( )   Brown,    widow   of  Brown.      Samuel   and 

Sylvanus  Brown,  Mrs.  Martha  A.  Harding  and  Mrs.  Bethiah  H.  Tryon 
were  children  of  Mrs.  Snow  by  her  first  husband.  We  have  the 
record  of  but  one  child  of  Edward  and  Martha  (Brown)  Snow :  Eliza- 
beth, born  in  Eastham,  Jan.  3,  1766,  married  in  Gorham,  Feb.  23, 
1 78 1,  Saul  Cook  (recorded  Solomon).  Thankful  Snow,  who  died  in 
Gorham,  Feb.  15,  1837,  aged  75,  may  perhaps  have  been  of  this 
family. 

Thomas  Snow  came  from  Cape  Cod  to  Gorham  about  1778,  and 
settled  in  the  northern  part  of  the  town  ;  his  farm  comprising  parts 
of  the  seventy  acre  lots,  68  and  78.  His  house  is  now  gone,  but  the 
barn  is  still  standing.  His  wife  was  Jane  Magne.  The  mother  and 
sister  of  Mrs.  Snow  came  with  the  family  to  Gorham,  where  the  sister 
died  while  a  young  woman.     Children  of  Thomas  and  Jane  Snow  : 

Mercy,  b.  on  Cape  Cod,  m.  John  Chase  about  1782-83 ;  had  son  Josiah,  b.  May 
25,  1784. 

Aaron,  b.  on  Cape  Cod,  m.  Eunice ;  went  to  Livermore. 

Gideon,  b.  on  Cape  Cod,  m.  Joanna  Edwards,  Dec.  28,  1788  ;  2d,  Susan  Par- 
sons ;  two  children,  Susan  and  Joseph. 

Thomas,  b.  on  Cape  Cod,  about  1773. 

Lydia,  b.  Feb.,  1776,  m.  Joseph  Young,  3rd,  Nov.  7,  1793. 

Jemima,  b.  in  Gorham,  July,  1785,  m.  Uriah  Nason,  Jr.,  June  5,  1807. 

Thomas  Snow  died  about  1825,  and  his  wife  Jane,  March  5,  1837, 
aged  102. 

STAPLES. 

The  Staples  family  came  from  Kittery  to  Scarboro,  and  thence 
to  Gorham.  Samuel  and  Ai  Staples  were  cousins.  They  came  to 
Gorham  about  the  year  1790.  They  married  sisters,  Nancy  and 
Eunice,  daughters  of  Lieut.  Cary  and  Eunice  McLellan.  Samuel 
Staples  had  a  sister,  Catherine,  who  married  Isaac  Gilkey  of  Gorham, 
Aug.  26,  1792. 


770  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Samuel  Staples  lived  at  the  village,  in  the  house  on  the  southwest 

corner  of  Main  and  Elm  Sts.,  now  owned  by   Henry  Jose.     He  was 

a  blacksmith,  and  his  shop  stood  on  the  spot  where  Miss  Kelsey's 

shop  now  stands.      He  married,  April  28,   1794,   Nancy  McLellan, 

and  their  children  were  : 

Samuel,  b.  Mar.  25,  1795,  m.  Adeline  Burnham,  Aug.  9,  1825;  2d,  Jane  Barbour. 

William,  b.  Apr.  26,  1797,  m.  Mary  McLellan,  Nov.  11,  1824. 

Stephen  McL.,  b.  June  13,  iSoo,  m.  Elizabeth  P.  Lewis,  Oct.  17,  1831. 

Nancy  McL.,  b.  Nov.  9,  1S04,  m.  Stevens  Smith,  May,  1829. 

Elizabeth  M.,  b.  Apr.  9,  1807,  d.  unm.  July  12,  1831. 

Albert  B.,  b.  Aug.  9,  18 16,  m.  Eliza  Nason  ;  d.  in  Niles,  Mich.,  June  14,  1856. 

Samuel  Staples  died  Feb.  4,  1837,  aged  71.  Mrs.  Nancy  Staples 
died  June  15,  1839,  aged  65. 

(2)  Samuel  Staples,  Jr.,  son  of  Samuel,  lived  on  South  St.,  in  the 
house  now  occupied  by  B.  Frank  Whitney.  He  married  Mary  Ade- 
line Burnham  of  Scarboro.     Children  : 

Stephen  M.,  b.  June  27,  1826,  d.  Jan.  5,  1829. 
Thomas  B.,  b.  July  15,  1S28,  d.  Dec.  25,  1832. 
Stephen  McL.,  h.  May  17,  1830,  I'd  in  Illinois. 
Elizabeth  L.,  b.  June  7,  1832,  I's  in  the  West. 

Mrs.  Adeline  Staples  died  Feb.  12,  1834.  Mr.  Staples  moved  to 
Portland,  where  he  married  Jane  Barbour,  by  whom  he  had  Susan, 
Charles,  George,  Caroline,  and  Albert.      He  died  in  Portland. 

(2)  William  Staples,  son  of  Samuel,  lived  for  some  years  in  Bald- 
win. He  married  Mary,  daughter  of  James  and  Rebecca  McLellan 
of  West  Newfield.     Children  : 

Nancy  M.,  b.  in  Baldwin,  May  27,  1828,  d.  unm.  Mar.  7,  1851. 
Mary  Elizabeth,  b.  in  Gorham,  Nov.  20,  1838,  d.  unm.  July  16,  1874. 

William  Staples  died  July  28,  1838,  aged  41.  Mrs.  Staples  died 
July  16,  1852,  aged  56. 

(2)  Stephen  McLellan  Staples,  son  of  Samuel,  was  educated  at 
Gorham  Academy,  and  at  Bowdoin  College,  where  he  was  graduated 
in  182 1.  He  then  went  to  Philadelphia,  in  which  city,  in  company 
with  a  Mr.  Toppan,  he  opened  an  academy,  and  was  for  several  years 
a  successful  English  and  Classical  instructor.  In  1825  he  published 
a  grammar  of  the  English  language  for  the  use  of  Spaniards,  which 
was  the  first  work  of  the  kind  published  in  this  country.  In  the 
fall  of  the  same  year  he  went  to  Mexico,  where  he  remained  for  sev- 
eral years.  He  was  for  a  long  time  Surveyor  General  of  the  State 
of  Chihuahua.  In  1830  he  was  obliged  by  the  failure  of  his  health 
to  return  to  the  United  States.  He  married,  Elizabeth  P.,  daughter 
of  Hon.  Lothrop  and  Mary  J.  Lewis  of  Gorham.  Col.  Staples  died 
of  consumption  Feb.  17,  1832,  in   Philadelphia. 


GENEALOGY.  771 

Ai  Staples  was  the  son  of  Jeremiah  of  Scarboro,  who  lived  on  the 
farm  now  owned  and  occupied  by  James  W.  Libby.  Ai  Staples  was 
a  farmer,  and  lived  in  the  south  part  of  the  town,  on  the  farm  now 
owned  and  occupied  by  John  Sanborn.  He  married,  May  28,  1801, 
Eunice  McLellan.     Children : 

Statira  R.,  b.  Mar.  i,  1802,  m.  Capt.  John  Curtis,  May  22,  1823. 

Alexander  M.,  b.  Oct.  26,  1803,  m.  Bethiah  T.  Lincoln,  Aug.  2,  1827. 

Ai,  b.  Mar.  8,  1806,  m.  Ann  Cascolina  Merrill;  I'd  and  d.  in  Augusta. 

Jeremiali,  b.  Apr.  22,  1810,  m.  Ann  Murray  of  Baltimore;  2d,  Mrs.  Sarah  B. 
Emery  ;  enlisted  in  the  summer  of  1846  in  the  Me;;cican  war  on  board 
the  schooner  "  Morris,"  which  was  wrecked  at  Key  West,  Oct.  10,  1846  ; 
d.  May  19,  1868. 

Robert,  b.  Sept.  5,  1812,  m.  Eliza  Marks  of  Phila. ;  d.  at  Panama. 

Eunice  E.,  b.  Dec.  18,  1814,  d.  Aug.  10,  1815. 

Chailes  A.,  b.  Oct.  9,  1S16,  lost  at  sea,  May  6,  1839. 

Eunice  J.,  b.  Jan.  7,  1820,  m.  Capt.  Charles  Frost,  Aug.  14,  1848. 

Ellen  R.,  b.  Apr.  11,  1823,  d.  unm.  Nov.  14,  1846. 

Ai  Staples  died  Feb.  22,  1835,  aged  58.  Mrs.  Eunice  Staples  died 
Sept.  28,  1841,  aged  63. 

(2)  Alexander  McLellan  Staples,  son  of  Ai,  was  a  sea  captain. 
He  married  Bethiah  T.,  daughter  of  Capt.  John  Lincoln  of  Gorham. 
Children  : 

Lydia  A.  T.,  b.  June,  1828,  d.  Feb.  5,  1833. 
Statira  C,  b.  May  17,  1830,  d.  July  20,  1832. 
J.  Alexander,  b.  Sept.  20,  1835,  d.  May  19,  1842. 

Harriet,  b. ,  m.  Joseph  Webster  of  Portland. 

Charles,  b.  1839,  d.  in  1895. 

Lincoln  T.,  b.  June  27,  1843,  d.  May  8,  1872. 

Capt.  Staples  moved  to  Portland.  He  died  at  St.  Mary's,  Ga., 
Oct.  10,  1844.  His  widow  married  Mr.  Green,  and  died  Sept.  16, 
1896,  aged  93. 

STEPHENSON. 

Capt.  John  Stephenson  was  a  sea  captain.  He  came  to  Portland 
from  New  York.  May  i,  1771,  he  married  Tabitha,  daughter  of 
Stephen  Longfellow.  His  house,  before  the  Revolution,  stood  front- 
ing the  beach,  near  Clay  Cove.  He  removed  to  Gorham  in  October, 
1775,  having  been  driven  from  Portland,  when  Mowatt  destroyed  the 
town  by  the  fire  which  burned  his  house,  as  also  that  of  his  father-in- 
law,  and  most  of  Portland.  He  had,  some  years  before,  purchased 
of  the  Hon.  John  Hancock  of  Boston,  the  hundred  acre  lot,  116,  a 
little  above  West  Gorham.  Here  he  built  a  large  house,  long  since 
removed.  The  two-story  ell  of  this  house  was  moved  on  to  the  cross 
road  leading  from  the  Gorham  and  Standish  road  to  the  road  from 
Standish  village  to  Lake  Sebago,  and  was  used  by  Levi  Phinney  for 
a  paint  shop,  till  within  a  few  years.     While  Capt.   Stephenson  was 


772  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

building  this  house  he  lived  at  West  Gorham  in  the  Brown  house,  so 

called,  and  here  his  son,  Samuel,  was  born.     In  1784  he  returned  to 

Portland,  and  built,  on  the  site  of  the  one  destroyed  by  fire,  a  new 

gambreled  roofed  house,  which  is  still  standing  (1877).    The  children 

of  John  and  Tabitha  (Longfellow)  Stephenson  were,  as  given  on  their 

family  record  : 

John,  b.  in  Portland,  Mar.,  1772,  d.  at  sea,  of  yellow  fever,  in  1791. 
Tabitha,  b.  in  Portland,  Feb.  13,  1773,  d.  in  Portland,  Feb.,  1777. 
Catherine,  b.  in  Portland,  June  3,  1774,  m.  Ebenezer  Storer,  June  16,  1800. 
Samuel,  b.  in  Gorham,  Apr.  5,  1776,  m.  Abigail  Longfellow,  Oct.  18,  1801. 
Stephen,  b.  in  Gorham,  Dec.  28,  1778,  m.  Harriet  Storer,  Oct.  7,  1S06. 
Henry,  b.  in  Gorham,  1782,  d.  in  1793. 

William,  b.  in  Portland,  1785,  m.  Harriet  Lincoln,  Aug.  30,  181 8. 
Tabitha,  b.  in  Portland,  Aug.  24,  1788,  m.  Jacob  S.  Smith  in  182 1. 

About  1788,  the  Stephensons  returned  to  Gorham,  where  Capt. 
Stephenson  died  Dec.  6,  18 17,  aged  76.  His  wife  Tabitha  died  May 
24  of  the  same  year,  aged  65. 

(2)  Samuel  Stephenson,  son  of  John,  married  his  cousin,  Abigail, 
daughter  of  Stephen  and  Patience  Longfellow.  He  followed  the  sea 
for  some  time,  and  then  entered  into  business  in  Portland  with  his 
brother-in-law,  Ebenezer  Storer,  and  was  a  prosperous  merchant  for 
many  years,  till  the  difficulties  arose  in  connection  with  the  embargo, 
and  our  troubles  with  England.  He  removed  to  Gorham  and  settled 
on  a  part  of  the  farm  of  his  father-in-law.  Judge  Longfellow.  The 
home  of  Col.  and  Mrs.  Stephenson  was  noted  for  its  genial  and  grace- 
ful hospitality.  He  and  his  most  excellent  wife  were  members  of  the 
Congregational  church,  and  were  honored  by  all  who  knew  them. 
Children,  the  three  oldest  born  in  Portland. 

Elizabeth  W.,  b.  1802,  m.  Randolph  A.  L.  Codman,  Jan.  6,  1825. 

Catherine  L.,  b.  1804,  d.  Dec.  6,  1820. 

John,  b.  Dec.  10,  1806,  d.  Dec.  4,  1845. 

Almira  S.,  b.  Mar.  31,  1809,  d.  unm.  Dec.  21,  1836. 

Samuel  L.,  b.  June  28,  181 1,  was  a  doctor  ;  went  West. 

Ann  L.,  b.  Jan.  i,  1814,  d.  unm.  Apr.  21,  1861. 

Mary  L.,  b.  Mar.  i,  1816,  d.  unm.  Apr.  18,  1857. 

Abigail  C,  b.  May  7,  1819,  d.  unm.  Aug.  5,  1885. 

Stephen  L.,  b.  Aug.  30,  1821,  d.  unm.  May  28,  1892. 

Col.  Stephenson  was  Representative  to  the  General  Court  of  Mass- 
achusetts in  18 16,  and  to  the  Maine  Legislature  in  1825.  He  died  in 
Gorham,  May  23,  1858,  aged  82.  His  wife  Abigail  L.  died  Feb.  14, 
1869,  aged  90. 

Stephen,  youngest  son  of  Col.  Samuel  Stephenson,  was  a  civil 
engineer.  He  did  much  work  in  this  vicinity,  including  the  surveys 
for  the  Portland  and  Ogdensburg  railroad.  He  resided  on  the  old 
homestead,  where  he  died. 


GENEALOGY.  773 

(2)  Stephen  Stephenson,  son  of  Capt.   John,  was  also  for  many 

years  a  successful  sea  captain.     He  afterwards  moved  on  to  the  farm, 

at  West  Gorham,  where  his  father  had  formerly  lived.      He  married 

Harriet,  daughter  of  Ebenezer  Storer.     Their  children  all  excepting 

Edward  born  in  Portland  : 

Stephen  S.,  b.  Aug.,  1808,  d.  unm.  in  Gorham,  Feb,  12,  1846. 

William  H.,  b.  Jan.  1810,  d.  in  Singapore,  Oct.  31,  1850. 

George  S.,  b.  Aug.  24,  181 1,  m.   Ellen   T.  Brewster,  May  13,   1852;  d.   Apr.  8, 

1873- 
Frederick  S.,  b.  May  10,  1813,  d.  unm.  Apr.  29,  1887,  in  Gorham. 
Charles  L.,  b.  Apr.   13,  1S15,  m.  Martha  B.  Washburn  of  Livermore;  d.  Aug. 

31,  1880,  in  St.  Paul,  Minn. 
Harriet  S.,  b.  Mar.  15,  1S17,  m.  Geo.  Motley  of  Lowell,  Dec.  18,  1850. 
Eben  S.,  b.  1819,  m.  Elizabeth  Champlain  of  Essex,  Conn.  ;  d.  May,  1868. 
Edward  H.,  b.  May  27,  1823,  m.  Charlotte  Beers,  1865. 

George,  Frederick,  Eben,  and  Edward  Stephenson  went  into  busi- 
ness in  New  York.  Capt.  Stephen  Stephenson  died  on  his  farm  at 
West  Gorham,  March  19,  1831,  aged  52.  His  wife  Harriet  died 
Feb.  9,  1838,  aged  52. 

(2)  William  Stephenson,  son  of  Capt.  John,  at  one  time  kept  an 

hotel  in  Gorham,  in  the  old  Thacher  house,  now  owned  by  Lewis 

Johnson.     About   1832  the  family  moved  to  Portland,  where  he  kept 

an  hotel  till  they  removed  to  New  York.     Mr.  Stephenson  married 

Harriet,  daughter  of  Capt.  John  Lincoln.     Children  : 

Tabitha  L.,  b.  June  21,  1819,  d.  unm.  in  New  York. 

John  L.,  b.  Dec.  18,  1821,  m.  and  I'd  in  Elmira,  N.  Y. 

Anna  Maria,  b.  Dec.  9,  1823,  m.  Mr.  Butler  of  New  York  ;  d.  in  N.  Y. 

Mr.   Stephenson  died  in  Brooklyn,    N.    Y.,   Aug.    7,    1849,    aged 

63.     Mrs.  Stephenson,  in  New  York  City,  many  years  later,  at  an 

advanced  age. 

STEVENS. 

Benjamin  Stevens  came  from  Falmouth  and  settled  in  Gorham 
before  the  French  and  Indian  war.  He  had  a  daughter,  Sarah, 
born  in  Gorham,  1744.  It  is  probable,  though  by  no  means  certain, 
that  he  moved  to  Falmouth  in  1745.  If  so,  he  had  returned  to  Gor- 
ham before  1750.  He  was  a  scout  among  Capt.  George  Berry's  men 
in  1747.  He  sold  to  Simon  Huston  in  1759  the  hundred  acre  lot, 
106,  in  Gorham,  drawn  for  the  right  98.  He  also  owned  the  hundred 
acre  lot,  115,  and  in  September,  1760,  sold  one-half  of  it  to  John 
Williams,  and  in  December,  1761,  sold  the  remainder  (the  eastern 
half)  to  James  Lowe'.  Benjamin  Stevens,  with  the  help  of  the  slave 
Limbo,  took  care  of  the  Gorham  cattle  on  the  "  Great  Meadows  "  in 

I  James  Lowe  married  in  Clorham,  FeV).  19,  1762,  Mrs.  Esther  Linsket. 


774  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

the  winter  of  1760.  He  was  one  of  the  town's  first  board  of  select- 
men, chosen  in  1764.  He  married,  May  29,  1741,  Sarah  Pride  of 
Falmouth.  Children,  all  born  in  Gorham,  except  Nathaniel,  born  in 
Falmouth  : 

Nathaniel,  b.  Dec.  12,  1741,  m.  Elizabeth  Sinclair,  Jan.  9,  1766. 

Sarah,  b.  Jan.  7,  1744,  m.  Ezekiel  Rich,  Nov.  21,  1765. 

Mehitable,  b.  July  15,  1750,  m.  Joseph  Whitney,  Oct.  13,  1765. 

Abigail,  b.  Apr.  27,  1753,  m.  James  Rich,  p.  May  3,  1775. 

Catherine,  b.  Aug.  5,  1757,  m.  Barnabas  Bangs,  Jr.,  Nov.  20,  1777. 

Benjamin,  b.  May  9,  1760,  m.  Amy  Webb,  p.  May  6,  1784. 

Joseph,  b.  Mar.  14,  1764,  m.    Joanna  Rackley  of  Pearsonstown,  Sept.  2,  1784. 

Ch.  on  Gorham  records:   Polly,  b.  June  22,  17S7  ;   Benjamin  Rackley,  b. 

Feb.  23,  1789;  Ebenezer,  b.  June  8,  1792.     In  1794  Joseph  Stevens  had 

left  Gorham. 
Samuel,  b.  Apr.  14,  1766,  m.  Alice  Goff  of  Allenstown,  p.  Mar.  12,  1791.     Ch. 

on  Gorham  records:  Sarah,  b.  Nov.   i,   1792;  Anna,  b.  Aug.  8,   1794; 

Samuel    Goff,    b.    Sept.    10,   1796.      July   19,   1793,   Samuel    and    Alice 

Stevens  sold  to  Lemuel  Hicks  of  Gorham  the  seventy  acre  lots,  82  and 

88,  reserving  five  acres  from  88,  which  .Samuel  sold  in   1799  to  Charles 

Lord  of  Gorham. 

Benjamin  Stevens  died  about  1791.  Sarah,  his  widow,  married, 
Nov.  21,  1796,  Col.  Edmund  Phinney. 

(2)  Nathaniel  Stevens,  son  of  Benjamin,  was  a  soldier  of  the 
Revolution,  a  corporal  in  Capt.  Stuart's  company  in  1775.  He  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Sinclair.     Children : 

Lucy,  b.  Dec.  17,  1766,  m.  Edmund  Waite  of  Falmouth,  May  15,  1788. 

Robert,  b.  Feb.  17,  1769. 

Nathaniel,  b.  Jan.  17,  1772,  m.  Anna,  dau.  of  Capt.  Wentworth  and  Susanna 

Stuart,  Nov.   17,  1791.     Ch  :  Mehitable,  b.   Jan.  9,  1792;  Nathaniel,  b. 

Feb.  18,  1795  ;  Hezekiah,  b.  July  25,  1797.     Moved  to  Unity. 
Frederick,  b.  May  5,  1774,  m.  Betty  Gilkey,  Mar.  3,  1801  ;  I'd  in  Unity. 
Hezekiah,  b.  Nov.  3,  1776. 
Polly,  b.  Oct.,  1779,  d.  June,  1780. 
John,  b.  July  2,  1781  ;  I'd  in  Unity. 

Benjamin  Stevens  deeded  to  Nathaniel  Stevens,  March  7,  1774, 
the  hundred  acre  lot,  90. 

(2)  Benjamin  Stevens,  Jr.,  son  of  Benjamin,  was  a  member  of  Capt. 
McLellan's  company,  and  took  part  in  the  expedition  against  Baga- 
duce  in  1779.  He  lived  near  Horse  Beef  Falls.  He  afterwards 
moved  to  Gorham  village  where  he  lived  in  the  house  lately  remodeled 
by  Clark  Dyer.  Mr.  Stevens's  wife  was  Amy  Webb  of  Falmouth,  prob- 
ably daughter  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Larrabee )  Webb.     Children  : 

Harry,  b.  Dec.  17,  1784,  m.  Hannah  Libby,  Apr.  20,  1816. 
John,  b.  Dec.  II,  1786,  m.  Lucy  Mugford,  Nov.  13,  1813 ;  d.  in  Bethel. 
Charlotte,  b.  Nov.  5,  1788,  d.  unm.  in  Gorham,  Nov.  11,  1844. 
Amy,  b.  June  4,  1790,  d.  unm.  in  Bethel. 

Rev.  Mr.  Rand  records  the  death  of  Mrs.  Stevens,  Nov.  25,  1814, 
aged  60.     Benjamin  Stevens  died  Nov.  29,  1843,  aged  83, 


GENEALOGY.  775 

(3)  Harry  Stevens,  son  of  Benjamin,  Jr.,  was  a  carriage  maker.    He 

was  a  member  of  Lieut.  Leighton's  troop  of  cavalry,  and  took  part  in 

the  defence  of  Portland  in  1814.      He  married  Hannah,  daughter  of 

John  and  Phebe  Libby.     Children  : 

Eliza  H.,  b.  1816,  m.  John  Cloudman,  Dec.  22,  1839. 
Charlotte  A.,  b.  1819,  d.  unm.  Jan.  20,  1840,  aged  21. 
Albert  B.,  b.  Dec.  i,  1826,  m.  Martha  Morton  ;  2d,  Sarah  Hamblen  ;  d.  aged  71. 

Harry  Stevens  died  April  11,  1835,  aged  51.  Mrs.  Stevens  died 
Oct.  12,  1866,  aged  77. 

Jonathan  Ignatius  Stevens  was  born  in  Mt.  Desert,  Jan.  26,  18 12. 
He  was  a  sea  captain,  and  resided  in  Gorham  for  many  years.  He 
married  Sarah  Pitts,  daughter  of  and  Mrs.  Susan  Pitts.  Chil- 
dren : 

Nelson  C,  b.  in  Gorham,  Nov.  6,  1841,  d.  young. 

John   M.,  b.  in   Baltimore,  Mar.   7,    1844,  m.   Helen  B.  Emery;  served  in   the 

Civil  War;  d.  at  Baltimore,  Jan.  4,  1865. 
Henry  M.,  b.  in  Gorham,  Nov.  19,  1845,  d.  Dec.  25,  1850. 
Madelein,  b.  in  Gorham,  Oct.  6,  1848,  d.  Sept.  30,  1850. 
Zilmorah,  b.  in  Gorham,  Feb.  4,  185 1,  d.  Jan.  30,  1853. 

Mrs.  Stevens  died  March  15,  1855,  aged  38,  and  Capt.  Stevens 
married  March  11,  1858,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Wescott)  Chadbourne.  Capt. 
Stevens  died  July  26,  1867.     Mrs.  Stevens  died  April  21,  1889. 

STONE. 

A  Joseph  Stone  was  in  town  as  early  as  1770  as  the  following, 
probably  from  the  church  in  Berwick,  shows:  "This  day  April  5, 
1770,  Joseph  Stone,  a  member  of  this  church,  having  removed  his 
habitation  to  Gorham,  and  requesting  to  remove  his  relation  from  us, 
which  being  proposed  to  the  church,  it  was  voted  to  dismiss  him  from 
us  to  the  Congregational  Church  there."  A  Joseph  Stone  of  Gorham 
was  published,  March  30,  1781,  to  Elizabeth  Kneeland.  His  name 
appears  on  the  tax  lists  as  late  as  1786.  Tn  November,  1782,  Elisha 
Pote,  Nathan  Freeman  -awA  Joseph  Sfo//e  came  from  Gorham,  Me.,  into 
what  was  then  called  Thompson  Pond  Plantation  and  held  meetings 
in  the  house  of  Gowen  Wilson,  Sr.  They  were  all  preachers  and 
singers. 

Jonathan  Stone,  was  born  in  Cape  Elizabeth,  and  was  an  only  son. 
His  father  was  Archelaus  Stone  probably  of  Scarborough,  who  may 
have  been  the  Archelaus  Stone  who  married,  Jan.  3,   1746,   Sarah 

I  Aildress  of  Otis  Sawyer,   given    Sept.  7,  1874  at  the  Centennial  exercises  of  New 
Gloucester. 


776  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Weston  of  Falmouth.  The  name  of  Archelaus  Stone  appears,  together 
with  that  of  his  son  Jonathan,  on  the  tax  lists  of  Gorham  for  the  first 
time  for  the  year  1780.  Jonathan  settled  in  the  northwestern  part 
of  the  town,  on  the  farm  recently  owned  and  occupied  by  his  grand- 
son Samuel.  Soon  after  he  came  to  Gorham,  his  mother,  then  a 
widow,  moved  into  the  town  with  her  six  daughters  and  settled  on 
a  part  of  his  farm,  on  the  old  road  to  Standish,  near  where  the  house 
formerly  occupied  by  William  Bangs  now  stands.  Her  six  daughters 
married  as  follows  : 

Hannah,  m.  Zebulon  Whitney,  Nov.  10,  1774. 
Elizabeth,  m.  Joel  Sawyer,  Dec,  1773. 
Abigail,  m.  Daniel  Whitney,  Dec.  7,  1780. 
Mary,  m.  Ichabod  Hunt,  July  19,  1780. 
Eunice,  m.  Ichabod  Hunt  (2d  wife),  Apr.  9,  1801. 
Susanna,  m.  John  Phinney,  Jr.,  Feb.  16,  1786. 

Jonathan  Stone  married  Damaris  Elder  of  Falmouth,  (pub.  Nov. 
16,  1782).     Children  : 

Jonathan,  b.  Oct.  26,  1783,  m.  Sally  Whitney,  p.  Feb.  15,  1806;  I'd  and  d.  in 

Unity. 
William,  b.  Aug.  22,  1785,  d.  at  sea  of  yellow  fever,  Aug.,  1810;  was  buried  at 

Portland ;  was  unm. 
Damaris,  b.  Oct.  17,  1787,  m.  Eli  Whitney,  Apr.  19,  181 1. 

Solomon,  b.  Aug.  i,  1789,  m.  Sally  Wescott,  July  29,  1813  ;  moved  to  Hampden. 
Archelaus,  b.  Nov.  17,  1791,  m.  Betsey  Emery,  Mar.  31,  1815. 
Anna,  b.  Nov.  26,  1793,  '"•  George  Files  ;  d.  in  Thorndike. 
Miriam,  b.  Dec.  6,  1795,  m.  Daniel  Davis  of  Standish,  Mar.  29,  1826. 
Eunice,  b.  Apr.  25,  1799,  d.  unm. 
Mary,  b.  1801,  d.  unm.  Oct.  6,  1833. 

Jonathan  Stone  and  his  wife  were  members  of  the  Congregational 
church  in  Gorham  ;  honest,  upright  people,  in  every  way  adorning 
their  profession  as  Christians.  He  died  on  his  farm  in  Gorham,  Apr. 
19,  1834,  at  the  age  of  78;  and  his  wife,  Feb.  28,  1836,  aged  85. 
Mrs.  Stone,  widow  of  Archelaus,  and  mother  of  Jonathan,  died  in 
Gorham  in  January,  18 13,  at  the  age  of  90. 

(2)  Archelaus  Stone,  son  of  Jonathan,  lived  on  his  father's  home- 
stead. He  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  18 12.  He  married  Betsey 
Emery  of  Buxton,  who  was  born  in  1793.     Children  : 

Samuel  E.,  b.  Oct.  16,  181 7,  m.  Elizabeth  H.,  dau.  of  James  and  Betsey  Bangs, 
Nov.  25,  1841.  Ch:  Mary  E.,  b.  Apr.  I,  1845,  d.  Mar.  23,  1878;  Charles, 
b.  Aug.  17,  1851,  d.  Apr.  13,  1876.  Mr.  Stone  I'd  on  the  farm  formerly 
owned  by  his  grandfather.  After  the  death  of  his  children  he  sold  the 
old  place,  and  moved  to  the  village,  where  he  now  I's. 

Damaris  W.,  b.  June  11,  1S22,  m.  Samuel  Libby,  3d,  Sept.  11,  1859. 

Archelaus  Stone  died  at  his  home  in  Gorham,  March  18,  1865, 
and  his  wife,  Feb.  5,  1879. 


GENEALOGY.  777 


STORER. 


Ebenezer  Storer,  who  was  born  in  Wells,  July  9,  1758,  was  the  son 
of  John  Storer,  Jr.,  and  his  wife,  Mary  (Langdon)  Storer.  Mr.  Storer 
was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution,  enlisting  in  1775  as  a  private  under 
Capt.  Samuel  Sawyer,  in  Col.  James  Scamman's  regiment.  Jan.  i, 
1776,  he  enlisted  as  a  sergeant  in  Capt.  1  lill's  company,  Col.  Phinney's 
1 8th  Continental.  The  same  year  he  was  appointed  ensign  in  Col. 
Samuel  Brewer's  regiment.  In  1779  he  received  a  commission  as  pay- 
master and  first  lieutenant  under  Col.  Ebenezer  Sprout.  He  served 
in  the  army  until  peace  was  declared  in  1783.  With  his  regiment 
he  saw  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  was  at  the  siege  of  Boston,  at  Fort 
Ticonderoga,  at  Bemis  Heights,  Stillwater  and  Burgoyne's  surrender 
at  Saratoga,  and  was  at  Valley  Forge.  He  was,  at  the  same  time, 
lieutenant,  clothier,  and  paymaster  of  his  regiment,  and  received  after- 
wards a  treble  pension  from  the  government  as  reward  for  his  services. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati.  He  was  for 
many  years  a  prosperous  merchant  in  Portland,  where  he  built  the 
three-story  house,  corner  of  High  and  Danforth  Sts.,  lately  occupied 
by  John  Muzzey,  Esq.  From  Portland  he  moved  to  New  York,  and 
from  thence  to  this  town.  He  was  an  honored  citizen,  and  an  upright 
Christian  gentleman.  Nov.  10,  1784,  he  married  Eunice,  daughter  of 
Benjamin  Titcomb  of  Falmouth.      Children  : 

Harriet,  b.  Feb.  21,  1786,  m.  Stephen  Stephenson,  Oct.  7,  1806. 

Mary  Ann,  b.  Aug.  20,  1788,  d.  unm.  Mar.  5,  1844. 

George  L.,  b.  Mar.  25,  1790,  m.  Anna  W.  Chapman,  1817;  2d,  Jane  E.  Ward, 

May  14,  1835  ;  d.  Nov.  i,  1854. 
Eunice,  b.  May,  1792,  d.  young. 
Ebenezer,  b.  Aug.,  1793,  d.  young. 
Charles,  b.  Dec.  16,  1794,  d.  in  Missouri  in  1850. 
Elizabeth  Lake,  b.  Sept.  i,  1797,  d.  unm.  May  24,  1840. 

Mrs.   Eunice  Storer  died  Nov.  13,  1798,  aged  39,  and  Mr.  Storer 

married,    June    16,    1800,    Catherine,   daughter   of  Capt.   John   and 

Tabitha  (Longfellow)  Stephenson.     Children  : 

Ebenezer,  b.  Aug.  20,  1803,  m.  Mrs.  Louisa  C.  Wooster;  was  a  physician  in 
New  York  City  ;  d.  in  1882. 

Edward,  b.  Apr.  25,  1805,  m.  Miss  Valencia  in  S.  America;  was  a  purser  in  the 
U.  S.  Navy;  d.  at  sea  in  1851. 

Catherine,  b.  Feb.  27,  1807,  d.  unm.  Jan.  7,  1885. 

Caroline,  b.  Dec.  15,  1808,  d.  unm.  Dec.  i,  1848. 

William  H.,  b.  Dec.  25,  1810,  m.  Harriet  M.  Rolette,  May  6,  1835  ;  was  a  grad- 
uate of  West  Point  ;  served  in  the  Florida  war;  d.  Aug.  22,  1878. 

Ellen,  b.  Sept.  22,  1812,  d.  unm.  May  19,  1857. 

Albert,  b.  Jan.  16,  181 5,  m.  Elizabeth  M.  Wooster,  1841  ;  2d,  Louisa  Burritt, 
1849;  3d,  Augusta  Burritt,  1864  ;  I'd  in  New  York  City. 

Mr.  Storer  died  July  20,  1846.     His  wife  Catherine  died  Feb.  26, 

1850,  aged  76. 


778  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

STROUT. 

The  Strouts  are  of  Scotch  descent.  Some  of  the  family  came  from 
Provincetown,  Mass.,  to  Cape  Elizabeth  about  1730,  and  from  Fal- 
mouth (Cape  Elizabeth)  to  Gorham  about  the  year  1750.  Elisha  and 
George  Strout  were  probably  brothers.  Elisha  Strout  married,  Nov. 
27,  1764,  Eunice  Freeman  of  Gorham.     Children: 

Simeon,  b.  Nov.  24,  1765,  m.  Mary  Lake,  p.  May  10,  1783.  (?) 
Susanna,  b.  July  28,  1767,  m.  Daniel  Grant,  p.  Mar.  23,  1787. 
Eunice,  b.  July  26,  1770,  m.  Wm.  Nason  Edgecomb,  Sept.  13,  1792. 
Dorcas,  b.  Mar.  i,  1773,  m.  Rufus  Libby,  Apr.  25,  1793. 
Elisha,  b.  Apr.  13,  1775,  prob.  setiledin  Limington. 

Solomon,  b.  Apr.  13,  1777,  m.  Mrs.  Patience  (Wallace)   Fickett  of  Falmouth, 
Nov.  20,  1800;  I'd  in  Limington. 

The  name  of  Elisha  Strout  is  not  found  on  the  Gorham  tax  bills 

after  1793. 

George  Strout  settled  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  William  E.  Strout, 

which  he  bought  of  Jonathan  and  Jonathan  Freeman,  Jr.,  June  10, 

1768,  and  is  the  eastern  half  of  the  hundred  acre  lot,  No.  7.     His 

house  stood  on  the  spot  where  William  E.  Strout  has  built  the  new 

house    lately   occupied    by   Isaac    Sanborn.     He    married    Rebecca 

Freeman.     Children : 

Lydia,  b.  Sept.  6,  1763,  m.  Geo.  Smalley  of  Raymondtown,  p.  May  10,  1783. 
Samuel,  b.  Apr.  13,  1768,  m.  Jerusha  Emery  of  Buxton,  June  21,  1787. 
Rebecca,   b.    Feb.   13,   1770,  m.   Levi  Strout,  Jr.,  of  Cape  Elizabeth,   Dec.  7, 

1786.  (?) 
Ellis,  b.  Jan.  19,  1771,  m.  Jesse  Brown,  Dec.  14,  1786. 
Sally,  b.  Apr.  29,  1775,  m.  Joseph  Roberts,  Jr.,  Dec.  16,  1801. 
George,  b.  Apr.  9,  1780,  m.  Comfort  Emery,  June  21,  1804. 

(2)  George  Strout,  Jr.,  son  of  George,  lived  on  his  father's  place, 

on   the  old   Strout  farm.     He   married   Comfort   Emery   of   Buxton. 

Children : 

William,  b.  Nov.  17,  1804,  m.  Mary  Libby;  2d,  Sarah  Meserve  ;  3d,  Phebe  L. 

Meserve. 

Mary,  b.  Apr.  24,  1806,  m.  Edward  Merrill;  I'd  and  d.  in  Falmouth. 

Charles,  b.  Oct.  11,  1808,  d.  Sept.  i,  1814. 

Harriet,  b.  Sept.  17,  1810,  d.  May  15,  1827. 

Sally,  b.  Aug.  17,  1813,  m.  Alexander  Wescott,  Oct.  4,  1837. 

Almira,    I  1    tt  i^  «         ^  ^-  Capt.  Chas.  C.  Penfield,  Aug.  26,  1835. 

Samuel,  (  '^-  ^^^-  3'  ^»^S'   \  d.  Dec.  25,  1831. 

Martha,  b.  Oct.  18,  181 7,  I'd  at  home  unm ;  d.  Aug.  10,  1842. 

Charles,    |  ,    ,^  o        I  d.  in  Newtonville,  Mass.,  Feb.  16,  1894. 

-r,       ,  ,.      >  b.  Dec.  24,  1821,  <   ,    ,   ,  o  f      y-^ 

Frankhn,  J  ^  '  (  d.  July  i,  1847. 

George  Strout  died  Sept.  10,  1837,  aged  57,  and  his  wife,  April  25, 

1839.  aged  52. 

(3)  William  Strout,  son  of  George,  Jr.,  was  a  deacon  of  the  Free 
Baptist  church.     He  was   a   shoemaker,  and  lived   on  the   County 


GENEALOGY.  779 

road,  near  where  it  is  joined  by  the  road  leading  to  Gorham  village. 

He  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Charles  and  Mary  Libby  of  Scarboro. 

Children  : 

Caroline,  b.  Apr.  30,  1S25,  m.  and  d. 

Charles  J.,  b.  July  iS,  1826,  m.  and  I'd  in  Boston. 

Ellen,  b.  Oct.,  1830,  d.  May  12,  1S32. 

Mrs.  Mary  Strout  died  Nov.   19,   1832,  and   Mr.   Strout  married, 

Sarah,  daughter  of  John  and  Anna  Meserve  of  Scarboro,  by  whom 

he  had  : 

Mary  E.,  b.  IMar.  26,  1836,  m.  Jedediah  Wheeler  of  Portland. 
William  E.,  b.  May  18,  1839,  m.  Dora  15.  Russell;  2d,  Rebecca  Fisher. 
Joseph  M.,  b.  Oct.  20,  1843,  ^-  Sarah  A.  Willard  of  Portland. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Strout  died  Jan.  15,  1864,  aged  58,  and  Mr.  Strout  mar- 
ried in  1867  her  sister  Phebe  L.  Meserve.  About  1840,  Mr.  Strout 
bought  and  moved  on  to  the  old  Penfield  place.  He  died  Oct.  31, 
1886,  and  his  wife  Phebe,  July  i,  1880,  aged  58. 

STUART. 

Wentworth  Stuart  came  to  Gorham  from  Berwick,  in  York  Co.  In 
a  deed  from  James  Gilkey,  dated  Jan.  23,  1753,  he  is  named  as  of 
Berwick  ;  and  during  the  same  year  he  purchases  lands  and  styles  him- 
self as  of  Gorham.  He  was  born  in  Wells,  Me.,  Oct.  20,  1731.  His 
father  Joseph  Stuart  (son  of  Samuel)  died  about  the  year  1734. 
He  had  a  sister  Dorcas  born  about  the  time  of  his  father's  decease. 
His  mother's  maiden  name  was  Mary  Lord,  of  Berwick.  Mary,  the 
widow  of  Joseph,  was  appointed  guardian  of  Wentworth  and  Dorcas, 
her  two  minor  children,  by  Court,  April  25,  1735.  She  was  after- 
wards Mary  Grant  of  Berwick,  widow.  Wentworth  Stuart,  through 
his  grandmother,  Martha  (Wentworth)  Lord,  wife  of  Capt.  Samuel 
Lord  of  Berwick,  descended  from  the  Wentworths  of  Portsmouth,  a 
name  much  prized  in  New  Hampshire.  He  married,  Feb.  7,  1753, 
Susanna,  daughter  of  Rev.  Solomon  Lombard,  the  first  settled  min- 
ister of  Gorham,  and  settled  on  the  thirty  acre  lot,  29,  which  is  on 
the  southerly  side  of  the  cross-road,  running  westerly  from  the  Fort 
Hill  road  above  the  Dyer  place.  He  soon  after  sold  this  place,  and 
settled  above  Fort  Hill  on  the  hundred  acre  lot,  96,  on  the  farm 
since  owned  and  occupied  by  Wilder  Libby..  Having  a  good  educa- 
tion, he  became  a  prominent  man  in  town  ;  was  town  clerk  two  years  ; 
one  of  the  selectmen,  and  represented  the  town  in  the  General  Court 
in  1773  and  1774.  He  was  a  lieutenant  in  Capt.  Jos.  Woodman's 
company  of  Provincials,  six  months  men,  raised  mostly  in  Gorham 
and  Narragansett,  No.  i  (Buxton),  in  the  service  of  his  Majesty  in, 


780  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

the  summer  of   1757,  in  one  of  the  French  wars.      He  was  a  strong 

patriot  in  his  political  views.     He  received  a  captain's  commission  in 

the  army  of  the  Revolution,  and  died  while  in  the  service,  at  Sewall's 

Point,  near  Boston,  of  the  small  pox,  April  17,  1776.     Children: 

Mary,  b.  Jan.  20,  1754,  m.  John  Green,  July  3,  1770. 

Susanna,  b.  May  21,  1757,  d.  Jan.  4,  1759. 

Joseph,  b.  Apr.  3,  (759,  m.  Hannah  Smalley,  Sept.  30,  1779. 

Solomon  L.,  b.  Feb.  13,  1762,  d.  Dec.  29,  1763. 

Sarah  P.,  b.  Feb.  28,  1764,  m.  Ebenezer  Phinney,  p.  May  20,  1781. 

Dorcas,  b.  June  8,  1766,  m.  Peletiah  McDonald,  Aug.  17,  1787. 

Susanna,  b.  Apr.  i,  1768,  m.  Francis  Brooks  of  No.  Yarmouth,  Jan.  4,  17S6. 

Wentworth,  b.  Aug.  17,  1770,  m.  Hannah  Shaw,  Nov.  4,  1790;  I'd  in  Standish ; 

d.  Jan.  23,  1807  ;  his  widow  m.  Lemuel  McCorrison ;  d.  in  Baldwin. 
Solomon  L.,  b.  Feb.  24,  1773,  have  no  record  of  him. 
Anna,  b.  Oct.  31,  1775,  m.  Nathaniel  Stevens,  Jr.,  Nov.  17,  1791. 

Susanna,  widow  of  Capt.  Stuart,  married,  March  4,  1779,  William 
Wood  of  Gorham,  and  died  in  Standish,  Aug.  7,  1803,  at  the  house 
of  her  son  Wentworth. 

(2)  Joseph  Stuart,  son  of  Wentworth,  served  in  the  Revolution.    He 

was  a  fifer  in  his  father's  company.      He  married  Hannah  Smalley. 

Children  : 

Joseph,  b.  July  i,  1780,  m.  Nancy  Lombard,  p.  Nov.  2,  1S05. 

Hannah,  b.  Mar.  5,  1782,  m.  Jonathan  Saunders  of  Harrison;  d.  Jan.  i,  1864. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Feb.  13,  1784. 

Samuel,  b.  Apr.  16,  17^6. 

Susanna,  b.  June  8,  1788,  m.  Francis  Mayberry  of  Windham,  p.  Jan.  27,  1810. 

Wentworth,  b.  Sept.  26,  1790,  m.  Mercy  Hall. 

Achsah,  b.  June  8,  1793,  "''•  Richard  Fogg. 

Solomon,  b.  Apr.  22,  1796,  m.  Polly  Hall;  I'd  at  Harrison. 

Josiah  A.,  b.  Apr.  20,  1798,  m.  Miriam  Rich  of  Harrison;  I'd  at  Harrison. 

Joseph  Stuart  was  lost  at  sea  from  the  schooner  "  Martha "  off 

Cape  Ann,  Feb.  15,  1802,  at  the  age  of  43.      His  wife   Hannah  died 

July  27,  1819,  aged  61. 

(3)  Joseph  Stuart,  son  of  Joseph,  married  Nancy,  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  Fanny  Lombard  of  Gorham.  They  lived  for  a  time  near 
Fort  Hill,  where  three  of  their  children,  I'anny,  Samuel,  and  Joshua, 
were  born.  They  then  removed  to  Harrison,  where  ten  other  chil- 
dren were  born  to  them.  Their  fifth  daughter,  Emily,  married  Mr. 
Chute,  and  lived  for  some  years  in  Gorham,  where  she  died  in  1898. 
She  was  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Frank  P.  Johnson  of  Gorham. 

STURGIS. 

The  first  of  the  name  of  Sturgis  in  this  country  was  Ii^dward 
Sturgis,  who  came  from  England  about  1634,  and  in  1639  ^^^  <^^ 
Yarmouth,  Mass.  He  was  the  son  of  Philip  Sturgis  of  England,  and 
was  the  progenitor  of  all  the  Sturgises  of  Barnstable  Co.,  Mass.      His 


GENEALOGY.  781 

son,  Edward,  Jr.,  married  Temperance,  daughter  of  Capt.  John  and 
Desire  (Rowland)  Gorham.  Desire  Howland  was  the  daughter  of 
Capt.  John  and  Elizabeth  (Tilley)  Howland,  both  of  whom  were 
pilgrims  in  the  Mayflower. 

Jonathan  Sturgis,  the  first  of  the  name  in  Gorham,  originated  in 
Truro,  Mass.  He  was  the  son  of  Nathaniel  and  Abigail  (Cobb) 
Sturgis  of  Barnstable,  who  were  married,  Feb.  20,  1734/5.  Jonathan 
Sturgis  married,  Feb.  7,  1765,  in  Barnstable,  Temperance,  daughter 
of  Ebenezer  and  Temperance  (Hawes)  Gorham  of  Barnstable,  and 
sister  to  Thankful,  the  wife  of  Josiah  Davis  of  Gorham.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Sturgis  came  to  Gorham  from  Barnstable  about  1769.  He 
took  up  and  cleared,  at  what  is  now  West  Gorham,  the  farm  (the 
hundred  acre  lot,  74)  on  which  he  lived  and  on  which  he  died.  In 
1775  Mr.  Sturgis  enlisted  in  Capt.  Hart  Williams'  company,  and 
marched  to  Boston  with  the  regiment.  The  children  of  Jonathan 
and  Temperance  Sturgis,  of  whom  the  two  eldest  were  born  in  Barn- 
stable, were  : 

Hannah,  b.  Dec.  9,  1766,  ni.  William  Files,  Jr.,  Dec.  30,  1784. 

Temperance,  b.  Nov.  5,  1768,  m.  George  Files,  Oct.  10,  1789. 

James  G.,  b.  Dec.  3,  1771,  m.  Molly  Roberts,  Dec.  14,  1792. 

Nathaniel,  b.  Sept.  3,  1774,  m.  Sarah  Patten  of   Buxton,  Mar.  23,   1802;  I'd  in 

Danville. 
Abigail,  b.  Mar.  4,  1776,  d.  unm. 

David,  b.  Jan.  27,  1779,  m.  Betsey  Paine,  Feb.  i,  1806. 
Joseph,  b-  Jan.  30,  1783,  m.  Hannah  Blake. 
Sarah,  b.  July  24,  1785,  m.  Warren  Gilbert,  p.  Dec.  28,  1805. 
Jonathan,  b.  Feb.  6,  1788,  d.  at  New  Gloucester,  Apr.  26,  1810. 
Ebenezer,  b.  June  9,  1790,  moved  to  Thorndike. 

Jonathan  Sturgis  died  May  10,  1833,  aged  92,  and  his  wife  Tem- 
perance, Nov.  26,  1824,  aged  82. 

(2)  James  G.  Sturgis,  son  of  Jonathan,  lived  at  White  Rock.  He 
married  Molly,  daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Mary  (Weeks)  Roberts. 
Children  : 

Susan,  b.  Dec.  14,  1794,  m.  Solomon  Libby,  Mar.  24,  1S23. 

Mary  W.,  b.  Aug.  19,  1796,  m.  John  Littlefield  of  Topsham,  1821  ;  d.  in  Stone- 
ham,  Me. 

Temperance  G.,  b.  Aug.  4,  1798,  m.  Joseph  Cannell,  Apr.  29,  1821. 

William  R.,  b.  Feb.  4,  1801,  m.  Joan  McDonald,  Dec.  26,  1826;  I'd  at  Modera- 
tion. 

Abigail,  b.  Apr.  23,  1803,  m.  James  McDonald,  Jr.,  July  18,  1826  ;  d.  at  Stroud- 
water. 

John,  b.  July  2,  1805,  m.  Mary  Purinton,  Nov.  8,  1834. 

Ebenezer  G.,  b.  Dec.  3,  1807,  m.  Mary  Ann  Babb;  I's  in  Saccarappa  {1902). 

Benjamin  R.,  b.  Jan.  18,  i8u,  m.  Keziah  Elder,  Nov.  i,  1835. 

James  G.  Sturgis  died  Feb.  14,  1825,  aged  53,  and  his  wife  Molly, 
Sept.  7,  1859,  aged  92. 


782  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

(2)   David  Sturgis,  son  of  Jonathan,  lived  at  West  Gorhani  on  the 

farm  which  had  been  his  father's.     He  married  Betsey,  daughter  of 

William  and  Sarah  Paine.     Children  : 

Harriet,  b.  Mar.  18,  1807,  m.  Robert  Rounds,  p.  Uec.  28,  1828. 

Nancy,  b.  Feb.  12,  1808,  d.  unni.  May  18,  187  i. 

Betsey,  b.  Nov.  7,  1809,  d.  unm.  Nov.  27,  1846. 

David,  b.  Aug.  i,  181 2,  m.  Harriet  Paine. 

John,  b.  May  7,  1814,  d.  young. 

Mary  Ann,  b.  Nov.  9,  181 6,  m.  Jonathan  F.  Kimball  of  Buxton,  Sept.  20,  1842. 

William  P.,  b.  Sept.  4,  1818,  m.  Susan  M.  Cressey,  Jan.  17,  1843. 

Samuel  P.,  b.  Nov.  29,  1820,  d.  Sept.  10,  1846. 

Sarah  M.,  b.  June  23,  1822,  d.  June  17,  1823. 

George  A.,  b.  June  14,  1824,  d.  Oct.  26,  1826. 

Sarah  M.,  b.  Mar.  19,  1S26,  m.  Lorenzo  D.  Files,  June  17,  1855. 

David  Sturgis  died  Dec.  6,  1828,  aged  49,  and  his  wife,  Oct.  7, 
1864,  aged  79. 

(2)  Joseph  Sturgis,  son  of  Jonathan,  lived  at  West  Gorham  village. 

He  was  a  blacksmith.     He  married  Hannah,  daughter  of    Joseph 

and  Hannah  Blake.     Children  : 

Maria,  b.  July  6,  1805,  m.  Wm.  Cotton,  Mar.  23,  1S35. 

Caroline  P.,  b.  Jan.  29,  1807,  m.  Harvey  Wescott,  Dec.  5,  1829. 

Ebenezer,  b.  July  20,  1809,  went  to  S.  America,  and  was  never  heard  from. 

Hannah,  b.  July  13,  181 1,  m.  James  B.  Sawyer,  Feb.  25,  1830;  2d,  Jacob  Allen. 

Loanne,  b.  Jan.  11,  181 4,  m.  David  B.  Swan  ;  2d,  Joshua  Tukey. 

Martha,  b.  Oct.  3,  1816,  m.  Nathan  Whipple  of  Lisbon,  N.  H. 

Eliza,  b.  Feb.  6,  1S22,  m.  Sylvanus  Cook  of  Windham. 

James,  b.  Feb.  16,  1825,  d.  young. 

James,  b. ,  m.  Louisa  Cook  ;  d.  in  Windham. 

Joseph  Sturgis  died  at  the  home  of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Cotton,  Jan. 
4,  1842,  aged  59.     Mrs.  Hannah  Sturgis  died  Feb.  3,  1857,  aged  71. 

(3)  John  Sturgis,  son  of  James  G.,  lived  at  White  Rock,  on  the 
farm  where  his  wife's  brother,  the  late  Otis  Purinton,  afterwards 
lived.  He  was  a  deacon  of  the  White  Rock  church.  He  married 
Mary,  daughter  of  Meshach  and  Sarah  (Gerrish)  Purinton  of  Wind- 
ham.    Children  : 

Jane,  b.  1836,  d.  young,  Sept.  25,  1836. 

Benjamin  F.,  b.  Oct.  28,  1837,  m.  FAlen  Hammond;  2d,  Jennie  Brooks  of  Lew- 
iston ;  physician  in  Auburn. 

William  P.,  b.  Sept.  4,  1840,  m.  Margaret  Libby  of  Portland,  Oct.  2,  1873  ;  ^'^ 
in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

John  Irving,  b.  Dec.  24,  1844,  m.  Myra  Hayden  ;  2d,  Jennie  Hayden  of  Ray- 
mond; physician  in  New  Gloucester. 

James  Edgar,  b.  Dec.  14,  1S47,  m.  Ida  Barrett  of  Portland;  I's  in  the  West. 

June  13,  1854,  Berry's  shoe  shop,  which  stood  near  the  White 
Rock  church,  and  near  the  house  of  Capt.  Sturgis,  was  burned. 
Capt.  Sturgis  and  his  son  Benjamin,  while  helping  to  remove  prop- 
erty from  the  burning  building,  were  both  severely  burned  by  an 
explosion  of  camphene.     The  son  recovered,  but  his  father  died  on 


GENEALOGY.  783 

the  following  clay,  the  14th,  aged  49.  His  widow  married  George 
Hammond  of  New  Gloucester,  and  died  in  that  town,  Sept.  14,  1887, 
aged  77. 

(3)  Benjamin  R.  Sturgis,  son  of  James  G.,  married  Keziah,  daugh- 
ter of  William  and  Margaret  Elder  of  Windham.  In  1840  he  moved 
to  Stoneham,  Me.,  where  he  engaged  in  the  lumber  business,  but 
after  a  few  years  returned  to  Gorham  and  lived  at  Little  Falls  in  the 
Jonathan  Leavitt  buildings.  In  185 1  he  exchanged  this  place  with 
Freeman  Harding  for  the  David  Harding  farm.  This  he  sold  in 
1862  to  Daniel  Ward,  and  again  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  at 
Little  Falls.  He  represented  Gorham  in  the  State  Legislature 
in  1866.  Shortly  after  this  he  went  to  New  York,  and  engaged  in 
street  contracting.  In  1883  he  returned  to  Gorham,  where  he  spent 
the  remainder  of  his  days.     Children  : 

James  G.,  b.  in  Windham,  I'd  at  Little  Falls;  d.  Jan.  8,  i860. 

William  H.,  b.  in  Windham,  m.  Rebecca  Forbes. 

Margaret,  b.  in  Stoneham,  d.  young,  in  Windham  in  1842. 

Marshall  C,  b.  in  Stoneham,  m.  Mary  Harris. 

Mary  Ellen,  b.  in  Stoneham,  m.  William  H.  Leavitt. 

Frances  J.,  b.  in  Gorham,  m.  Elmer  A.  Black. 

Granville  H.  M.,  h.  in  Gorham,  d.  in  1859,  about  7  years  old. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Benjamin  Sturgis  lived  to  celebrate  their  golden 
wedding.  He  died  April  30,  1896,  aged  85,  and  his  wife,  July  12,  1889, 
aged  78. 

(3)   David  Sturgis,  son  of  David,  lived  at  West  Gorham,  on  the 

old  homestead.     He  married   Harriet  E.,  daughter  of  Freeman  and 

Hannah  (Clark)  Paine  of  Standish.     Children  : 

Fred  O.,  b.  Oct.  22,   1862,  m.  Clara  E.  Douglass,  May  23,   1883;  I'd  in   the 
house  built  by  his  greatgrandfather,  Jonathan   .Sturgis  ;  d.  Mar.  3,  1899. 
Sarah  M.,  b.  Sept.  3,  1868,  m.  David  K.  Fillmore,  Dec.  5,  1894. 

David  Sturgis  died  Nov.  26,  1882,  aged  70,  and  his  wife  Harriet, 
July  4,  1 88 1,  aged  51. 

(3)  William  P.  Sturgis,  son  of  David,  lived  at  West  Gorham,  from 

which   place  he  moved  to  Walla  Walla,   Washington.      He  married 

Susan,  daughter  of  James  and  Hannah  Cressey  of  Buxton.     Children  : 

Helen,  b.  Feb.  19,  1844,  ^-  Asa  Legrow  of  Oregon,  and  is  d. 

Samuel  P.,  b.  Mar.  23,  1856,  d.  in  Pendleton,  Ore.,  Feb.  4,  1896  or  '97. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sturgis  both  died  November,  1902. 

SWETT. 

Dr.  Stephen  Swett  was  the  first  physician  to  settle  in  Gorham. 
He  was  descended  from  John  Swett  who  came  from  England  and 
was  one  of  the  grantees  of  Newbury,  Mass.,  in  1642.     Benjamin,  son 


784  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

of  John  and  Sarah  Swett.  married,  Nov.  8,  1647,  Hester,  daughter 
of  Nathaniel  Weare  of  Newbury.  He  was  a  captain  of  militia  and 
was  killed  in  a  fight  with  the  Indians  at  Scarborough,  June  29,  1677. 
Stephen,  son  of  Capt.  Benjamin  and  Hester  Swett,  born  in  Hampton, 
N.  H.,  Sept.  13,  1673,  married  Mary,  daughter  of  John  Kent,  and 
lived  in  Newbury.  Their  son  Moses,  born  Dec.  12,  1708,  married, 
Feb.  2,  1728,  his  cousin  Hannah,  daughter  of  Lieut.  Joseph  and  Han- 
nah Swett.  Dr.  Stephen  Swett,  son  of  Moses  and  Hannah  (Swett) 
Swett,  was  born  in  that  part  of  Exeter,  N.  H.,now  Newmarket.  He 
married,  Aug.  8,  1756,  Sarah,  daughter  of  Dr.  Samuel  and  Phebe 
Adams  of  Durham,  N.  H.,  and  settled  first  in  Pembroke,  N.  H.  He 
came  to  Gorham  June  20,  1770,  and  soon  after  brought  his  family 
here.  He  lived  above  Fort  Hill,  on  the  place  where  the  late  Ezra 
Thomes  since  lived.  He  was  a  surgeon  in  the  Revolutionary  army, 
serving  in  Col.  Phinney's  regiment,  the  31st  Mass.,  enlisting  May  7, 
1775.  After  his  term  of  service  expired,  he  was  recommended  by 
Gen.  Washington,  to  be  commissioned  by  the  Council ;  and  probably 
reenlisted  and  saw  further  service.  The  children  of  Dr.  Stephen 
and  Sarah  (Adams)  Swett,  were  : 

Samuel,  b.  Oct.  16,  1757,  d.  young. 

Hannah,  b.  June  21,  1759,  d.  young. 

Josiah,  b.  May  6,  1761,  m.  Hannah  Hanscom,  Apr.  27,  1783. 

John,  b.  June  23,  1763,  m.  Betsey  Warren  of  Falmouth,  Mar.  27,   1788  ;  I'd  in 

Buckfield;  d.  July  14,  [844. 
Samuel,  b.  Apr.  22,  1765,  m.  Priscilla  Davis,  Oct.  12,  1784;  I'd  in  Portland. 
Moses,  b.  May  7.  1767,  m.  prob.  Elsey  Kelley  of  Scarboro,  June  27,  1789;  I'd 

in  Boston. 
Mary,  b.  July  i,  1769,  d.  in  Windham,  Sept.  i,  1788. 

Nathaniel,  b.  Oct.  9,  1771,  m.  Olive  Moody,  Dec.  25,  1794;  d.  in  Scarboro. 
Sally,  b.  May  13,  1773. 

Nancy,  b.  Feb.  9,  1775,  *^-  unm.  Oct.  15,  1858. 
William,  b.   Dec.   6,    1776,  m.   Clarissa  Benson   of   Middleboro,  Mass.  ;  d.   at 

Hartford,  Me. 
Hannah,  b.  Mar.  7,  1779,  ^i.  and  I'd  in  Vassalboro. 
Stephen,  b.  Apr.  11,  1781,  d.  in  Portland,  Mar.  9,  1849. 
Eliza,  b.  Sept.  28,  1783,  m.  June  6,    1802,  at  Windham,  Elijah  Macomber  of 

Middleton,  Mass. ;  I'd  in  Durham,  Me. ;  d.  Apr.  26,  1853. 

The  last  seven  of  these  children  were  born  in  Gorham.  Dr. 
Stephen  Swett  moved  from  Gorham  to  Windham,  and  thence  to 
Otisfield,  in  which  latter  town  he  died  Jan.  6,  1807.  His  vnie  Sarah 
died  in  Otisfield,  May  3,  1808. 

(2)  Josiah  Swett,  son  of  Dr.  Stephen,  in  1784  lived  in  Gorham  on 
the  thirty  acre  lot,  103,  on  the  place  where  Capt.  Nathaniel  Frost 
afterwards  lived.  He  married  Hannah,  daughter  of  George  and  Abi- 
gail Hanscom.     They  had  one  son  : 

James,  b.  Aug.  21,  17S4,  m.  Sophia  Lincoln,  p.  Nov.  29,  1806;  2d,  Hannah 
Martin;  3d,  Aurelia  Jenkins. 


GENEALOGY.  785 

Josiah  Swett  died  in  Gorham,  July  26,  1791.  His  widow  married, 
Nov.  5,  1794,  John  Martin. 

(3)  James  Swett,  son  of  Josiah,  was  a  shoemaker ;  and  also  at  one 
time  was  in  trade  in  this  town.  His  first  wife  was  Sophia,  daughter 
of  Royal  Lincoln.     They  had  three  children  : 

Hannah,  b.  Nov.  4,  1807,  d.    June  3,  1810. 

Josiah,  b.  Dec.  22,  1809. 

Parsons,  b.  Nov.  2,  181 1,  d.  Dec.  25,  181 1, 

Mrs.  Sophia  Swett  died  June  2,  181 2,  aged  28.     Mr.  Swett  then 

went  to  Eastport,  and  to  the  British   Provinces.     After  returning  to 

Gorham  he  married,  July  12,  181 7,  Hannah  Martin.      She  died  Sept. 

3,  182S,  and  he  married  Aurelia  Jenkins.     The  latter  part  of  his  life 

Mr.    Swett  lived  at   the  village,  near  the  graveyard,   in  one  of  the 

houses   which  was   burned  in  -January,    1875.      Mrs.    Aurelia  Swett 

died  Feb.  23,  1849,  aged  61.     Mr.  Swett  died  Feb.  8,  1859,  aged  70. 

Joseph  and  Deborah  (Linnell)  Swett  had  the  following  children 
born  in  Gorham  : 

Susan,  b.  Sept.  16,  1791,  m.  Rev.  Sargent  Shaw  of  Standish,  Nov.  12,  1815. 
James,  b.  Feb.  2,  1794,  m.  (prob.)  Mary  Horr  of  Standish,  p.  Feb.  19,  1831. 
Josiah,  b.  Sept.  13,   1802,  m.  Achsah  Shaw  of  Standish,  Aug.  3,  1823;  moved 
to  Standish  Neck. 

Joseph  Swett  had  two  sisters,  Eunice,  who  married  Nathan  Cloud- 
man,  and  Hannah,  who  married  Jessee  Cloudman.  Mrs.  Joseph 
Swett  died  Jan.  2,  1835,  aged  64. 

Joshua  Swett  with  his  brother  Stephen  and  some  sisters  are  said  to 
have  come  to  America  about  the  year  1770.  Joshua  Swett  was  a 
soldier  in  the  Revolution.  He  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  at  Malli- 
son's  (Horse  Beef)  Falls,  where  he  was  interested  in  the  mill 
privilege.  He  purchased  land  at  Little  Falls,  and  built  a  house 
there.  This  farm  is  now  (1897)  owned  by  Mrs.  J.  A.  Magnussen. 
He  married  Mary  Bailey  of  Westbrook.     Children  : 

Clark,  b.  Dec.  6,  1791,  m.  Martha  Edwards,  p.  Aug.  21,  1818. 

David,  b.  June  22,    1793,  m.   Lydia  Mains  of   York,  p.  Aug.  23,  1823;   F.  W. 

Bapt.  minister ;  at  one  time  pastor  at  Little  Falls. 
Eliza,  b.  Jan.  3,  1795,  ^-  Josiah  Mayberry  of  Windham;  d.  Jan.  3,  1834. 
John,  b.  Feb.  28,  1796. 

Simeon,  b.  Oct.  23,  1797,  a  minister  and  doctor;  d.  in  Beverly,  Mass. 
Mary  B.,  b.  Mar.  8,  1799,  m.  Caleb  Graffam  of  Westbrook,  Nov.  14,  1817. 
Hale,  b.  June  i,  1800,  F.  W.  Bapt.  minister  at  Little  Falls. 

Sophia,  b.  Aug.  15,  1802,  m.  Capt.  Edmund  Dorsett  of  Standish,  Feb.  i,  1825. 
William,  b.  P'eb.  28,  1804,  was  a  minister;  d.  in  Gorham,  Dec.  30,  1830. 
Emore,  b.  Apr.  25,  1805,  m.  Olive  Benson,  p.  Nov.  3,  1827. 
Jesse,  b.  Nov.  25,  1807,  was  a  minister;  went  West. 

Rebecca,  b. ,  m.  Lewis  Hanson  of  Windham,  p.  Nov.  18,  1833. 

Joshua,  b.  Dec.  19,  1S09,  d.  young. 

Capt.  Joshua  Swett  died  April  20,   185 1,  aged  90.      His  wife  died 

Aug.  22,  1849,  aged  88. 


786  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

(2)  Clark  Swett,  son  of  Joshua,  married  Martha,  daughter  of  Sam- 
uel and  Martha  Edwards.  Col.  Swett  was  one  of  the  selectmen  of 
Gorham  in  1831.  He  owned  a  saw  mill  at  Mallison's  Falls,  and, 
like  his  father,  was  interested  in  the  lumber  business.  He  built  and 
occupied  the  brick  house  near  Little  Falls,  now  owned  and  occupied 
by  Wm.  Churchill.  Here  he  died,  May  5,  1839.  His  wife  died  Jan. 
22,  1843,  aged  45.     Children  of  Clark  and  Martha  Swett  : 

Lucretia  Ann,  b.  Oct.  22,  1819,  m.  Jefferson  Mabry,  1841. 
Charles  Clark,  b.  Apr.  16,  1824,  d.  unm.  Sept.  S,  1854. 

Josiah    Swett,  son  of  Stephen    and    Hannah   (Knight)  Swett,  and 

nephew  to  Capt.  Joshua  Swett,  was  born  Jan.  19,  1800.     He  lived  at 

Horse  Beef  Falls,  near  the  canal,  then  moved  to  Little  Falls,  where 

he  built  the  house  where  Tyng  Libby  has  since  lived.      He  married, 

Oct.  10,  1825,   Clementine,  daughter  "of   Joseph   and  Mary  Knight. 

Children  : 

John  L.,  b.  Jan.  8,  1828,  d.  Aug.  6,  1832. 

Mary  M.,  b.  Feb.  9,  1S30,  m.  George  Warren,  1852. 

Miriam  E.,  b.  Aug.  2,  1832,  m.  I).  B.  Pike  of  Farmington,  N.  H.,  1851. 

Joseph  S.  K.,  b.  Apr.  22,  1834, 1's  in  Cal. 

John  A.,  b.  Feb.  29,  1836,  killed  at  the  Powder  Mills,  Oct.  12,  1855. 

George  W.,  b.  June  13,  1840,  was  in  the  Army. 

Mark  D.,  b.  June  15,  1842,  I's  in  Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Clementine  A.,  b.  Aug.  9,  1845,  "^-  Levi  Wentworth. 

Josiah  Swett  died  Feb.  11,  185 1,  and  his  wife,  July  21,  1884,  aged 
78. 

SYKES. 

Thomas  Sykes,  son  of  Richard  and  Ann  Sykes,  was  born  in  Crowle, 
Lincolnshire,  England,  March  10,  1804.  He  was  married  in  the  old 
Crowle  church,  Oct.  25,  1825,  to  Catherine,  daughter  of  Richard  and 
Elizabeth  Maw  of  Crowle.  Mr.  Sykes  came  to  Gorham  about  1827, 
where  for  many  years  he  carried  on  the  business  of  a  tailor.  His 
shop  and  house  were  next  to  the  old  Congregational  vestry,  on  the 
east  side.  The  house  has  been  raised  and  a  story  built  under  it. 
The  shop  has  been  moved  on  to  Main  St.,  just  west  of  Mrs.  Sawyer's. 
In  1829,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sykes  went  to  England  and  spent  a  year  or 
two,  and  there  their  son  Charles  was  born.  In  1861  they  embarked 
from  Quebec  on  the  "Canadian,"  which  was  wrecked  and  sunk  in  an 
ice  field  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  they  with  difficulty  escaped 
with  their  lives.  Returning  from  England  in  the  famous  "  Great 
Eastern,"  they  were  again  in  peril.  The  steamer  lost  its  rudder  and 
floated  helpless  on  the  sea  for  several  days  until  a  temporary  rudder 
was  contrived  by  an  American  engineer,  with  which  they  made  the 


GENEALOGY.  787 

harbor  of  Cork.  There  they  again  embarked,  and  finished  their  voy- 
age in  safety  on  the  "  Norwegian."  In  i860  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sykes 
removed  to  Auburn.     Their  children  were  : 

George,  b.  Sept.  4,  1826,  m.  Lois  Reed  of  Auburn. 

Richard  M.,  b.  Nov.  26,   1S28,  m.  vSusan   Ingalls,  Nov.  30,  1852  ;  served  in  the 

Civil  War;  d.  in  Manchester,  N.  H.,  Nov.  16,  1872. 
Charles  Henry,  b.  Oct.  9,  1830,  I'd  in  San  P'rancisco  ;  d.  Feb.  6,  1892. 
Elizabeth  A.,  b.  Aug.  22,  1832,  m.  \Vm.   Wiley  of  Lowell,  Sept.  i,  1856. 
Robert  M.,  b.  Jan.  16,  1835,  m.  Theda  Carey  of  Gray. 

Kate  M.,  b.  Mar.  4,  1837,  m.  Wm.  E.  W^ood ;  d.  in  Portland,  Feb.  10,  1898. 
Thomas  E.,  b.  July  6,  1839,  d.  in  Auburn,  Jan.  15,  1878,  unm. 

Thomas  Sykes  died  in  Auburn,  Oct.  31,  1884,  aged  80,  and  his 
wife,  in  Lewi.ston,  Nov.  7,  1898,  aged  91  years,  6  mos. 

THACHER. 

The  Rev.  Josiah  Thacher  was  the  second  settled  minister  in  the 
town  of  Gorham.  He  married,  July  13,  1768,  Apphia  Mayo.  Their 
children  were  : 

Peter,  b.  July  13,  1769,  d.  young. 

Apphia,  b.  Aug.  19,  1770,  d.  young. 

Peter,  b.  Aug.  5,  1771,  d.  young. 

Apphia,  b.  March  23,  1773,  d.  Jan.  30,  1782. 

Peter,  b.  July  21,  1774,  m.  Deborah  Gordon  of  Portland.  She  d.  Dec.  7,  1810. 
Mr.  Thacher  read  law  with  Wm.  Symmes,  Esq.,  of  Portland,  and  entered 
into  practice  at  Saccarappa  in  the  year  1804,  where  he  remained  about 
five  years,  when  he  returned  to  Gorham  to  the  old  family  mansion  which 
stands  near  the  Cong'l  church  and  is  now  owned  by  Lewis  Johnson, 
where  he  d.  Jan.  26,  iSii.  He  left  a  legacy  of  two  thousand  dollars  to 
the  village  of  Saccarappa,  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  a  grammar  school 
for  the  children  of  that  village. 

Mary,  b.  May  8.  1776,  d.  Jan.  5,  1789. 

Faith,  b.  Oct.  30,  1778,  d.  imm.  in  Gorham  in  181 1. 

John,  b.  Feb.  18,  1781,  d.  unm.  in  Gorham,  Jan.  9,  iSio.  He  was  for  several 
years  previous  to  his  death  employed  as  clerk,  or  bookkeeper,  in  the 
store  of  Mr.  Webster  in  Portland  ;  he  never  was  in  business  for  himself. 

Apphia,  b.  Apr.  7,  1785,  m.  Reuben  Nason,  Oct.  14,  1807. 

Josiah,  b.  Jan.  21,  1789,  is  said  to  have  been  a  young  man  of  much  promise, 
and  a  remarkable  scholar  for  one  of  his  age.  He  was  preparing  for 
college  at  Exeter  Academy,  when  taken  sick.     He  d.  in  Gorham,  in  1807. 

Mr.  Thacher  died  Dec.  25,  1799,  and  his  wife  some  years  before. 
He  and  his  family  all  died  of  consumption,  at  the  family  mansion 
in  Gorham,  and  all,  including  his  grandchild  (Apphia  T.  Nason), 
are  interred  in  the  Thacher  tomb  in  the  back  part  of  the  old  burying- 
ground  at  Gorham  village. 

THOMAS. 

Capt.  Isaiah  Thomas  was  born  in  Newbury,  Mass.  He  was  an 
adjutant  in  one  of  the  Massachusetts  regiments  in  the  war  of  the 
Revolution.     We  have  no  record  of  where  he  married  his  first  wife, 


788  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM.  . 

or  of  her  name.  By  her  he  had  four  children  :  Spencer  ;  Isaiah  ; 
Mary  C,  and  Michiel.  All  these  children  remained  in  Massachusetts, 
except  Mar}',  who  came  with  her  father  to  Gorham.  She  married 
John  Kenniston,  and  by  him  had  one  son.  Capt.  Thomas's  second 
wife,  whom  he  married  in  1800,  was  Mrs.  Mary  Smith.  Her  maiden 
name  was^Mary  Brackett,  daughter  of  Anthony  and  Kerenhappuch 
Brackett  of  Portland.  She  married,  May  22,  1783,  a  Mr.  Halliday 
who  died  soon  after,  leaving  no  children,  and  about  the  year  1785 
she  married  James  Smith,  by  whom  she  had  four  children  (see 
Smith).  After  the  death  of  Smith,  Mary  married,  as  before 
said,  Capt.  Isaiah  Thomas.  Capt.  Thomas  by  his  second  wife  Mary 
had  but  one  child  : 

Holmes,  b.  in  Gorham,  Aug.  15,  1803,  m.  Lucy  Harding,  May  11,  1828. 
Capt.   Thomas   and  his   family   lived  on    Fort    Hill   on   the  farm 
recently    owned    by    Zenas    Chase.      Mrs.    Mary    Thomas,    wife    of 
Isaiah,  died  in  1815,  and  Capt.  Thomas,  Aug.  15,  1828. 

(2 )    Holmes  Thomas,  son  of  Capt.  Isaiah,  married  Lucy,  daughter 

of  Nicholas  and  Miriam  Harding.     Children,  all  born  in  Gorham: 

William  E.,  b.  July  5,  1829,  m.  Caroline  Hoyt. 

James  S.,  b.  Jan.  28,  1834,  m.  Mrs.  Georgiana  Knight  of  Pownal. 

Samuel  M.,  b.  July  4,  1836,  m.  Sarah  Fickett  of  Pownal;  2d,  Merritt. 

Lucy  J.,  b.  May  11,  1839,  m.  Chas.  C.  Burgess  of  Durham. 
Charles  C,  b.  Mar.  8,  1841,  m.  Nellie  Watts  of  Pownal. 

Holmes  Thomas  with  his  family  moved  to  Durham,  where  his  wife 

Lucy  died   March    15,    1866,   aged   58.     Feb.  24,  1867,  he  married 

Mrs.  Mary  H.  (Brackett)  Tracy,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Brackett  of 

Gorham,   and  widow  of   Rev.  Jonas   Tracy.       Mr.   Thomas  died  in 

Durham,  and  his  wife  Mary  in  Wales. 

Tufts  Thomas   came  to  Gorham  about  the  year    1776  from  Tam- 
worth,  N.  H.     His  wife's  name  was  Fanny  Bootman.     Children  : 

James,  b.  May  7,  1771,  m.  Charlotte,  dau.  of  Joseph  and  Mary  Libby,  Dec.  19, 
1795.  Ch.  recorded  in  Gorham:  Peggy,  b.  Oct.  4,  1796,  d.  179S;  Polly, 
b.  Nov.  3,  1798,  m.  Apr.,  1821,  John  Richards,  d.  May  30,  1S47  ;  Sophia, 
b.  Mar.  8,  1800.  James  Thomas  moved  to  Durham,  where  other  ch. 
were  b. :  Sally;  James  L. ;  Elias  ;  Benjamin;  Eliza. 

John,  b.  Sept.  9,  1772,  m.  Miriam,  dau.  of  Lt.  Joshua  and  Hannah  Crockett  of 
Gorham,  Jan.  17,  1796.  Ch.  recorded  here:  Hannah,  b.  Dec.  15, 
1796;  Susan,  b.  Feb.  22,  1799. 

William,  b.  Mar.  14,  1774,  m.  Anna  Ross,  Nov.  29,  1798. 

Isaac,  b.  Dec.  31,  1777  ;  have  no  further  record  of  him. 

Tufts  Thomas  had  a  daughter  by  a  second  wife.     She  married  a 
Mr.  Cobb  of  Windham. 

(2)  William  Thomas,    son  of   Tufts,  lived  on  a  farm  near  Little 
Falls,  which  he  purchased  of  Col.  Wm.  Tyng ;  it  being  a  part  of  the 


GENEALOGY.  789 

estate  of  Capt.  Alexander  Ross,  one  of  the  early  proprietors  of  Gor- 

ham.      He  married  Anna,  daugliter  of  James  Ross.      Children: 

Betsey,  b.  1799,  d.  May  30,  1S47. 

Merrill,  b.  Aug.  27,  iSoi,  m.  Charlotte  Knight,  June  10.  1828. 

Eliza,  b.  1803,  m.  John  Elder;  2d,  Jos.  Haml^len  ;  3d,  Wm.  F'rost. 

Samuel  F.,  b.  . 

Sarah,  b.  i8i  i,  d.  Mar.  5,  1S17. 
Sarah  L.,  b.  ,  d.  Mar.  15,  1847. 

William  Thomas  and  his  wife,  who  was  a  niece  of  Capt.  Alex. 
Ross,  were  members  of  the  Socity  of  Friends,  and  good  citizens. 
She  died  Oct.  11,  1836,  aged  56,  and  he,  Feb.  25,  i860. 

(3)   Merrill  Thomas,  son  of  William,  lived  at   Little   Falls,  a  much 

respected  citizen,  for  several  years  one  of  the  selectmen  of  Gorham. 

He    married    Charlotte,    daughter    of   Joseph    and     Mary    Knight. 

Children  : 

Charles  M.  T.,  b.  Mar.  16,  1829,  m.  Sophronia  Webb;  d.  Jan.  6,  1900. 

Mary  A.,  b.  Nov.  10,  1832,  m.  John  F.  Smith  of  Standish  (who  was  in  trade  for 

some  years  at  Little  Falls). 

Eliza  F.,  b.  Nov.  10,  1835,  m.  Joseph  Nason ;  d.  Apr.,  1873. 

Charlotte  K.,  I  ,     ^.r  o   o    i  m.  Josiah  C.  Shirley. 

All      .  (•  b-  Nov.  21,  iS-^S, -^  J    li  o  o         "^ 

Albert,  )  '       -^  '  (  d.  Dec.  9,  1838. 

Georgiana,  b.  Aug.  2,  1842,  m.  Chas.  E.  Emery. 

Merrill  Thomas  died  in  January,  1885,  and  his  wife,  July  7,  1895, 
The  farm  on  which  he  lived  is  now  owned  by  George  Thomas  of 
Portland.      The  buildings  are  burned. 

THOMES. 

Thomas  Thomes  was  an  inhabitant  of  Falmouth  Neck  as  early  as 
17 16.  He  built  and  lived  in  a  house  which  stood  in  Clay  Cove.  He 
and  his  wife  Elizabeth  united  with  Parson  Smith's  church  in  1738. 
March  13,  172 1  Mr.  Thomes  received  a  grant  of  land  on  the  Neck. 
This  grant  his  son  Thomas  sold  in  1765  to.  John  Thomes  of  Falmouth. 
Thomas  and  Elizabeth  had  at  least  three  sons,  Joseph,  who  married 
Mary ,  John,  who  married  Mar}? ,  and  Thomas. 

Joseph  and  Mary  had  a  son  Joseph  who  married  Sarah  Pickering 
in  1759.  Joseph,  Jr.  and  four  of  his  brothers  were  lost  at  sea.  Several 
of  Joseph  Jr.'s  children  lived  in  Gorham,  the  family  coming  out  here 
soon  after  the  burning  of  Falmouth  by  the  British. 

Thomas  Thomes,  son  of  Thomas,  married  Mary  .     They 

joined  the  church  in  Falmouth  in  1743.     There  is  no  perfect  record 
of  their  children  but  there  were  : 

Betty,  bapt.  in  Falmouth  in  1743. 

George,  b.  about  1745,  m.  Lydia  Brown,  Apr.  6,  1780. 


790  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Samuel,  b.  about  1747,  m.  Sarah  Lombard,  Dec.  23,  1779. 

Charles,  b.  about  1750,  m.  Anna  Gray,  Sept.  r,  1782. 

Amos,  b.  about  1755,  m.  in  Portland,  Mehitable  Burnell,  Dec.  20,  1781,  and 
shortly  after  moved  to  Pearsonstown.  Amos  Thomas  was  a  member  of 
Capt.  Whitmore's  Gorham  militia  company  in  1777.  In  this  year  also 
his  name  first  appears  on  a  Gorham  tax  bill. 

Comfort,  b. ,  m.  Andrew  Gates,  Oct.  6,  1785. 

Susanna,  b. ,  m.  James  Gray,  Jan.  2,  1791. 

Some  time  previous  to  the  year  1763  Thomas  Thomes  and  his  wife 
Mary  came  to  Gorham  where  they  took  up  and  cleared  land  on  the 
easterly  side  of  what  is  now  the  Fort  Hill  road.  This  land  is  now 
owned  by  the  widow  and  children  of  Leonard  Roberts,  the  great- 
grandson  of  Thomas,  and  son  of  Maiy  Thomes  who  married  Joshua 
Roberts.  In  clearing  this  land  a  large  apple  tree  was  found  among 
the  trees  of  the  forest,  and  was  carefully  preserved.  This  was 
doubtless  the  first  apple  tree  in  Gorham.  It  stood  a  little  south  of 
Leonard  Roberts'  house,  near  the  foot  of  the  hill,  close  to  the  spring. 
It  is  very  probable  that  the  Indians  dropped  the  seed  there.  Our 
informant,  an  elderly  man  and  a  descendant  of  the  Thomes  family, 
says  he  well  remembers  the  tree,  and  when  a  boy,  often  gathered 
apples  from  it.  One  year  seventeen  barrels  of  cider  were  made  from 
the  apples  gathered  from  this  tree.  After  the  tree  had  grown  old 
and  begun  to  decay,  the  hollow  in  its  trunk  was  large  enough  to  con- 
tain a  full  grown  person,  and  on  more  than  one  occasion  served  to 
do  so  as  a  shelter  from  the  storm.  Thomas  Thomes  died  Dec.  16, 
1790.     His  wife  Mary  died  Dec.  13,  1786. 

(2)  George  Thomes,  son  of  Thomas,  came  to  Gorham  with  his 
father.  He  lived  at  West  Gorham  where  Alonzo  Douglass  now  lives. 
He  married  Lydia,  daughter  of  Ezra  and  Mary  Brown  of  Windham. 
Children  : 

Betty,  b.  Mar.  i,  1781,  m.  Jose\)h  Brown,  Nov.  5,  1801. 

Ezra,  b.  May  18,  1782,  d.  unm.  in  Harrison,  June  16,  1818. 

Mary,  b   Dec.  20,  1783,  m.  Jacob  Emerson,  of  Harrison. 

William,  b.  Feb.  13,  1787,  m.  Sally  Plaisted,  Mar.  18,  1817  ;  2d,  Hannah  Plaisted. 

Amos,  b.  Oct.  30,  1788,  m.  Abigail  Higgins,  Mar.  29,  1810;  went  to  Harrison. 

Eunice,  b.  Dec.  20,  1790,  m   Joseph  Plaisted,  Dec.  5,  1820  ;  I'd  in  Harrison. 

Mehitable,  b.  Dec.  7;  1792,  m.  John  Johnson  of  Harrison. 

Lydia,  b.  Nov.  22,  1795,  m.  Jeremiah  Staples  of  Buxton,  Sept.  24,  1821. 

Nancy,  b.  June  3,  1799,  m.  Zebulon  Johnson,  1821  ;  I'd  in  Harrison. 

George  Thomes  died  April  28,  182 1,  aged  76.  His  wife  Lydia 
died  May  13,  1822,  aged  67  years. 

(2)  Samuel  Thomes,  son  of  Thomas,  lived  at  West  Gorham  where 
Granville  Clements  now  lives.  He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  John 
Lombard.     Children : 


GENEALOGY.  791 

Sarah,  b.  Sept.  7,  1781,  m.  Moses  Baker,  Feb.  28,  iSoo. 
Nathaniel,  b.  Jan.  23,  17S4,  in.  Mary  Higgins,  Jan.  29,  1807. 

George,  b. ,  I'd  in  Bethel ;  was  a  Universalist  minister. 

Samuel,  b.  ,  m.  Betsey  Harmon,  Sept.  9,  1810;  I'd  in  Denmark. 

Samuel  Thomes  died  March  3,  1798,  aged  51.  His  wife  Sarah 
died  May  20,  1846,  aged  83. 

(2)  Charles  Thomes,  son  of  Thomas,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary army.  He  made  his  way  home  to  Gorham  on  foot  in  nine 
days  and  a  half  from  Peekskill,  N.  Y.,  where  he  was  discharged  from 
the  army.  He  lived  on  the  Fort  Hill  road  on  the  old  homestead. 
He  married  Anna  Gray.     Children  : 

Comfort,  b.  Apr.  19,  1785,  d.  unm.  Feb.  7,  1857. 

James,  b.  Nov.  27,  1786,  m.  Abigail  Libby,  Feb.  28,  1819;  d.  Nov.  9,  1865. 

Susanna,  b.  July  3,  1788,  m.  Stuart  Green,  Sept.  13,  1835  ;  d.  in  Hiram. 

Mary,  b.  Dec.  16,  1789,  m.  Joshua  Roberts,  Apr.  15,  1810. 

Job,  b.  May  19,  1791,  served  in  War  of  1812  ;  d.  unm.  Dec.  7,  1843. 

Hannah,  b.  Oct.  12,  1793,  d.  unm. 

Martha  B.,  b.  June  17,  1795,  m.  Cyrus  Hamblen,  Apr.  29,  1846. 

Stephen   H.,  b.  Apr.  13,  1797,  m.  Abigail  Twombly,  Mar.  24,  1833;  2d,  Ann 

Berry. 
Joseph  C,  b.  Aug.  26,  1800,  m.  Catherine  Bacon,  Nov.  15,  1829  ;  I'd  in  Harrison  ; 

d.  May  22,  1859. 

Charles  Thomes  died  Nov.  25,  1833,  aged  83  years,  9  mos.  His 
wife  Anna  died  July  14,  1824,  aged  63. 

(3)  William  Thomes,  son  of  George,  lived  on  the  road  from  West 

Gorham  to  Fort  Hill,  on  the  place  where  his  father  had  lived  before 

him.       He  married  Sally,  daughter  of  Andrew  and  Molly  Plaisted. 

Children  : 

Miranda  P.,  b.  Oct.  25,  1818,  d.  unm.  Nov.  22,  1895. 

Octavia,  b.  Oct.  3,  1823,  m.  Israel  S.  Hopkinson  of  Limingtbn,  Jan.  15,  1850. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Thomes  died  April  7,  1852,  aged  64,  and  Major  Thomes 
married,  March  17,  1854,  her  sister  Hannah.  He  died  Sept.  3,  1861, 
aged  75,  and  his  wife  Hannah,  April  26,  1874,  aged  71. 

(3)   Nathaniel  Thomes,  son  of  Samuel,  lived  at  West  Gorham,  on 

his  father's   place.      He   married    Mary,  daughter  of   Capt.   Joseph 

Higgins.     Children  : 

Catherine,  b.  May  3,  1808,  m.  Samuel  Merrill,  Apr.  22,  1847  ;  d.  June  20,  1848. 

Eleanor,  b.  1S12,  d.  Nov.  19,  1830. 

Frank,  b.  1817,  m.  Salome  Gilkey  (adopted  dau.  of  Jos.  Gilkey)  ;  moved  to   111. 

Major  Nathaniel  Thomes  moved  to  Standish,  where  he  died  June 
3,  1850,  aged  66.  His  wife  Mary  died  at  Bunker  Hill,  111.,  Feb.  26, 
1874,  aged  87. 

(3)  Stephen  H.  Thomes,  son  of  Charles,  married  Abigail,  daughter 
of  Andrew  Twombly.  She  died  Feb.  4,  1838,  and  he  married,  in 
1839,  Ann,  daughter  of  Joshua  Berry.     They  had  one  son: 


792  HISTORY    OF    GOKHAM. 

Charles  B.,  b.  in  Windham,  m.  Caroline  Johnson,  May  22,  1S64;  d.  on  Fort 
Hill,  Ffb.  7.  1873,  aged  31  ;  his  widow  m.  Henj.  L.  Harmon,  and  d.  Feb. 
10,  1876,  aged  28. 

Stephen   H.   Thomes  died  in   Windham,   April    13,    1847,   and  his 

widow  married  Robert  Files.      She  died  June  i,  1871,  aged  71. 

Ebenezer  Scott  Thomes  was  the  son  of  Joseph  and  Sarah  (Picker- 
ing) Thomes,  of  whom  we  have  already  spoken.  He  was  in  town  as 
early  as  1777.  He  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  a  member  of 
Capt.  Whitmore's  militia  company,  in  Col.  Fogg's  regiment.  He 
married  Mary,  daughter  of  Moses  Plummer  of  Scarborough,  (pub. 
Sept.  23,  1780,)  by  whom  he  had  two  children,  Moses  and  Abigail. 
He  left  Gorhani  about  1787,  and  afterwards  lived  in  N.  Yarmouth  and 
Scarborough. 

Ebenezer  S.  Thomes  had  a  number  of  brothers  and  sisters,  among 
whom  w-ere  Joseph  who  married,  July  12,  1781,  Abigail  Weston  of 
Buxton  who  was  the  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Abigail  Weston  of  Gor- 
ham,  and  Esther  who  married,  Sept.  28,  1786,  Samuel  Files  of 
Gorham. 

Ezra  Thombs,  born  in  18 12,  was  the  fourth  son  of  Joseph  and  Betty 

(Thomes)   Brown  of   Windham.     He  was  brought  up  by  his  uncle 

Joseph  Plaisted  of   Harrison,  and  took  the  name  of  Ezra  Thombs. 

About  1835  became  to  Gorham  and  worked  for  nine  years  for  Robert 

Johnson.     In   1845   he  bought  the  old  Dr.   Swett  place  above  Fort 

Hill,  where  his  son   Llewellyn  now  resides.     Here  he  lived  till  his 

death.      He  married,  May  22,  1844,  Sarah  J.  Brackett  of  Westbrook. 

Children  : 

Llewellyn  T.,  b.  Apr.  2,  1846,  m.  Rebecca  E.  Elliott. 
Samuel  B.,  b.  Apr.  22,  1853,  is  a  physician  in  Portland. 

Mr.  Thombs  died  July  23,  1895,  and  his  wife,  Dec.  19,  1892. 
THURRELL. 

The  Thurrell,  or  Thurlo,  family  came  to  Gorham  from  Berwick, 

where  Richard  "  Thurold  "  joined  the  church  by  profession  of  faith 

March   27,    1719/20,   and  Ann,    his   wife,   Jan,    30,    1741/2.      Their 

children  : 

James,  b.  -,  m.  Judith  Crediford,  June  4,  1749. 

Jonathan  (?),  b.  ,  m.  Sarah  Grant,  July  26,  1749. 

Mary,  bapt.  Sept.  11,  1740. 
Jacob,  bapt.  Sept.  11,  1740. 
Ann,  bapt.  Sept.  11,  1740. 
Jerusha,  bapt.  Sept.  11,  1740. 

John,  bapt.  Mar.  27,  1743/4,  I'd  in  Gorham;  enlisted  in  Capt.  Stuart's  company 
in  1775;  was  a  sergeant  in  the  following  year  under  the  same  captain, 


GENEALOGY.  793 

and  was  at  Bagaduce  in  1779  under  Capt.  \Vm.  McCobb;  was  "out  of 

town  "  in  17S2. 
Ann,  b.  May  13,  1746. 
Abigail,  b.  Apr.  8,  1752. 

James  Thurrell,  son  of  Richard,  was  in  town  as  early  as  May,  1766. 
He  lived  on  the  north  half  of  the  hundred  acre  lot,  38.  His  house 
stood  just  east  of  where  the  house  of  Freeman  Richardson  now 
stands.  This  lot  was  granted  and  laid  out  to  Joseph  Weston,  of 
whom  Thurrell  purchased  it  together  with  the  buildings  thereon.  In 
1772  James  sold  the  south  half  of  this  lot  to  his  son  Richard  of 
Windham.  James  Thurrell  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  a  mem- 
ber of  Capt.  Stuart's  company  in  1776.  He  married  in  Berwick, 
Judith  Crediford.  We  have  no  list  of  the  children  of  James  and  Judith 
Thurrell,  but  their  son  Davis  was  baptized  in  Berwick,  April  8,  1752, 
and  married  Jan.  28,  1773,  Abigail,  daughter  of  Stephen  and  Sea 
Fair  Manchester,  born  Nov.  19,  1753.  In  July,  1777,  Davis  Thurrell 
sold  to  John  Thurrell  the  south  half  of  the  seventy  acre  lot,  72,  which 
lot  he  had  purchased  of  Enoch  Ilsley.  This  lot,  which  now  forms  a 
part  of  the  farm  of  Augustus  F.  Kemp  near  White  Rock,  Davis 
Thurrell  in  1782  sold  to  Amos  Brown  of  Gorham,  and  left  town.  In 
1797  he  and  Richard,  both  being  then  "  of  a  plantation  called  Sabbath 
Day  Pond  plantation  "  (New  Gloucester)  sold  land  in  Buckfield.  He 
is  said  by  some  to  have  lived  in  Poland. 

Another  son  of  James  Thurrell  was  Richard.  He  was  a  soldier 
in  the  Revolution,  a  member  of  Capt.  Paul  Ellis's  company  in  1776. 
He  lived  at  one  time  in  Windham. 

There  was  an  Asa  Thurrell  who  lived  in  Gorham,  who  may  have 
been  a  son  of  James.  He  also  served  in  the  Revolutionary  army, 
being  in  Capt.  Martin's  company  in  the  Rhode  Island  service,  and 
in  1779  was  at  Bagaduce  under  Capt.  McLellan.  He  left  Gorham 
about  1782,  and  is  thought  to  have  gone  to  Shephardstield  (now 
Hebron).  It  is  possible  that  he  is  the  Asa  Thurrell  who,  with  his 
wife  Abigail,  sold  land  in  Hebron  in  1794. 

A  James  Thurrell  of  Gorham  was  published  Nov.  25,  1780  to 
Elizabeth  Philbrick. 

TOWLE. 

The  first  of  the  name  on  the  Gorham  records,  Jeremiah  Towle, 
came  from  Hampton,  N.  H.,  to  Gorham  about  the  year  1787.  He 
married  Jan.  20,  1791,  Martha,  daughter  of  Seth  and  Elizabeth 
Harding,  and  lived  on  the  farm  once  owned  by  his  father-in-law. 
Children  : 


794  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Jael,  b.  May  22,  1791,  m.  John  McQuillan,  May  4,  1817. 

William,  b. . 

Theophilus,  b.  Feb.  i,  1794,  moved  to  Cherryfield. 

Stephen,  b.  Dec.  14,  1795,  m.  Miriam  Plummer  of  Scarboro,  Dec.  25,  1825. 

Martha,  b.  Apr.  25,  1799,  m.  Samuel  Lombard,  Apr.  8,  1832. 

Mary  Ann,  b.  Nov.  10,  1804,  m.  Jonathan  Hamblen,  p.  Oct.  18,  1835. 

Jeremiah  Towle  died  March  17,  1846,  aged  78  years. 

Abner  Towle  was  a  brother  of  Jeremiah  Towle.     He  lived  on  the 

eastern  side  of  South  St.,  near  where  the  house  of  Daniel  Whittier 

now  stands.     He  married  Mary  C,  daughter  of   Capt.   Josiah  and 

Prudence  Jenkins.     Children  : 

Cynthia,  b.  May  i,  1806,  m.  Ira  Baker,  Dec.  20,  1842. 

Lorenzo,  b.  Feb.  17,  1808,  m.  Harriet  Merrill,  Oct-.  10,  1830. 

Edward  C,  b.  Mar.  19,  1809,  m.  Martha  Bryant. 

Robert  H.,  b.  Sept.  11,  1810,  d.  unm.  Dec.  14,  1896. 

Miriam  B.,  b.  Oct.  8,  1812,  m.  Samuel  T.  Buck,  p.   Sept.    12,    1836;   d.   Nov. 

II,  1890. 
Henry,  b.  Sept.  11,  1814,  m.  Adeline  Hill  of  Portland. 
Brainard,  b.  July  25,  181 5,  I'd  in  Boston. 
Serena,  b.  May  7,  1818,  d.  June  20,  1840. 
Mary  M.,  b.  Apr.  26,  1820,  d.  unm.  Mar.  6,  1887. 
Almira,  b.  Apr.  11,  1823,  m.  Eli  Clay  of  Hiram  in  1841. 
Catherine,  b.  Nov.  25,  1827,  m.  John  E.  Naylor,  Mar.  23,  1857;  2d,  J.   Holmes 

Smith. 

Abner  Towle  died  Nov.  8,  i860,  aged  80,  and  his  wife  Mary,  July 
22,  1849,  aged  64. 

TRYON. 

Simeon  Tryon,  a  descendant  of  William  Tryon  who  came  from 
England  and  settled  in  Wethersfield,  Conn.,  about  1673,  was  a  grad- 
uate of  Yale  College  in  1769.  In  1776  he  enlisted  in  the  Continental 
army  as  a  first  lieutenant.  He  was  a  physician,  and  the  family 
tradition,  first  given  by  his  widow,  is,  that  while  serving  as  surgeon 
in  the  army,  he  died  of  small  pox,  at  West  Point,  in  1778.  He  mar- 
ried, in   1772,  Bethiah  Harding  Brown,  who  was  born  in  Eastham, 

Mass.,  and  was  the  daughter  of and  Martha  ( )  Brown. 

After  the  death  of  her  husband  and  the  burning,  by  the  British,  of 
her  house  at  New  Fairfield,  Conn.,  Mrs.  Tryon  came  with  her  chil- 
dren to  reside  in  Gorham,  where  her  brothers,  Samuel  and  Sylvanus 
Brown,  and  her  sister,  Mrs.  Martha  A.  Harding,  had  settled.  Her 
children  were  : 

Jane,  b.  in  Fredericksburg,  N.  Y.,  Dec.  20,  1774,  d.  Sept.  18,  1795. 

James,  b.  in  Fredericksburg,  N.  Y.,  Oct.  9,  1776.  While  engaged  in  assisting  to 
raise  the  frame  of  the  First  Parish  meetinghouse,  June  8,  1797,  James 
Tryon  was  so  injured  by  the  giving  way  of  some  of  the  rigging,  and  by 
the  falling  timbers,  that  he  died  the  following  day,  June  9,  1797. 

Simeon,  b.  in  New  Fairfield,  Conn.,  Sept.  28,  177S,  m.  Feb.  16,  1802,  Mercy 
Cook ;    2d,    Jane    Cook ;    daus.    of    Saul   and    Elizabeth    (Snow)  Cook. 


GENEALOGY.  795 

vSaiil  Cook  was  b.  in  Marshfield,  Mass.,  May  27,  1757,  and  was  the  son  of 
Barnabas  Cook,  and  prob.  brother  to  Mrs.  Mercy  Higgins  and  Mrs.  Dorcas 

Snow  of  Gorham.    lie  m.  Elizabeth,  dau.  of  Edward  and  Martha  ( ) 

(Brown)  Snow,  and  half-sister  to  Mrs.  Bethiah  Tryon.  Saul  Cook  was  a 
soldier  of  the  Revolution.  He  settled  in  Litchfield.  Simeon  Tryon  set- 
tled in  North  Pownal.   -He  d.  Aug.  7,  1847. 

Mrs.  Bethiah   H.  Tryon  left  Gorham  about   1800,  going  with  her 

son   Simeon.     She  died  at  North  Pownal,  March  19,  1838,  aged  94. 

TWOMBLY. 

Andrew  Twombly  came  to  Gorham  about  1819,  when  he  exchanged 

his  farm  in   Poland  with  the   Shakers,  for  a  part  of  their  Gorham 

property.     His  first  wife  was  Mary  Huston,  and  their  children,  born 

in  Poland,  were  : 

Solomon,  d.  unm. 

Harry,  lost  at  sea. 

William,  m.  Lucy  Perry;  moved  to  N.  Yarmouth;  d.  there. 

Eliza,  m.  Col.  Jabez  Cushing  of  N.  Yarmouth,  Mar.  10,  1827. 

Abigail,  m.  Stephen  H.  Thomas,  Mar.  24,  1833. 

Mrs.  Mary  Twombly  died  in   Poland,  and   Mr.   Twombly  married, 

Mrs.  Ruth  (Wilson)  Merrill.      Children  : 

Andrew,  m.  Bethia  Whitney. 
Charles,  m.  Jane  Wyman. 
Deborah,  d.  unm.  about  1840. 

Andrew  Twombly  died  Aug.  15,  1856,  aged  88.  Mrs.  Twombly 
died  Jan.  26,  1859,  aged  81. 

(2)  Andrew  Twombly,  Jr.,  son  of  Andrew,  lived  in  the  Shaker 
neighborhood,  in  the  house  formerly  occupied  by  his  father.  He  was 
a  soldier  in  the  Madawaska  war.  He  married  Bethia  Whitney  of 
Standish.     Children  : 

Wilson,  b.  July  12,  1844,  m.  Georgie  Maxim  of  Byron;  served  two  enlistments 

in  the  Civil  War. 
George,  b.  Apr.  8,  1846,  m.  Emma  Brooks;  d.  Mar.  i,  1879. 
Jennie,  b.  July  12,  1854. 

Mr.  Twombly  died  April  6,  1874,  and  Mrs.  Twombly,  Oct.  29, 
1874. 

TYLER. 

James  Tyler  was  a  clothier  and  fuller  by  trade.  He  came  to  Gor- 
ham, probably,  about  1794.  He  lived  in  the  one-story  house  above 
Little  river  bridge,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Fort  Hill  road,  where 
Peter  Whitney  since  lived,  and  carried  on  the  principal  part  of  his 
business  at  the  mill  by  the  bridge.  He  had  his  fulling-mill  and  dye- 
house  on  the   Blenham  falls  below.     He   sold  out  his  part  of  the 


796  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Blenham  lot,  122,  with  the  privileges  and  all  the  buildings,  to  Willard 
Buttrick,  Feb,  23,  1801.  He  married,  Dec.  11,  1796,  Frances,  daugh- 
ter of  Judge  William  Gorham.     They  had  one  child : 

William,  b.  June,  1798,  d.  Oct.  20,  1798. 

Mrs.  Frances  Tyler  died  at  the  home  of  her  father,  Sept.  22,  1798, 
aged  24.  James  Tyler  married  for  his  second  wife,  Dorcas  Bridges 
of  Andover,  Mass.,  (pub.  Jan.  11,  1800). 

Capt.  Abraham  Tyler,  son  of  James  and  Phebe  Tyler  of  Scar- 
borough, lived  in  Scarborough,  where  he  was  the  last  person  to  keep 
the  Blue  Point  ferry.  He  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  being  a 
captain  for  two  years  under  Col.  Edmund  Phinney.  He  married, 
Aug.  II,  1743,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Brown  of  Biddeford,  who  was  probably 
his  second  wife. 

Joseph,  Daniel,  and  James  Tyler  were  sons  of  Abraham  and 
Martha  Tyler  of  Scarborough,  and  probably  grandsons  of  Capt. 
Abraham.  Abraham  Tyler,  their  father,  married  second,  in  1809, 
Mrs.  Sarah  Jordan,  widow  of  Benjamin  A.  Jordan  of  Gorham.  He 
is  probably  the  Abraham  Tyler  who  died  in  Gorham,  June  26,  18 16, 
aged  77  years. 

Daniel  Tyler,  son  of  Abraham,  was  baptized  in  Scarborough, 
March  28,  1780.  He  married,  Oct.  20,  1803,  Mary  Ann,  daughter 
of  Benjamin  A.  and  Sarah  Jordan,  and  made  his  home  in  Gorham  in 
the  Hurricane  neighborhood.     Children  : 

Sally,  b.  May  15,  1804,  d.  Sept.  11,  1809. 

Lendall,  b.  Aug.  28,  1805,  m. ,  I'd  in  Milltown,  Me. 

Mary  C,  b.  July  2,  1807,  m. Maddox. 

Daniel,  b.  Apr.  28,  1809,  was  a  sea  faring  man  ;  d.  Apr.  15,  1864. 

Sally,  b.  Aug.  16,  181 1,  m.  . 

Allen,  b.  Apr.  2,  1814,  d.  unm.  Jan.  24,  1S96. 
Abraham,  b.  Mar.  12,  1816,  d.  young. 

Emily,  b.  Aug.  27,  1818,  m. . 

Martha,  b.  July  27,  1821,  m. . 


Daniel  Tyler  died  Sept.  26,  1822. 

James  Tyler,  brother  of  Daniel,  was  baptized  in  Scarborough,  Oct. 
13,  1782.  He  married,  July  4,  1804,  Sally  Jordan,  sister  to  his 
brother's  wife.     We  have  no  record  of  any  family. 

WALKER. 

We  find  the  names  of  Jabez  Walker  and  Sarah  Atwood,  both  of 
Cape  Cod,  on  the  Gorham  records  as  married  June,  1748,  but  have 
been  unable  to  ascertain  anything  further  concerning  this  couple. 


GENEALOGY.  797 

John  Walker  of  Windham  purchased  in  1790  of  Dr.  Jeremiah 
Barker  the  seventy  acre  lot,  29.  He  was  a  farmer  and  made  his 
home  on  this  lot  which  is  the  farm  now  occupied  by  V^an  W.  Carll. 
He  was  the  son  of  George  and  Elizabeth  (Snow)  Walker  of  Falmouth, 
both  of  whom  died  before  1802.  He  married  Elizabeth  Grant  of 
Westbrook,  and  his  children  were  : 

John,  b. ,  m.  Apr.  22,  1S21,  Jane,  dau.  of  Ebenezer  and  Jenny  Lombard. 

Ch  :   Harriet;   Lydia ;    Joseph;    James.       Mr.   Walker  I'd  on  the    farm 

where  his  father  had  I'd  before  him. 

George,  b.  ,  m.  Hannah  Hragdon  ;  I'd  and  d.  in  Saco. 

Charles,  b.  ,  m.  Elizabeth  Hooper;  I'd  in  Windham. 

Betsey,  b.  July  27,  17S9,  m.  Ezekiel  Ward,  Feb.  21,  181 1. 

Lucy,  b. ,  m.  Benjamin  Parker  of  Standish,  p.  May  2,  1812. 

Abigail,  b. ,  m.  Aaron  Parker  (bro.  to  Benj.),  Oct.  23,  1S23. 

Mrs.    Elizabeth   Walker   died   July    15,    1828,   aged  59,   and   Mr. 

Walker    married,    Oct.    11,     1828,    Elizabeth    Grover   of    Carthage. 

Children  : 

Mary,  b.  June  30,  1829,  d.  Oct.  20,  1829. 

Ruth  J.,  b.  July  27,  1831,  m. —  Morton  ;  I'd  in  Taunton,  Mass. 

Edsel,  b.  Dec.  4,  1832,  d.  in  the  Civil  War. 
Mary,  b.  Mar.  4,  1837. 

Mr.  Walker  died  in   Standish,  March  20,  1841,  aged  77,  and  his 

widow  married  Simon  Moulton  of  Standish. 

WARD. 

John  and  Joseph  Ward  were  brothers,  and  came  from  Cape  Cod. 
The  name  of  John  Ward  first  appears  on  the  tax  lists  in  Gorham  in 
1779.  He  lived  between  Great  Falls  and  White  Rock,  on  the  place 
lately  occupied  by  Mark  Hicks.  We  have  no  record  of  his  wife's 
name.     He  died  Sept.  6,  1831.     Children  : 

William,  went  to  Thorndike  ;  d.  there. 

Da%-id,  went  to  Thorndike  ;  d.  there. 

Jonathan,  m.  Sally  Hall  of  Standish,  Dec.  21,  1793;  ^'*^'  i"  Standish. 

Jesse,  m.  Hannah  Mitchell. 

Mary,  m.  William  Hall  of  Standish,  July  14,  1800;  both  d.  in  Gorham. 

Lucy,  m.  Nathaniel  Hicks,  p.  Dec.  12,  x8i2  ;  I'd  on  the  old  Ward  place. 

Ezekiel,  m.  Elizabeth  Walker,  Feb.  21,  181 1. 

Hannah,  d.  unm.  Apr.  23,  1872,  ag.  80. 

Joseph   Ward's  name  first  appears  on  the  tax  list  for  1780,  where 

he  is  taxed  for  two  polls,  this  being  probably  for  himself  and  eldest 

son.      He   owned   the    hundred    acre   lot,  83,  and  also  a  part  of  the 

hundred  acre  lot,  84.     We  find  no  record  of  his' family,  but  he  had  : 

Nathan,  m.  Isabell-<,  dau.  of  Lemuel  Jordan,  p.  Sept.  30,  1797.  Ch  :  Joseph, 
b.  Jan.  3,  1800,  m.  May  i,  1823,  Harriet,  dau.  of  Jona.  and  J-ine  l*mery, 
had  two  ch.,  was  lost  at  sea,  his  widow  m.  Col.  Daniel  Parsons  of  Hart- 
ford, Me.;  Simon,  b.  Jan.  17,  1802.     Nathan  Ward  I'd  on  the  hundred 


798  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

acre  lot,  83,  which  he  received  from  his  father  ;  this  farm  he  sold  to 
Abraham  Dow ;  it  has  since  been  known  as  the  Albion  Wood  place. 
Joseph,  Jr.,  m.  Hannah  Lummus  of  Hamilton,  Mass.,  p.  July  12,  1800.  Mr. 
Ward  at  one  time  followed  the  sea.  In  1796  he  bought  of  Samuel 
Prentiss^a  quarter  of  an  acre  of  land  on  the  north  side  of  Main  St.  at 
Gorham  village.  He  d.  before  1807,  for  in  that  year  his  estate  was 
settled  by  his  widow,  and  by  Samuel  Lummus  of  Hamilton  ;  in  this  set- 
tlement Ward  is  styled  a  trader,  and  of  Gorham. 

Probably  Joseph  Ward  had  other  children. 

(2)  Jesse  Ward,  born  in  1771,  son  of  John,  was  a  farmer  and  lived 
near  Great  Falls.     He  married  Hannah  Mitchell.     Children  : 

Martha,  b. ,  m.  Thomas  Libby,  Dec.  20,  1821. 

John,  b.  Jan.  8,  1801,  d.  young. 

John,  b.  1805,  m.  Mary  Gerrish  of  Windham,  Nov.  19,  1826.  Ch:  Abbie 
E.,  d.  y. ;  Abby  J.,  b.  Dec.  27,  1828,  d.  y. ;  Eliza  J.,  b.  Nov.  12,  1829,  d. 
ag.  28  ;  Lucy  A.,  b.  Apr.  10,  1832,  d.  Apr.  26,  1855 ;  Lewis  B.,  b.  Jan.  20, 
1835,  d.  Oct.  15,  1853;  John  H.,  b.  Aug.  25.  1838,  m.  Mary  S.  Russell  of 
Gray,  June  29,  1861  ;  Charles  M.,b.  Mar.  28, 1840,  k'd  at  Spottsylvania,  Va., 
May  12,  1864;  William  W.,  b.  Dec,  1844,  d.  in  the  army,  Oct.  20,  1863. 
Mrs.  Mary  Ward  d.  Apr.  i,  1861,  and  Mr.  Ward  m.  Mrs.  Eleanor  Webb. 
Mr.  Ward  d.  in  New  Gloucester. 

Joseph,  b.  1807,  m.  Mehitable,  dau.  of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  Nason,  and  I'd 
in  the  north  part  of  the  town.  One  child:  Roswell,  b.  Sept.  30,  1833, 
m.  Sarah  J.  Warren;  she  d.  Jan.  i,  1891,  ag.  48;  he  d.  Apr.  5,  189S. 
Joseph  Ward  d.  Sept.  24,  1865;  his  wife,  Mehitable  d.  Mar.  9,  1864,  ag. 

57- 

Lucy,  b. ,  m.  Israel  H.  Coates,  Dec.  4,  1825. 

Mary,  b. ,  m.  Lewis  Brackett,  Feb.  26,  1824;  2d, W^alker. 

Solomon,  b.  Dec.  22,  181 6,  d.  unm. 

Benjamin,  b.  Aug.  16,  1818.  m.  Mary  M.  Higgins  of  Standish,  p.  1843. 

Hannah,  b. ,  m. Gerrish  ;  2d,  John  Hamilton. 

Delia,  b. ,  m. McKenny. 

Sarah,  b.  Dec.  12,  1822. 
Abigail,  b.  1829,  d.  young. 
Abigail,  b.  1830,  d.  young. 

Jesse   Ward   died   May   23,   1845  ;  his  wife  died  March  29,  1856. 

aged  83. 

(2)  Ezekiel  Ward,  born  Sept.  4,  1786,  son  of  John,  was  a  farmer, 
and  a  tin  peddler  —  a  man  noted  for  his  strict  honesty.  He  lived 
about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  from  the  railroad  station  at  White  Rock. 
He  was  a  sergeant  in  Capt.  Bettis's  company  in  the  War  of  1812, 
and  went  to  the  defence  of  Portland.  He  married  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  John  and  Elizabeth  Walker.     Children  : 

Mary,  b.'Feb.  8,  1812,  m.  Miles  Thompson  of  Standish,  July,  1831 ;  d.  Mar,  23, 

1895. 
Rebecca  A.,  b.  June  4,  1813,  m.  Samuel  Leavitt  of  Standish,  June  19,  1831  ;  d. 

Feb.  2,  1882. 
Esther  M..  b.  Aug.  7,  1S18,  m.  Nathan  Wood  of  Portland,  May  3,  1838. 
Zachariah  B..  b.  Dec.  11,  182 1,  d.  unm.,  Apr.  26,  1841. 
Daniel  D.,  b.  Sept.  8,  1827,  m.  Frances  P.,  dau.  of  Marrett  Libby,  Oct.  4,  1854. 

Ch  :  Clarence  E.,  b.  July  22,  1855,  m.  Ada  B.  Smith,  Apr.  3,  1878.     Mr. 

Ward  rd  on  the  old  David  Harding  place,  near  Gambo.     He  now  I's  in 

Standish.     He  m.  2d,  Elizabeth  Cannell. 


GENEALOGY.  799 

Ezekiel  Ward  died  March  25,  1857  ;  Mrs.  Ward  died  Nov.  i, 
1869,  aged  80. 

Daniel  Ward  is  said  to  have  been  a  cousin  to  Nathan  and  Joseph 

Ward,    )r.      He  was  a  blacksmith,  and  lived  near  the  Buxton  line. 

In  April,  1798,  he  purchased  the  hundred  acre  lot,  60,  of  Mrs.  Mary 

Perkins  of  Boston.     This  lot  was  set  off  to  Mrs.  Perkins  as  an  heir 

of  George    Hancock.     Mr.  Ward  married   Phebe,   daughter   of  Dr. 

Clement  Jordan  of  Cape  Elizabeth  (pub.  Nov.  22,  1783).     Children  : 

Samuel,  b.  Feb.  28,  1785,  m.  Hannah  Davis  of  C.  Cod;  moved  to  Howland. 
Silas  J.,  b.  Dec.  15,  17S6,  m.  Rachel  Wood,  Dec.  22.  iSii  ;  no  ch. 
Polly,  b.  Mar.  31,  1792,  m.  William  McQuillan  of  Portland,  Oct.  22,  1812. 
Daniel,  b.  Mar.  24,  1794,  m.  Eunice  Spencer  of  Baldwin  ;  moved  to  Baldwin. 

After   the   death  of   Mr.  Ward   his  widow  married,  Oct.  13,  181 1, 

Capt.  Thomas  Libby  of  Scarborough  (Strip).     She  died  March  26, 

1822,  aged  60. 

WARREN. 

James  and  Samuel  Warren,  brothers,  were  probably  sons  of  Sam- 
uel Warren  who  went  from  Berwick  to  Saco  about  1740-45,  and 
married  in  1749  Sarah,  daughter  of  Robert  and  Janet  Gray  of  Saco. 
Robert  Gray  came  from  Ireland  and  first  settled  in  Berwick. 

Samuel  Warren  in  1761  purchased  of  William  Lakeman  and 
Anthony  Brackett  the  hundred  acre  lot,  66,  in  Gorham.  It  is  not 
probable  that  he  ever  lived  in  town.  His  two  sons,  James  and  Sam- 
uel, came  to  Gorham  from  Saco  about  1770.  They  settled  in  the 
westerly  part  of  the  town,  near  the  Buxton  line,  on  the  Flaggy 
Meadow  road,  on  the  adjacent  farms  where  their  descendants  now 
live.  The  land  was  then  wild  land,  and  the  families  found  their  way 
to  the  village  by  means  of  spotted  trees. 

(i)  James  Warren  at  first  built  a  log  house  on  the  southern  side 

of  the  road,  where  he  and  his  family  lived  until  he  built,  opposite  to 

this  on  the  other  side  of  the  road,  the  large  two-story  house   now 

occupied    by    his  grandson   James.     He    married,    Dec.    30,    1773, 

Martha,  daughter  of  Elder  Hugh  and  Elizabeth  McLellan.  Children  : 

Samuel,  b.  July  14,  1775,  m.  Anna  Pinkerton  of  Derry,  N.  H.,  p.  Nov.  28, 1798'. 
Hugh,  b.  Aug.  18,  1777,  m.   Polly   Foster  of  Buxton,   Feb.   22,   1798.     She  m. 

2d,  in  1805,  Benjamin  Mosher. 
James,  b.  Sept.  24,  1780,  m.  Patty   Pinkerton,   p.  Apr.  3,   1805.     She  m.  2d,  in 

182 1,  Henry  Whitney. 
Alexander,  b.  Dec.  24,  1783,  d.  young. 

Martha,  b.  Jan.  16,  1787.  m.  Nicholas  Davis,  Jr.,  Aug.  18,  1804. 
Alexander,  b.  May  30,  1789,  d.  young. 
Betsey,  b.  Dec.  2,  1791,  m.  Daniel  Libby,  Aug.  6,  1810. 


800  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Jane,  b.  1793,  ^-  young. 

William,  b.  Aug.  29,  1795,  m.  Sarah  J.  Googins,  Feb.  28,   1822. 

Mary,  b.  Sept.,  1798,  d.  young. 

James  Warren  died  April   16,  1821,  aged  71.     Mrs.  Warren  died 
March  17,  1837,  aged  82. 

(i)    Samuel    Warren,   Jr.,    settled    on   the    hundred   acre  lot,   70, 

adjoining  the  farm  of  his  brother  James.     On  this  lot  he  built,  nearly 

a  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  ago,  the  house  now  occupied  by  the 

family  of  his  son  David.     This  house  is  framed  from  the  oak  timber 

that  grew  upon  the  place.     A  cow  was  the  price  asked  and  received 

in  payment  for  his  work,  by  the  man  who  framed  the  building.     Mr. 

Warren  married  Sarah  Gray  of  Saco.     Children  : 

James,  b.  Dec.  10,  1780,  m.  Olive  Elden,  Sept.  27,  1810. 

Sally,  b.  Feb.  4,  1784,  m.  Benjamin  Richardson  of  Portland,  Nov.  16,  1806;  d. 

May  20,  1833. 
Polly,  b.  Apr.  19,  1787,  d.  unm.  Mar.  10,  1858. 

Samuel,  b.  July  16,  1789,  m.  Mary  Jewett ;  was  a  lawyer;  d.  in  Portland. 
Sophia,  b.  Mar.  6,  1794,  m.  Elijah  North  of  Stevens'  Plains,  Dec.  9,  1835. 
David,  b.  Apr.  22,  1796,  m.  Sabra  Hill,  Jan.  3,  1840. 

Samuel  Warren  died  Jan.  17,   1837,  aged  81.     Mrs.  Warren  died 
Mar.  18,  1840,  aged  79. 

(2)  William  Warren,  son  of  James,  was  a  farmer  and  lived  on  the 

farm  which  his  father  had  cleared  and  occupied.     He  was  a  soldier 

in  the  War  of  1812,  serving  in   Dyer  and  Leighton's  detachment  of 

cavalry.      He  married  Sarah  J.  Googins.     Children : 

James,  b.  Dec.  24,  1S22,  m.  Mary  Parington,  July   12,   1S46;  no  ch  ;  Mrs.  W.  d. 

Apr.  19,  1900. 
Rebecca,  b.  Dec.  12,  1824,  I's  in  Gorham  with  her  brother,  unm. 
Mary  A.,  b.  May  15,  1827,  m.  Henry  Jordan  of  Saco,  Jan.  6,  1846. 
Sarah  Ayer,  b.  May  8,  1830,  m.  John  L.  Higgins,  June  15.  1S51. 
Martha,  b.  July  23,  1836,  m.  James  Hargrave  of  Kansas  City. 
Olive,  b.  Oct.  8,  [841,  m.  Robert  L.  Wilkinson  of  111.;  d.  in  Iowa  in  1S94. 

Major  William  Warren  died  March  9,  1879.     Mrs.  Warren  died 

Aug.  5,  1873,  aged  70  years. 

(2)  James  Warren,  son   of  Samuel,  lived  near  Dundy  Falls.     He 

served  in  Capt.  Bettis's  company  in  the  War  of   18 12.     He  married 

Olive,  daughter  of  Nathan  and  Elizabeth  (Roberts)  Elden  of  Buxton. 

Children  : 

John,  b.  June  25,  iSii,  m.  Mrs.  Sophia  Pray,  Apr.  19,  1835. 

Nathan  E.,  b.  Aug.  11,  1813.  m.  Mary  P.  Cash,  Sept.  23,  1839  ;d.  May  26,1896. 

Eliza  A.,  b.  Jan.  5,  1815,  m.  David  Todd  of  Pounal,  Mar.,  1845. 

Sarah,  b.  May  2,  1817,  m.  George  Shedd,  Apr.,  1S46;  d.  June  3,  1850. 

Wil  lam,  b.  Aug.  21,  1820,  I'd  in  Oberlin,  O. ;  d.  Aug.  22,  1896 

Mary  Jane,  b.  Aug.  16,  1822.  d.  Aug.  7,  1843. 

Martha  A.,  b.  Jan.  26,  1825,  m.  Calrh  Eld<  r,  June  r4.  1854;  d   July  22,  1868. 

B.  Franklin,  b.  Dec.  3,  1826,  d.  in  Poitland,  unm.  Apr.  21,  1872. 

David,  b.  Mar.  27,  1832,  d.  young. 


GENEALOGY.  801 

James  Warren  died  Jan.  14,  1848,  aged  68.  Mrs.  Olive  Warren 
died  Aug.  28,  1854,  aged  64. 

(2)  David  Warren,  son  of  Samuel,  lived  on  his  father's  homestead. 

He  was  a  soldier   in  the  War  of    181 2,  being   a  member    of    Capt. 

Robie's  company.      He  married  Sabra  Hill  of  Brownfield.   Children: 

Miranda  M.,  d.  May  11,  1896. 

Rhoda  A.,  m.  Henry  Day  of  Brovvnfield ;  d.  Aug.,  1875. 

Sabra  S.,  I's  on  the  homestead. 

David,  d.  Sept.  8,  1894. 

Julia  J.,  I's  on  the  homestead. 

Sarah,  I's  on  the  homestead. 

David  Warren  died  Oct.  10,  1866.     Mrs.   Sabra  Warren  died  May 

9,  1899,  aged  78. 

(3)  John  Warren,  son  of  James  and  Olive,  lived  near  Dundy  Falls. 
He  married  Mrs.  Sophia  (Crockett)  Pray,  daughter  of  Enoch  and 
Drusilla  Crockett  of  Gorham,  and  widow  of  Joseph  Pray  of  Wind- 
ham.    Children  : 

Joseph  B.,  b.  June  13,  1837,  m.  Susan  E.  Cloudman,  Dec.  2,  1863;  I'd  in  Port- 
land; d.  Nov.  14,  1894. 

James  E.,  b.  June  24,  1841,  m.  Martha  J.  Godfrey  of  Hampton,  N.  H.,  July 
25,  1863. 

Harriet  A.,  b.  July  2,  1849. 

John  Warren  died  March  16,  1873.  Mrs.  Warren  died  Dec.  9, 
190 1,  aged  95. 

Nathaniel  Warren,  son  of  Peter  Warren,  was  born  in  Tuftonboro, 
N.  H.,  from  which  place  he  came  to  Gorham.  He  lived  near  Mr. 
Nicholas  Harding's  farm.  His  wife  was  Margaret  Haines.  He  had 
a  son  John,  born  Oct.  12,  1786,  who  married,  Jan.  4,  1806,  Sukey, 
daughter  of  William  Adams;  also  a  daughter  Dolly  who  married 
Joseph  Adams,  son  of  William,  and  moved  to  Hiram.  Nathaniel 
Warren  also  moved  to  Hiram,  where  he  died  Aug.  4,  1819. 

John  Warren  was  born  in  Berwick,  March  5,  173 1,  and  moved 
from  that  town  to  Falmouth.  He  married  Jane  Johnson.  Three  of 
his  children  married  and  lived  in  Gorham,  Polly,  who  married  Peter 
Crockett  in  1782,  James  who  married  Rebecca  Huston,  and  Jane  who 
married  John  Brackett. 

James  Warren,  Jr..  born  near  Stroudwater,  Jan.  25,  1769,  married 
in  1806  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Simon  and  Elizabeth  Huston,  and  lived 
in  Gorham  near  Horse  Beef,  on  the  place  where  the  late  Richard 
Willis  lived.  He  afterwards  moved  to  the  farm  south  of  the  David 
Harding  place,  and  lived  in  the  house  still  standing  on  the  knoll.  It 
is  now  in  the  field  on  the  east  of  the  road,  since  the  straightening  of 


802  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

the  road  which  used  to  run  past  it.     From  this  place   Mr.  Warren 

moved  to  Otisfield,  where  he  died  Jan.  6,   1831.     Children  of  James 

and  Rebecca  : 

Elizabeth  ].,  b. ,  m.  David  Purinton,  Feb.  2,  1826. 

Rebecca  A.,  b.  May  13,  1810,  m.  Calvin  Emery,  Nov.  8,  1830. 

James  Gardner,  b.  Jan.  28,   1813,  m. Edwards;  2d,  Mrs.  Waterhouse ; 

I'd  in  Otisfield  ;  was  in  the  Civil  War. 
Simon  H.,  b.  May  27,  1816,  d.  when  about  twenty-one  years  old. 

Mrs.  Warren  died  in  Gorham  May  10,  1824,  aged  50. 
WATERHOUSE. 

Joseph  Waterhouse  who  came  to  Scarborough  about  1733,  was 
born  in  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  in  17 11.  He  was  the  son  of  Timothy  and 
Ruth  (Moses)  Waterhouse,  and  grandson  of  Richard  Waterhouse 
who  emigrated  from  England  and  was  a  tanner  in  Boston  in  167 1, 
and  in  1672  settled  in  Portsmouth.  The  wife  of  Richard  was  Sarah 
Fernald,  daughter  of  Reinald  Fernald,  the  first  surgeon  that  emigrated 
to  New  Hampshire.  Joseph  Waterhouse  married  Mary  Libby  of 
Scarborough. 

George  Waterhouse,  the  ninth  child  of  Joseph  and  Mary  (Libby) 
Waterhouse,  was  born  in  Scarborough,  Jan.  21,  1750.  His  brother 
Enoch  settled  in  Machias,  to  which  place  George  accompanied  him, 
and  came  thence  to  Gorham  about  1773  or  1774  and  bought  the  farm 
in  the  south  part  of  the  town  since  owned  by  his  grandson  Benjamin. 
This  farm,  which  was  then  wild  land,  he  purchased  in  1775  °f  Stephen 
Sawyer.  Mr.  Waterhouse  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution.  He  mar- 
ried, Nov.  23,  1775,  Dorcas,  daughter  of  Joseph  Libby,  who  lived 
near  Horse  Beef  Falls.     Children: 

Polly,  b.  Mar.  11,  1776,  m.  Capt.  Thomas  Libby  of  Scarboro,  Sept.  6,  1825  ;  d. 

Jan.  30,  1869. 
Joseph,  b.  Apr.  16,  1778,  lost  at  sea  in  1803. 

George,  b.  Nov.  3,  1780,  m.  Sukey  Atkinson  of  Buxton,  Mar.  3,  1805. 
Charlotte,  b.  Oct.  19,  1783,  m.  Nahum  Lord,  July  11,  1802. 
Betsey,  b.  June  2,  1786,  m.  Levi  Harris  of  Westbrook,  July  27,  1817. 
Isaac,  b.  Nov.  g,  1789,  I'd  in  Monmouth;  d.  at  Sabattisville. 
David,  b.  June  6,  1793,  m.  Sophia  Coolbroth,  Mar.  15,  1S17  ;  2d,  Mary  Roundy. 
Simon,  b.  Aug.  4,  1795,  d.  unm.  Jan.  22,  1866. 
Sally,  b.  Jan.  12,  1799,  m.  Meshach  Rust,  July  27,  1836. 
Sargent,  b. ,  m.  Sarah  Graffam. 

George  Waterhouse  died  Oct.  9,  1835,  aged  87,  and  his  wife.  May 
6,  1836,  aged  77. 

(2)  David  Waterhouse,  son  of  George,  was  a  farmer,  and  lived  on 
the  place  cleared  by  his  father.  He  married  Sophia  Coolbroth  of 
Scarborough.     Children : 


GENEALOGY.  803 

Benjamin  C,  b.  Apr.  30,   1S18,  m.  Martha  A.,  dau.  of  Humphrey  Pike.     Ch  : 

Clara,    b.    Sept.    21,    1848,    m.    Albert    S.    Riggs,    June   12,  1879.     Mr. 

Waterhouse  d.  Sept.  i,  1893. 
George,  b.  July  20,  1821,  m.  Jane  Jackson  of  Gorham  ;  2d,  Sarah  Grant  of  Bid- 

deford ;  I'd  in  Portland. 
Sally,  b.  Feb.  20,  1824,  m.  Alexander  Freeman,  July  9,  1S43. 
Mehiiable,  b.  Dec.  15,  1826,  m.  Leonard  Roberts,  1845. 

Mary  A.,  b.  Sept.  i,  1829,  m.  Chas.  I.  Moore,  1S51  ;  I'd  in  Portland;  d.  in  1855. 
Thomas  J.,  b.  June  19,  1833,  m.  Ellen  McNamara. 
Horace,  b.  May  15,  1835,  m.  Eudora  Mann,  June  3,  1865  ;  I'd  in  Wales ;  d.  Dec. 

25,  1883. 
Elizabeth,  b.  June  15.  1837,  m.  James  A.  Folsom,  Sept.  4,  1856. 
Rosalia  L.,  b.  Feb.  27,  1840,  m.  Henry  W.  P'olsom. 

Mrs.  Sophia  Waterhouse  died  July  3,  1853,  aged  57,  and  Mr. 
Waterhouse  married,  Sept.  17,  1854,  Mrs.  Mary  Roundy  of  Buxton. 
David  Waterhouse  died  Nov.  29,  1867. 

Joseph  Waterhouse,  born  in  Scarborough,  Feb.  9,  1766,  was  the 
son  of  Timothy  and  Sarah  (Small)  Waterhouse,  and  grandson  of 
Joseph  and  Mary  (Libby)  Waterhouse.  He  was  a  farmer  and  settled 
first  at  Great  Falls,  Gorham,  and  about  1795  moved  to  the  south  part 
of  the  town  on  to  the  place  where  M.  C.  Burnell  now  lives,  where  the 
remains  of  his  cellar  are  still  to  be  seen  a  little  south  of  the  present 
house.  He  married,  Dec.  30,  1791,  Elizabeth,  the  daughter  of 
William  and  Mary  (Burns)  Larrabee  of  Scarborough.      Children  : 

Olive,  b.  Jan.  11,  1793,  "^-  ^^  Waterhouse,  Aug.  26,  18 19. 

Zebulon,  b.  Sept.  14,  1794,  m.  Anna  Dyer  of  Danville;  2d,  Matilda  Goss ;  d.  in 

Iowa,  Feb.  26,  1879. 
Benjamin,  b.  Oct.  7,  1796,  m.  Betsey  Dyer  of  Danville;  d.  in  Iowa  in    1873;  no 

ch. 
Joseph,  b.  Aug.  6,  1800,  m.  Esther  Penley  of   Danville;  d.   at   Cloverdale,  Ind., 

Apr.,  1863. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Waterhouse  died  Oct.  13,  1801,  and  Mr.  Water- 
house  married,  May  2,  1802,  Lydia  Wescott,  widow  of  Abner  Wescott, 
and  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  Hannah  (Roberts)  Parker.     Children  : 

Abner,  b.  Aug.  20,  1804,  m.  Mary  Robinson;  I'd  in  Danville;  d.  Feb.  i,  1895. 

Sally,  b.  May  16,  181 1,  m.  Francis  J.  Knapp. 

Lydia,  b.  May  i,  18 18,  m.  Nathaniel  Sawyer  of  New  Gloucester. 

In  1805  Joseph  Waterhouse  moved  to  Pejepscot,  now  Danville, 
where  he  died  in  April,  1844. 

Ai  Waterhouse  born  in  Scarborough,  May  21,  1792,  was  the  son 
of  Theophilus  and  Hannah  (Goodwin)  Waterhouse,  and  grandson  of 
Joseph  and  Mary  (Libby)  Waterhouse.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  lived 
in  a  part  of  Scarborough  now  Gorham,  and  known  as  the  "  Strip." 
He  married,  Aug.  26,  1819,  Olive,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth 
Waterhouse.     Children  : 


804  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Eli  Leland,  b.  July  7,  1821,  m.  Martha  J.  Chapman.  In  1864  he  was  largely 
instrumental  in  the  passage  of  a  bill  setting  off  to  Gorham  a  part  of  the 
town  of  Scarboro.     He  d.  in  E.  B  )ston,  Mass.,  Feb.  3,  1889. 

Ai,  b.  Oct.  26,  1825,  m.  Sarah  A.  Goodwin;  served  as  surgeon  in  ihe  Civil  War  ; 
removed  to  Jamestown,  N.  V.,  where  he  died. 

Amos,  b.  Aug.  4,  i-)28,  m.  Frances  A.  Fickett ;  was  a  carpenter;  while  at  work 
in  Portland,  fell  from  a  staging,  and  was  killed  Oct.  10,  1865. 

Ai  Waterhouse  died  Sept.  19,  1867.  His  widow  Olive  died  in 
Maiden,  Mass.,  Aug.  8,  1892,  aged  99. 

William  H.  Waterhouse,  born  in  Scarborough,  Oct.  14,  1779,  ^^^ 
the  son  of  Joseph,  Jr.,  and  Lydia  (Harmon)  Waterhouse,  and  grand- 
son of  Joseph  and  Mary  (Libby)  Waterhouse.  Joseph  Waterhouse, 
Jr.,  was  a  Revolutionary  pensioner.  He  died  in  Standish.  William  H. 
Waterhouse  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  18 12.  He  married,  Jan. 
31,  1802,  Sally  B.,  daughter  of  Capt.  Ephraim  Smith.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Waterhouse  lived  in  Gorham  in  the  house  built  and  formerly  occu- 
pied by  Capt.  Smith,  about  a  mile  west  from  Little  Falls,  and  which 
is  still  standing  near  the  Town  Farm.  Children  of  William  H.  and 
Sally  B.  Waterhouse  : 

Thomas  S.,  b.  Apr.  5,  1803,  m.  Miriam  Estes,  June  28,  1827;  I'd  in  Standish;  d. 

in  Gorham,  May  9,  1888. 
Daniel,  b.  Sept.  25,  1805,  d.  Aug.  31,  1807. 
Freeman,  b.  July  25,  1807,  d.  Oct.  9,  1809. 
Levi  H.,  b.  Sept.  30,  1S09,  m.  Elizabeth  Watts  of  St.  John,  N.  B. ;  merchant  in 

St.  John. 
Samuel  S.,  b.  July  21,  181 1,  m.  Ann  Bolton,  June  3,   1838;  2d,  Eleanor  Small; 

3d,  Priscilla  Ward. 
Gardner,  b.  Jan.  22,   1814,  m.  Jane   W.  Babb  of  Westbrook,  1843;  2d,  Sarah 

Mayberry  of  Standish;  I'd  in  Standish;  d.  Apr.  3,  18S4. 
Sumner,  b.  Oct.  31,  1S16,  m.  Lydia  A.  Cummings  of  Albany,  Me.;  d.  at  the  house 

of  his  brother  Samuel,  Aug.  13,  1868. 
Elizabeth  J.,  b.  May  29,  1818,  d.  in  Portland,  unm.  Dec.  10,  1853. 
Prentiss  M.,  b.  Sept.  8,   1820,  m.  Sarah   Rounds,    Sept.    13,    1846;  2d,   Sarah 

Libby. 

Mrs.  Sally  Waterhouse  died  Oct.  10,  1843,  aged  63,  and  Mr. 
Waterhouse  married,  Sept.  21,  1846,  Mrs.  Sarah  Donnell  of  Portland. 
He  died  Nov.  4,  1867,  aged  88. 

(2)  Samuel  S.  Waterhouse,  son  of  William  H.,  was  a  farmer,  and 
lived  on  the  farm  that  had  belonged  to  his  grandfather  Smith.  He 
was  a  captain  in  the  militia ;  and  for  four  years  one  of  the  selectmen 
of  the  town.  He  married  Ann,  daughter  of  William  and  Eunice 
Bolton,     Children : 

Julia  A.,  b.  Aug.  21,  1840,  m.  Capt.  Joel  Wilson;  d.  Nov.  28,  1874. 

Elbridge  H.,  b.  Nov.  24,  1842,  d.  June  17,  1862. 

Melvin  C,  b.  Aug.  20,  1846,  d.  Dec.  19,  1864. 

Charles  M.,  b.  Aug.  19,  1849,  "^-  Emma  S.  Wescott,  Dec.  22,  1872;  is  a  tailor  in 

Westbrook. 
Mary  Etta,  b.  June  19,  1854,  m.  Howard  T.  Small,  Nov.  27,   187S ;  d.  Nov.   13, 

1880. 


GENEALOGY.  805 

Mrs.  Ann  VVaterhouse  died  Oct.  24,  1859,  aged  49,  and  Mr. 
WaterhoLise  married,  Nov.  22,  i86r,  Mrs.  Eleanor  B.  (Patten)  Small, 
widow  of  Geo.  Small  of  Raymond,  by  whom  he  had  one  child,  Hattie 
C,  born  Jan.  8,  1865,  and  died  Aug.  11.  1867.  Mrs.  Eleanor 
VVaterhouse  died  May  19,  1872,  and  Mr.  Waterhouse  married  Mrs. 
Priscilla  (Libby)  Ward,  daughter  of  Marrett  Libby.  Capt.  Water- 
house  died  Aug.  15,  1887,  aged  76. 

(2)   Prentiss   M.   Waterhouse,  son   of  William  H.,  was  a  machinist 

by  trade,  and  lived  on  a  farm  in  Gorham.     He  married  Sally  Rounds 

of  Buxton.     Children  : 

Mary  M.,  b.  June  20,  1S47,  m.  James  IF.  libby,  Nov.  26,  1868. 
Annie  A.,  b.  Jan.  11,  1850,  m.  Charles  Cloudman. 
Albert  E.,  b.  Nov.  4,  1853,  I's  in  the  West. 
Freddie  P.,  b.  Feb.  5,  1858,  d.  Sept.  29,  i860. 

Mrs.  Sally  (Rounds)  Waterhouse  died  Dec.  8,  1866,  aged  42,  and 
Mr.  Waterhouse  married,  June  30,  1869,  Sarah,  daughter  of  Joseph 
Libby  of  Gorham.      He  died  April  9,  1S71. 

WATERMAN. 

Malachi  Waterman  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution,  serving  in 
Capt.  Whitmore's  company.  Col.  Fogg's  regiment.  He  married 
Mary  Darker  (pub.  Dec.  21,  1776)  as  both  of  Gorham.  There  is  no 
record  of  their  marriage  in  Gorham,  and  they  probably  resided  else- 
where for  a  time.     The  children  recorded  here  are  : 

Sarah,  b.  July  22,  1785. 

Mary,  b.  Nov.  13,  1787. 

Statira,  b.  Sept.  25,  1791. 

Ebenezer,  b.  Sept.  15,  1795. 

John,  b.  June  19,  1797,  m.  Lydia  Hamilton.  Ch :  Aaron,  d.  Oct.  6,  1844,  ag. 
23;  Moses,  I'd  in  Conn.;  John,  m.  Mary  E.  Smith  of  Westbrook,  Mar., 
1852;  Reuben,  I's  in  Conn.;  Charley  H.,  d.  Oct.  9,  1837,  ag.  9;  Henry 
L.,  m.  Martha  Williams,  d.  Apr.  26,  1854,  ag.  24;  Mary  Jane,  d.  Sept. 
14,  1862,  ag.  31  ;  Lydia  A.,  m.  Arthur  M.  Drown,  July  4,  1859;  Maria 
E. ;  Emeline,  m.  Abraham  Guptill ;  Miranda,  d.,  ag.  3  ;  Charles  F.,  k'd  at 
Fort  Pulaski,  June  4,  1862,  ag.  18.  Mr.  Waterman  I'd  for  many  years  on 
South  St.,  in  the  old  Cary  Mc  Lallan  house,  which  was  torn  down  a  few- 
years  since  by  Freeman  Higgins.  He  d.  at  W.  Gorham,  Mar.  13,  1S70; 
his  wife  d.  about  1S72. 

Malachi  Waterman  died  in  Baldwin,  Feb.  12,  1824. 

Dr.  John  Waterman  came  to  Gorham  from  Windham.  He  was 
the  son  of  John  Waterman  of  New  Gloucester,  Me.,  in  which  town  he 
was  born  in  1789.  He  practiced  medicine  here  for  many  years, 
and  was  a  wise  and  prudent  practitioner.  He  was  for  some  years 
Sec'y  and  Treasurer  of  the  Maine  Mutual  Fire  Ins.  Co.,  and  also  of 


806  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Gorham  Academy.  July  21,  1822,  he  married  Ann,  daughter  of 
Abraham  and  Lucy  (Smith)  Anderson,  and  granddaughter  of  Abra- 
ham Anderson  and  his  wife  Anna  (Collins)  (Cloudman),  the  widow 
of  Edward  Cloudman.  Mrs.  Waterman  commanded  the  respect  of 
all  who  knew  her.  Many  persons,  who  were  once  members  of  her 
family  in  their  school  days,  will  remember  her  with  love  and  grati- 
tude. The  children  of  Dr.  John  and  Ann  Waterman,  born  in 
Windham  were : 

Lucy  E.,  b.  May  5,  1823,  m.  Rev.  Edward  S.  Dwight,  Nov.   13,   1849;  d.  Sept. 

II,  1861. 
John  A.,  b.  June  24,   1827,  m.  Evelina  L.  Pierce,  June  23,  1853  ;  2d,  Mary  E. 

Smith. 

Dr.  Waterman  died  June  11,  1865;  his  wife  died  Sept.  7,  1871, 
aged  73. 

(2)  John  A.  Waterman,  son  of  Dr.  John  and  Ann  (Anderson) 
Waterman,  came  to  Gorham  with  his  parents.  After  his  graduation 
at  Bowdoin,  he  commenced  the  practice  of  law  in  this  place,  which 
he  continued  till  his  death.  (See  Chapter  XIV.)  He  became 
one  of  our  most  prominent  citizens,  and  held  many  offices  of  trust. 
He  was  noted  for  his  unfailing  courtesy  and  strict  probity.  He 
was  Judge  of  Probate  for  Cumberland  County  from  1863  to  1876, 
filling  the  office  to  great  acceptance.  He  was  Treasurer  of  Gorham 
Savings  Bank.  He  married  Evelina  L.,  daughter  of  Hon.  Josiah 
Pierce,  and  their  children  were  :  Eva  L.,  died  Jan.  7,  1878,  aged  20  ; 
Fanny  A.,  died  Nov.  28,  1862,  aged  3;  Margaret  P.;  John  A.,  m. 
Emma  C.  Shirley,  Aug.  2,  1893  ;  Lucy  D. 

Mrs.  Waterman  died  Aug.  17,  1881,  aged  51.  Judge  Waterman 
married,  second,  Sept.  23,  1885,  Mary  E.,  daughter  of  Henry  P.  A. 
and  Caroline  (Fox)  Smith.,  They  have  one  child,  Caroline  Fox. 
Hon.  John  A.  Waterman  died  March  6,  1893. 

WATERS. 

Cornelius  and  George  W.  Waters  came  from  Ashby,  Mass.  They 
were  brothers ;  sons  of  Rev.  Cornelius  and  Sybil  (Gardner)  Waters. 
Cornelius,  who  was  born  Nov.  17,  1795,  was  a  clothier  by  trade.  He 
was  a  fine  singer,  a  teacher  of  vocal  music,  and,  with  the  exception 
of  two  brief  periods,  was  for  more  than  thirty-five  years  leader  of  the 
Congregational  church  choir  in  Gorham.  For  some  years  he  was 
engaged  in  the  carpet  factory.  He  was  appointed  postmaster  at 
Gorham  village  in  1863,  and  after  his  death  in  1880  his  daughter 
Anna  received  from  the  Government  a  commission  to  succeed  him 


CORNELIUS  WATERS. 


MRS.    ABIGAIL  (IRISH)  WATERS. 


GENEALOGY.  807 

in  the  ofifice.     Mr.  Waters  was  a  man  of  strict  integrity  and  honor. 

He  married,  Dec.  15,  1830,  Abigail,  daughter  of  Gen.  James  Irish. 

Children : 

Rebecca  I.,  b.  Sept.  23,  1S31,  d.  unm.  Feb.  i,  1882. 

Mary  L.,  b.  Sept.  10,  1S33,  m.  Samuel  W.  Thunston,  June  15,  1858. 

Abby  C,  b.  June  13,  1837,  d.  unm.  Nov.  26,  1S77. 

James  C,  b.  May  g,  1S40,  d.  unm.  June  30,  1870. 

Reuel  W.,  b.  Oct.  31,  1S42,  m.  Emily  A.  Bently,  June  24,  1S6S. 

Anna  G.,  b.  Dec.  6,  185 1. 

Cornelius  Waters  died  Jan.  26,  18S0.     Mrs.  Waters  died  June  22, 

1873,  aged  67. 

George  W.  Waters,  brother  of  Cornelius,  lived  for  some  years  in 

Ashby,  Mass.,  where  he  owned  a  farm  and  mills.     He  married  Sarah 

Forbes  of  Deerfield,  Mass.     After  coming  to  Gorham  in   1834  Mr. 

Waters  was  employed  in  the  carpet  factory  here.     In    1839  he  went 

to  Enfield,  Mass.,  to  superintend  the  carding  room  in  a  factory  there, 

but  returned  to  Gorham  after  two  years  and  carried  on  the  business 

of  carpet  making  here.     Children  : 

Edwin  F.,  b.  in  Ashby,  July  7,  1822,  m.,  and  d.  in  Cal.,  May,  1894. 

George  P.,  b.  in  Ashby,  Mar.  23,  1S24,  m.,  and  d.  in  Newton  Center,  Aug.  17, 

1896. 
John  A.,  b.  in  Ashby,  Mar.  26,  1825,  m. 


Eliza,  b.  in  Ashby,  Apr.  29,  1S27,  d.  young. 

Maria  C.,  b.  in  Ashby,  Sept.  6,  1828,  m.  John  L.  Curtis,  Sept.  9,  1845. 

Sarah  E.,  b.  in  Gorham,  Nov.  18,  1836,  m.  E.  Noyes  ;  d.  Apr.  14,  1873. 

William  G.,  b.  in  Gorham,  Aug.  14,  1838,  lives  in  Cal. 

Harriet  C,  b.  in  Enfield,  Aug.,  1840,  d.  yoimg. 

Charles  H.,  b.  in  Gorham,  May  14,  1843,  d.  May  12,  1S45. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Waters  left  Gorham  to  make  their  home  with  their 
son  Edwin  in  Newton,  Mass.  Col.  Waters  died  in  California,  and 
his  wife  Sarah,  in  Newton,  Mass. 

W^ATSON. 

The  descendants  of  Eliphalet  Watson  claim  that  he  was  the  fifth 
settler  that  moved  into  town.  We  have  reason  to  think  he  came  in 
before  he  was  married.  Of  his  ancestry  we  know  but  little.  Some 
of  the  family  claim  that  they  are  English  ;  some  say  that  they  are 
Irish.  The  first  record  we  have  of  him  is  his  joining  the  church  in 
Falmouth  under  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smith  in  the  year  1739.  It  is  probable 
that  he  was  the  son  of  Ebenezer  and  Martha  (Rawlins)  Watson  of 
Newbury,  Mass.,  and  was  born  in  Newbury,  June  i,  17 17.  Ebenezer 
Watson  was  the  son  of  John  Watson  and  wife,  Ruth  Griffin,  who  were 
married  in  Amesbury,  March  22,  1687.  Eliphalet  married  Elizabeth 
Phinney,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Capt.  John  and  Martha  (Colman) 


808  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Phinney,  the  first  settlers  here.  Their  intention  of  marriage  is  dated 
at  Fahiiouth,  April  29,  1740,  and  they  were  married  soon  after.  It 
is  probable  that  this  is  near  the  date  of  his  coming  into  town,  as  he 
came  in  after  the  McLellan  family,  who  came  in  the  winter  of 
1738-9,  After  their  marriage  Mr.  Watson  and  his  wife  settled 
on  the  thirty  acre  lots,  27  and  28.  He  built  his  log  house  on  27. 
After  the  war,  he  built  a  substantial  one-story  frame  house  and  out- 
buildings. After  the  Watsons  left  the  farm,  somewhere  about  the 
year  1805,  the  buildings  were  occupied  by  a  Mr.  Sleeper,  who  was  a 
nail  maker.  This  house,  built  by  Mr.  Watson  soon  after  the  close 
of  the  Indian  war,  was  purchased  by  Eben  Cressey,  about  the  year 
1809  or  181  o,  and  was  hauled  over  to  the  Buxton,  or  Flaggy  Meadow 
road  as  it  was  called,  and  placed  on  the  northeast  corner  of  the 
thirty  acre  lot,  No.  44,  near  where  Jonathan  Davis  then  lived,  where 
Mr.  Cressey  built  a  two-story  front  to  it.  This  two-story  part  was 
afterwards  sold  to  Jonathan  Emery,  the  father  of  D.  C.  Emery,  Esq., 
and  moved  on  to  his  farm,  and  was  the  same  house  afterwards 
owned  and  occupied  by  James  Brown.  The  old  Watson  house  was 
afterwards  occupied  by  several  persons,  lastly  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
McGrath,  and  was  finally  torn  down  many  years  since. 

When  the  Watson  family  lived  in  their  log  house  previous  to  the 
war,  the  Indians  were  quite  numerous  in  the  township,  particularly 
in  the  summer ;  roaming  over  the  country,  fishing  and  hunting  for 
game.  They  often  called  on  the  family,  much  to  the  inconvenience 
and  terror  of  the  females  and  children.  The  first  notice  they  would 
have  of  their  presence  would  be  the  discovery  of  one  of  them  stand- 
ing in  the  middle  of  the  room,  where  he  had  placed  himself  with 
noiseless  tread,  or  they  would  see  an  Indian's  ugly  head  thrust 
through  the  little  aperture  made  in  the  logs  to  admit  light.  They 
would  handle  everything,  examine  everything,  and  beg  everything, 
and  steal  when  they  could  not  beg.  They  often  told  Mrs.  Watson 
in  broken  English,  "  You  make  good  squaw  for  Indian.  Papoose 
got  good  scalp.  War  come  by  and  by —  Indian  come  and  take  utn 
all."  This  was  delightful  news  to  the  mother  and  children,  and  if 
none  of  the  males  of  the  family  were  about,  the  females  were  glad  to 
give  the  Indians  something,  to  be  rid  of  their  disagreeable  company. 
It  was  said  of  Mr.  Watson,  whenever  he  traded  with  the  Indians  in 
their  small  way,  or  for  labor,  he  always  dealt  on  the  square,  honestly 
and  straightforward.  The  Indians  committed  but  small  depredations 
on  his  property.  They  would  sometimes  appropriate  some  of  his 
fruit,  or  produce  of  the  garden  or  field. 


GENEALOGY.  809 

When,  or  of  whom,  Mr.  Watson  made  his  purchase  of  land  we  find 
no  record.  He  owned  a  proprietor's  right  as  early  as  1742,  when 
his  name  appears  in  a  call  for  a  proprietors'  meeting.  It  is  probable 
that  he  purchased  of  Anthony  Brackett.  His  name  often  appears 
on  committees  as  an  active  citizen,  and  working  for  the  interest  of  the 
Proprietary.  It  is  probable  his  name  was  entered  on  his  lot,  on 
the  old  Proprietors'  plan,  which  by  many  of  the  settlers  was  thought 
to  be  sufficient  record. 

The  children  of  Eliphalet  and  Elizabeth  Watson  were  : 

John,  b.  Sept.  23,  1741,  m.  Tabitha  Whitney,  Dec.  5,  1765. 

Martha,  b.  Dec.  4,  1743,  no  record  of  marriage  or  death. 

Susanna,  b.  Feb.  i,  1746,  m.  Isaac  Skillings,  Jan.  8,  1766. 

Ebenezer,  b.  Sept.  28,  1748,  m.  Anna  Whitney,  p.  Sept.  22,  1771. 

Colman  P.,  b.  Dec.  4,  1751,  m.  Mrs.  Patience  Thomes,  Sept.  8,  1774. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Feb.  11,  1754,  m.  Jacob  Hamblen,  p.  Oct.  4,  1777. 

Mary,  b.  July  12,  1756,  no  record  of  marriage  or  death. 

Eliphalet,  b.  Mar.  20,  1759,  m.  Zipporah  Partridge,  p.  July  22,  1780. 

James,  b.  Aug.  3,  1761,  m.  Mary  Davis,  June  30,  1785;  2d,  Mary  Carsley,  Feb. 

23,  1792. 
Daniel,  b.  Oct.  11,  1763,  m.  Anna  Ma.xfield,  Nov.  25,  1789;  2d,  Polly  Hanscom. 

Eliphalet  Watson  with  his  family  were  amongst  those  who  remained 
in  town  during  the  Indian  war  of  1746,  and  lived  in  the  fort  about 
seven  years,  suffering  great  hardships  from  war,  sickness,  and  scarcity 
of  provision,  which  at  times  came  near  to  a  famine.  Of  their  children, 
Ebenezer  and  Colman  are  said  to  have  been  born  in  the  fort.  He 
(Mr.  Watson)  was  one  of  the  most  efficient  men  of  the  settlement ; 
one  who  did  not  'strive  for  command  but  was  always  ready  for  action 
where  duty  called  :  then  in  the  prime  of  life,  consistent,  brave,  and  a 
good  scout ;  qualifications  not  to  be  lightly  prized  in  those  days. 
Whether  he  was  one  of  a  small  party  who  sallied  to  the  rescue  of 
young  Edmund  Phinney,  when  he  was  attacked  by  the  Indians;  Ave 
are  not  informed,  but  he  volunteered  with  Hugh  McLellan  to  accom- 
pany Edmund  to  Falmouth  the  next  day,  in  order  to  have  Dr.  Coffin 
set  his  arm,  and  dress  his  wounds  ;  a  journey  that  was  not  without 
danger. 

Soon  after  the  organization  of  the  Congregational  church  in  Gor- 
ham,  about  the  year  1750,  Mr.  Watson  was  made  a  deacon,  which 
office  he  filled  for  many  years  with  much  acceptance.  He  was  highly 
respected  by  his  fellow  townsmen,  and  held  several  offices  to  which 
he  was  chosen.  Of  the  time  of  the  death  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Watson 
we  have  no  record.  No  monument  marks  the  resting  place  of  this 
truly  good  woman,  who  was  a  good  wife  and  a  kind  and  loving 
mother,  respected  and  beloved  by  all  who  knew  her.  Mr.  Watson 
left  Gorham  with  his  son  Daniel  ;  died  and  was  buried  in  the  town 
of  Poland,  about  the  year  1814,  aged  98. 


810  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

(2)  John  Watson,  son  of  Eliphalet,  married  Tabitha,  daughter  of 
Nathaniel  and  Hannah  (Day)  Whitney.  After  his  marriage,  he  first 
settled  in  1765  on  the  northern  half  of  the  hundred  acre  lot,  72, 
which  he  purchased  of  Stephen  Phinney,  Oct.  29,  1765,  and  where 
his  old  cellar,  and  rose  bushes  are  still  to  be  seen.  This  Avas  before 
Queen  street  was  fully  located.  After  this  was  done,  and  the  road 
leading  northerly  between  81  and  80  was  laid  out,  he  purchased 
twenty-five  acres  off  the  southeily  end  of  81,  and  in  1769  made  his 
final  settlement  on  the  spot  where  the  heirs  of  Capt.  Greenlief  C. 
Watson  now  live.  Mr.  Watson  and  his  brother-in-law,  Isaac  Skillings, 
owned  a  right  in  a  saw  mill  then  standing  on  Little  river,  at  the  falls, 
near  what  has  since  been  known  as  Stephenson's  bridge.  The  swale 
from  the  bridge  to  Sturgis's  hill  was  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of 
large  hemlock  trees,  so  close  and  dense  that  the  road  through  them, 
even  in  the  day  time,  was  dark,  so  much  so,  that  it  was  called  and 
known  as  "  the  dark  hole." 

Mr.  Watson  was  a  soldier  in  the   Revolutionary  war,  and  during 

the  latter  part  of  his  life  received  a  pension  from  the  Government. 

He  and  his  wife  were  for  many  years  members  of  the  Congregational 

church  in  Gorham.     His  farm  is  still  owned  in  the  family.     Children 

of  John  and  Tabitha  Watson  : 

Mercy,  b.  Oct.  15,  1766,  d.  Oct.  18,  1769. 

Martha,  b.  Apr.  22,  1769,  m.  David  Uavis,  June  12,  17SS. 

Edmund,  b.  Jan.  17,  1772,  m.  Betsey  Cressey  of  Buxton,  June  26,  1797. 

Colman  P.,  b.  F^eb.  23,  1774,  m.  Elizabeth  Frost,  July  25,  1802. 

Miriam,  b.  Dec.  24,  1776,  m.  Stephen  March,  Sept.  19,  1793. 

Tabitha,  b.  May  16,  1779,  m.  Josiah  Shaw,  Jan.  5,  1797. 

Molly,  b.  Apr.  g,  1781,  find  no  record  of  marriage  or  death. 

Sally,  b.  Mar.  19,  1784,  m.  David  Cobb,  Dec.  9,  1802. 

Greenlef  C,  b.  Mar.  14,  1786,  m.  Lydia  S.  Tompson,  July  i,  181 2. 

Desire,  b.  Dec.  5,  1788,  m.  Nahum  Chadbourn,  May  30,  1806. 

John  Watson  died  Oct.  26,  1834,  aged  93.     His  wife  died  Sept. 

13,  1831,  aged  86. 

(2)  Ebenezer,  the  fourth  child  of  Eliphalet  Watson,  after  his  mar- 
riage with  Anna  Whitney,  purchased  and  occupied  the  southerly  part 
of  the  hundred  acre  lot.  No.  82,  on  the  southerly  side  of  the  road, 
and  joining  his  brother  John's  lot.  His  old  cellar  and  orchard  still 
remain.      He  had  eight  children  born  in  Gorham  : 

Stephen,  b.  Sept.  8,  1772. 
Joseph,  b.  July  i,  1774. 
Samuel,  b.  Jan.  31,  1777. 
Elizaheth,  b.  Sept.  24,  1779. 
Stephen,  b.  May  25,  1782. 
William,  b.  Apr.  22,  1785. 
John,  b.  Jan.  4,  1789. 
Nathan,  b.  Sept.  5,  1791. 


GENEALOGY.  811 

The  next  child,  Eliphalet,  was  born  in  Gray,  June  14,  1797.  After 
the  birth  of  his  son  Nathan,  Mr.  Watson  sold  out  and  with  his  family- 
left  Gorham.  Their  descendants  are  living  in  New  Gloucester  and 
Gray. 

(2)  Colman    P.,  son  of   Eliphalet  Watson,  married  Mrs.  Patience 

Thomes,  widow  of  Edward  Thomes,  and  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and 

Hannah  (Day)  Whitney.     They  lived  at  what  is  now  West  Gorham, 

on  three  acres  of  land  purchased  of  Jeremiah   Hodgdon,  where  the 

old  hotel  now  stands.     They  had  three  children  born  in  Gorham  : 

Mercy,  b.  Apr.  27,  1775. 
Stephen  P.,  b.  Dec.  19,  1776. 
Hannah,  b.  Sept.  28,  1778. 

The  family  moved  to  Waterford,  where  they  had  several  other 
children  born. 

(2)  Eliphalet,  Jr.,  was  the  eighth  child  of  Eliphalet  and  Elizabeth 
Watson.  He  married  Zipporah  Partridge  of  Falmouth.  They  had 
two  children  born  in  Gorham:  Ebenezer,  born  Sept.  20,  1782; 
Nathaniel  P.,  born  Aug.  21,  178S.     This  family  settled  in  Waterford. 

(2)  James  Watson,  son  of  Eliphalet,  married  Mary,  daughter  of 
Josiah  and  Thankful  Davis,  and  second,  Mary,  daughter  of  John  and 
Mercy  Carsley.  Mr.  Watson  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  in  the 
Bagaduce  expedition.  He  had  a  daughter  Mehitable,  born  in  Gor- 
ham, Aug.  II,  1786.  He  moved  to  Harrison,  where  he  was  among 
the  early  settlers. 

(2)  Daniel    Watson,   the  tenth   and    last   child   of    Eliphalet  and 

Elizabeth,  owned  and  occupied  the  old  Watson  homestead  in  Gorham 

until  March  6,  1805,  when  he  sold  out  to  J.  P.  Little,  Esq.,  and  Maj. 

Ellis  Standish,  and  moved  with  his  family  to  Poland.     He  married 

Anna  Maxfield,  by  whom  he  had  four  children,  born  in  Gorham  : 

Martha,  b.  Feb.  10,  1791. 
Josiah,  b.  Oct.  30,  1792. 
Hannah,  b.  Dec.  7,  1794. 
Daniel,  b.  Oct.  27,  1797. 

Mr.  Watson  married,  June  i,  1803,  Polly  Hanscom,  by  whom  he 
had  Joseph  H.,  born  June  30,  1804. 

The  old  Watson  farm  was  westerly  one  tier  of  lots  from  the  Fort 
Hill  road,  and  the  road  leading  to  it  passed  directly  along  the  north- 
erly side  of  the  old  McLellan  brick  house.  It  was  very  productive, 
and  had  on  it  one  of  the  best  orchards  in  town,  and  about  the  house 
and  garden  an  abundance  of  other  fruit;  pears,  plums,  and  the  old- 


812  HISTORY    OF    GOKHAM. 

fashioned  blue  damson.  As  far  back  as  1810  some  of  the  pear  trees 
indicated  by  their  size  and  appearance  that  they  must  have  been  set 
out  at  least  fifty  or  sixty  years  ;  which  would  show  that  pears  were 
early  brought  into  town.  The  year  that  the  farm  came  into  the 
hands  of  Mr.  Little,  he  gathered  fifteen  bushels  of  blue  damsons,  a 
fruit  most  excellent  for  preserves,  and  now  hardly  known  in  town. 
The  farm  was  watered  by  the  Tommy  brook,  which  ran  but  a 
few  rods  from  the  house,  and  which  was  an  excellent  trout  stream. 
At  this  day  we  hardly  know  what  a  good  trout  brook  is.  If  an 
angler  works  a  day  and  captures  two  dozen  fish  he  does  a  good 
business.  A  few  years  after  the  farm  left  Watson's  hands,  one  of 
the  new  proprietors  was  at  work  near  the  brook,  and  discovered 
several  nice  fish  in  a  deep  hole,  where  it  was  not  possible  for  them  to 
go  farther  up  stream.  Not  having  hook  and  line  with  which  to  take 
them,  he  saw  no  other  way  than  to  dip  off  the  water.  If  this  had  to 
be  done,  he  thought  he  would  try  and  make  it  pay.  Consequently 
he  went  some  way  down  stream,  and  with  a  stick  drove  all  the  fish  up 
into  his  trap,  then  secured  the  outlet  with  brush,  damming  the  brook 
above  and  turning  off  all  the  water.  He  had  the  thing  all  his  own 
way,  and  the  result  was  nearly  a  common  water-pail  full  of  nice 
brook  trout,  from  six  inches  to  a  foot  long.  The  writer  of  this  article 
saw  and  helped  eat  the  fish,  or  he  would  not  have  told  this  fish  story. 
There  can  be  no  restocking  this  brook  with  trout,  for  the  brook  is 
hardly  there.  In  olden  times,  it  was  fed  by  numerous  springs  its 
whole  length,  besides  having  a  large  boiling  spring  for  its  head,  near 
the  house  of  Mr.  Alden.  Most  of  these  springs  are  now  dry  in  con- 
sequence of  clearing  and  cultivating  the  land.  The  old  brook  in 
summer  has  hardly  enough  water  for  the  use  of  the  frogs,  who  seem 
to  have  taken  possession.  The  farm  is  still  known  to  the  old  resi- 
dents as  the  Watson  place.  The  old  cellar,  the  old  well,  and  a  few 
old  apple  trees  put  there  by  Eliphalet  Watson,  probably  more  than 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years  since,  remain  to  mark  the  place. 

(3)  Edmund  Watson,  son  of  John,  lived   at  West  Gorham.     He 
married  Betsey  Cressey  of  Buxton.     Children  : 

Susanna,  b.  Apr.  18,  1799,  d.  unm.  July  3,  1858. 

Polly,  b.  Dec.  3,  1801,  m.  Daniel  Kimball  of  Buxton,  p.  July  19,  1S40. 

John,  b.  Oct.  13,  1803,  m.  Dec.  2,  1840,  Martha  A.,  dau.  of  Richard,  Jr.,  and 
Martha  (Chadboum)  Edwards.  Ch :  Mary  E.,  b.  May  9,  1842,  m.  Daniel 
W.  Davis,  Oct.  22,  1870;  Oliver  C,  b.  Apr.  7,  1844,  m.  Kate  E.  Lewis, 
June  12,  1867  ;  Cornelia  A.,  b.  July  20,  1847,  n^-  F.  Augustus  Files,  Mar. 
4,  1873;  Luther  D.,  b.  Oct.  14,  1S52,  d.  y.  Mr.  John  Watson  d.  at  W. 
Gorham,  Mar.  12,  1878;   Mrs.  Watson  d.  July  23,  1873,  ag.  59. 

Naaman  C,  b.  Dec.  i,  1804,  m.  Ann  Hopkinson,  May  12,  1833. 


GENEALOGY.  813 

Tabitha,  b.  July  23,  1807,  d.  Oct.  28,  1829. 

George,  b.  Feb.  18,  18 12,  m.  Mary  R.,  dau.  of  Charles  Clark,  July  6,  1843.  Ch  : 
Charles  E.,  b.  Dec.  24,  1844.  m.  Sarah  J.  Rowe,  Jan.,  1871.  Mr.  Watson 
I'd  at  W.  Gorham.     He  d.  Dec.  i,  1S89;  Mrs.  Watson  d.  Apr.  11,  1882. 

Elizabeth,  b.  May  2,  1816,  d.  unm.  Apr.  8,  1882. 

Edmund  Watson  died  Dec.  13,  1847,  aged  76;  Mrs.  Betsey,  his 
wife,  died  Jan.  i,  1838. 

(3)  Colman  P.  Watson,  son  of  John,  married  Ehzabeth,  daughter 

of  Col.  Nathaniel  and  Poll}^  Frost.     Children : 

Nathaniel  F.,  b.  Jan.  13,  1804,  m.  Bethiah  Hamblen,  Mar.  24,  1825. 
Miriam,  b.  Mar.  11,  1808,  m.  Daniel  Billings,  p.  Mar.  29,  1840. 

Mrs.    Elizabeth  Watson  died  July,   1808,  aged  26.     Mr.   Watson 

died  in  Harrison  in  April,  1849,  aged  75. 

(3)  Greenlief  C.  Watson,  son  of  John,  married  Lydia  Sands  Tomp- 
son  of  Buxton.     Children  : 

Major  R.,  b.  Dec.  6,  1S14,  m.  Caroline  McArthur  of  Limington  ;  d.  Apr.  i, 
1845. 

Abigail,  b.  June  15,  1816,  m.  Reuben  Lowell,  in  1840. 

Benjamin  A.,  b.  Apr.  25,  1818,  m.  Maria  Small  of  Limington,  Nov.  25,  1841. 
Ch  :  Lydia.  b.  in  Bridgton,  Aug.,  1842,  I's  on  her  father's  place  at  W. 
Gorham  ;  Mary,  b.  in  Gorham,  Dec.  24,  1844,  ^-  Geoige  Adams  of  Bux- 
ton. Mr.  Wat.-^on  I'd  at  Bonny  Eagle,  then  at  Bridgton,  and  from  that 
place  came  to  Gorham.     He  d.  Dec.  11,  1891  ;  his  wife  d.  Oct.  10,  1865, 

ag.  45- 
Sally,  b.  Mar.  3,  1820,  m.  Wm.  Rowe  of  Saco,  1846;  2d,  Peter  Pameof  Standish. 
Chandler,  b.  Sept.  7,  1822,  m.  Louisa  Craig  of  Westbrook ;  2d,  Eliza  Leeds. 
Leonard,  b.  May  5,  1824,  I's  on  the  old  place. 
Charles  H.,  b.  Dec.  2,  1826,  m.  Mary  .Small,  who  d.   June   25,  1S68  ;     2d,  Mrs. 

Lydia  E.  (Gage)  Rounds  ;  I's  on  the  old  place. 
Clark,  b.  Feb.  7,  1829,  m  Eliza  Ingalls  of  Bridgton. 
Arthur,  b.  Oct.  17,  1832,  nothing  known  of  him. 

Capt.   Greenlief  C.  Watson  was  in   the  War  of  1812;     after  his 

decease,  his  widow  obtained  a  pension  for  his  services.     He  lived  on 

the  farm  once  owned  by  his  father,  John  Watson,  about  a  half  mile 

from  West  Gorham  village.     He  died  Dec.  18,  1863;  his  wife  died 

Jan.  22,  1884,  aged  92. 

WATTS. 

David  Watts  was  the  son  of  Samuel  Watts  and  Margaret  Elder 
who  were  married  in  Falmouth  in  1752.  He  had  a  brother  Samuel, 
and  a  sister  Rebecca.  His  mother,  who  was  the  daughter  of 
Samuel  Elder,  married  for  her  second  husband,  Nov.  9,  1759,  James 
Gilkey  of  Gorham.  In  1775  Mr.  Watts  enlisted  as  a  sergeant  in 
Capt.  Williams'  company,  Col.  Phinney's  regiment,  in  which  com- 
pany he  was  promoted,  Aug.  3,  1776,  from  ensign  to  second  lieuten- 
ant.    He  reenlisted,  for  three  years,  in  Col.   Brewer's  12th  Mass.,  as 


814  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

first  lieutenant  in  Capt.  Jenkins's  company,  and  in  May,  1780  is 
reported  as  discharged.  July  14,  1779  he  petitioned  the  Board  of 
War  for  clothing  to  replace  that  lost  by  him  at  the  "  retreat  of  Ticon- 
deroga."  He  passed  the  winter  of  1777-78  in  camp  near  Valley 
Forge.  His  regiment  at  this  time  appears  to  have  been  under  the 
command  of  Lieut.  Col.  E.  Sprout.  About  the  year  1783,  he  built 
and  occupied  the  house  on  Main  St.,  where  the  late  Col.  Hugh  D. 
McLellan  lived.  He  married,  Dec.  9,  1779,  Sarah  daughter  of  Josiah 
Davis,  by  whom  he  had  one  child : 

Samuel,  b.  Feb.  3,  1782,  m.  Miriam  Cressey  of  Buxton,  July  31,  1803. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Watts  died  in  1784,  aged  20,  and  Mr.  Watts  married, 

Oct.  4,  1784,  Mary,  daughter  of  John  and  Deborah  (Wadley)  Cressey. 

After  the  birth  of  their  first  child,  David,  the  family  moved  to  Buxton. 

Their  children  were: 

David,  b.  Oct.  13,  1785,  d.  young. 

Betsey,  b.  Sept.  21,  1787,  m.  William  Waterman  of  Mass. 

David,  b.  Nov.  28,  1790,  d.  in  Buxton,  unm.  Jan.  13,  1877. 

Mary,  b.  Mar.  28,  1793,  d.  unm. 

Sarah,  b.  Mar.  29,  1795,  m.  Joseph  Cressey,  Jan.  21,  1817. 

Hannah,  b.  May  13,  1797,  m.  Noah  Cressey,  Feb.  22,  1820. 

Eunice,  b.  Apr.  6,  1799,  m.  George  Carll  of  Buxton. 

Nancy,  b.  Apr.  24,  1801,  d.  unm.  Aug.  26,  1852. 

Capt.  Watts  and  his  wife  Mary,  both  died  in  Buxton,  he,  Aug.  30, 
1804,  aged  52,  and  she,  Dec.  18,  1834,  aged  72. 

WAY. 

Christopher  Way,  son  of  George  and  Sarah  (Douglas)  Way,  was 
born  in  Lempster,  N.  H.,  April  18,  1809.  He  came  to  Gorham  about 
1830.  He  was  a  currier,  and  was  employed  in  the  tannery  of  his 
brother-in-law,  Stephen  Hinkley.  He  married,  June  5,  1836,  Susan- 
nah Shedd  of  Chelmsford,  Mass.     Children  : 

Frances  Helen,  b.  May  31,  1837. 

George  H.,  b.  .Sept.  3,    1839,   m.   Lucy  A,  Patrick,   Feb.  23,   1870;  one  child, 

Susie  G. 
Edward,  b.  Oct.  4,  184 1,  m.   Kate    Barbour,  May  9,    1872;  d.  in   Washington, 

May  2,  1874;  one  son,  Edward  H. 
Albert  S.,  b.  Apr.  20,  1845,  ™-  Fannie  B.  Scott,  June  27,   1867,  d.  in   Portland, 

Apr.  22,  1877;  three  children. 

Mr.  Way  died  Feb.  17,  1862,  and  his  wife,  Aug.  10,  1885,  aged  86. 

Trueman  Way,  brother  of  Christopher,  born  Feb.  22,  181 1,  came 
to  Gorham  in  the  summer  of  1835.  He  was  a  cattle  dealer.  He 
married,  March  26,  1837,  Sarah  L.  Boynton  of  Cornish,  Me.  Chil- 
dren : 


GENEALOGY.  815 

Emily  A.,  b.  June  lo,  1838,  m.   George   H.   Johnson;  d.  in   Indianapolis,  Ind., 

Dec.  16,  1862. 
Oliver  D.,  b.  Dec.  17,  1839,  m.  Lucy  E.  Varney,  Mar.  18,  1869. 
Ellen,  b.  Apr.  6,  1843,  m.  Tliomas  W.  Stewart,  in   Indianapolis,  Apr.   29,   1S63. 

William  W.,  b. ,  m.  Isabel  R.  Crawford,  Sept.  4,  1872. 

Arthur  T.,  b.  in  Salem,  m.  Sarah  Nye,  Oct.  12,  1886. 

Trueman  Way  died  March  14,  1889,  in  Indianapolis,  Ind. 

WEBB. 

Samuel  Webb,  the  ancestor  of  the  Windham  and  Gorham  Webbs, 
was  the  son  of  Samuel  and  .Susanna  Webb,  and  was  born  in  Redrift, 
England,  Dec.  25,  1696.  Tradition  says  that  his  father,  who  was 
the  master  of  a  ship,  was  poisoned  in  1708  on  the  coast  of  Africa 
where  he  had  gone  for  a  cargo  of  slaves.  His  mother  having  died 
previous  to  the  death  of  his  father,  the  orphan  boy  when  about  seven- 
teen years  of  age  ran  away  from  home  and  made  his  way  to  this 
country  where  he  landed  at  Newport,  R.  I.  He  shortly  after  went 
to  Tiverton,  in  the  same  State,  where  he  learned  the  trade  of  a  black- 
smith. We  think  that  he  settled  in  Windham  as  early  as  1745.  He 
had  lived  in  Falmouth  and  Saccarappa  before  that  date.  Parson 
Smith  says  Webb's  son  was  taken  at  Marblehead  (now  Windham)  by 
the  Indians,  Sept.  22,  1750.  This  was  Samuel's  son,  probably  Seth. 
Several  of  Samuel's  family  resided  at  one  time  or  another  in  Gorham, 
as  David,  John,  Seth,  and  Eli  paid  poll  taxes  here.  All  accounts 
agree  that  Samuel  Webb  was  twice  married,  but  differ  as  to  the  name 
of  his  first  wife.  His  grandson  Seth  said  that  he  married,  Dec.  25, 
17 18,  Mary  Mclntire  of  Tiverton,  R.  I.  Others  say  that  his  wife 
was  the  daughter  of  Capt.  John  Randall  of  Weymouth,  Mass.  By 
this  first  wife  he  had  two  sons,  Samuel  and  Thomas,  who  remained  in 
Massachusetts.  After  her  death  in  1722,  he  married,  April  10,  1723, 
at  Tiverton,  Bethiah,  the  daughter  of  John  and  Persis  Farrow  (or 
Farrah),  and  widow  of  Capt.  David  Spear.  She  had  one  daughter  by 
her  first  husband,  named  Bethiah,  who  married  Thomas  Mayberry. 
It  is  said  that  at  the  time  of  Samuel's  second  marriage  he  was  twenty- 
seven,  and  the  young  widow  but  fifteen  years  of  age.  Samuel's  chil- 
dren by  his  second  wife,  Bethiah,  were  : 

David,  m.  Dorothy  Peabody,  Nov.  16,  1749. 

Ezekiel,  m.  on  Cape  Cod  ;  was  a  sea  captain. 

John,  m.  Elizabeth  Larrabee  of  Falmouth,  1753. 

Seth,  m.  Hannah  Winship,  Dec,  1759. 

Susanna,  m.  William  Maxfield  of  Windham,  Dec,  1753. 

Eli,  m.  .Sarah  Cloudman,  Apr.  20,  1760. 

James,  m.  Elizabeth  Mayberry  of  Windham. 

Josiah,  d.  ag.  7  years. 


816  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Abigail,  d.  ag.  5  years. 

Elizabeth,  m.  Jonathan  Roberts ;  I'd  in  Buckfield. 

Samuel  Webb  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  school-teacher  in  Wind- 
ham. He  moved  with  his  son  Seth  in  1766  to  Deer  Isle,  where  he 
died  Feb.  15,  1785.  His  wife  Bethiah  died  at  Deer  Isle,  Nov.  30, 
1770,  aged  62. 

(2)  David  Webb,  son  of  Samuel,  born  in  Tiverton,  July  i,  1727, 
was  a  blacksmith.  In  1756  he  purchased  of  David  Gorham  a  hun- 
dred acres  of  land,  on  which  the  deed  says  he  then  lived.  This 
place  was  situated  in  Gorham  on  the  old  road  to  Saccarappa,  close  to 
the  Westbrook  town  line.  David  Webb  married  Dorothy  Peabody  of 
Falmouth,  born  March  27,  1720,  daughter  of  Francis  Peabody,  Esq., 
of  Middleton,  Mass.     Children  : 

Dorothy,  b. . 

David,  b. 


Jonathan,  b.  Nov.  25,   1756,  m.   Mary  Coverley,  Mar.  4,   1781  ;    2d,    Susanna 

Smith;  I'd  in  Saccarappa;  d.  Apr.  8,  1810. 
Bethiah,  b.  about  1758,111.  Prince  Hamblen,  Mar.  22,  1781. 

(2)  Eli  Webb,  son  of  Samuel,  born  in  Tiverton,  Nov.  7,  1737,  lived 
in  Gorham  at  Gambo  where  he  owned  a  large  tract  of  land,  including 
the  water  power  on  the  Gorham  side  of  the  Presumpscot  River.  His 
house  was  on  Pleasant  Ridge,  and  is  now  owned  and  occupied  by 
Alonzo  Libby  who  has  made  many  changes  in  the  building.  Eli 
Webb  was  a  soldier  in  the  P'rench  wars  and  also  in  the  Revolution. 
He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Edward  and  Ann  Cloudman.  Chil- 
dren : 

Edward,  b.  Dec.  24,  1760,  m.  Sarah  Bolton,  May  10,  1787. 

Sally,  b.  ,  m.  Nathaniel  Knight,  Feb.  24,  1787. 

Ann,  b.  Mar.  10,  1763,  m.  William  Bolton,  Jan.  5,  1786;  2d,  Wm.  Libby,  Mar. 
30,  1797. 

Lorana,  b. ,  m.  James  Pray,  Sept.  10,  1790. 

Mary,  b. ,  m.  John  Dam  of  Freeport,  p.  Apr.  16,  1792. 

James,  b. ,  d.  in  the  West  Indies. 

Ezekiel,  b. ,  m.  Sarah  McDonald,  p.  Mar.  17,  1797;  I'd  in  Brownfield. 

Abraham,  b. ,  m.  Lydia  Waterhouse  of  Standish,  p.  May  11,  1797. 

Seth,  b.  ,  m.  Polly  Clements,  Feb.  15,  1801. 

Rachel,  b. ,  m.  James  McDonald,  Jan.  20,  1803. 

Eli  Webb  died  Oct.  26,  1826,  aged  89,  and  his  wife,  Feb.  28,  1826, 

aged  84. 

(3)  Edward   Webb,  son   of   Eli,  settled   on  a  part  of   his  father's 

farm,  and  lived  where  Orin   Leavitt  now  lives.     He  married  Sarah, 

daughter  of  William  and  Rachel  Bolton.     Children : 

William,  b.  June  16,  1788,  m.  Ann  Bolton,  Apr.  29,  1821. 
Lydia,  b.  Jan.  i,  1790,  d.  unm.  in  Portland,  Aug.  11,  1877. 
Ann,  b.  Nov,  14,  1791,  m.  Livy  Buker,  p.  Sept.  24,  1814. 


GENEALOGY.  817 

Eli,  b.  June  30,  1793,  m.  Mary  Cobby,  Jan.  30,  1820;  d.  in  Portland.     Parent.s 

of  Judge  Nathan  Webb. 
Mary,  b.  July  25,  1795,  ^-  Rufus  Morrill,  Dec.  24,   1820.     Parents  of  Ex -Gov. 

Morrill  of  Kansas. 
Rachel,  b.  Feb.  14,  1797,  d.  ag.  21. 

James,  b.  Mar.  7,  1798,  m.  Clarissa  Kenney;  I'd  in  Bridgton. 
Thomas,  b.  Jan.  14,  iSoo,  m.  Eliza  Ann  Mayberry  ;  d.  in  Casco. 
Solomon,  b.  Oct.  30,  1801,  m.  Mary  W.  Ryerson  of  Portland,  Jan.  18,  1827. 
Sarah,  b.  Jan.  16,  1803,  m.  Rufus  Morrill,  (2d  wife,)  Feb.  21,  1836. 

Edward  Webb  was  a  Revolutionary  pensioner.     He  died  Nov.  18, 

1846,  aged  86.     His  wife  died  Aug.  28,  1850,  aged  89. 

(3)  Seth,  son  of  Eli  Webb,  was  one  of  the  selectmen  of  Gorham 

for  two  years.      He  married  Polly  Clements.      Children  : 

Child,  b.  1802,  d.  1805. 

Samuel  A.,  b.  Sept.  22,  1803,  d.  in  Knox. 

Mary,  b.  Dec.  12,  1806,  m.  Clement  Wescott,  1828. 

Sophronia  I.,  b.  Sept.  29,  181 1,  m. Emerson. 

Jeremiah,  b.  Dec.  31,  181 6,  went  to  Belfast;  afterwards  with  Samuel  to  Cal. 
Amelia  Ann,  b.  Apr.  28,  181 7. 
Horace,  b. ,  d.  Sept.  13,  1828. 

Seth  Webb  lived  on  the  home  place  till  1826,  then  moved  to  Bel- 
fast.    He  died  in  Knox,  at  the  age  of  86. 

(4)  William  Webb,  son  of  Edward,  lived  with  his  father  till  his 
death.  He  married  Ann,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Hannah  Bolton. 
Children  : 

Emeline,  b.  Apr.  17,  1823,  m.  Daniel   Woodbury  of  Westbrook. 

Sewall,  b.  Sept.  30,  1825,  m.  Adeline  S.  Cook,  Sept.  30,  1850;  d.  Aug.  4,  1900. 

Lester,  b.  Oct.  11,  1S28,  m.  Mrs.  Mary  Nason  of  Bangor. 

Mary  W.,  b.  July  9,  1834,  d.  Feb.  19,  1859. 

William  Webb  died  Oct.  5,  1841,  aged  53.  After  his  death  his 
widow  moved  to  the  old  Eli  Webb  house  where  she  died  Jan.  29, 
187 1,  aged  80. 

WEEKS. 

William  Weeks  probably  came  to  Gorham  from  Cape  Elizabeth. 
He  owned  and  lived  on  a  part  of  the  hundred  acre  lot,  22.  He  mar- 
ried Dorcas,  daughter  of  John  Dyer,  and  their  children  were  : 

Benjamin,  b.  in  Cape  Elizabeth,  Mar.  17,  1771,  m.  Sarah  Libby,  June  20,  1790. 
Mary,  b.  in  Gorham,  Sept.  30,  1774,  m.  Jos.  Burnell,  Jan.  7,  1790. 

In    1790  Mr.  Weeks  was  taxed  for  two  polls  (himself  and  son), 

which  were  charged  to  his  widow  in  1791,  so  it  appears  that  he  must 

have  died  about  that  time.      His  widow  married  George  Meserve  of 

Scarboro,  Dec.  8,  1791. 

(2)  Benjamin  Weeks,  son  of  William,  married  Sarah,  daughter  of 
Nathaniel  and  Mary  Libby  of  Scarboro,  and  lived  for  some  years  in 
Gorham.     Children : 


818  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

William,  b.  Oct.  25,  1790,  m.  Sophia  Knight. 

Dorothy  L.,  b.  Feb.  25,  1793,  '^-  unm. 

Lavinia,  b.  June  27,  1797,  m.  John  Nason  of  Windham,  Dec.  3,  1817. 

Benjamin,  b.  Nov.  i,  1799,  m.  Charlotte  M.  Knight  of  Westbrook. 

Joseph,    b.    ,   m.    Esther    Libby ;    2d.    Maria    Plummer;    3d,    Margaret 

Nichols. 

Louisa,  b. ,  m.  Elisha  Turner. 

Howe,  b.  Apr.  28,  181 2,  m.  Sarah  Daggett;  2d,  Pamelia  H.  Stetson. 

This  family  moved  in  1818  to  Durham.  The  children  were  all 
born  in  Gorham,  with  the  exception  of  the  eldest,  William,  who  was 
born  in  Scarboro.     Lavinia  is  recorded  as  "  Loving." 

Robert  Weeks  probably  came  from  Massachusetts.  He  married, 
Dec.  13,  1808,  Mrs.  Bethiah  (Smith)  Lombard,  daughter  of  Hezekiah 
Smith,  and  widow  of  James  Lombard,  and  lived  on  the  farm  once 
owned  by  Mr.  Lombard.  This  farm,  the  hundred  acre  lot,  19,  is  still 
in  the  possession  of  the  \Veeks  family.  Children  of  Robert  and 
Bethiah  Weeks  : 

Bethiah,  b.  Sept.  12,  i8og,  m.  William  Hoyt,  June  14,  1S31  ;  d.  about  1896. 

Maria,  b.  Aug.  6,  181 1,  m.  Reuben  Hoyt,  Dec.  i,  1837. 

Almedia,  b.  Dec.  4,  1813,  m.  Zelotes  Moulton,  Feb.  12,  1S35. 

Sally  S.,  b.  Feb.  13,  1816,  m.  Alvin  Plummer  of  Scarboro,  Nov.  21,  1833. 

Robert,  b.  Mar.  13,  1818,  m.  Harriet  S.  (Huston)  Lombard,  widow  of  Samuel 
Lombard,  July  14,  1844.  Ch :  Edward  J.,  m.  Marietta  Plummer;  Hen- 
rietta, m.  William  Plummer;  Irving,  m.  Mary  Dunham.  Mr.  Weeks  d. 
Mar.  27,  1897  ;   Mrs.  W.  d.  June  i,  1885,  ag.  73. 

Hannah  L.,  b.  July  20,  1820,  m.  Thomas  Skillings  of  Standish,  Nov.  25,  1841. 

Randall  C,  b.  Dec.  23,   1823,  m.  Julia  (Edwards)  Alden ;  she  d.  June  30,  1868. 

Mrs.  Bethiah  Weeks  died  April  11,  1842,  aged  66.  Mr.  Weeks 
married,  July  10,  1843,  Polly,  daughter  of  Samuel,  Jr.,  and  Molly 
Hamblen,  and  moved  to  the  Hamblen  place  on  South  St.,  where  he 
died,  Aug.  25,  1857.     Mrs.  Weeks  died  Feb.  22,  1870,  aged  78. 

WENTWORTH. 

Thomas  E.  Wentworth,  son  of  Thomas  and  Rachel  (Humphrey) 

Wentworth,  was   born   in   No.  Yarmouth,  Me.,   Sept.  13,   1814.     He 

was  a   painter  by  trade.     He   served  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion, 

and  was  captain  of  Co.   K,  9th  Me.  Vols.,  assisting  in  the  capture 

and  occupation  of  Hilton   Head,  So.  Carolina.     He  was  afterwards 

captain   of   Co.   F,    i6th    Me.    Vols.   During   the   war  he  was  taken 

prisoner,  and  confined  in  Libby  prison.  He  married,  Apr.   28,   1840, 

Martha  C,  only  child  of  James  Phinney,  Esq.,  and  granddaughter  of 

Capt.  John  Phinney.     Children  : 

Lucy  E.,  b.  Feb.  10,  1842,  d.  Oct.  2,  1859. 

James  P.,  b.  Aug.  17,  1843,  m.  Nellie  Newhall  of  Portland;  2d,  Virginia  Tom- 
linson  of  Watertown,  Mass. 


GENEALOGY.  819 

Martha  R.,  b.  June  24,  1845,  m.  Charles  Eaton  ;  d.  June  24,  1898. 

George  II.,  b.  May,  1847,  m.  Mary  L.  Wilson  of  Conn. 

Thomas  E.,  b.  June  3.  1850,  d.  Eeb.  14,  i860. 

Amy  A.  S.,  b.  Apr.  9,  1852,  d.  Jan.  29,  1854. 

John  R..        1  1      t-  1  c        (  rn.  Annie  Childs. 

Charles  R.,r-   ^  "''•   '^'   '^^^^  i  d.  Apr.  11,1854. 

Capt.  Wentworth   died  Nov.   3,  1882,  and   his  wife  Martha,  Oct. 

29,  1898,  aged  77. 

WESCOTT. 

The  Wescotts,  so  some  of  the  family  say,  are  descended  from  one 
William  VVescott  who  came  from  England,  married  a  Skillings  of  Fal- 
mouth, and  settled  on  "  Skillings'  Hill,"  which  was  then  in  Falmouth. 
He  had  two  sons  :  Richard  who  settled  in  the  town  of  Cornish,  and 
William  who  married  in  February,  1757,  Margaret,  daughter  of  Clem- 
ent and  Sarah  Meserve.  This  William  and  Margaret  Wescott  settled 
in  Scarborough  on  the  farm  since  known  as  the  Theodore  Libby 
farm.     They  were  the  ancestors  of  the  Gorham  Wescotts. 

Mr.  Wescott  was  the  famous  "  Post  W^escott  "  of  olden  times,  and 
during  the  Revolution  was  known  to  every  man,  woman  and  child, 
on  the  road  from  Boston  to  Portland,  and  in  all  the  region  about  the 
County  of  Cumberland.  It  is  said  he  carried  the  first  mail  between 
Boston  and  Portland,  was  employed  by  Washington  during  the  war  in 
carrying  dispatches,  and  in  carrying  letters  to  and  from  the  soldiers 
in  the  army  and  their  friends  and  families  in  New  Hampshire  and 
Maine.  The  writer  of  this  notice  has  in  his  possession  a  letter  writ- 
ten by  his  grandfather  while  in  the  army  at  Cambridge,  and  brought 
home  to  Gorham  by  Post  Wescott  in  1775.  Some  of  his  descendants 
now  have  in  their  possession  a  cane  given  him  by  General  Washing- 
ton in  the  time  of  the  Revolution.  When  about  to  start  with 
dispatches  in  which  the  General  took  much  interest,  he  was  looking 
for  a  stick  with  which  to  urge  forward  his  horse,  when  Washington 
told  him  to  take  his  cane,  which  was  more  substantial  than  a  switch, 
and  hurry  off.  This  cane  he  religiously  preserved  till  his  death  and 
it  is  now  an  heirloom  highly  prized. 

There  are  some  of  us  yet  alive  who  can  remember  the  old  gentle- 
man. On  all  great  days,  more  particularly  general  muster  day, 
(militaiy  display  being  one  of  his  hobbies)  he  usually  made  his 
appearance  at  Gorham  village,  it  being  in  his  way  to  visit  his  two 
sons,  Reuben  and  Edmund,  who  were  settled  in  the  north  part  of  the 
town.  He  was  the  wonder  of  the  young,  always  polite  and  courteous, 
and   always    with    something    pleasant   to   say   to,  all.     He    always 


820  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

attracted  attention,  with  his  erect,  stately  figure,  and  fine  horseman- 
ship ;  his  long  cane  or  staff,  which  he  grasped  in  the  old-fashioned 
style  a  few  inches  below  the  top;  dressed  in  the  old  continental  style, 
with  cocked  hat,  single-breasted  coat  with  large  brass  buttons  and 
standing  collar,  with  long  waist  and  wide  skirts ;  short  breeches,  high- 
quartered  shoes  with  silver  buckles  four  inches  square,  long  stock- 
ings fastened  to  his  breeches  at  the  knee  with  large  silver  buckles,  — 
this  was  his  go-out  dress,  and  he  never  abandoned  it  during  his  life. 
Children  of  William  and  Margaret  Wescott : 

Joseph,  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution  ;  killed  in  battle  in  Rhode  Island. 

Reuben,  m.  Abigail  Uam,  Dec.  4,  1783. 

Isaac,  settled  in  Kiitery. 

Sally,  m.  Mr.  Small  of  Limington  ;  was  the  ancestor  of  Erving  Small,  Esq.,  and 

Mrs.  Ichabod  Leighton,  both  living  in  Gorham.      (1873.) 
Edmund,  m.  Hannah  Morton,  May  15,  1794. 

Charlotte,  m.  Barstow. 

Hannah,  m.  Thomas  Morton,  Nov.  15,  1802. 

Clement,  m.  Sally  Marr,  Mar.  6,  1804;  settled  in  N.  Yarmouth. 

Dorcas,  m.  Samuel  Whitney,  Oct.  23,  1800;  moved  to  Cumberland. 

William,  m.  Lydia  Marr  (sister  of  Sally),  Oct.  23,  1806;  settled  in  Scai borough. 

I  do  not  know  when  or  where  Mrs.  Margaret  Wescott  died,  but  am 
told  that  Mr.  Wescott  lived  during  the  latter  part  of  his  life  with  his 
son  Clement  Wescott  in  No.  Yarmouth,  where  he  died  at  a  good  old 


(i)  Reuben  Wescott,  son  of  William,  born  Dec.  10,  1761,  married 
Abigail  Dam  of  Scarboro,  who  was  born  Nov.  10,  1766.  Soon  after 
their  marriage  in  1783,  they  moved  to  Gorham  and  settled  on  the 
seventy  acre  lot,  in  the  north  part  of  the  town,  which  was  afterwards 
occupied  by  their  youngest  son  William.     Their  children  were  : 

Joseph,  b.  Sept.  16,  1784,  m.  Wealthy   Morton,  Oct.  9,   1817;  moved  to    Ray- 
mond. 
John,  b.  Apr.  25,  1786,  m.  Martha  Whitney,  Nov.  29,  1809  ;  moved  to  Standish. 
Reuben,  b.  July  18,  1788,  m.  Maria  Gurney,  July  28,    1813. 
Peggy,  b.  July  13,  1790,  ni.  Joseph  Files,  Jr.,  Jan.  22,  iSio. 
Sally,  b.  Feb.  12,  1793,  '"•  Solomon  Stone,  July  29,  1813. 
Eleanor,  b.  Mar.  21,  1795,  m.  Isaac  Sawyer,  Feb.  19,  1817. 
Polly,  b.  Jan.  12,  1797,  m.  Major  Morton,  Feb.  8,  1819. 
Betsey,  b.  Oct.  5,  1798,  m.  Benjamin  Libby,  Jr.,  June  8,  1S23. 
William,  b.  Apr.  4,  1S02,  m.  Mary  Ann  Skillings,  Mar.  4,  1824. 

Reuben  W^escott  died  on  his  farm  Dec.  9,  1840,  and  his  wife  Abi- 
gail, June  5,  1843. 

(i)  Edmund,  son  of  W'illiam  Wescott,  born  March  7,  1769,  also 
settled  in  the  north  part  of  this  town,  at  White  Rock,  on  a  seventy 
acre  lot,  which  is  now  owned  by  Wiley  Davis.  He  married  Hannah, 
daughter  of  James  Morton  of  Gorham.     Children  : 


GENEALOGY.  821 

James,  b.  Sept.  12,  1795,111.  Dorcas  Libby,  Apr.  30,  1S15;  2d,  Hannah  Han- 
son. 

Almira,  b.  Oct.  7,  1796,  m.  Jeremiah  Bullock,  June  25,  1S17  ;  I'd  in  Limington. 
He  died  Dec.  16,  1849,  ^""^  ^'^^  "'•  ^d,  Dea.  Andrew  Cobb  of  Bridgton, 
and  d.  Apr.  25,  1S57. 

Edmund,  b.  Oct.  13,  1798,  d.  young. 

Anna,  b.  Nov.  15,  1799,  d.  Aug.  15,  iSoo. 

Anna,  b.  July  4,  iSoo,  m.  Benjamin  Libby,  Jr.,  Mar.  i,  1821. 

Charlotte,  b.  May  2,  1S02,  m.  Joshua  Chadbourne  of  Baldwin,  Nov.  5,  1826. 

Clement,  b.  Apr.  4,  1804,  m.  Mary  Webb;  I'd  in  Knox;  d.  Dec.  14,  1S53. 

Harvey,  b.  Apr.  7,  1S06,  m.  Caroline  Sturgis,   J3ec.  5,  1829. 

Elliot,  b.  Mar.  7,  1808,  d.  June  19,  181 1. 

Harriet,  b.  Sept.  i,  iSio,  m.  Daniel  Murch,  June  8,  1829. 

Martha,  b.  Nov.  26,  r8i2,  d.  Nov.  15.  1813. 

Martha,  b.  July  15,  1814,  d.  May,  5,  181 5. 

Major  M.,  b.  May  15,  1816,  m.  Harriet  Whitmore  of  Paris,  Dec.  15,  1849. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Mar.  23,  1820,  m.  William  Chadbourne;  2d,  Capt.  J.   L  Stevens. 

Emily,  b.  July  15,  1823,  m.  Henry  Chadbourne  of  Standish. 

Edmund  Wescott  died  Jan.  14,  1836,  and  his  wife,  Dec.  11,  1835, 
aged  56. 

(2)  John  Wescott,  son  of  Reuben,  married  Martha  A.,  daughter  of 
Stephen  Whitney  of  Standish,  and  moved  to  Standish,  where  all  their 
children  were  born,  except  Seward,  who  was  born  in  Gorham.  Chil- 
dren : 

Sarah,  b. ,  m.  Asa  Maberry  of  Windham,  1838. 

Ansel,  b. ,  m.  Elvira  IL,  dau.  of  Sewall  and  Achsah  Libby,  Nov.  28,  1841. 

Ch,  all  b.  in  (jorham  :  Harriet  C,  b.  Oct.  18,  1843,  ^-  ^S-  '8  ;  Achsah  A., 
b.  Feb.  26,  1846,  m.  Oilman  Parker  of  Durham;  Mary  F.,  b.  June  20, 
1847,  m.  George  H.  Marston  of  Durham;  Lewis  A.,  b.  Apr.  18,  1851,  d. 
unm.  in  Cal.,  1875.     Ansel  Wescott  moved  to  Pownal. 

W^illiam,  b.  1818,  m.  Mar.  21,  1847,  Martha  A.,  dau.  of  Benjamin  and  Betsey 
(W^escott)  Libby.  Ch:  Jordan  P.,  b.  Aug.  18,  1848,  m.  Clara  J.  Sawyer; 
C.  Morse,  b.  Oct.  25,  1856,  m.  Sadie  Hanavin.  William  Wescott  was 
for  many  years  a  practicing  physician  in  Standish  and  Kennebunkport  ; 
he  also  served  as  Assistant  Surgeon  in  the  Rebellion,  at  which  time  he 
lost  his  health.     He  d.  May  18,  1877. 

Joseph,  b.  ,  m.  Lydia  D.  Binford,  1848;  served  in  the   Civil   War;  d.  in 

Windham. 

Stephen,  b.  1822,  m.  Emeline  C,  dau.  of  Charles  and  Rebecca  Jordan,  1847. 
Ch  :  Emma,  b.  Feb.  19,  1850,  m.  Charles  M.  Waterhouse  of  Saccarappa, 
Dec.  22,  1872;  Calvin,  b.  Aug.  20,  1854,  m.  Addie  Moulton,  2d,  Lucilla 
Shaw,  3d,  Mary  Dole.  Stephen  Wescott  I'd  in  the  north  part  of  the 
town  ;  he  d.  in  1886,  and  his  wife,  in  1900. 

Martha  Ann,  b. ,  m.  Eben  W.  Nevens,  formerly  postmaster  at  Gorham; 

2d,  Rev.  Peletiah  Hobson. 

Abigail,  b. ,  m.  Marshall  Morton,  1844. 

Henr)-,  b.  1S29,  m.  Jane  White  of  Sebago. 

Seward,  b.  June  9,  1833,  '"•  Dec.  12,  1858,  Elizabeth  F.,dau.  of  John  and  Mary 
J.  Sanborn.  Ch:  John  J.,  b.  Oct.  29,  1859,  m.  Christie  Emery  of  Port- 
land, (one  son  Seward)  ;  Annie  S.,  b.  Jan.  10,  1865,  m.  Walter  Mayberry 
of  Windham;  Alice  L.,  b.  Jan.  7,  1868,  m.  Howard  C.  Walker  of  Wind- 
ham, Nov.  29,  1894.     Mr.  Wescott  I's  at  Winship's  Corner. 

John  Wescott  died  in  Gorham,  at  the  North  Branch,  Oct.  31,  187 1, 
and  Mrs.  Wescott,  Dec.  16,  1865,  aged  76. 


822  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

(2)  Reuben  Wescott,  Jr.,  son  of  Reuben,  married  Maria  Gurney. 
Children  : 

Alexander  G.,  b.  Dec.  2,  1813,  m.  Sarah  Strout,  Oct.  4,  1S37  ;  I'd  in   Portland. 

John,  b.  Oct.  18,  181 6,  m.  Eliza  N.,  dau,  of  William  and  Polly  (Parker)  Riggs, 
Apr.  12,  1842.  Ch :  Leonard;  Eliza  R. ;  John  E. ;  Emolis  J.,  d.  y. ; 
Reuben  ;  Jennie  L.,  d.  y. ;  William,  d.  Jan.  31,  1881,  ag.  20.  Mrs.  Wes- 
cott d.  Jan.  30,  1886,  ag.  71,  and  Mr.  \V.  m.  Frances  E.,  dau.  of  Ira  and 
Cynthia  Baker.     He  d.  Nov.  14,  1892,  and  his  widow  m.  Charles  Gallison. 

Reuben,  3d,  b.  Jan.  7,  1819,  m.  Nov.  14,  1847,  Martha  A.,  dau.  of  Samuel  Lom- 
bard. Ch :  Frances  A.,  b.  Sept.  25,  1848,  d.  Mar.  29,  1858;  Elizabeth, 
b.  June  25,  1851,  d.  y. ;  Reuben,  b.  Oct.  6,  1853,  m.  Estelle  W.  Mosher, 
Nov.,  1876  ;  Adrianah,  b.  Nov.  8,  1855,  m.  Samuel  B.  Knight ;  Emma  C.  ; 
Fannie,  m.  Rev.  Mr.  Pettingill.  Mr.  Wescott  I'd  on  his  father's  place. 
He  d.  July  9,  1890. 

Hannah,  b.  Feb.  5,  1821,  m.  Jesse  Partridge,  1841. 

Samuel,  b.  Dec.  22,  1822,  d.  at  sea  — 22  years  old. 

Lucinda,  b.  Jan.  6,  1825,  m.  William  Riggs,  June  5,  1845. 

Emolis,  b.  July  17,  1827,  d.  Dec.  13,  1835. 

Lendall  J.,  b.  Jan.  lo,  1829. 

Margaret  A.,  b.  July  31,  1831,  m.  Frederick  Gilkey,  1856. 

Maria  E.,  b.  July  9,  1833,  d.  young. 

Reuben  Wescott,  Jr.,  died  at  his  home  in  the  south  part  of  the 
town,  Aug.  2,  1838.;  his  wife  died  April  18,  i860,  aged  68. 

(2)  William  Wescott,  youngest  son  of  Reuben  the  first,  Hved  on 
the  old  place  where  his  father  settled.  He  married  Mary  Ann, 
daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Anna  (Hamblen)  Skillings.     Children  : 

Orin,  b.  Nov.  12,  1826,  m.   Margaret   H.  Paine  of  Standish,  p.  Apr.  21,  1859. 

Ch  :  Joseph,  m.  Lula  Libby ;  A.  Lincoln,  a  lawyer  in  New  York   City; 

Alvin,  in  the  Electric  Light  business  in   New   York   City ;   Peter  W.,  m. 

Annie  B.  Colesworthy,  June  5,  1895;  George  H.,  d.  Jan.  2,  1880.     Orin 

Wescott  d.  on  his  farm  in  1891. 
Harriet,  b.  Jan.  10,  1829,  d.  Mar.  10,  1854. 
William,  3d,  b.  Nov.  10,  1833,  m.  Sarah,  dau.  of  Hanson  and  Delilah  Newcomb, 

1851.     Ch:  Norris  N.,  d.  Feb.  21,   1854;  Norris    N.,  m.   Sadie   Sawyer. 

William  Wescott,  3d,  I's  on  Mighty  St.,  in  the  north  part  of  the   town. 

Mrs.  Sarah  N.  Wescott  d.  Dec.  20,  1900,  ag.  72. 
Alvin  S.,  b.  Mar.  24,  1835,  d.  Oct.  4,  1857. 

Mary  Ellen,  b.  Sept.  3,  1837,  m.  John  Nelson  Newcomb,  Mar.  23,  1857. 
Reuben,  b.  Dec.  3,  1839,  m.  Anna.  dau.  of   Isaac  and  Ellen   W.    Perley.     Ch  : 

Clarence  W.,  m.  Mabel  Libby,  d.  Sept.  26,   1S98  ;  Frank,  a  graduate  of 

Harvard  College.     Mrs.  Wescott  d.  Dec.  25,  1875,  ^^'^  M""-  ^ ■  "^-  Lizzie, 

dau.  of  W^m.  and  Rebecca  Davis.     Ch  :  Anna. 
Emily,  b.  Jan.  4,  1841,  m.  Wiley  Davis  of  Sebago ;  d.  June  26,  1871. 
Melinda,  b. ,  d.  young. 

William  Wescott  died  May  24,  1875,  and  his  wife,  Oct.  10,  1884, 
aged  78. 

(2)  James  Wescott,  son  of  Edmund,  lived  on  the  David  Swett 
farm,  near  Little  Falls.  He  married  Dorcas,  daughter  of  William 
and  Mrs.  Ann  (Bolton)  Libby.     Children: 

Willis,  b.  Apr.  17,  i8i6,  m.  Julia  Mitton,  1840. 

Everett,  b.  Apr.  i,  1819,  m.  Emily ;  d.  Aug.  iS,  1851. 

Charlotte,  b.  May  27,  1821,  m.  Dennis  Hatch  of  Conway,  N.  H.,  June  10,  1849. 

James,  b.  Oct.  22,  1823. 

Wells  L.,  b.  Sept.  4,  1826,  m.  Amanda  Hale  of  Windham,  Feb.  26,  1S49. 


GENEALOGY.  823 

William,  b.  June  i8,  1828,  m.  Maria  Elder  of  Westbrook. 

Daniel  M.,  I  v^   rp  t.  q         j  m.  Louisa  Ingersoll. 

Elliot,  j  °-  ^*^°-  -'  '^^^'   \  m.  Huldah  A.  Wescott,  1850. 

Mrs.  Dorcas  Wescott  died  Feb.  8,  1849,  aged  51,  and  Mr.  Wescott 
married  Hannah,  daughter  of  Timothy  Hanson.  James  Wescott 
died  April  3,  1870,  and  his  wife  Hannah,  in  1886. 

(2)  Harvey  Wescott,  son  of  Edmund,  Hved  at  Great  Falls.  He 
married  Caroline  P.,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Hannah  Sturgis.  Chil- 
dren : 

Clement,  d.  young. 

Ann  Maria,  m.  Benjamin  Wescott  of  Standish. 

William  C,  m.  Flora  Hilt  of  China. 

George  W.  T.,  a  merchant  in  Bangor. 

Harvey  Wescott  died  in  1890,  and  Mrs.  Caroline  Wescott,  his 
wife,  in  1887,  aged  80. 

Nehemiah  Wescott  came  to  Gorham  about  the  year  1795.     April 

10,  1796,  he  married  Mrs.  Eleanor  (Dam)  Nason,  widow  of  Ephraim 

Nason,  by  whom  he  had  the  following  children  : 

John,  b.  June  19,  1797,  d.  Apr.  10,  1801. 

Betty,  b.  Jan.  19,  1799,  m.  Randall  Morton,  Nov.  18,  182 1. 

Abner,  b.  1803,  m.  Hannah  Frost,  1836. 

John,  b. ,  m.  Charity  M.  Humphrey,  1832. 

Esther,  b. ,  m.  Levi  Jordan  of  Raymond,  1849. 

Nehemiah  Wescott  lived  on  the  old  John  Wescott  farm  near  White 
Rock.  The  buildings  on  the  place  were  burned  when  occupied  by 
Henry  Carll.  Mr.  Wescott  died  April  10,  1846,  aged  74.  Mrs. 
Wescott  died  June  4,  1835,  aged  71. 

(2)  Abner  Wescott,  son  of  Nehemiah,  lived  on  his  father's  place. 
He  married  Hannah,  daughter  of  Jeremiah  Frost.     Children  : 

Daniel,  b.  Sept.  14,  1837,  m.  Ellen  Libby,  Dec.  31,  1863,  who  d.  Oct.  31,  1877  ; 

m.  2d,  Belle  Purinton  ;  d.  Feb.  21,  1901. 
Charles  E.,  b.  Feb.  13,  1841,  m.  Mary  J.  (Fogg)  Cole. 

Lizzie,  b. ,  m.  George  Leavitte. 

Mary  P.,  b.  Mar.  20,  1856,  m.  A.  Achorn. 

Abner  Wescott  died  at  White  Rock,  Oct.  9,  1877. 

(2)  John  Wescott,  son  of  Nehemiah,  lived  on  his  father's  old  place. 

He  married  Charity  M.  Humphrey  of  Gray.     Children: 

Huldah  A.,  b.  Oct.  13,  1832,  m.  Elliot  Wescott,  1850;  2d, Ball. 

Juliette,  b.  Feb.  20,  1835,  m.  Frank  Nash  of  Raymond. 

Charles  E.,   b.    Feb.,  1836,   m.    Lizzie   White;  was  in   the   Civil    War;    I'd  in 
Standish. 

Enoch,  b. ,  d.  unm.  in  the  Army. 

James  B.,  b.  May  22,  1841,  is  a  physician. 

Laura  J.,  b. ,  d.  unm.  at  Old  Orchard. 

Lizzie,  b.  May  30,  1847,  d.  June  22,  1S87. 

John  Wescott  died  in  April,  1847.     Mrs.  Wescott  died  about  1888. 


824  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

WESTON. 

Thomas  and  Joseph  Weston  were  brothers.  They  were  citizens 
of  Gorham  as  early  as  1749.  Their  house  was  on  the  thirty  acre  lot, 
49,  on  the  back  side  of  the  John  Harding  (Dolley's)  hill,  where  signs 
of  the  old  cellar  are  still  to  be  seen.  Thomas  Weston  married,  Feb. 
3,  1750,  Patience,  daughter  of  Capt.  John  and  Martha  Phinney.  She 
died  in  1751,  leaving  one  child  : 

Patience,  b.  Oct.  3,  1751,  m.  Asa  Whitney,  p.  Apr.  15,  1775. 

Mr.  Weston  married  second,  Abigail .     Children  : 

Anna,  b.  Oct.  24,  1756,  m.  Amos  Whitney,  Jr.  (?),  p.  Oct.  5,  1776. 
Abigail,  b.  Apr.  14,  1760,  m.  Joseph  Thomes  of  Gorham,  July  12,  1781. 

We  do  not  know  where  or  when  Thomas  Weston  and  his  wife  died, 
but  he  is  said  to  have  been  an  old  man  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

In  1749  we  find  Joseph  Weston  one  of  a  committee  to  run  out  the 

line  between  Gorham  and  Narragansett  No.  i    (Buxton).     In   1757 

he  sold  one-half  of  the  hundred  acre  lot,  20,  to  Stephen  Sawyer  ;  the 

other  half  he  sold  in  1769  to  Hugh   McLellan.     Joseph  Weston  was 

a  prominent  man  in  town.      He  married,  Sept.  3,  1755,  Katherine, 

the  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Jane  Mosher.     Children  : 

James,  b.  FVb.  22,  1758. 

Joseph,  b.  Mar.  22,  1760,  m.  Molly  Rolfe,  p.  Oct.  28,  1786;  went  to  Otisfield. 

Zachariah,  b.  June  27,  1762,  m.  Anna  Silla,  p.  Dec.  9,  1786. 

Thomas,  b   Uec.   4,  1764, —  a  Thomas   Weston  of  Otisfield   was  p.  to  Esther 

Turner  of  Otisfield,  Mar.  5,  1794. 
Sarah,  b.  June  14,  1767. 

Mr.  Weston  died  July   10,  1770,  and  his  widow  married,  Feb.  11, 

1773,  William   Haskell. 

A  Miss  Weston  taught  school  in  the  village,  early  in  the  history  of 
the  town. 

Edward  P.  Weston  was  the  son  of  Rev.  Isaac  and  Mary  (Emmons) 
Weston  and  was  a  graduate  of  Bowdoin  College,  class  of  1839.  He 
came  to  Gorham  in  1847  as  Principal  of  the  Seminary,  which  insti- 
tution he  brought  to  a  high  state  of  prosperity,  and  in  charge  of 
which  he  continued  till  iS6o,when  he  was  appointed  State  Superintend- 
ent of  Schools,  which  office  he  held  several  years.  In  1865  he  took 
charge  of  the  Abbott  Family  School  at  Farmington  for  a  few  years  ; 
then  moved  to  Illinois,  where  for  seven  years  he  was  the  Principal  of 
the  Seminary  for  young  ladies  at  Lake  Forest,  after  which  he  opened 
a  school  for  young  ladies  at  Highland  Park.  Mr.  Weston  was  at  one 
time  editor  of  the  "  Portland  Eclectic,"  and  also  of  the  "  Northern 
Monthly,"  a  magazine  of  much  merit,  though  of  short  life.     He  was  a 


GENEALOGY.  '  825 

poet  of  no  mean  repute  ;  a  man  of  much  genius  and  versatility  of 
talent,  and  greatly  beloved  by  a  large  circle  of  pupils  and  friends. 
He  built  on  High  St.  in  Gorham  village,  the  house  now  owned  and 
occupied  by  Mr.  Guptill.  His  wife  was  Mary  E.  Burbank.  Their 
children  were  Martha  E.,  Edward  B.  who  is  a  physician  in  Chicago, 
and  Mary  E.  who  was  born  in  Gorham  and  married  Charles  Soule  of 
Highland  Park,  111.,  in  which  latter  place  she  died.  Mr.  Weston  died 
at  Highland  Park,  Oct.  13,  1879,  aged  60,  and  his  wife  died  at  Farm- 
ington,  Me.,  September,  1868,  aged  50. 

WHITMORE. 

Francis  Whitmore,  the  emigrant,  was  of  Cambridge,  Mass.,  in  1649. 
From  him,  through  his  second  son,  Samuel  of  Lexington,  all  the 
branches  of  the  Whitmore  family,  who  have  lived  in  Gorham,  are 
descended. 

SamueH  Whitmore,  born  July  4,  1744,  was  the  grandson  of  Samuel*, 
and  the  son  of  John^  Whitmore  of  Cambridge  and  his  first  wife,  who 
was  Mrs.  Lydia  Cutter,  and  whom  he  married  June  24,  1735.  July 
30,  1764,  Samuel  Whitmore  bought  in  Gorham  of  Alexander  Ross 
the  thirty  acre  lot,  78.  This  land  Mr.  Ross  had  purchased  of  Hon. 
Wm.  Shirley,  Governor  of  Massachusetts.  Mr.  Whitmore  also  owned 
that  part  of  the  "  Bryant  Morton  strip"  that  lay  south  of  his  lot,  and 
on  this  latter  piece  of  land  he  built  his  house.  This  house,  though  it 
has  undergone  many  changes  and  alterations,  is  probably  the  same 
now  standing  on  the  lot,  and  occupied  by  Willis  I.  Bickford.  Mr. 
Whitmore  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  and  a  man  of  worth  and  promi- 
nence. He  was  one  of  the  selectmen  of  Gorham  in  1773-4,  and 
town  treasurer  from  1779  to  1803.  In  1782  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Committee  of  Correspondence,  Inspection  and  Safety  of  this  town. 
He  was  an  ardent  and  zealous  patriot,  and  served  honorably  in  the 
war  of  the  Revolution.  May  10,  1776,  he  was  appointed  by  the  Gov- 
ernor and  Council,  captain  of  one  of  the  Gorham  companies  of  the 
3d  Cumberland  Co.  regiment.  Dec.  9,  1776,  his  name  appears  among 
a  list  of  officers  of  the  Mass.  Militia,  chosen  by  field  officers,  as  cap- 
tain of  the  Gorham  and  Pearsonstown  company  of  Col.  Reuben 
Fogg's  Cumberland  Co.  regiment.  In  1781  he  was  commissioned 
captain  of  the  Gorham  company  belonging  to  Col.  Phinney's  3d 
Cumberland  Co.  regiment  of  Militia.  Capt.  Whitmore  married, 
Oct.  24,  1764,  Mary,  daughter  of  Abel  and  Mary  Whitney.    Children  : 

Lydia,  b.  Aug.  5,  1765,  m.  Uriel  Whitney,  Dec.  16,   1784. 
Mary,  b.  Aug.  1,  1767,  m.  Jacob  Haskell,  Dec.  29,  1785. 


826  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Dorcas,  b.  INIar.  7,  1770,  m.  James  H.  Chadbourne,  Jan.  4,  1789. 

John,  b.  Feb.  21,  1773,  m.  Jane  Roberts,  Oct.  4,  1792;  I'd  in  Standish. 

Patience,  b.  Sept.  8,  1775,  m.  Lemuel  Libby,  June  11,  1795. 

Elizabeth  R.,  b.  May  2,  1777,  m.  Simon  Huston,  Mar.  22,  1801. 

Samuel,  b.  Apr.  25,  1779,  d.  young. 

Samuel,  b.  Mar.  26,  1780,  d.  unm.  Aug.  27,  180S  ;  Col.  in  the  militia;  lawyer. 

Joel,  b.  Dec.  15,  17S1,  moved  to  Harrison. 

Sally,  b   Oct.  31 ,  1783,  m.  prob.,  John  Woodruff,  p.  Sept.  26,  1812. 

Joanna,  b.  Sept.  10,  1785,  went  to  Tinmouth,  Vt. 

Eunice,  b.  June  25,  1788. 

Capt.  Whitmore  died  Dec.  21,  1808. 

William^  Whitmore  was  the  son  of  Johns  Whitmore  and  his  second 

wife,  Mary  Burnell,  and  consequently  a  half  brother  to  Capt.  Samuel 

above.     He  was  born   May  31,  1752,  and  as  early  as   1772  came  to 

Gorham  where  he  lived  some  years.     His  wife  was  Amy,  daughter  of 

William  and  Hannah  Knight  of  Windham,  and  their  children  were: 

Anna,  b.  Nov.  5,  1775,  m.  Joseph  Norton  of  Gorham,  May  13,  1804. 

Simon,  b.  Jan.  12,  1777,  m.  Susan  At«ood. 

Joseph,  b.  Mar.  4,  1779,  ^-  Elizabeth  Martin. 

Mary,  b.  June  17,  17S1,  d.  aged  18. 

Hannah,  b.  Dec.  6,  1784,  m.  Samuel  Hamlin  of  Gorham. 

Amey,  b.  June  4,  1786,  m.  John  Newbegin  ;  2d,  Henry  Crockett,  1818. 

Sarah,  b.  Jan.  18,  1789,  m.  Abner  Martin. 

William,  b.  1791,  m.  Betsey  Heath  ;  I'd  in  Standish. 

Jane,  b.  1794,  d.  in  1797. 

Jane,  b.  1797,  m.  Reuben  Whitney. 

DanieH  Whitmore  was  the  son  of  John3  Whitmore  and  his  wife 
Mary.  He  was  born  in  Baldwin,  Oct.  6,  1758.  Mr.  Whitmore  was  a 
blacksmith  by  trade.  In  1782  he  purchased  of  Gary  McLellan  a  lot 
of  land  on  the  north  side  of  Main  St.  Here  he  lived  till  1784,  when 
he  sold  his  house  and  land  to  Maj.  Simeon  Farnham.  This  house 
was  a  part  of  the  old  Jacob  Hamblen  house,  which  coming  into  the 
possession  of  Gary  McLellan  was  moved  to  this  lot  about  1779  and 
with  some  additions  was  used  as  a  dwelling  house  by  Daniel  Whit- 
more, and  afterwards  by  Maj.  Farnham.  Daniel  Whitmore  married, 
April  16,  1782,  Anna  T.  Hill  of  Buxton,  probably  daughter  of 
Jeremiah  and  Mary  Hill.     Children  on  Gorham  records  : 

Rebecca,  b.  Dec.  12,  1783. 
Joseph,  b.  Mar.  12,  1787. 
Simon,  b.  Aug.  12,  1789. 
Mary,  b.  Mar.  17,  1792. 
Hill,  b.  Aug.  3,  1794. 

Daniel  Whitmore  moved  to  Unity.     Five  other  children  were  born 

to  this  family  after  removing  from  Gorham. 

Elishas  Whitmore  was  the  son  of  John+  Whitmore  of  Newton  and 
his  wife  Beulah  Gregory,  and  was  born  Feb.  17,  1763.  John^ 
Whitmore  of  Newton  was  a  cousin  to  Capt.  Samuel.    Elisha  Whitmore 


GENEALOGY.  827 

was  a  joiner.  We  have  no  record  of  his  family  other  than  that  he 
had  a  son  Joseph,  who  died  Dec.  21,  1797.  Elisha  W'hitmore  died 
in  Gorham,  Nov.  27,  1800. 

Elisha   A.  U'hitmore  married,  Jan.  28,    182 1,   Keziah,  daughter   of 

James  and  Mary  Smith,  and  lived  at  (Gorham  village.      Children  : 

Edward,  b.  Feb.  10,  1822. 

Mary  Jane,  b.  Dec.  6,  1826,  m.  a  Mr.  Newbegin  ;  I'd  in  Baldwin. 

Francis,  b. ,  d.  Oct.  18,  1832. 

Elisha  A.  Whitmore  died  in  Gorham  Dec.  12,  1831.    Mrs.  Whitmore 

died  suddenly,  July  8,  1834,  aged  38. 

WHITNEY. 

The  family  of  Whitney  trace  their  descent  from  Turstin  de  Wige- 
more,  a  Fleming,  who  came  over  to  England  with  William  the 
Conqueror  and  participated  in  the  battle  of  Hastings.  The  family 
took  their  name  from  their  residence,  called  Whitney  Court,  at  Whit- 
ney-on-the-Wye.  Each  succeeding  generation  of  the  family  married 
into  the  best  families  of  England,  and  held  prominent  positions  at  the 
court  of  the  king.  The  estate  not  being  entailed  and  the  last  Whit- 
ney of  Whitney  Court  having  only  daughters  it  was  sold,  but  is  still 
called  Whitney  Court. 

Thomas  Whitney  and  wife  Mary  belonging  to  a  younger  branch  of 
the  family  moved  to  Westminster,  where  their  son  John,  born  in  1589, 

was  apprenticed  to  a  tailor.     John  Whitney  married  Elinor , 

and  in  May,  1635,  emigrated  to  America,  and  lived  in  Watertown, 
Mass.  He  had  nine  children,  from  the  youngest  of  whom,  Benjamin, 
the  Gorham  Whitneys  are  descended. 

Nathaniel  Whitney  was  born  in   York,  Me.,  April  14,  1680.     He 

was  the  son  of  Benjamin,  and  grandson  of  John  Whitney  above.     He 

was  a  weaver.     He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  John  Ford  of  Kittery. 

Children  : 

Nathan,  b.  Jan.   10,   1706/7,  m.  Lydia  Young,  Nov.  12,  1730;    2d,    Elizabeth 

Melcher. 
Nathaniel,  b.  Dec.  12,  1709,  m.  Hannah   Day,  Jan.  3,  1733/4. 
Abel,  b.  July  23,  1712,  m.  Mary  Cane,  Nov.  12,  1735. 
Sarah,  b.  Nov.  8,  1714,  m.  Jeremiah  Simpson,  July  13,  1736;   2d,  John  Larrabee. 

John,  b. ,  m.  Margaret  Coffin;   2d,  Hephzibah  Adams;  was  a  physician. 

Lydia,  b. ,  d.  Jan.  14,  1720. 

Isaac,  b.  Mar.  9,  1720/1,  m.  Sarah  Crosby,  Sept.  5,  1743. 
Amos,  b.  Mar.  5,  1723/4,  m.  Sarah  Payne,  Sept.  5,  1748. 
Lydia,  b.  July  22,  1726,  d.  Mar.  23,  1727/8. 
Joanna,  b.  Mar.  13,  1729/30. 

Nathaniel  Whitney  was  living  in  York  as  late  as  1760.  His  estate 
was  settled  in  1768,  by  his  son  Amos. 


828  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

(2)  Nathan  Whitney,  son  of  Nathaniel,  was  one  of  the  early  settlers 
in  Gorham.  He  came  to  this  town  from  Biddeford,  where  his  chil- 
dren were  born.  In  1752  he  purchased  of  Enoch  Freeman  of 
Falmouth  the  thirty  acre  lot,  26,  with  the  dwelling  house  and  barn 
thereon.  He  was  a  prominent  and  influential  citizen  of  Gorham,  and 
served  on  many  important  town  committees.  He  was  also  active  in 
religious  matters.  We  find  him  recorded  as  an  early  elder  in  the 
church.  He  married  Lydia,  daughter  of  Matthias  Young  of  York, 
Me.     Children : 

David,  b.  Apr.  8,  1732,  m.  Hannah  Brown,  Feb.   i,   1754;  2d,  Abigail  Knight ; 

3d,  Rebecca  Edgecomb. 
Abel,  b.  Aug.  20,  1734,  m.  Thankful  Morton,  Dec.  16,  1758. 
Lydia,  b.  Dec.  11, 1736. 

Sarah,  b.  Aug.  15,  1739,  m.  Ebenezer  Morton,  Dec.  27,  1758. 
Nathan,  b.  Apr.  30,  1742. 
Matthias,  b.  Mar.  8,  1743/4. 
John,  b.  Apr.  4,  1747,  m.  Elizabeth  .     One  child,  b.  in  Gorham :  Mary,  b. 

Jan.  18,  1776.     John  Whitney  d.  in  the  Army,  May  5,  1776. 

Nathan  Whitney  married  second,  Oct.  20,  1748,  Elizabeth  Melcher 

of  Biddeford.     Children  : 

Anna,  b.  Sept.  5,  1749,  m.  Ebenezer  Watson,  p.  Sept.  22,  1771. 

Ebenezer,  b.  July  30,  1751. 

Asa,  b.  Dec.  17,  1754,  m.  Patience  Wesfon,  p.  Apr.  15,  1775;  2d,  Mrs.  Davis. 

Elder  Nathan  Whitney  died  in  Gorham  in  1804. 

(2)  Nathaniel  Whitney,  son  of  Nathaniel,  came  to  Gorham  from 
Falmouth.  At  the  time  of  his  marriage  he  lived  in  Biddeford,  and 
there  most  of  his  children's  births  were  recorded.  His  homestead 
farm  in  Gorham,  which  he  purchased  in  1769  of  Benjamin  Winslow, 
consisted  of  the  two  thirty  acre  lots,  51  and  52,  and  the  south  half 
of  the  hundred  acre  lot,  76.  His  house  stood  on  51.  The  hill  on 
which  he  and  some  of  his  brothers  made  their  settlement  is  still 
known  as  Whitney's  hill.  He  married  Hannah  Day  of  Wells.  Chil- 
dren : 

Nathaniel,  b.  Mar.  22,  1735,  m.  Susanna  Whitney  of  Brunswick,  Sept.  15,  1757. 

Hannah,  b.  Nov.  16,  1736,  m.  Joseph  Hamblen,  Oct.,  1755. 

Moses, b.  Mar.  17,  1739,  m.  Susanna  Crockett,  Dec.  27,  1760;  2d,  Mary  Page; 
3d,  Mrs.  Kimball. 

Aaron,  b.  June  7,  1741,  m.  Jenny  McLellan,  Sept.  19,  1765. 

Miriam,  b.  Jan.  15,  1743. 

Tabitha,  b.  Mar.  16,  1745/6,  m.  John  Watson,  Dec.  5,  1765.  (She  was  b.  in 
Kittery.) 

Patience,  b.  May  li,  1748,  m.  Edward  Thomes,  Oct.  9,  1766;  2d,  Colman  Wat- 
son. 

Hepsibah,  b.  Aug.  29,  1750,  m.  Nathan  Freeman,  Oct.  15,  1766. 

Josiah,  b.  1752,  m.  Hannah  Barstow ;  2d,  Elizabeth  Harding,  Sept.  16,  1775; 
joined  the  Shakers;  d.  at  Alfred,  Feb.  24,  1837,  aged  86. 

(2)  Abel  Whitney,  son  of  Nathaniel,  lived  in  York,  Gorham,  and 


GENEALOGY.  829 

Stan  dish.     He  was  a  weaver  by  trade.     He  married  Mary,  daughter 
of  Micah  Cane,  of  York.     Children  : 

Joanna,  b.  in  York,  Oct.  lo,  1736. 

Moses,  b.  in  Wiscasset,  Feb.  17,  1737/8,  m.  Aug.  28,  1761,  Lois  Crediford  of 
Falmouth.  We  have  no  record  of  any  family,  or  of  the  death  of  Lois 
but  Moses  Whitney  was  married  in  Falmouth,  Jan.  15,  1 766,  by  Rev 
Dr.  Deane,  to  Priscilla  Burnell.  Ch:  Zebulon,  b.  in  Falmouth,  Dec.  7 
1766;  Nabby,  b.  in  Gorham,  Apr.  12,  1777. 

Joseph,  b.  in  Wiscasset,  Mar.   i,   1739/40,  m.  Mehitable  Stevens,  Oct.  3,  1765 
2d,  Betty  Phinney. 

Daniel,  b.  in  York,  Sept.  17,  1741,  d.  young. 

Joel,  b.  in  York,  May  21,  1743.  m.  Mary  Weston  of  Falmouth,  Sept.  26,  1765 
went  to  Jonesboro,  1767  ;  d.  there,  1789. 

Mary,  b.  in  York,  Oct.  5,  1744,  m.  Capt.  Samuel  Whitmore,  Oct.  24,  1764. 

Lydia,  b.  in  York,  July  31,  1746,  m.  John  Burnell,  July  3,  1766. 

Zebulon,  b.  in  York,  Nov.  27,  1747,  m.  Hannah   Stone,  Nov.  10,  1774. 

Joanna,  b.  in  York,  Sept.  27,  1749,  m.  Caleb  Chase.  Dec.  31,  1769. 

Naphtali,  b.  in  York,  Feb.  10,  1750/1,  m.  Mary  Stone,  p.  Mar.  22,  1777. 

Micah,  b.  in  York,  Dec.  i  [,  1752,  ni.  Hannah  Cobb,  Nov.  29,  1779. 

Daniel,  b.  in  York,  Sept.  26,  1754,  m.  Abigail  Stone,  Dec.  7,  1780. 

Paul,  b.  in  York,  June  30,  1756,  enlisted  in  the  Revolutionary  army  from  Gor- 
ham, and  was  killed  in  battle  in  R.  I.,  1778. 

Deborah,  b.  Feb.,  1759,  m.  Jeremiah  Williams,  p.  May  17,  1777. 

Abel  Whitney  died  before  September,  1762,  for  at  that  time  his 
widow  Mary  received  a  deed  from  Barnabas  Bangs  of  a  part  of  the 
thirty  acre  lot,  81.  Mrs.  Mary  Whitney  married  second,  June  ro, 
1763,  Samuel  Crockett. 

(2)   Isaac    Whitney,  son    of  Nathaniel,    lived  in  York,    Saco  and 

Gorham.      He    married    Sarah,    daughter    of    Dr.   Crosby    of    York. 

Children  : 

Lucy,  b.  in  York,  July  31,  1745,  m.  Jabez  Morton,  Oct.  11,  1764. 

Phineas,  b.  in  York,  June  5,  1747,  m.  Oct.  19,  1769,  Anna,  dau  of  Bryant  and 

Thankful    Morton.     Ch.    b.    in    Gorham:   Stephen,    b.   Sept.   23,    1771; 

Crosby,  b.  Sept.  20,    1773;  Afifia,  b.  Jan.  12,   1776;  Jonathan,  b.  Feb.  8, 

1778. 
Isaac,  b.  in  York,  Dec.  28,  1748,  m.  Mary  Crockett,  p.  Apr.  7,   1772. 
Hannah,  b.  in  York,  Nov.  28,  1750,  m.  Joseph  Brown,  Oct.  19, 1769;  2d,  Joshua 

Adams. 
Stephen,  b.  in  Saco,  Mar.  19,  1755,  m.  Patty  Irish,  p.  Oct.  28,  1780. 
Jonathan,   b.   in   Saco,  Feb.  9,   1757,   m.  Mary  Blake,  p.  Nov.  24,  1781;  I'd  in 

Buxton,  and  d.  Sept.,  1819. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Whitney  died  in  Gorham  June  23,  1765,  and  Mr.  Whit- 
ney married,  Aug.  29,  1765,  Mrs.  Hannah  Payne.  Children,  born  in 
Gorham  : 

Barnabas,  b.  Aug.  18,  1766,  m.  Sarah  Walker,  Jan.  i,  1789. 

Henry,  b.  July  24,  1767,  m.  Abigail  Walker,  Nov.  7,   1793;  ^''^  ^^   Pownal  and 

Freeport. 
Timothy,  b.  Oct.  10,  1768,  d.  Sept.  22,  1769. 
Sarah,  b.  Dec.  27,  1769,  d.  Jan.  17,  1770. 

Timothy,  b.  Aug.  i,  1771,  m.  Hannah  . 

James,  b. . 

Mary,  b. ,  m.  Mr.  Thompson  of  Saco  or  Biddeford;  d.  1832. 


830  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Mr.  Whitney  married,  Jan.  i,  1784,  Mrs.  Mary  Walker.  He  died 
at  the  house  of  his  son  Henry  in  Freeport. 

(2)  Amos  Whitney,  son  of  Nathaniel,  was  an  early  settler  in 
Gorham.  He  is  said  to  have  first  built  a  log  house  in  what  is  now 
Melville  Cressey's  field.  His  homestead  farm  in  Gorham  was  the 
two  thirty  acre  lots,  40  and  42,  which  he  sold  in  1798  to  Joseph 
Crocker  Snow  of  Falmouth,  Mass.  Mr.  Whitney  was  the  first  town 
clerk  of  Gorham,  from  1764  to  1769,  and  was  one  of  the  first  select- 
men ;  a  man  highly  respected  and  of  great  integrity.  He  married 
Sarah,  the  daughter  of  Thomas  Payne  of  York.  Children,  the  three 
oldest  born  in  York  : 

Ebenezer,  b.  Dec.  30,  1749. 

Amos,  b.  Apr.  22,  1752,  m.  Anna  Weston,  p.  Oct.  5,  1776. 

Mary  G.,  b.  Oct.  25,  1754,  m.  Thomas  Paine  of  Standish,  Apr.  26,  1792. 

Elias,  b.  Apr.  12,  1763,  m.  Polly  Fowler,  Dec.  14,  178S. 

Jotham,  b,  Apr.  2,  1766,  m.  Elizabeth  Ross,  Apr.  i,  1792, 

Ruth,  b.  June  25,  1769. 

Mr.  Whitney  married  second  (pub.  Aug.  14,  1773),  Hannah  John- 
son of  Falmouth. 

(3)  David  Whitney,  son  of  Nathan,  came  to  town  when  a  young 
man.  He  married,  Feb.  i,  1754,  Hannah  Brown  of  Gorham. 
Children  : 

Susanna,  b.  June  25,  1756,  m.  Owen  Runnells,  Aug.  25,  1774.  He  d.  in  the 
Army,  Feb.  29,  1776,  and  she  m.  2d, Dearborn  of  Buxton. 

Jesse,  b.  Mar.  18,  1758,  m.  Mary,  daughter  of  David  and  Hepzibah  Sawyer  of 
Saco;  enlisted  from  Gorham,  and  served  in  the  Continental  army;  d. 
Jan.  18,  1832. 

David  Whitney  married  second,  Oct.  11,  1760,  Abigail  Knight  of 
Falmouth.     Child : 

Joshua,  b.  Aug.  17,  1761,  I'd  in  Buxton. 

David  Whitney  married  third,  Nov.  26,  1761,  Rebecca  Edgecomb 

of  Falmouth.     Children  : 

Daniel,  b.  Nov.  18,  1762. 

Hannah,  b.  June  12,  1764,  m.  John  Rogers,  Nov.  12,  1786.  (?) 

Thomas,  b.  Oct.  5,  1765. 

Nathan,  b.  Sept.  10,  1769. 

A  David  Whitney  of  Gorham  was  published  to  Lydia  Moore  of 
Buxton,  June  29,  1785. 

(3)  Abel  Whitney,  son  of  Nathan,  purchased  in  1767  thirty  acres 
of  common  land,  on  which  he  made  his  home.  This  land,  which  is 
situated  about  a  half  mile  west  of  where  the  Methodist  church  is  now 
located  on  North  St.,  he  conveyed,  April,  1791,  to  his  son  Nathaniel, 
Jr.     The  following  year  Nathaniel,  Jr.,  sold  to  John  Akers  this  farm 


GENEALOGY.  831 

which  he  says,  "  I  and  my  father  now  occupy."  Abel  Whitney  was 
a  Revolutionary  soldier  in  Capt.  Josiah  Jenkins's  company,  Col. 
Brewer's  12th  Mass.  He  married  Thankful,  daughter  of  Capt.  Bry- 
ant and  Thankful  Morton.     Children  : 

Joseph,  b.  May  i,  1760,  d.  in  Alfred  with  the  .Shakers,  Sept.  19,  1847. 
Lydia,  b.  July  28,  1763,  d.  July,  1767. 
Betty,  b.  July  22,  1765,  m.  a  Mr.  Boynton. 

^^'■^^'  ib     lune  -o    1760  \  "^-  ^°^^^^  Higgins.  p.  Sept.  19,  1789. 

Nathaniel,)     '   ■'  -   -     /    ''')  m.  Zilpha  Martin,  Mar.  16,  1794  ;  I'd  in  Standi.sh. 

Reuben,  b.  July  21,  1771,  m.  Mercy  Baker;  d.  in  Litchfield. 
Simeon,  b.  Feb.  9,  1774,  went  to  eastern  Maine. 

Susanna,  b.  Apr.  2,  1776,  m. Hale. 

Levi,  b.  May  18,  i77g,  m.  Happy  Higgins,  about  iSoo;  I'd  in  Siandish. 
Lydia,  b.  Apr.  30,  1782,  m.  Starbird  ;  d.  in  Standish. 

Abel  Whitney  died  in  Standish. 

(3)  Asa  Whitney,  son  of  Nathan,  married  Patience,  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Patience  (Phinney)  Weston  of  Gorham.     Children  : 

Samuel,  b.  Aug.  28,  1777,  m.  Hannah,  dau.  of  Capt.  Snow  of  Barnstable,  Aug. 

24,  1798;    2d,   Mary  Rich;    3d,    Mrs.    Maiy  (Piper)  Ring;  was  a  F.  Bapt. 

preacher;  was  a  member  of  the  convention  to  organize  the  State  of  Me., 

in  1S20 ;  d.  at  Jackson,  Oct.  18,  1S59. 
Benjamin,  b.  Aug.  19,  1779,  I'd  in  Kingston,  Canada;  was  twice  sent  to  England 

as    delegate    to   Parliament ;    d.    at    sea,    1835,  on    passage  home  from 

England. 
Abigail,  b.  Mar.  10,  1781,  m.  Joseph  Davis,  Sept.  29,  1799. 
John,   b.   Apr.    17,    1783,   m.   Rich;  was  a  Methodist  preacher;  d.   in 

Thorndike. 
Patience,  b.  Dec.  7,  17S4,  m. Floyd;  d.  in  Ira,  N.  Y. 

Mrs.   Patience   Whitney   died    Dec.  23,    1784,  aged  t,^,   and   Mr. 

Whitney  married,  July  14,  1785,  Mrs.  Phebe  (Hopkins)  Davis,  widow 

of  Elijah  Davis  of  Gorham,  and  daughter  of  Constant  and  Phebe 

Hopkins  of  Truro,  Mass.     Children  : 

Anna,  b.  Jan.  25,  1786,  m.  Nicholas  Dennett  of  Saco,  May  17,  1806. 

Elsie,  b.  Apr.  9,  1788,  m.  Nicholas  Dennett  (2d  wife)  ;  2d, Scamman  of 

Saco. 
Mary,  b.  Aug,  10,  1790,  m.  Edward  P.  Barnard  of  Bridgton;   d.  at  Lynn,  Mass. 
George  W.,  b.  June  14,  1792,  m.   Mary,  dau.   of  Jonathan    Whitney  of  Buxton, 

Mar.  7,   1817;  2d,   Mrs.  Angelina  (Phinney)    Magrath  ;  was  a  F.  Bapt. 

preacher  in   Bridgton  and  in  Rochester,  N.   H. ;  d.  in   Rochester,  Sept. 

18,  1878. 
Hannah,  b.  Aug.  21,  1794,  m.  Seth  Brown. 

Eunice,  b.  Apr.  30,  1796,  m. Emery;  I'd  in  Ripley,  Me. 

Roxanna,  b. ,  m. Davis  of  Buxton  ;  d.  in  Buxton. 

Asa  Whitney  died  in  Gorham,  Dec.  17,  1806.  His  widow  Phebe 
died  in  Bridgton,  April  17,  1853. 

(3)  Moses  Whitney,  son  of  Nathaniel  and  Hannah,  was  born  in 
Biddeford.  He  was  remarkable  for  his  strength  and  courage.  He 
served  in  the  French  and  Indian  wars,  and  also  in  the  Revolution. 
He  married  Susanna,  daughter  of  Samuel  and   Sarah  Crockett.     On 


832  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

the  old  family  Bible  of  the  Crocketts  I  find,  "  Susanna,  daughter  of 
Susanna  Crockett  Whitney,  born  June  29,  1762."  Dea.  Alden 
of  Gorham  in  his  diary  says,  under  date  of  July  1,  1762,  "Moses 
Whitney's  wife  died."  Again,  Mr.  Alden  says,  "Sept.  7,  1763, 
Moses  Whitney  married  last  night.  Tall  wedding."  This  latter  must 
have  been  the  marriage  of  Moses  Whitney  to  Molly  Page  of  England. 
His  children  by  her  were : 

Mary,  b.  Aug.  17,  1764,  m.  Lemuel  Rounds,  p.  July  14,   17S1  ;  moved  to  Ohio. 
Lucy,  b.  Sept.  30,  1768,  m.  John  Greenlaw  of  Brownfield,  Mar.  27,  178S. 
Enoch,   b.    Apr.    8,    1773,    ^-    Hannah   Newcomb,  p.  June  2,   1792;  2d,  Mrs. 

Kendall ;  3d,  Mrs.  Dennett. 
Moses,  b.  Aug.  30,  1776. 
Betsey,  b.  Nov.  i,  1777,  m.  James  Gates,  Dec.  10,  1797;  moved  to  N.  Y.  State. 

Richard,  b.  July  20,  1780,  m. ;  I'd  in  Belfast. 

Susanna,  b.  Apr.  9,  1783,  m.  Seth  Carsley  of  Harrison,  Jan.  22,  1809. 

Samuel,  b.  Feb.  2,   1785,  m.  Margaret  Darrow ;   I'd  in  Di.xmont ;  d.  Mar.  27, 

1874. 

Moses  Whitney  married,  Jan.  22,  1792,  Mrs.  Abigail  (Skillings) 
Kimball,  daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Mary  Skillings,  and  widow  of 
Caleb  Kimball.     Child  : 

Sally,  b.  Oct.  22,  1793,  m.  Rev.  Jos.  H.  Phinney  of  Harrison,  Sept.  26,  1812. 

On  June  10,  1785,  Moses  Whitney  received  from  his  father  Nathan- 
iel all  the  land  and  buildings  "called  the  homestead  of  Nathaniel," 
sixty  acres,  being  the  two  thirty  acre  lots,  51  and  52,  and  also  thirty- 
one  and  a  half  acres,  the  south  end  of  the  hundred  acre  lot,  No.  76. 
This  latter  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  road  to  Harding's  grist 
mill.  Moses  to  have  all  the  buildings  on  76.  In  18 13,  Moses 
Whitney  with  wife  Abigail,  then  of  Harrison,  and  son-in-law  Phinney 
and  wife  Sally  sell  No.  51  and  one-half  of  the  barn  on  52  to  Seth 
Hersey,  and  in  18 16  the  same  parties  sell  No.  52  with  the  house  and 
one-half  of  the  barn  to  Joseph  Cressey,  Jr.  The  property  is  still  in 
the  hands  of  Cressey's  descendants. 

Moses  Whitney  died  about  1820,  and  his  wife,  Oct.  8,  1844. 

(3)  Aaron  Whitney,  son  of  Nathaniel,  married  Jenny,  daughter  of 
Alexander  and  Anna  McLellan  of  Falmouth.     Children : 

Hannah,  b.  July  20,  1766,  d.  in  Alfred,  June  4,  1835. 

Annah,  b.  Oct.  18,  1767,  d.  in  Alfred,  Nov.  30,  1837. 

Samuel,  b.  May  22,  1769,  d.  Aug.  11,  1773. 

Jenny,  b.  May  10,  1771,  m.  David  Johnson,  June  16,  17S5. 

Sarah,  b.  June  8,  1773,  d.  in  Alfred,  Mar.  4,  181 7. 

Susanna,  b.  Feb.  16,  1775,  "^-  James  Merrill  of  Buxton,  May  t,  1804. 

Tabitha,  (  b  Mav  16  1777   ^  ^-  "'  '^^^''^'^'  ^''^-  "5-  i8-8- 
Miriam,    \  ^-  ^^^^^  '^'  ^^^^'  )  d.  in  Alfred,  Apr.  5,  1850. 
Betsey,  b.  May  7,  1780,  d.  in  Alfred,  Nov.  15,  1845. 
Silas,  b. ,  left  the  Shakers  when  young. 


GENEALOGY.  833 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Whitney,  with  most  of  their  family,  joined  the  Shaker 
Family  at  Alfred,  where  they  died,  he,  June  19,  18 15,  aged  74,  and 
she,  April  2,  1833,  aged  88. 

(3)  Joseph  Whitney,  son  of  Abel,  married  Mehitable,  daughter  of 

Benjamin  and  Sarah  Stevens.      Children  : 

Abel,  b.  July   21,   1767,  m. .     He  and  his  wife  d.  in   (Sorham  from  the 

effects  of  charcoal  fumes. 
Mary,  b.  July  27,  1769,  m.  Abial  Rounds,  p.  Mar.  12,  1791. 
Anna,  b.  Mar.  17,    1774,  m.  Isaac  Hall,  May  19,  1793. 
Mercy,  b.  Oct.  31,  1776,  m.  Joseph  Libby,  June  24,  1801. 
Solomon,  b.  June  23,  1780,  m.  Phebe  Gilkey,  Feb.  13,  1808;  I'd  in  Troy. 

Mrs.    Whitney  died   soon   after   the   birth    of   Solomon,   and  Mr. 

Whitney  married,  in  1781,  Betty,  daughter  of  Col.  Edmund  Phinney. 

Children  : 

Stephen,  b.  July  28,  1782,  m.  Hannah  Freeman,  p.  Nov.  24,  1810. 

Joseph,  b.  Oct.  18,  1784,  m.  Mary  Hunter  of  Topsham. 

Patience,  b.  Sept.  25,  1786,  m.  Capt.  Silas  C.  Elden  of  Bu.vton,  Nov.   16,   1809. 

Sarah,  b.  Dec.  3,  1788,  m.  Edmund  Gammon,  Dec.  24,  1S09. 

Hannah,  b.  Oct.  6,  1791,  m.  Clark  Dyer,  Jan.  10,  181 2. 

Betty,  b.  Apr.  i,  1794,  m.  Samuel  Gilkey,  May  7,  1817. 

Peggy,  b.  Nov.  10,  1796,  d.  young. 

Edmund,  b.  Dec.  7,  1799,  m. —  McLean;  d.  in  Jacksonville,  Fla. 

James,  b.  July  3,  1803,  m.  Mary  Larrabee,  Dec.  25,  1825. 

Joseph  Whitney  died  March  13,  1819,  and  his  wife,  Feb.  14,  1828, 
aged  69. 

(3)  Zebulon  Whitney,  son  of  Abel,  was  born  in  York.     He  lived 

for  a  time  in  Gorham,  then  moved  to  Standish.     While  in  Gorham 

he  lived  in  the  north  part  of  the  town,  in  the  first  house  on  the  old 

road  to  Standish  after  passing  the  North  church.     Mr,  Whitney  was 

a  soldier  in  the  Revolution,  and  received  a  pension  for  his  services. 

He  married  Hannah  Stone  of  Cape  Elizabeth.     Children  : 

Abigail,  b.  Jan.  23,  1776,  m.  Caleb  Shaw,  Mar.  10,  1796. 
Happy,  b.  Aug.  11,  1778,  m.  Enoch  Hamblen,  June  6,  1802. 
Mattie,  b.  Feb.  14,  1781,  d.  unm.  Apr.  14,  1865. 
Rufus,  b.  Apr.  5,  1784,  d.  unm.  Feb.  24,  1817. 
Eli,  b.  Aug.  16,  1786,  m.  Damaris  Stone,  Apr.  19,  181 1. 
Eunice,  b.  Aug.  30,  1789,  m.  Peter  Whitney,  June  13,  1816. 
Hannah,  b.  Apr.  21,  1791,  d.  unm.  Aug.  28,  1833. 
Tabitha,  b.  Aug.  30,  1795,  d.  unm.  Aug.  15,  i860. 
Almira,  b.  July  14,  1798,  m.  George  Whitmore. 

Zebulon  Whitney  died  on  the  "  Shaw  place  "  in  Gorham,  Sept.  11, 
1833,  and  his  wife,  Dec.  10,  1824,  aged  69. 

(3)  Micah  Whitney,  son  of  Abel,  was  a  blacksmith.  He  served 
in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  was  a  sergeant  in  the  War  of  18  12. 
He  married  Hannah,  daughter  of  Andrew  and  Hannah  Cobb. 
Children  : 


834  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Sally,  b.  Jan.  ii,  17S1,  m.  James  Humphrey. 

William  P.,  b.  May  3,  17S3,  m.  Nancy  I.  Carlton. 

Lydia,  b.  Feb  8,  1785. 

Joel,  b.  May  7,  1787,  m.  Sally  Dyer;  2d,  Sarah  Crompton ;  3d,  Betsey  Chase. 

Ebenezer,  b. ,  m.  Dorcas  Parlin  ;  I'd  in  Freeman,  Me. 

Joanna,  b. ■,  m.  Caleb  Sylvester. 

Andrew,  b.  May  5,  1795,  ™-  Huldah  Svveetsir,  18 16;  I'd  in  Phillips. 

Charlotte,  b.  . 

Mary,  b. ,  m.  Reuben  Smith. 

Happy,  b. ,  m.  Samuel  W.  Phoenix  of  Phillips. 

Benjamin,  b.  1S06,  m.  Susan  Wells. 
Nahum,  b. ,  I'd  down  east ;  unm. 

Micah  Whitney  died  June  19,  1829,  and  his  wife,  in  1834. 

(3)  Daniel  Whitney,  son  of  Abel,  lived  in  the  north  part  of  the 

town,  where  Edward  Files  now  lives.      He  married  Abigail,  daughter 

of  Archelaus  Stone  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  sister  to  his  brother  Zebulon's 

wife.      Children : 

Reuben,  b.  July  20,  1781,  d.  young. 

Betsey,  b.  Nov.  10,  1783,  d.  unm.  Jan.  23,  1853. 

Nabby,  b.  May  16,  1785,  d.  unm. 

Peter,  b.  Aug.  14,  1788,  m.  Eunice  Whitney,  June  13,  1816. 

Olive,  b.  Jan.  S,  1791,  m.  Josiah  Murch  ;  I'd  in  Unity. 

Mary,  b.  Dec.  31,  1792,  m.  Dea.  Enoch  Moody  of  Standish  (2d  wife),  Feb.  7, 

1830. 
Luther,  b.  May  6,  1795,  moved  to  Thorndike. 

Damaris,  b.  July  31,  1797,  m.  Dea.  Enoch  Moody  (ist  wife).     (See  above.) 
Miriam,  b.  Nov.  14,  1799,  m.  George  Hunt. 
Happy,  b.  Nov.  16,  1802,  m.  James  Kelly  of  Unity. 
Louisa,  b.  1806,  d.  unm.  Sept.  3,  1834. 

Daniel  Whitney  died  Dec.  13,  1834,  aged  80,  and  his  wife,  June  i, 
1841,  aged  79. 

(3)  Isaac  Whitney,  son  of  Isaac,  born  in  York,  lived  for  a  time  in 

Buxton.     About   1770  he  came  to  Gorham  village,  and   soon  after 

married  Mary  Crockett.     In  1775  he  bought  of  Samuel  Crockett  the 

seventy  acre  lot,  17,  on  which  he  made  his  home.     This  farm  is  now 

in   the   possession   of  his  great-grandson   Frank   L.   Whitney.     Mr. 

Whitney  served  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  received  a  pension 

from  Government.     Children,  all  born  in  Gorham : 

Sarah,  b.  1772,  m.  Solomon  Newcomb,  Feb.  26,  1798. 
p.  ,  ,   ^  (  m.  Martha  Meserve,  Mar.  3,  1S03. 

c       ^"^   '  r   ^3,y  4,  1774,  <  m.  Dorcas  Wescott,  Oct.  23,  1800;  d  in  Farmington, 
amue  ,    ^  ^  Me.,  Sept.  9,  1S64,  and  his  wife,  May  30,  1863,  aged  84. 

Joseph,  b.  Aug.  26,  1776,  m.  Mary  Freeman,  Aug.  2,  1801  ;  d.  in  Standish,  May 

3,  1870. 
Dorcas,  b.  1778,  d.  unm.  Oct.  21,  1815. 

Isaac  L.,  b.  May  29,  I78[,  m.  Margaret  Leach;  I'd  in  Raymond;  d.  Oct.,   1856. 
Adams,  b.   1784,  m.  Lydia,  dau.  of  Ebenezer  Lombard,  June  3,    1816;    d.   in 

Standish. 
Polly,  b.  17S6,  d.  unm.  Apr.  16,  1850. 
Sophy,  b.  1795,  d.  unm.  Mar.  25,  1847. 
William,  b. ,  d.  young. 


GENEALOGY.  885 

Isaac  Whitney  died  in  (}orhani,  Oct.  21,  1837,  and  his  wife,  July 
29,  1832,  aged  80. 

(3)  Stephen  Whitney,  son  of  Isaac,  was  in  the  Revolution,  serving 
in  the  Rhode  Island  line,  and  received  a  pension  for  his  services. 
He  married  Martha,  daughter  of  James,  Jr.,  and  Mary  Gorham  Irish. 
Children  : 

Mary,  b.  Sept.  14,  1781,  m.  Freeman  Rlake,  p.  Aug.  12,  1803. 
Sarali,  b.  Nov.  4,  1783,  m.  Jonathan  Elwell,  June  5,  1S02. 

Ebenezer,  b. ,  d.  in  the  West  Indies  in  1801. 

Patience,  bapt.  Mar.  4,  1800,  m.  Robert  Nevens. 

William,  bapt.  Mar.  4,  1800. 

Stephen,  b.  May  5,  1799,  m.  Abigail,  dau.  of  Wm.  Mayberry  of  Windham;  2d, 

Ebenezer,  b.  Mar.  22,  1803,  I'd  in  Bridgton. 

Patty,  b. . 

Miriam,  b. . 

Stephen  Whitney  died  Feb.  i,  1848,  aged  93,  and  his  wife,  Nov. 
10,  1836. 

(4)  James  Whitney,  son  of  Joseph,  lived  on  what  is  now  called 
Haggett's  hill,  about  a  mile  below  the  village  on  the  new  road  to 
Saccarappa.  Mr.  Whitney  held  many  offices  in  the  State  militia. 
He  married  Mary  A.,  daughter  of  William  and  Hadassah  Larrabee 
of  Scarborough.     Children  : 

Hadassah  L.,  b.  Jan.  29,  1827,  m.  Ellas  Milliken  of  Burnham,  1848  ;  d.  Mar.  18, 

1864. 
Joseph,  b.  Mar.  15,  1829,  m.  Helen  Call  of  Bradford,  1858;  d.  1S62. 
James   Louville,  b.   May  30,   1831,  m.   Elvira   Whitten  of    Buinham,   1862;    d. 

1 886. 
Sarah  Jane,  b.  Nov.  2,  1S32,  m.  Nahum  E.  Murray,  1859. 
William  Warren,  b.  July  11,  1835,  d.  1847. 
Edwin,  b.  Nov.  5,  1840,  m.  Martha  Vickery  of  Unity;  d.  1S75. 

Capt.  Whitney  died  in  Waterford  in  1842,  and  after  his  death  the 
family  moved  to  Burnham.      Mrs.  Whitney  died  in  1895,  aged  90. 

(4)  Eli  Whitney,  son  of  Zebulon,  lived  in  the  Whitney  neighbor- 
hood.    He  married  Damaris,  daughter  of  Jonathan  Stone.     Children  : 

Zebulon,  b.  Apr.  24,  1812,  m.  Susan,  dau.  of  Major  Morton,  Apr.  24,  1839.  Ch: 
Mary  Susan,  b.  Feb.  2,  1840,  m.  Wesley  Files;  Emily  F.,  b.  Apr.  20. 
1841,  d.  Apr.  5,  1844;  Ai  E.,  b.  Apr.  24,  1844;  Thaddeus  P.,  b.  Sept. 
26,  1847,  m.  Emma  Marean ;  Frances  E.,  b.  Oct.  31,  1849,  m.  Geo. 
Freeman  of  Portland;  Willie  P.,  b.  1857,  d.  June  16,  1863.  Mr.  Whitney 
was  one  of  the  selectmen  in  1S57  and  1858.  He  d.  at  the  Shaw  place, 
Sept.  24,  1S77  ;   his  wife  d.  Apr.  16,  187S,  aged  57. 

William  S.,  b.  Oct.  17,  18 14,  m.  Abigail  Morton,  sister  to  the  wife  of  his  brother 
Zebulon,  in  1840.  Ch  :  William  E.,  b.  June  14,  1841,  d.  1844;  Emily 
C,  b.  Oct.  22,  1845,  m.  Charles  F.  Merrill ;  Herman  S.,  b.  July  27,  1847, 
m.  Flavilla  Berry  of  Standish  ;  she  d.  1873,  ^"^  ^e  m.  June  16,  1875, 
Helen  A.  Plaisted ;  Charlotte,  b.  1850,  d.  young;  Harriet  E.,  b.  Apr.  28, 
1854,  d.  1872;  Cora  Belle,  b.  Aug.  28,  1862,  m.  Frank  L.  Whitney. 
William  .S.  Whitney  d.  June  27,  1900,  and  his  wife.  May  8,  1895,  aged  71. 


836  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Rufus,  b.  Aug.  17,  1817,  m.  Esther,  dau.  of  Benjamin  Skillings.  Ch:  Helen 
M.,  b.  Aug.  3,  1840,  m.  Albion  F.  Johnson;  Gershom  S.,  b.  Dec.  i,  1844, 
was  in  Co.  I,  12th  Me.  Vols,  d.  in  Post  Hospital.  Savannah,  Ga.,  May 
II,  1865.  Rufus  Whitney  I'd  in  the  Whitney  neighborhood  most  of  his 
life.  He  d.  at  his  house  on  High  St.,  Gorham  village,  Apr.  24,  1897;  his 
wife  d.  in  Deering,  Jan.  6,  1901,  ag.  81. 

Mary  Ann,  b.  Sept.  29,  1822,  m.  Moses  Butterfield,  Oct.  3,  1850. 

Jonathan  S.,  b.  Mar.  11,  1825,  m.  Amanda  Hopkinson,  Mar.  31,  1858.  Ch  : 
Frank  I.,  b.  Dec.  13,  1859;  Sadie,  b.  Nou.,  1862,  m.  Everett  Files  ;  Lulie, 
b.  Aug.  7,  1865.  Mr.  Whitney  lives  on  the  old  Davis  place  in  the  north 
part  of  the  town. 

Caroline,  b.  July  6,  1827,  d.  unm.  1867. 

Eli  Whitney  died  on  the  Davis  place  in  1865.  Mrs.  Whitney  died 
July  19,  1872,  aged  84. 

(4)  Peter  Whitney,  son  of  Daniel,  lived  on  the  Fort  Hill  road,  just 
beyond  Little  river,  which  place  together  with  the  mill  near  the 
bridge  he  bought  of  Willard  Buttrick.  Mr.  Whitney  was  the  last 
person  that  carried  on  the  fulling  and  dyeing  business  at  these  Gor- 
ham falls,  and  probably  the  last  that  carried  it  on  in  Gorham.  Mr. 
Whitney  married  his  cousin  Eunice,  daughter  of  Zebulon  Whitney 
Children  : 

Abigail  S.,  b.  Sept.  14,  1820,  m.  Samuel  Moody  of  Standish,  Oct.  27,  1840. 
Hannah  S.,  b.  Feb.  12,  1822,  m.  Samuel  Moody  of  Standish. 
Luther,  b.  June  21,  1824,  m.  Pht-be  Horton,  1848;  d.  in  Canada. 
Eli,  b.  June  26,  1826,  m.  Sarah  E.  Brown  of  Windham,  1856. 
Damaris,  b.  July  20,  1828,  d.  unm.  Nov.  11,  1848. 

Peter  Whitney  died  March  15,  1842,  and  his  wife,  Dec.  25,  1869, 

(4)  Edmund  Whitney,  son  of  Isaac,  lived  in  the  north  part  of  the 
town.     He  married  Martha  Meserve  of  Scarborough.     Children  : 

Susan,  b.  Jan.  23,  1804,  m.  Lewis  Higgins  of  Standish,  Mar.  25,  1828;  d.  in 
Manchester,  N.  H.,  Mar.  9,  1879. 

Freeman,  b.  May  21,  1806,  m.  Lydia  A.  Meserve,  1834.  One  child:  Anna 
Maria,  b.  Mar.  21,  1837,  m.  Daniel  Johnson,  Feb.  2,  1854.  Freeman 
Whitney  d.  July  19,  1S55,  and  his  wife,  Aug.  20,  1869. 

Levisa  A.,  b.  Aug.  15,  i8io,  m.  Jonathan  S.  Files,  p.  Feb.  15,  1835. 

Merrill,  b.  Feb.  25,  1816,  m.  Zebia  A.  Kollock.  One  son,  Alonzo  M.,  b.  in  Low- 
ell, Mass.,  July  18,  1845,  enlisted  from  Gorham  in  1862,  in  i6th  Me.  Vols., 
and  was  killed  at  Fredericksburg,  Va.  Mr.  Whitney  d.  in  Saco,  Jan.  24, 
1888. 

Robie,  b.  Feb.  16,  1818,  m.  Mary  J.  Hall,  Sept.  i,  1844.  Ch:  Eugene  S.,  b. 
Feb.  2,  1852,  m.  Nellie  Stearns  of  Amoskeag,  N.  H. ;  Adelaide  J.,  b. 
Sept.  28,  1855,  m  Albert  Merrill  of  Manchester,  N.  H.,  Jan.  13,  1883; 
Frank  L.,  b.  Apr.  11,  1858,  m.  Cora  Belle  Whitney;  Katie  C,  b.  Feb.  17, 
1867,  d.  Aug.  28,  1886.  Mr.  Whitney  I'd  in  the  north  part  of  the  town 
where  his  son  Frank  now  I's.  He  d.  at  the  house  of  his  son  in  Man- 
chester, N.  H.,  Dec.  28,  1898;  his  wife  d.  Oct.  7,  1891. 

Marshall,  b.  July  it,  1821,  m.  Sarah  Gorclen  of  Wayne.  Ch:  Ladora  E.,  b. 
Sept.  16,  1853,  m.  Frederick  E.  Smith  of  Atileborough,  Mass.,  June  29, 
1882;  Alston  v.,  b.  Oct.  2,  1858;  Mary  J.,  b.  Jan.  20,  1862.  Marshall 
Whitney  d.  July  18,  1884;   Mrs.  Whitney  I's  witli  her  son. 

Major  M.,  b.  Apr.  13,  1823,  d.  July  31,  1834. 

Edmund  Whitney  died  May  25,  1853,  and  his  wife,  June  21,  1853. 


MERRILL    WHITNEY. 


ROBIE  WHITNEY 


GENEALOGY.  837 

James  Whitney  of  Gorham  married  Deborah  Murch  Aug.  15,  1785. 
The  birth  of  one  child  is  recorded:  Humphrey,  born  April  26,  1786. 

Uriel  Whitney  was  the  son  of  Abner  W'hitney  of  Lunenburg,  Mass. 
He  was  born  in  Shirley,  Mass.,  Sept.  11,  1757.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  Revolution  he  enlisted  in  Col.  Prescott's  regiment.  He  married, 
Dec.  16,  1784,  Lydia,  daughter  of  Capt.  Samuel  Whitmore  of  Gor- 
ham. At  the  time  of  his  marriage  Mr.  Whitney  is  recorded  as  of 
Gorham.  In  the  year  1798  he  purchased  land  in  North  Yarmouth,  and 
soon  after  moved  to  that  place.  He  was  a  noted  school-teacher, 
and  was  called  "  Master  "  Whitney.  He  was  held  in  high  esteem  as 
a  citizen  and  Christian.      Children  of  Uriel  and  Mary  Whitney  : 

Statira,  b.  Dec.  24,  1785,  d.  young. 

Mary,  b.  Jan.  21,  1787,  m.  R.  Drinkwater  of  Durham;  d.  May  2,  1S24. 

Statira,  b.  Dec.  i,  1789,  d.  Aug    11,  1792. 

Joel,  b.  Aug.  7,  1791,  lost  at  sea  about  1812. 

Heulah  H  ,  b.  June  3,  1793,  m.  Enos  .Small,  Nov.  2,  1817;  d.  Apr.  21,  1879. 

Betsey,  b.  May  27,  1795,  ^-  James  Mitchell  of  Freeport. 

Sally,  b.  Dec.  16.  1796,  m.  Danitl  Soule,  of  Pownal. 

Harriet,  b.  Apr   28,  1798,  m.  Darnel  Soule  of  Pownal  (2d  wife). 

Charlotte,  b.  May  12,  1800,  m.  Levi  Davis  of  No.  Yarmouth. 

Statira,  b.  Apr.  26,  1802,  m.  N.  Merrill  of  Pownal. 

Uriel,  b.  July  4.  1804.  m.  Mary  Hoyt. 

Lewis,  b.  Sept.  21,  1806,  m.  Mary  Sniall. 

Mrs.  Mary  Whitney  died  March  6,  18 18,  and  Mr.  Whitney  married, 

Aug.    7,    18  ig,   Mrs.   Betsey  (Mosher)    Lothrop,   daughter   of   James 

Mosher   of   Gorham,    and   widow   of   Thoinas    Lothrop    of   Gorham. 

Uriel  Whitney  died  Nov.  10,  1835. 

Sewall  Whitney,   son   of  Jacob  and  Abigail  (Moses)  Whitney  of 

Buxton   and  grandson    of    Ebenezer  Whitney,  was   born    in    Buxton 

April  8,  i8ig.     He  came  to  Gorham  when  he  was  eighteen  years  of 

age.      He  married  Elizabeth  Fly  of  Gorham.     Children: 

Francis  B.,  b.  Jan.  11,  1845,  m.  Fannie  Corrigan. 

Eunice,  b.  Feb.  17,  1847,  rn-  James  Lombard. 

Martha  R.,  b.  Jul)  1 1,  1852,  d.  young. 

James  C.,b.  Aug.  11,  1857,  m.  Hattie  R.  Whittier. 

Emily  R.,  b.  May  11,  1859,  m.  Horace  Hill  of  Buxton;  d.  in  1893. 

WILLLAMS. 

John  and  Hart  Williams  were  probably  brothers.  They  were  in 
Gorham  as  early  as  1757.  In  1759  John  Williams  and  his  wife 
Eleanor  sold  to  George  Hanscom  of  Scarborough  the  thirty  acre  lot, 
109,  which  he  had  purchased  of  David  Gorham  in  1757.  In  1760, 
he  bought  of  Benjamin  Stevens  one-half  of  the  hundred  acre  lot,  115. 
He  was  married  by  the  Rev.  Jeremiah  Wise  of  S.  Berwick,  Oct.  31, 


838  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

1746,  to  Eleanor  Jones.  There  are  two  children  of  this  couple 
recorded  on  the  old  Berwick  church  records  as  being  baptized  Sept. 
22,  1747,  Daniel  and  Hannah.  Daniel's  name  appears  on  the  Gor- 
ham  tax  list  for  1763.  We  know  that  John  and  Eleanor  had  also  a 
son  Jeremiah. 

(2)  Jeremiah  Williams,  son  of  John,  purchased  in  1785,  of  George 
and  William  Knight,  a  part  of  the  hundred  acre  lot,  109.  This  land, 
fifty  acres,  and  the  buildings  thereon  where  Williams  lived,  he  sold 
to  Micah  Whitney  of  Gray,  in  September,  1802.  This  place  is  at 
Little  Falls,  near  the  cemetery  on  the  hill,  and  is  where  Peter  Smith 
now  lives.  Mr.  Williams  married  (pub.  May  17,  1777),  Deborah, 
daughter  of  Abel  Whitney.     Children  : 

Martha,  b.  Mar.  9,  1778,  m.  James  Ridlon  of  Saco. 

Mary,  b.  May  24,  1782,  m.  James  Ridlon  of  Saco;  d.  Nov.  29,  1873. 

Peter,  b.  Oct.  29,  1784,  m.  in  Standish,  Feb.  19,  181 7,  Salome  Elwell  of  Buxton. 
Ch  :  Mary  Ann,  b.  Oct.  15,  iSiS,  d.  unm.  Jan.  15,  1856;  Charles,  b.  Jan. 
1 1,  1820,  m.  Lydia  Withington  of  Portland,  d.  Apr.  10,  1S62;  Martha, 
b.  Apr.  2,  1822,  m.  Henry  Waterman,  d.  Sept.  27,  1899;  Daniel,  b.  Dec. 
2,  1825,  I'd  and  d.  in  Mass.;  Harriet,  b.  Jan.  28,  1829,  d.  unm.  in  Lewis- 
ton,  Apr.  12,  1869;  John  J.,  b.  June  30,  1831,  m.  Sarah  Graffam  ;  James 
R.,  b.  July  16, '1S34,  m.  Mrs.  Delia  Heme;  Sarah,  b.  June  15,  1836,  d. 
Apr.  22,  1837.  Mr.  Williams  taught  school  for  some  years  in  Baldwin  ; 
returning  to  Gorham,  he  I'd  in  the  village  of  Little  Falls,  where  he  d. 
Jan.  23,  1856;  his  wife  survived  him  some  ten  years. 

Susanna,  b.  Feb.  15,  1786,  d.  unm.  May  7,  1863. 

Lydia,  b.  Aug.  5,  1787,  d.  unm.  Apr.  19,  1865. 

Daniel,  b.  Aug.  2,  1789,  d.  July  30,  1823. 

Joseph,  b.  Apr.  14,  1791 ,  d.  unm.  Oct.  7,  1869. 

Hannah,  b.  Mar.  26,  1793,  d.  Jan.  26,  1853. 

Jeremiah  Williams  died  May  3,  1823,  aged  68,  and  his  wife 
Deborah,  Oct.  27,  185 1,  aged  93. 

Hart  Williams  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  men  of  his  day,  in 
the  town  of  Gorham.  In  1764,  in  consideration  of  his  having  per- 
formed the  duties  enjoined  by  the  General  Court's  Act  in  clearing 
and  settling  land,  he  received  from  Moses  Pearson  a  deed  of  the 
right,  No.  III.  On  the  thirty  acre  lot,  in,  belonging  to  this  right, 
he  made  his  home  till  his  death.  The  house  in  which  he  lived  is 
still  standing,  opposite  to  the  Byron  Coburn  place.  He  was  a  cor- 
poral in  1757  in  Capt.  Joseph  Woodman's  company,  in  the  Northern 
Army,  during  one  of  the  French  wars.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Revolution  he  was  in  command  of  a  company  of  Gorham  militia,  and 
when  the  news  of  the  battle  of  Lexington  reached  Falmouth,  April 
21,  1775,  started  to  march  his  company  to  Boston,  but  after  reaching 
Wells,  received  orders  to  return  home.  On  the  24th  of  April,  Capt. 
Williams   and   his   entire   company  enlisted   in    Col.    Phinney's   31st 


JOHN  winc;ate. 


GENEALOGY.  839 

Mass.  regiment  of  foot.  Jan.  i,  1776,  he  was  commissioned  captain 
in  Col.  Phinney's  i8th  Continental  regiment,  and  participated  in 
the  siege  of  Boston,  and  the  Ticonderoga  campaign  of  1776.  From 
May  15,  1778  to  Feb.  17,  1779,  he  served  as  first  lieutenant  in  Capt. 
Abra.ham  Tyler's  company,  Col.  Thomas  Poor's  militia  regiment,  in 
the  eastern  part  of  New  York. 

He  married  in  Falmouth,  Feb.  18,  1750,  Martha  Phinney,  daughter 
of  Capt.  John,  and  sister  of  Col.  Edmund  Phinney.  They  had  no 
children,  and  adopted  John  Butler  Ryan.  After  Capt.  Williams' 
decease,  his  place  was  owned  and  occupied  by  this  adopted  son,  and 
the  hill  by  the  house,  over  which  the  old  road  to  Portland  passes, 
has  been  known  for  many  years  as  Ryan's  hill.  Capt.  Williams  died 
Dec.  4,  1797  ;  Mrs.  Williams  died  Sept.  11,  1800. 

WILSON. 

Hubbard  Wilson  was  born  in  Falmouth,  Feb.  6,  1809.  He  mar- 
ried, June  9,  1836,  Elizabeth  Allen,  who  was  born  in  Falmouth,  May 
6,  1817.     Children  : 

Leonora,  b.  Sept.  i,  1837,  m.  May  i.  1866,  Dr.  N.  B.  Colman. 

Joel,  b.  Sept.  21,  1S39,  m.  Adeline  Waterhouse  ;  2d,  Sarah  J.  Hall  of  Bruns- 
wick; was  a  captain  in  the  Civil  War. 

Harriet  A.,  b.  Apr.  22,  1841,  d.  Feb.  14,  1851. 

Horace,  b.  Feb.  10,  1843,  m.  Mary  A.  Lord  of  Bangor,  Feb.  6,  1868  ;  was  in  the 

Civil  War. 

J  ^r    r,       )  (  m.  Hattie  A.  Brown  of  Baldwin,  June  20, 

James  K.  P.,     (  ,      .  o  1    o  /;  •     .u     z-^-   -i  m? 

rvnr<rf.  \T   n    V^-  ^P^-  -4,  1845,  I  1876;  was  in  the  Civil  War. 

ueorge  M.  u.,  ^  ^  ^   ^p^   ^^^  ^g^^ 

Sarah  M.,  b. ,  is  a  teacher  in  California. 

Ella  F.,  b.  July  22,  1850,  m.  Rev.  Roscoe  L.  Green,  July  25,  1876. 

Elbridge  M.,  b.  May   17,  1S54,  m.  Annie  Sawyer  of  Westbrook,  Apr.  15,  1882; 

was  on  the  board  of  selectmen  for  1891-2-3-4,  and  has  also  represented 

the  town  in  the  State  Legislature. 
Eva,  b.  Dec.  18,  1855,  d.  Dec.  30,  1874. 

Mr.  Wilson  was  a  farmer,  and  lived  on  the  farm  now  owned  by 
his  son  Elbridge.  He  died  May  15,  1883  ;  his  wife  died  Nov.  15, 
1888. 

WINGATE. 

Capt.  John  Wingate  was  the  son  of  Snell  Wingate  and  Mrs.  Mehit- 

able  (Davis)  Crocker,  who  were  married  June   15,  1788.     He  was 

born  in    Buxton,  April   27,  1799,  and  there  married   Salome   Small. 

Their  children,  born  in  Buxton,  were : 

Ansel  D.,  b.  May  31,  1822,  m.  Elmira  Scamman ;  d.  Nov.  6,  1S53. 
Sarah  P.,  b.  Nov.  26,  1823,  m.  Edward  D.  Scammon,  Oct.  12,  1847. 
Maria,  b.  Nov.  7,  1825,  m.  Leander  Stevens  of  Standish,  Oct.  15,  1848. 


840  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

Mrs.  Salome  Wingate  dying,  Aug.  i,  1827,  Mr.  Wingate  married, 

Sept.  23,  1S29,  Mrs.  Sophronia  (Irish)  Frost,  daughter  of  Gen.  James 

Irish  of  Gorham.     Capt.  Wingate  came  to  Gorham  to  live  about  the 

year  1835.     He  was  one  of  the  selectmen  in  1846  and  1847,  ^^d  town 

clerk  in  1849,  1850  and  185 1.   His  children  by  his  second  wife  were  : 

Rebecca  I.,  b.  Oct.  30,  1830,  d.  unm.  Aug.  14,  1853. 

Salome,  b.  Mar.  4,  1833,  m.  Geo.  J.  Prentiss,  July   i,   1852;  2d,  Geo.  W.  New- 

begin,  Jan.  3,  1878. 

Henry  F.,  )  ,     „  ,       00  (  d.  in  Nevada,  Nov.  28,  1861;. 

T        ■'  T      >b.  Feb.  28,  183s,     <  J    17  u  or 

James  I.,    J  >      oj'     ^  d.  Feb.  19,  1836. 

James  I.,  b.  June  4,  1837,  m.  H.  Frances  Edgecomb,  May  18,  1870. 

Mary  G.,  b.  Mar.  13,  1840. 

Ellen  S.,  b.  Apr.  2,  1843. 

John  P.,  b.  Mar.  7,  1846,  d.  Aug.  15,  1849. 

Capt.  Wingate  died  Sept.  21,  1858.  Mrs.  Sophronia  Wingate  died 
March  31,  1886,  aged  86. 

WINSHIP. 

Oliver  Winship,  son  of  Isaac  and  Eunice  W^inship,  was  born  in 
Portland,  Me.,  Aug.  23,  1809.  He  came  to  Gorham  and  settled  at 
Winship's  Corner  about  1826.  In  November,  1835,  he  married 
Clementine,  daughter  of  John  and  Rachel  Morton.  Mr.  \\'inship 
was  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  and  succeeded  his  father-in-law  in  this 
business.  For  many  years  he  was  a  deacon  in  the  F.  W.  Baptist 
church  at  White  Rock,  a  sincere  and  earnest  Christian,  and  a  man 
greatly  respected  and  esteemed  by  all.  Children  of  Oliver  and 
Clementine  Winship  : 

John  M.,  b.  Oct.  23,  1836,  d.  Dec.  27,  1837. 

John  O.,  b.  Sept.  9,  1838,  m.  Addie  E.  Elder ;  2d,  Helen  M.  Patrick  ;  teacher 
and  lawyer,  first  in  S.  Windham  and  Portland,  now  in  Cleveland,  O. 

William  E.,  b.  Sept.  8,  1840,  d.  July  7,  1S59. 

Annette  T.,  b.  Mar.  8,  1844,  m.  Orin  D.  Patch  ;  teacher  and  physician,  practic- 
ing from  1882  to  1S99. 

Martha  H.,  b.  Oct.  22,  1847,  d-  May  12,  1S96. 

Frank  E.,  b.  Oct.  2,  1850,  m.  Ida,  dau.  of  Frank  Irish. 

Deacon  Winship  died  May  13,  1886.  His  wife  Clementine  died 
Dec.  II,  1874,  aged  61. 

Mrs.  Eunice  Winship,  mother  of  Dea.  Winship,  died  at  the  house 
of  her  son,  in  Gorham,  Nov.  17,  1861,  aged  87. 

WOOD. 

William  Wood  is  thought  to  have  come  from  Falmouth.  He  was 
a  soldier  in  Capt.  McLellan's  company  in  the  Bagaduce  expedition  of 
1779.  His  home  was  in  the  north  part  of  the  town,  on  the  farm 
since  known  as  the  Peter  Blair  place.  His  wife  was  Hannah  Hicks. 
Children  : 


OLIVER  WINSHIP. 


MRS.  CLEMENTINE  (MORTON)  WINSHIP. 


GENEALOGY.  841 

Molly,  b.  about  1745,  m.  Heman  Bangs,  Jan.  i,  1770. 

Sarah,  b. ,  m.  Ebenezer  Shaw,  p.  Sept.  22,  1771  ;  d.  July  8,  1792. 

Anna,  b.  July  20,  1751,  m.  Thomas  Shaw  of  Standish,  Nov.  20,  1777  ;  d.  May 
18,  1 80S. 

Hannah,  b.  about  1759,  m.  Nathaniel  Blake  (2d  wife).  Mar.  7,  1793. 

Charles,  b.  May  31,  1767,  m.  Sarah  Davis,  Sept.  17,  1786. 

William,  b. ,  m.  Polly  Dyer,  Nov.  25,  1790;  2d,  Mercy  Bean;  3d,  Han- 
nah Hicks. 

William  Wood  married,  March  4,  1779,  Susanna  (Lombard) 
Stuart,  widow  of  Capt.  Wentworth  Stuart.  Mr.  Wood  died  about 
1794.     His  wife  Susanna  died  Aug.  7,  1803,  in  Standish. 

(2)  Charles  Wood,  son  of  William,  married  Sarah,  daughter  of 
Joshua  attd  Sarah  Davis.  He  lived  for  some  years  in  Gorham, 
where  his  children  were  born,  and  then  moved  to  Buckfield.  Chil- 
dren : 

Heman,  b.  Dec.  23,  1786,  I'd  in  Hartford. 

Polly,  b.  Feb.  28,  1789,  m.  Samuel  Butterfield  of  Bu.xton,  Jan.  19,  1809. 

Relief,  b.  Nov.  20,  1791,  m.  Isaac  Emery  of  Buxton,  Feb.  22,  1812. 

Mehitable,  b.  Feb.  10,  1794,  m.  William  Baird  of  Hartford,  Jan.  19,  1S15. 

Hannah,  b.  July  15,  1796. 

Charles,  b.  Nov.  6,  1798. 

Eliza,  b.  Nov.  18,  1802. 

(2)  William  Wood,  Jr.,  son  of  William,  married  Polly  Dyer.  Chil- 
dren : 

Levi,  b.  July  26,  1791,  d.  unm.  in  Gorham,  aged  80. 
William,  b.  Dec.  16,  1792,  d.  unm.  in  Eastern  Maine. 
Rachel,  b.  Oct.  27,  1794,  m.  Silas  Ward,  Dec.  22,  1811. 

William  Wood  married,  Dec.  15,  1796,  Mercy  Bean  of  Hiram. 
Children  : 

Anna,  b.  Aug.  16,  1797,  m.  Peter  Blair,  p.  Feb.  16,  1813. 

Olive,  b.  Aug.  6,  180 1,  m.  Abram  Bickford  of  Scarboro,  Nov.  17,  1825. 

Stephen,  b.  Feb.  10,  1803,  m.  Pamelia  Stanton;  d.  in  Baldwin,  aged  about  50. 

Jan.  28,  1807,  Mr.  Wood  married  a  third  wife,  Hannah,  daughter 
of  Lemuel  and  Susanna  Hicks,  by  whom  he  had  : 

Asenath,  m.  Calvin  Rowe  of  Baldwin. 

Ulilta,  m.  Richard  Bean  of  Brownfield;  d.  in  Gorham. 

Isaac,  m.  Mary  Moody  of  Standish;  d.  in  Standish,  aged  80. 

Luman,  d.  in  1837  —  a  young  man. 

Albion  P.,  b.  in  Baldwin,  Nov.  17,  1820;  came  from  Baldwin  to  Gorham,  and 
I'd  on  the  old  Ward  place,  near  the  Buxton  line ;  m.  Aug.  22,  1853,  Jane 
B.  Wales  of  Hiram.  Ch:  Emily,  b.  1854,  m.  Timothy  W.  Burbank ;  Olive 
J.,  b.  Oct.  19,  1856,  d.  Mar.  21,  1866  ;  Mary  J.,  b.  May  16,  1859,  d.  Mar. 
26,  1866;  George  W.,  b.  May  16,  1859,  d.  Oct.  23,  i860.  Mr.  Wood  d. 
Feb.  4,  1883. 

William  Wood  and  his  wife  Hannah  both  died  in  Baldwin. 

Eli  Wood,  who  was  born  in  Standish,  May  28,  1804,  was  the  son 
of  Benoni  and  Eunice  (Decker)  Wood,  who  were  married,  Aug.  24, 
1797.     Eli  Wood  married  Mary  A.,  daughter  of  John  Dunn  of  Gor- 


842  HISTORY    OF    GORHAM. 

ham,  and  lived  on  his  father-in-law's  place,  in  what  is  called  the  Blake 

neighborhood.     Children : 

Warren,  b.  Aug.  14,  1826,  d.  Sept.  7,  1829. 
Lydia  A.,  b.  Mar.  9,  1828,  d.  Oct.  3,  1832. 
Warren  H.,  b.  Apr.  20,  1831,  m.  Margaret    Witherell,   May   15,   1858  ;  2d,  Mrs. 

Mary  J.  Ingalls. 
Zebulon  D.,  h.  July  17,  1833,  I's  in  Buxton. 
Mary,  b.  Nov.  20,  1835,  d.  Dec.  20,  1853. 
Alonzo,  b.  Dec.  20,  1839,  I's  at  Cape  Elizabeth. 
Eliza  A.,  b.  Jan.  13,  1844,  m.  John  Berry. 

Eli  Wood  died  at  West  Gorham,  May  27,  1874. 

WORCESTER. 

Thomas  Worcester,  who  was  in  Gorham  about   1800,  was  the  son 

of  George  and  Margaret  (Clements)  Worcester,  who  lived  in  Berwick, 

Me.,  and  Somersworth,  N.   H.     Thomas  Worcester  after  coming  to 

Gorham,    married     Susanna,    daughter    of    Richard    and   Hannah 

(Lothrop)  Edwards.     Mr.  Worcester  owned  and  occupied  the  place 

on  the  west  side  of  South  St.,  lately  owned  by  Samuel  Carruthers.    A 

famous  place  for  blueberrying  in  the  years  gone  by  was  "  Worcester's 

pasture."     Children  of  Thomas  and  Susanna  Worcester  : 

Betsey,  b.  Oct.  20,  1800,  m.  William  Blanchard  of  Gardiner,  Jan.  14,  1819. 

George,  b.  Oct.  30,  1802,  m.  Patience  Penfield,  Nov.  15,  1826;  I'd  in  Portland. 

Louisa,  b.  Nov.  20,  1S04,  m.  John  M.  Parker,  June  3,  1825. 

James  L.,  b.  Aug.  22,  1807,  drowned  in  the  Morris  mill  pond,  July  31,  1825. 

Thomas,  b.  Oct.  22,  1809. 

Lothrop,  b.  Apr.  15,  1812. 

Martha  Ann,  b.  Sept.  9,  1819,  m.  John  H.  Roberts,  Dec.  8,  1850. 

Thomas  Worcester  died  March  19,  1845,  aged  72.  Mrs.  Worcester 

died  Sept.  15,  1874,  aged  92. 

YOUNG. 

In  1779  we  find  on  the  tax  list  in  Gorham  the  names  of  Joshua 
Young,  Joshua  Young,  Jr.,  and  Joseph  Young.  These  were  probably 
father  and  sons.     They  came  from  Wellfleet,  Mass.     Of  the  elder  we 

know  nothing.     Joshua  Young,  Jr.,  married  in  Wellfleet,  Sarah . 

They  have  one  child  recorded  :  Joshua,  born  in  Wellfleet,  Nov.  13, 
1775.  Mr.  Young  married  second,  June  13,  1779,  Sarah,  daughter  of 
John  and  Sarah  Irish  of  Gorham.  Child  on  record  :  Benjamin,  born 
in  Gorham,  July  21,  1780.  William  who  was  born  in  1785,  and  mar- 
ried Abigail  Read,  was  probably  of  this  family. 

Joseph  Young,  3d,  lived  in  the  Nason  district  in  the  north  part  of 
the  town.     He  had  a  sister   Deborah   who  married,  Feb.  27,  1789, 


GENEALOGY.  843 

Daniel  Marston  of  Pownal.     Joseph  Young  married,  Nov.  7,  1793, 

Lydia,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Jane  Snow.     Children  : 

Sally,  b.  Mar.  15,  1794,  m.  Enos  Humphrey;  I'd  in  Livermore. 

Enos,  b.  July  20,  1795,  ^- !  ''^f'  ^^'O  children. 

Affia,  b.  July  17,  1797,  m.  Cyrus  Blanchard  of  Cuntberland,  May  12,  1816. 
Anna,  b.  Apr.  7,  iSoo,  m.  William  Clay,  Apr.  7,  1822. 

Joseph,  b. ,  m.  Mary  Green  of  Siandish,  Mar.  21, 1824  ;   d.  in  Springfield, 

Mass. 
Jane,  b.  about  18 10,  m.  Jonathan  Clay,  Apr.  23,  1829. 

Both  Joseph  Young  and  his  wife  died  in  Gorham,  he  about  181  o, 
and  she  July  9,  1850,  aged  74. 

Solomon  Young  married,  Dec.  4,  1796,  Polly,  daughter  of  Caleb 
and  Abigail  Kimball.  Children:  Katherine,  born  Nov.  21,  1797; 
Jesse,  born  June  27,  1800. 


INDEX. 


THE    GENEALOGY    IS    NOT    INDEXED. 


Academy,  Gorham,  Act  to  incorporate, 

Baker,  Andrew, 

346 

227 

Daniel, 

373 

list  of  first  trustees  of, 

227 

Jacob  C, 

311 

.  373.  378 

laws  and  regulations  of. 

231 

Samuel, 

272 

first  examination, 

237 

S.  W.,  Dr., 

283 

Hall, 

240,  363 

Baldwin,  Dr., 

283 

list  of  first  pupils. 

235-6 

Bangs,  Barnabas, 

121; 

,218,373 

seal, 

240 

Charles  C, 

373 

present  board  of  trustees, 

243 

Charles  E., 

349^ 

■  350.351 

Act  of  Incorporation  of  Town, 

100 

Edwin  G., 

345 

Adams,  Aaron  C, 

195 

Joshua, 

83 

Albert  Egerton, 

197.349 

Nathan, 

124, 

,  126,  132 

Dr., 

2S2 

Thomas, 

121 

.  131.  307 

John  McGregor, 

197.  322 

Baptists,  Calvanist, 

210 

John  R  ,                            196 

.  349.  355 

Free, 

204, 

,  280,  311 

Joseph,                     160,  168 

,  286, 378 

Barker,  Jeremiah, 

281,  306 

Samuel, 

107 

Peleg, 

272 

Additional  names  on  tax  bills, 

104,  105 

Mary, 

221 

Akers,  John, 

147 

Thomas  A., 

318 

Moses, 

79.99 

Barnes,  Harris, 

3" 

Alden,  Austin,     65,    94,    122, 

124,    126, 

Bartlett,  George  E., 

366 

132,225,373,  374 

William, 

120 

house, 

315 

Baston,  Sally,  (see  Boston) 

Josiah, 

373^  374 

Baxter,  Elihu, 

282 

Allen,  Alexander  M., 

350.  351 

Joseph  B., 

345 

John  M., 

350 

Bean,  Daniel, 

122, 132 

Levi  D., 

346 

Richard, 

602 

Anderson,  Abram, 

246 

Beane,  John  V., 

240 

Dr., 

283 

Beck,  Charles  L., 

350 

Stephen, 

311 

George  D., 

312.343 

Andrew,  Jonathan. 

279 

Bells, 

2 

36,  301-2 

Andrews,  Abram  S., 

345'  353 

Bell  tavern. 

318 

J.)hn, 

351 

William, 

344.  351 

Anecdote  of  young  lawyer, 

203 

Berry,  Hiram, 

366 

Annis,  Eli, 

319 

Walter, 

279 

Jesse, 

3'9 

shoe  shop. 

309 

Apple  tree, 

291,  790 

Bettis,  Tacob  P., 

159 

Apprenticeship, 

335 

Bickford,  Willis  I., 

319 

Ashley,  William, 

226,  308 

Billings,  Daniel, 

58,  506 

Attic  Fraternity, 

321 

Horatio  S., 

346, 365,  366 

Ayer,  John,                               47, 

48,  78,  93 

John, 
Black,  Alvah, 

495 
287 

Bacon,  Isaac  E., 

346.35' 

Joab, 

129,  132 

Nathaniel, 

147,  271 

Josiah, 

130, 132 

Samuel  F., 

373'  375 

Black  Brook  road. 

262 

Timothy, 

132 

Black  Tongue, 

60 

Bagaduce  Expedition, 

106, 145 

Blair,  Samuel  E., 

345 

Bailey,  John, 

460 

Blake,  Charles  H., 

346 

John  P., 

345.  347 

Frank  H., 

349.  354 

Samuel, 

356 

Horace  P., 

348,  351 

84t» 

INDEX. 

Blake  (continued). 

Brown  (continued). 

Ithiel, 

271 

Sylvanus, 

121 

John, 

127 

William  S., 

539 

Joseph, 

124,   127 

Bryant,  James, 

418 

Samuel  E., 

345 

Mrs., 

52 

Blanchard,  John, 

147 

William, 

51 

Miss, 

241 

Buck,  Clarence  E., 

351 

Blenham,  Mr., 

74.  254 

Theodore  E., 

343>  347 

Bodge,  George  M., 

243 

Buker,  Livy, 

257.  273 

Bolton,  Peter, 

273 

Bullock,  Jeremiah, 

210 

Ralph, 

355 

Bumpus,  Morris  F., 

343>  353 

William, 

273 

Bunker,  Burton, 

348 

Bond,  Benjamin  F., 

345 

Burke,  Joseph  W., 

349 

Boody,  Robert, 

204 

Burnell,  James  B., 

343 

Boothby,  Alpheus, 

379 

John,                           69, 

124, 

>  132,419 

Benjamin, 

94 

M.  C, 

366 

Borough  Mill, 

289 

N.  A., 

365 

Bose, 

62 

Rose  B., 

367 

Boston,  Sally, 

616 

Burnes,  John, 

351 

Boston  Tea  Party,  Resolutions  < 

Dn,      no 

Burning  of  Falmouth  by  Mowatt,        119 

Boundary  lines  run  in  1762 

, 

91 

Burton,  William, 

375 

Bowman,  Nathaniel, 

174,  282 

Burying  grounds, 

257-261 

Boyd,  William  H., 

343 

Business  at  the  Village, 

263 

Brackett,  Anthony, 

256 

Butler,  Justus, 

279 

Clement, 

280 

Button -hole  Machine, 

357 

Hiram  E., 

348 

Butts,  Samuel, 

299, 318 

Joseph, 

147,  207 

Buttrick,  Willard, 

254, 

256,  307 

Mr., 

272 

Buxton,  William, 

375 

Thomas, 

276 

Buzzell,  Elder  John, 

216 

Bradbury,  Charles  H., 

343.  349 

James  M., 

280, 

,  284,  379 

A.  G., 

375 

Mrs.  Rebecca, 

2S4 

Brad -making  machine. 

357 

Bragdon,  F.  A., 

371 

Mr., 

318 

Cannell,  Albert, 

344>  352 

William  H., 

346, 

,  349.  352 

Barnabas, 

311,346 

Bragdon's  Mill, 

289 

Heman, 

344: 

. 346, 352 

Brandy  Brook  Hill, 

256,  291 

John  J., 

346,  348,  352 

Bridge  across  the  Presumpscot 

at  Horse 

Lot, 

344 

Beef  Falls, 

276,  290 

Marshall, 

349 

Brimhall,  Cornelius, 

44 

Samuel  A., 

346,  352 

Sylvan  us, 

12 

9         132 

William, 

345,  353 

Broad,  Daniel, 

308,  593 

Wyer, 

269 

Henry, 

191.  593 

Capture  of  Quebec, 

68 

Brown,  Amos,    122,    124,    1 

126, 

131.   132, 

Card,  John  C, 

373 

242 

Carll,  Henry  L., 

316,  402 

Barbara, 

217 

Stephen  W., 

373 

Charles, 

348 

Van  W., 

797 

Edward, 

357 

Carpet  weaving. 

358,  657 

Freeman, 

344 

, 346, 354 

Carsley,  John, 

99 

Hezekiah, 

361 

Carter,  Dennis  F., 

347,  352 

James  B., 

346,  353 

Cary,  Nelson  H., 

282 

James  M., 

350 

Samuel  E., 

349 

John, 

92, 

>  343. 351 

William  H., 

349 

Joseph, 

95 

Gates,  John, 

132 

Joseph  M., 

346 

Joseph, 

99.  373 

Lendall, 

279 

Cato, 

299 

Llewellyn  W., 

560,  577 

Caveno,  Charles, 

334,  577 

Mrs., 

225 

Ceasor, 

297 

Samuel, 

130,  218 

Centennial  celebrations. 

368,  370 

Simeon, 

130, 132 

Chadbourne,  George, 

375 

Solomon, 

124 

H.  A.,  Jr., 

347 

INDEX. 

847 

Chadhoume  (continued). 

Colley,  John, 

268 

Nahum,  • 

158,  263.  309 

William  W., 

346 

Silas,                         121, 

128,  129,  1^2 

Committees  of  Correspondence, 

109,  141, 

Chamberlain,  Benjamin, 

681 

156 

Change  of  boundary  lines, 

301 

Conant  and  Chase's  fulling  mill. 

256 

Chapels, 

175,  269,  273 

Conley,  James  B., 

349 

Chapman,  Henry  L., 

372 

Connelly,  Thomas, 

348 

Rufus  G., 

345 

Conscription  in  Gorham  in  1863 

350 

Chase,  Albion  K.  P., 

351 

Constitution  of  Mass.  accepted. 

'5J, 

Caleb,               140,  225, 

318,  373,  377 

of  Maine  accepted. 

168 

Isaac, 

147 

of  U.  S.  accepted. 

15' 

Salmon, 

225 

Cook,  Saul, 

794 

Chellis,  E.  D., 

285 

Coolbroth,  James, 

127 

Cheney,  Dr., 
Chester,  John, 

2  84 

Dennis, 

159 

350 

Coonley,  George  W.,             349, 

352,354 

Chloe, 

297 

Coopering, 

263,  361 

Cilley,  Oliver, 

343 

Copp,  John  F., 

346 

Cincinnati  Society, 

153 

Cornish,  John, 

130 

Clark,  Aaron, 

309 

Corn  packing  house. 

312 

Charles, 

602 

Corthell,  W.  J., 

244 

Henry, 

John, 

Morris, 

343. 351 
343'  351 

I  "50 

Cotton,  Charles  B., 
John, 
William,  44,  151,  308,  310, 

311.350 
360 

360,  374 

Clay,  Cyrus  B., 
John, 

0 

County  rate  bill  for  1763, 

08 

351 

343'  351 

Court  of  Sessions,  Associate  Justices  of. 

William, 

159,  261 

Cousins,  Humphrey, 

29s 

Clement,  Daniel  B., 

271 

Craige, 

404 

George  T., 

272 

Cram  (or  Grain)  Charles  G., 

347,  352 

Jacob  H., 

272,318,330 

Cram,  Daniel, 

132 

J.  Hanson, 

375 

Crediford.  Nathaniel, 

94 

Samuel  R., 

272,308,311 

Cressey,  Charles  H., 

3".  312 

Simeon  C, 

375 

Charles  R., 

371 

William  F., 

349 

Daniel, 

262 

Clement's  Corner, 

271 

John  R., 

322 

Cleveland,  N.,  Jr., 

230 

Joseph,                      121,  307, 

309, 360 

Clocks,                              174, 

303'  330,  356 

Croak,  John, 

345 

Cloudman,  Edward, 

52 

Crocker,  Benjamin, 

176 

Edwin  H., 

348, 352 

Timothy, 

69,  419 

Horace  A., 

350 

Crockett,  Andrew, 

225,  374 

Solomon  B., 

375 

Edmund  (or  Edward), 

350 

V/illiam, 

278 

Frank, 

350,  351 

Clough,  Henry, 

217 

houses  at  Village, 

4S3>  459 

Cobb,  Andrew, 

132,  307  . 

John, 

122,  159 

Daniel, 

158 

Jonathan, 

95 

David, 

'58 

Joshua, 

130, 131 

Elisha, 

121,  306 

Nathaniel, 

94 

Jedediah, 

314 

Peter, 

129 

Samuel, 

256 

Samuel, 

131, 160 

William, 

374 

Cross,  Enoch, 

283 

Cobum,  Edwin, 

279,  375 

William, 

157 

Jacob, 

278,  279 

Crowell.  Caleb, 

93 

Cochran,  James, 

212 

Crystal  Spring  House, 

319 

Codman,  James, 

37S 

Cumberland  Cotton  Manufacturing  Co., 

Coffin,  Charles, 

239 

278,  310 

Colby,  Joseph, 

344 

Cumberland  County  Regt.,     70, 

118, 131 

Joseph,  Jr., 

345 

Cumberland  and  Oxford  Canal, 

266 

Cole,  Charles, 

343.  351 

Curtis,  John, 

86,  156 

George, 

279 

Grandmother, 

413 

Dame,  Moses  B., 

35° 

William  H., 

346,  352 

Theophilus, 

272,375 

848 


INDEX. 


343- 


343' 


287 
287 
349 
131 
195 
318 

351 

3" 

346,  349.  366 

124,  125,  132 

132,  147 
373 
124, 127 
126,  147 
130,  132 
373. 
72, 


Dana,  John  W., 
Danforth,  Charles, 
Darling,  George  L., 

John, 
Davenport,  John, 
Davis,  Allen, 

Charles, 

Daniel, 

Daniel  W., 

Elijah,  123, 

Gershom, 

James  W., 

John, 

Joshua, 

Josiah, 

Prince,  373,  374 

Samuel,  72,  133 

Sylvanus,  225 

Day,  Albert  F.,  347 

George  L.,  347,  365 

James  H.,  349 

Jennie  L.,  367 

Deacons  of  the  Cong'l  Church,  199 

Dean,  Charles,  344 

Deane,  John  G.,  349 

Samuel,  120 

Decker,  George  W.,  400 

Joshua,  132,  616 
Dedication  of  Seminary  building,        242 

Deering,  Charles  W.,  301,  375 

Deguio,  Joseph,  278 

Delano,  Daniel  D.,  347 
Delegates  to  Provincial  Congress,       376 

Demerritt,  Frank  E.,  365 

Deposition  of  Benj.  Haskell,  80 

Thomas  Haskell,  80 

Daniel  Mosher,  81 

Wentworth  Stuart,  81 

Devine,  Alphonso,  344,351 

Dickey,  John,  361 

Dingley,  Samuel,  346 

Dirigo  Lodge,  K.  of  P.,  364 

Dix,  John,  158 

Dodge,  John,  348 

Donahue,  Jeremiah,  347 

Donnell,  William,  347 

Douglass,  Edward  K.,  346 

Elisha,  346 

Orman  L.,  349,  354 

Seth,  273 

Dow,  Mr.,  319 

Draft  in  Gorham,  35°-! 

Drake,  Mr.,  318 
Drawing  by  Proprietors  for  second                          George  B., 

division,  84               Jo^n, 

for  third  division,  87                Lucy, 

Dresser,  Edward  E.,  348,  352               &  Jameson, 

Drown,  Alonzo  L.,  582       Estes,  Albert  S., 

Arthur  M.,  272,  309                Joseph, 

James  L.,  272                Oliver  Dana, 


Drowning  of  Mayberry  and  Elder,      221 

Mrs.  Knight,  213 

Duffy,  Peter,  343,  354 

Dunham,  Elijah,  69,  419 

Dunlevy,  Eugene,  343,  351 

Dunn,  Alpha  T.,  346,  352 

Christopher,  128,  129,  132 

William  F.,  346,  352,  354 

Dunnell,  Mark  H.,  341 

Dupee,  Dr.  Henry,  276 

Dyer,  Bickford,  121,  124,  127,  132 

Charles  F.,  349 

Clark,  378 

Ephraim,  129 

Isaac  W.,  52,  284 

Timothy,  128,  130,  132 


Early  dwellings  in  Gorham,  323 

Early  society  in  Gorham,  323 

Eastern  Star,  Society  of,  367 

Eastman,  Frank  H.,  348 

Jonathan, 

Kimball,  271,350,375. 

Eaton,  Charles  P., 

Stephen  M., 
Eayer,  (Ayer)    John, 
Edwards,  Calvin, 

Charles  M., 

George  W.,  345, 

Richmond, 

Samuel, 

Theodore  B., 
Elden,  John  M., 
Elder,  Alonzo  S., 

David, 

George  A., 

John, 

Randall  J., 

Samuel,  159, 

Simon,  309, 

Eldridge,  Ebenezer, 

Daniel, 
Electric  roads, 
Elwell,  Charles  H., 

Jolin, 

Jonathan, 

William, 


158, 


343. 


130. 

307, 
374, 

132, 
343> 
317, 


271 
379 
345 
345 
93 
357 
343 
353 
343 
356 
294 

350 
354 
315 
347 
221 

351 

374 
37  5 

159 
306 

295 
350 
147 
318 
268 


Embargoes,  153,  156 

Emery,  Alvan  F.,  350 

Daniel,  130 

Daniel  C,  359,  373,  374,  375. 376, 378 

2S7 
147 
311 
359 
354 
318 
349 


130,  131 


349^ 


INDEX. 

849 

Fabyan,  George, 

284 

Folsom,  Dudley,     154, 

158,282, 

308,  378 

Fadden,  James  L., 

343.  351 

Footstoves, 

331 

Fairbanks,  Freeman, 

315 

Forest,  Charles, 

351 

Families  living  in  town  prior  to 

1745'   93 

Forest  fire. 

265 

Famine  and  sickness, 

60 

Fort, 

44, 170 

Farmers  and  Mechanics  Fire  Ins.  Co., 

Hill, 

44 

362 

Hill  graveyard. 

257 

Famham,  John, 

294.  373 

in  Pearsonstown, 

69 

Farr,  Tellis, 

349 

William  Henry, 

65 

Farwell,  Walter  H., 

343 

Foster,  Charles  F., 

343' 

346,  351 

Ferris,  Leonard  Z., 

198 

William  H., 

373 

Fickett  house, 

307 

Fowler,  Edmund, 

273 

Fifield,  Claud, 

355 

Foy,  John, 

122,  124, 

,  126,  132 

Files,  Albion  P., 

346,  379 

Francis,  Joseph, 

349'  351 

Almon  L., 

351 

Thomas, 

299 

bridge. 

57 

Frederick  Robie  Hall, 

244 

David, 

350 

School, 

280 

Ebenezer, 

125 

Free  High  Schools, 

226,  269 

Edward,  3d, 

375 

Masons, 

240,  362 

John  \V., 

350 

Meeting  House, 

175. 

194,  216 

Joseph, 

346, 353 

Freeman,  Bethiah, 

86,  225 

Lewis  L., 

375 

Enoch, 

256 

Lorenzo  D., 

351 

James  E., 

.348,  352 

Merrill  T., 

375'  379 

John, 

86 

Samuel, 

125,  147 

Jonathan, 

133 

William,                             66, 

147,  551 

Joshua, 

44.  46 

William  E., 

375' 378 

William  B., 

309.  312 

William  H.  P.,                342, 

347,  350 

Friends, 

219 

Fire  engines. 

305 

Frink,  Isaac  N., 

343 

Fires  at  Village, 

309-315 

John, 

280 

Morris  house. 

679 

Frost,  Benjamin, 

65 

First  chaise  owned  in  town, 

338 

Elizabeth, 

99 

children  bom  in  town. 

78 

Enoch, 

121, 146 

crops  raised  in  town. 

76,  245 

Frank  P., 

350 

framed  house  in  Great  Falls,         268 

Mason, 

356 

meeting  of  the  Grantees, 

28 

Nathaniel, 

127,374 

meeting  of  the  Proprietors, 

3- 

Fruit  Preserving  Co., 

312 

move  toward  Incorporation 

98 

Fryeburg  Meadows, 

250-1 

newspaper  in  Maine, 

160 

Fuller,  Fred  A., 

348 

post  office  in  town, 

293 

Funerals. 

332 

pupils  at  Academy, 

235-6 

roads  in  town,  with  their  names. 

288-9 

Gambo, 

273 

schoolhouse. 

224 

Gammon,  Daniel, 

132 

settler  in  town. 

74 

David, 

132 

stock  owned  in  town, 

246 

Edmund, 

262,  357 

surveys  of  Gorhamtown, 

79 

Elden, 

357'  359 

plastered  room  in  town. 

662 

John, 

147 

town  meeting. 

lOI 

Joseph, 

142,  147 

Fish,                                          248, 

268,  812 

Moses, 

132 

wardens. 

249 

Philip, 

121, 

125,  132 

Fisher,  William, 

348 

Samuel, 

121 

Fitch,  Alljert, 

344.  351 

G.  A,  R.,  John  R.  Adams  Post, 

365 

Floyd,  George  M., 

366 

General  Baptists, 

210 

Fogg,  Almon  L., 

345. 353 

General  Muster, 

71 

Charles  R., 

350, 351 

Gerrish,  Joseph  M., 

294, 

368,  686 

Daniel,  3d, 

301 

Gibbons,  Patrick, 

345'  352 

John  H., 

344,  350 

Giddings,  Fred  A., 

376 

Mark  F., 

350.  351 

Gilbert,  Albert, 

343.  349 

Moses, 

.     375 

Emery, 

348 

Rufus  A.,                         350, 

> 351. 375 

Lafayette, 

345 

850 


INDEX. 


Gilkey,  James,  47,  48,  69,  125,   132,  375, 

374 

Joseph,  262 

Oilman,  Edward  S.,  '343 

Fairfield  J.,  348,  352 

John  F.,  340 

Gilpatrick,  William, 
Gilroy,  Hugh, 
Glass,  window, 
Goflf,  Elias  S., 

&  Plummer, 
Goodwin,  Thomas  H 
Gordon,  Seth  C, 
Gorham,  Daniel, 

David, 

John, 

Shubael 


312, 


347 
358 
325 
379 
315 
287 

83.  345.  349 
86,  252 

25s 

47.  255 

47 


William,    163,  166,  227,  373,  374,  ^76 

362 

364 
312,  317,  368 

73 
under     Capt. 


Farmers  Ckib, 
Grange, 
House, 

Light  Guards, 

men    in     Revolution 

Nicholas  Blaisdell, 

Silas  Burbank,  127 

Paul  Ellis,  130 

Tobias  Fernald,  124 

Josiah  Jenkins,  125 

Jabez  Lane,  131 

Isaac  Martin,  131 

Richard  Mayberry,      127,  129,  13c 

Alexander  McLellan,  147 

Daniel  Merrill,  127 

John  Rice,  124 

Wentworth  Stuart,  122,  123 

Abraham  Tyler,  125 

Nathan  Watkins,  127 

John  Wentworth,  130 

Hart  Williams,  120 

Samuel  Whitmore,  131 

men  in    Col.    Burbank's    regiment, 

War  of  1812,  158,  160 

vSeminary,  311,  315 

Village  Corporation,  264 

Gorman,  Thomas,  346,  352 

Gould,  Edward,  372 

Nathaniel,  262 

Grace,  Master,  225 

Graffam,  Albert,  344 

Caleb,  482 

Jedediah,  272 

Graham,  James,  351 

Grammar  school,  225 

Grant,  Freeman,  343-35' 

Graveyard  at  "  the  North,"  260 

Gray,  Harrison,  115 

Jonathan,  94 

Great  Falls  graveyard,  261 

Village,  266 

Great  Meadows,  250 

Greeley,  John,  122,  126,  132 


Green,  Benjamin, 

Daniel  W., 

Edmund, 

John, 

Joseph, 

Solomon, 

William  F., 
Gregory,  James  C 
Grouard,  Leonard  C, 
Guptill,  William, 
Gustin,  David, 

George  B., 

Thomas, 
Guthrie,  Simon  B, 

Haggett  heirs. 
Hale,  Enos  B., 

Henry  W., 

Washington, 
Hall,  Cyrus, 

Daniel, 

Ebenezer, 

James  L., 

Joshua  E., 

Levi, 

Stillman, 

Winslow, 
Hallett,  Andrew, 
Hamblen,  Almery, 

Archelaus  L., 

Arthur  M., 

Daniel, 

Elijah, 

Frank, 

Jacob, 

John,  Jr., 

Joseph,  3d, 

Levi, 

Prince, 

Timothy, 
Hamlet,  F.  S., 
Hamilton,  Joshua, 
Hanscom,  George, 

Nathan, 

Walter  G., 
Hanson,  Fred, 

Jonathan, 

Joseph  B., 

Oliver, 

Theodore  H., 

William, 
Harding,  Charles, 

Colman, 

David,  142 

Edward,  294, 

Edwin  S., 

Frank  C, 

Freeman, 

George, 

George  B., 

John, 


47. 


122,  T32 

350 

350 

126,  129,  132,  225 

125 

121,  124 

345 
198 

569.  584 
379 

129, 132 

366 

121, 125,  129 

294 

315 

346 

283,  366 

346, 347 

345.  353 
375 
318 
35° 

375.  378 

343.  374 

366 

301 
607 
328 

350.351 
343 

300,  317 

128,  130,  132 

272 

258.  317 
300 

374.  378 

350 

121,  125,  147 

254 

285 

121 

99,  150 

122,  132 

355 

272 

276,  375.  378 
366 

3" 

346 

346 

369 

317.  342,  344 

227,  373.  374.  378 

346,  365,  377,  379 

346,  352 


346, 352 

278.  375 

355 

345.  346,  352 

65,  132,  269 


INDEX. 


851 


Harding,  (continued). 

Jolin  F., 

Josiala, 

Martha, 

Roscoe  G., 

Samuel, 

Seth, 

Simon, 

Walter, 

William, 

William  B., 

Zephaniah, 
Harmon,  Benjamin  L., 

Israel, 

James  F., 

John, 

Joseph  A., 

Joseph  D., 

Mrs., 

Phineas, 

Shirley,  Jr., 
Harmony  Lodge, 
Harrington,  Martin, 
Harris,  Charles  S., 

Thomas  W., 
Harvey,  (see  Meserve). 
Haskell,  Benjamin, 

James  E., 

John, 

John  L., 

Nathaniel  B., 
Hasty,  Thomas  J., 

William 
Hatch,  Asa, 

David, 

Ebenezer, 

Ezekiel,  i: 

Joseph, 

Nathaniel, 
Hats, 

Hayden,  Michael  G., 
Haydn  and  Handel  Societies, 
Hayes,  Elijah, 
Heald,  Josiah, 
Hearn,  Mr., 
Heath,  Asa, 

George  W., 
Henderson,  William, 
Hennessey,  John, 
Hersey,  Seth, 
Hicks,  Ebenezer, 

Ephraim, 

Lemuel, 
Higgins,  Barnabas, 

Seth, 
High  Schools, 
Hight,  George, 
Hinkley,  Charles  K., 

&  Co., 

Stephen, 
Hitchcock,  Dr., 


345. 


375'  376,  377. 
206,  257, 


353 
349 

257 

379 
374 
147 
257 
346,  352,  365 
132 

372 
66,  267,  490 

350 
309 
349 
147 
344 
354 
319 
263 

353 
362 

351 
351 
346 


343. 


343. 


348, 

343. 
346, 


342 


346, 
130. 


271, 
361, 


124, 
65. 
13'. 
361, 
351. 


341. 


343. 
343. 


346, 


175. 


35^  371.373. 


147 
354 
132 

343 
348 
344 
366 
124 
132 
263 
132 

105 
262 
462 

i73 
216 

287 

343 
225 
213 
279 
351 
351 
359 
279 

354 
268 
160 

273 
226 
36. 

35' 
312 

379 
284 


Ilivert,  William  A., 
Hodgdon,  Caleb, 

Jeremiah,  58,  i 

llolbrook,  Margaret, 
Holden,  Sarah  E., 
Holmes,  William, 
Horr,  Philip, 
Horse  Beef, 

Meadow  road, 
Horton,  John, 
Houghton,  Lewis  W., 
Houston,  John, 
Howard,  Elias  R., 
Howe,  Warren, 
Hoyt,  Samuel  C, 
Hughes,  John, 
Hunt,  Charles, 

Charles  O., 

Daniel, 

Ephraim, 

George, 

George  A., 

Henry  H., 

Ichabod,  i 

Joseph, 

Oliver, 

William, 
Huntington,  Henry  S., 
Huntress,  James, 
Hurricanes, 
Huston  Fund, 

Simon, 


2  1,  129, 


346,  352 

368,  378 

131.  ^47 
104 
366 

334 
140 

-75 
290 
262 
283 

365 
346 
350 
366 

343.  346 

373.  377,  378 

349 

124,317 
132 

121, 125 

346 

284,  349.  350 

:i,  125,  126,  132 

262 

360 

129,  132 
198 

147 

264,  265 

301 

300 


Ilsley,  Daniel,  69 

Enoch,  275 

Jonathan^  69 

Inauguration  of  Gorham  Academy,  230 
Incorporation  of  Baptists  in  Gorham,  208 
Indian  attacks  on  Gorhanitown,  46,  58,  61 


clearings. 

39 

trails, 

35 

Ingalls,  Phineas, 

283 

Ingersoll,  Jane, 

242 

I.  0.  0.  F., 

365 

Irish,  Francis  O., 

369 

Isaac  C, 

294 

James,  121,  122,  123, 

131. 

158, 

i68. 

294.  374,  376,  377.  37 

8 

John, 

48, 

122 

Joseph, 

128, 

147 

Marshall, 

359, 

375 

Melville, 

346 

Stephen, 

128 

Thomas,                    121, 

147. 

3  50, 

351 

William, 

121, 

147 

Jackson,  Eliphalet  W., 

350 

Zebediah, 

515 

James,  Joseph, 

366 

Jameson,  Thomas, 

242 

852 

INDEX. 

Jenkins,  Joseph, 

132 

Knight  (continued). 

Josidh,              122,  123, 

.  125, 

•  132, 159 

S.  B., 

289 

Samuel, 

125, 

127,, 132 

William, 

246,  277 

Jewett,  Caleb, 

189,  191 

Knowlton,  Charles  T., 

342 

Robert  P., 

350 

Knox,  John  H., 

347 

Johnson,  Albert, 

350.  351 

Albert  H., 

348,  350 

Lacasse,  Charles  J., 

344,  349 

Albion, 

345 

Ladd,  Noah, 

343 

Augustus, 

319 

Laflin,  Lester, 

273 

Charles, 

351.375 

Lakeman,  Josiah, 

147 

Daniel, 

346 

Lancaster,  Sewall, 

263 

Edwin  S., 

. 

348 

Land  Grant  to  Academy, 

228 

George, 

159,  276 

Lane,  Nathan,  Jr., 

366 

George  W., 

344 

Larrabee,  Col.  James, 

3" 

Henry  B., 

39. 

312,319 

John  R., 

278 

Isaac  L., 

220, 

351.375 

William  L., 

375 

Jennie  Bodge, 

371 

Larry,  Daniel  P., 

343 

John, 

350,  351 

James, 

125,  127 

Matthew, 

350. 

351.  374 

Lawyers, 

285 

Robert,  Jr., 

378 

Laying  of  corner  stone  of  S 

eminary,   241 

Robert,  3d, 

374,375 

Leavitt,  John  S., 

375 

William, 

3".  536 

Samuel, 

207 

William  H., 

344. 

351.353 

Lee,  Jesse, 

213 

Jones,  Ephraim, 

130 

Joseph  W., 

348 

Henry, 

130 

"  Mother"  Ann, 

217 

Jeremiah,                 12  r. 

124, 

127,  132 

Leighton,  Ichabod  W., 

278, 

311.575 

Joseph, 

131.  147 

Melville  C, 

350 

Jordan,  Abner, 

147 

Lewis,  Abijah  P., 

121, 257 

Benjamin  Allen, 

130 

George,                     166, 

207, 

.372,376 

Charles  E., 

375 

James, 

213 

Dominicus, 

376 

Lothrop,  167,  168,  228, 

.374,376,377, 

Granville  B., 

345 

378 

James, 

121 

Philip  P., 

285 

John  P., 

348 

Lexington  and  Concord  Alarm, 

117 

Moses, 

147 

Libby,  Albion  P., 

350, 351 

Jose  House, 

319 

Alfred, 

3" 

Journal  of  Austin  Alden, 

94,  127 

Alphonso  E., 

346 

Silas  Chadbourn, 

128 

Andrew, 

279 

Capt.  Cobb, 

66 

Asa, 

315.346 

William  Pote, 

727 

Benjamin  F.. 

347 

Judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas, 

Benjamin  I., 

351 

376 

Charles  O., 

375 

of  the  Court  of  Probate, 

376 

Cyrus  L., 

344 

Justices  of  the  Court  of  Gi 

sneral  Ses- 

Daniel  C, 

375 

sions  of  the  Peace, 

376 

Frank  B., 

Henry, 

Isaac, 

344 
355 
368 

Kane,  Henry, 

343'  351 

Ivory, 

350.351 

Keen,  Alden  T., 

2S3 

James  W., 

771 

Kellogg,  Charles  F., 

348, 350 

Joab, 

122, 

1 129,  132 

Elijah, 

23O: 

,  372,  664 

John, 

275 

Kelloran,  William, 

157 

Joseph, 

122,  275 

Kelly,  William, 

347 

Lendall  A., 

366 

Kemp,  Charles  E., 

346 

Lewis,               346,  347, 

352, 

354.  375 

Kennard,  Thomas, 

225 

Reuben, 

132 

King,  James, 

262 

Silas, 

308 

Susan, 

362 

Solomon, 

308 

Kittredge,  Dr., 

282 

Stephen  P., 

346, 352 

Knap,  James, 

246 

Tyng  S., 

344.  349 

Knight,  John, 

126,  132 

William  F., 

345.  347 

Joseph, 

147,  277 

Winfield  S., 

350 

INDEX. 

853 

Libraries, 

270,321 

Mains  (continued). 

Limbo, 

250,  298 

Solomon, 

267, 

344,  354 

Lincoln,  Albert  W., 

285,  365 

Mallison,  Joseph, 

274 

Samuel, 

272 

Mallison's  Grant, 

274 

Lindsay,  John, 

269. 

,312,313 

Manchester,  Eben, 

269 

Lindsey,  Charles  A., 

34S 

Mann,  Edmund, 

374, 

376,  378 

Linnell,  Russell, 

373 

James, 

350. 

377,  378 

List  of  Baptists,  17S1, 

206 

March,  Charles  F., 

369 

grantees  of  Narragansett,  No.  7,    28 

James, 

318 

lots  drawn  to  each 

right, 

88 

Samuel, 

118 

Litchfield,  Joseph, 

189 

Marr,  William  W., 

347 

Little  Falls  graveyard, 

261 

Marshall,  B.  F., 

285 

mill  privilege, 

278 

N.  M., 

285 

Village, 

276 

Marston,  A.  K.  P., 

365 

Little,  John  P.,                1 

54- 

228, 

238,  285 

Martin,  John, 

351 

Logging, 

246 

Joseph  P., 

345 

Log  meeting  house. 

170, 306 

Marshall, 

344,  347 

Lombard,  Blanchard  M. 

., 

345 

Masonic  block. 

363 

Butler, 

121, 

129, 132 

Mast  business. 

247 

Caleb, 

127, 

129,  132 

roads. 

267,  289 

Calvin, 

ii8 

Maxwell,  Daniel, 

121, 125 

James, 

346,  352 

Mayberry,  Enoch, 

Z^Z 

Jedediah,                  ) 

[27, 

129, 

130, 135 

Henry, 

375 
345 

Jedediah,  Jr., 

132 

Randall  F., 

John, 

510 

Stephen  P., 

221 

Lewis, 

Nathaniel,        121,  i 

Richard, 

■25- 

128, 

350 

129, 132 

147 

Mayo,  Ebenezer, 
Robert, 

257 
547 

Simon, 

1-4 

McCarty,  Thomas, 

348,351 

Solomon,  107, 114, 

141, 

,258, 

373,376, 

McCorrison,  James, 

270 

377 
Solomon,  Jr., 

McCully,  Walter, 

274 

65,  132 

McDaniel  (see  McDonald). 

Thomas, 

131 

McDonald,  Abner, 

125,  132 

Longfellow,  Stephen,     ] 

54, 

163, 

227,374, 

Charles, 

147 

376,  yil 

James  G., 

346,  352 

store. 

309 

John, 

48,  65 

Lord,  Frank, 

344 

Joseph,             121, 

130, 

147, 

261,  268 

John  A., 

348, 352 

Joshua, 

130 

Jeremiah, 

308 

Peletiah, 

121, 

124, 

,  127,132 

Laura  E., 

242 

"Widow," 

105 

Samuel  W., 

294,  ?>17, 

McDonough,  Thomas 

M., 

365 

William  G., 

243 

McDugle  (McDougall) 

,  David, 

72,  335 

Louisburg  expeditions, 

46,68 

McFarland,  Robert, 

128, 

129,  132 

Loveitt,  Jonathan, 

273,  279 

McKenney,  David  IL, 

359 

Lowe,  John, 

346,  352 

McLellan,  Abigail, 

54 

William  W., 

344 

Actor  P., 

350,  366 

Lowell,  George  W., 

375 

Alexander, 

13T, 

147, 

263,  293 

Lendall  B., 

350 

Caiy,    120,    124,    I 

33, 

151, 

166,  257, 

Oliver  H., 

345,  353 

262,  317 

Reuben, 

273, 318 

David, 

30S 

Lowrey,  Robert, 

308,  359 

Elizabeth, 

62 

Lyman,  Hannah, 

242 

Hugh, 

49, 

142, 

150,373 

Lyon,  Hugh, 

347 

Hugh  D., 
Isaac, 

340, 

342, 
350, 

375<  378 
351,375 

Mabry,  Jefferson, 

269 

Joseph,      95,  119, 

121, 

'25, 

126, 132 

Mails, 

292 

Josiah  T.. 

243, 

350,  365 

Maine  Female  Seminary  es 

tablished,  242 

Lewis,               350, 

351. 

>375- 

^376,377 

Maine  Mutual  Fire  Ins. 

Co 

., 

362 

Robert,  Capt., 

158 

Maine,  N.  H.  and  Mass, 

.  R. 

R., 

294 

Samuel, 

1 58,  307 

Mains,  David, 

307 

Simon  E., 

171,  303 

Nicholas, 

268 

Thomas, 

157, 

159, 

175,374 

854 


INDEX. 


McLellan  (continued). 

William,  37,  65,   120,   124,  12S,  133, 

135.  147.  'SO*  257,  350,  374 

William  H.,  279 

McMann,  Michael,  347,  352 

McPhee,  Francis,  344,  350 

John,  345, 353 

Meeting  house,  first,  169 

at  White  Rock,  210  . 

Melcher,  Edward,  616 

Melvin,  John,  121,  124,  132,  384 

Merrill,  John  S.,  343 

Seward,  159,  374 

William,  343,  366 

William,  Jr.,  375 

Merritt,  George  H.,  344,  350,  354 

Meserve,  Clement,  Jr.,  69 

Horace,  577 

John,  69,  147 

Joseph,  69 

William,  147 

Meservey,  John,  343,  350,  351 

Metcalf,  Benjamin  F.,  345,  350,  353 

Methodists,  212 

Michel,  Ebenezer,  121 

Military  matters,  70 

Militia  enlisting  into  Revolutionary  Army, 

132 

officers,  70,  73 

Millett,  Henry  R.,  294,  341,  343,  365,  379 

M.  Antoinette,  366 

Thomas,  132 

Milliken,  Augustus,  350 

Octavius  F.,  351 

Mills,  249,  252,  274,  276,  278,  306 

Isaac,  348 

Ministers,  176,  210 

Mitchell.  E.  F.,  283 

Money  raised  for  town  schools,    224,  226 

303 

44 

38, 324 

225 

348 

350 

350 

130 

256,  706 

"5,  317.  373.  376,  377 

132 

122,  125,  126,  132 

12  r,  124,  131 

273 

258 

69,  132 

52,  69,  78,  350 

375 
342 
366 
378 


Monument,  old  red  stone. 
Moody,  Samuel, 
Moose, 

Morrissey,  Francis, 
Morrison,  Ellis, 
Morse,  Edward  S., 

Fred  A., 

Joseph, 

Josiah, 
Morton,  Bryant, 

David, 

Ebenezer, 

James, 

John, 

Joseph, 

Thomas, 
Mosher,  Daniel, 

Mark, 

Marshall  M., 
Motley,  George  H., 

Robert, 


Moulton,  Charles, 

375 

Charles  J., 

349>  352 

Matthias, 

344,  347 

Mower,  Albion  P., 

347 

Josiah  H., 

347 

Mowing  machine, 

357 

Munson,  William, 

131 

Murch,  Ebenezer, 

130.  M7 

Harvey  W., 

375 

James, 

147 

John, 

130,  132 

Matthias,         125,  126, 

127, 

132,  275 

Samuel, 

147 

William, 

147 

Murray,  Anthony, 

576 

Patrick, 

348 

Nail  making. 

356 

Naming  frame  of  buildings. 

330 

Narragansett  battle. 

16 

House, 

319 

Nason  District, 

269 

Martha, 

308 

Reuben, 

231.  234 

Uriah, 

264 

Uriah  S., 

315 

Nedd, 

296 

Nevens,  Eben  W., 

294, 373 

Newcomb,  Solomon, 

257 

Newell,  Henry  H., 

353 

New  IJghts, 

187 

Newman,  Edward, 

351 

New  road  to  Saccarappa, 

292 

New  burying  yard  at  Village, 

260 

Niall,  William  T., 

343'  351 

Nimes,  Edward  A., 

349,  352 

Normal  school, 

243.  315 

Nowell,  Zachariah, 

158 

Noyes,  Jeremiah,  ordination  of, 

192 

Joseph, 

87 

Number  of  inhabitants  in  i; 

763, 

99 

O'Brian,, Frank, 

344,  351 

Old  Oak  Meeting  House, 

280 

hay  scales. 

314 

Phmney  plan  of  Gorham, 

80-83 

schoolmasters. 

225 

Yellow  Shop, 

262,  310 

One    hundred    and    fiftieth 

anniversary. 

celebration  of. 

370 

Ordination  dinner,  bills  for, 

180 

of  Mr.  Jewett, 

191 

Organs, 

I74> 

^216,357 

Oriental  Powder  Co., 

274,  314 

Osborne,  Charles, 

312 

Oxford  and  Cumberland  Canal, 

266 

Paine,  Charles, 

269, 

375- 37S 

Charles  H., 

342, 

355-  373 

Francis, 

350.351 

William, 

130 

INDEX. 


855 


Palmer,  Asa, 
Asa  C, 

Parington,  John, 
Parker,  Charles  C, 

Elizabeth, 

H.  G., 

Jeremiah,  375, 

John,  121. 

John  M.,  Jr.,  347. 

Joseph  W., 

Mahlon  H., 

Nathaniel, 

Rhoda, 

W.  H., 

Winfield  S., 
Parkhurst,  Alpheus  C, 

John  T., 

Leonard  W., 
Parmenter,  Orrin, 
Patrick,  Albert, 

Charles  H., 

Charles  P., 

David, 

George, 

Henry  C, 

Thomas, 
Patten,  Alphonso, 
Pattingill,  George  M., 
Paul,  Frank, 
Peabody,  Josiah,  123, 

William  H., 
Peach  yard. 
Peacock,  Edward,  Jr., 
Pearson,  Moses,  44, 

Pearsonstown, 
Pendleton's  lane, 
Pendleton,  Lewis  W., 
Penfield,  Charles, 
Pensioners,  Revolutionary, 
Pepperell,  Col.  William, 
Perkins,  James,  120, 

John, 
Perry,  S.  E.,  Miss, 
Phillips,  Daniel  M., 
Edward  T., 
Ivory, 
James  L., 
Phinney,  Clement, 
Decker, 
Ebenezer, 
Edmund,  57,  74,  i  r  5,  1 1 7-8, 

163,  373>374.  376,  377 
Edward  B., 


44 
346 
359 
198 

334 

316 

. 376,  378 

,  125,  147 

.  349,  353 

375,  379 

345.  353 

132 

239 
316 

349 

345,  350 
74 

351 

347 

350,  366 

343'  353 

346,!352 

350 
350 

346,  352 
157,368 

348 

348 

345, 348 

124, 132 

283 

83 

348 

47-8,  87 

48 

271 

346 

350 
149 

46,  47 

124,  355 

120, 124 

372 

344, 353 

343,  351 

346 

350 

205,  262 

374 
126, 132 

123.  147, 


294 
347.  352 
132,  283 

286,  368,  373,  375,  376,  377 


Frank, 

George  F., 

Isaac, 

James, 

James,  2d, 

John, 

Joseph, 

Nathaniel, 

Thomas, 


341,  343 

347 

350 

368 

207,  318,  374,  375,  379 

346 

44,  74,  120,  132,  147 

129 

226,  373,  374 

309 


Phipps,  Joshua  B., 
Pierce,  Edwin  D., 
John, 
Josiah, 

378 

Levi  S.,  366 

Pike,  Humphrey,  361 

William  Q.,  344 

Pilkinton,  Joseph,  65 

Pillsbury,  George  W.,  366 

Plaisted,  George  P.,  375,  376 

Plans  of  town,  80,82,91,676 

Plato,  133,  298 

Plummer.  Christopher  C,  350 

Daniel  D.,  3^0,  351 

Joseph  M.,  279,  313,  375 

Robert,  344,  345 

Russell  C,  348,  352 

Poland,  Moses,  126,  132 

Pomeroy,  Thaddeus,  193,  369 

Population  of  Gotham,    93,  99,  116,  336, 

339 
Poor,  Daniel  J., 
Portland  and  Ogdensburg  R.  R., 

and  Rochester  R.  R., 
Postage, 
Postmasters  at  North  Gorham, 

the  Village, 

West  Gorham, 
Post  ofifires  in  Gorham, 
""Post"  Wescott, 


128, 
Pote,  Elisha, 

Gamaliel, 

Jeremiah, 

Thomas,  121, 

William, 
Potter,  Barrett, 

George  F., 
Pottery, 
Pound, 
Powder  house, 

mills, 
Powell,  Stephen, 
Powers,  William, 
Preble,  Eben, 
.  Jedediah, 
Prentiss,  George  L., 

Samuel, 
Prescott,  Mary  Jackson, 

Mr., 
Presentation  of  banner. 
President  of  the  Senate, 
Primrose,  John, 
Prince, 
Privateers, 
Profanity, 

Proprietor's  purchase  of  a  right, 
Proprietors'  plan, 
Purinton,  Charles  S., 

Moses  D., 

Otis, 


242 
295 
295 
293 
269 

293-4 

271 

294 

292,  819 


47.48 

48 

125,  132 

86,  277 

286 
350,  352 
3^3^  764 

304 
73 

274 


147 

346.  354 

373 

118 

242,  372 

293,  3'8, 374 

286 

310 

70,  366 

377 

343,  351 

^3,  297 

156,  555 

332 

650 

676 

376,  379 

350,  351 

371 


119, 


856 


INDEX. 


Quigley,  Michael, 
Quinby,  Joseph, 
Quincy,  Dana, 


347,  352 
103,  256 

158 


Raising  of  troops  for  the  Union  Army,  341 
Raising  the  frame  of  the  meeting 

house,  174 

Rand,  Asa,  175,  193 

Freedom  D.,  346,  354 

Lazarus,  125,  147 

Mrs.  Samuel,  221 

Rechabites,  320 

Redington,  Asa,  239 

Red  Men,  270 

Reed,  George  S.,  343,  353 

Jacob,  51,93 

Reeves,  George  M.,  348 

Reform  Club,  320 

Representatives  at  the  General  Court 

of  Mass.,  377 

Representatives    to    the    Legislature 


of  Maine, 
Reynolds,  George  W., 
Rice,  Arthur, 

William  A., 
Rich,  Amos, 

Barnabas, 

Joel, 

Lemuel, 

Thomas  H., 
Richardson,  Amos, 

Isaac, 

Isaac,  Jr., 

Joseph, 

William  A., 
Ricker,  George, 

Samuel  F., 
Ridlon,  Charles  H., 

Frank  A., 

Joseph, 

Lorenzo  E., 
Riggs,  Charles  F., 
Right,  No.  123, 
Roberts,  Benjamin, 

Daniel  L., 

John  H., 
Robie,  Edward, 


267, 


78 
198 

345 
318 
130 
123 
122 
256 

345 
348,  352 
308,  346 
348, 350 

345 
348,  352 
343.  351 

344 

284 

373 

373,  375 

366 

349'  354 
90,  223 

147 

345. 353 

346. 354 

372 


Frederick,       284,  313,  350,  366,  371, 

376,377.379 

Lincoln,  342 

Thomas  S.,  175,  373 
Toppan,    159- 303,  373, 374.  375,376, 

378 

Toppan,  Jr.,  350,  351 

Robinson,  Benjamin  F.,  343 

George,  121,  124,  129 

George  D.,  350 

Levi,  347 

Otis  S.,  346,  352 

Rolfe,  Benjamin,  126,  132 

Daniel  P.,  345 


Rolfe  (continued). 

Emery,  344,  354 

James  and  Lucy,  257 

Moses,  65 

Roll  of  Capt.  Bettis'  company,  159 

Higgins'  company,,  160 

Jefferd's  company,  94 

Jenkins'  company,  125 

Mayberry's  company,  127 

McLellan's  company,  158 

Robie's  company,  1 59 

Stuart's  company,  122 

Williams'  company,  120-1 

Roll  of  Lieut.  Leighton's  Cavalry,       160 

South  company  of  Militia,  71-2 
Capt.  Jos.  Woodman's  company,  65 


343, 


132, 


Rooney,  Michael, 
Ropewalk, 
Ross,  Alexander, 

James, 

Madam, 
Rounds,  Joseph, 

Robert  B., 

Silas, 

Theodore, 

William  H., 
Rule  of  settlement  for  the  Narragan 

sett  townships. 
Ruling  Elders, 
Runnells,  Owen, 

Parley, 
Rural  Free  Delivery, 

Sabbath, 

Sale  of  land  granted  to  Academy, 

Sanborn,  Henry, 

John, 

John  W., 

Josedeck, 

Joseph, 
Sanford,  John  H.  T., 

Nathan  J.,  346, 

Sargent,  Joseph, 
Sawyer,  David, 

David  E.,  .   350, 

Joel, 

John,  350, 

Jonathan,  65,  122, 

Stephen, 
Sayward,  Theodore, 
Scamman,  Edward, 

Edward  A., 

Frederick  D.,  375, 

Scarborough  Strip, 
School  districts,  224,  226,  269, 

houses  burned,        308,  310,  314, 

in  fort, 
Scott,  John,  344, 

Scouts  under  Capt.  Berry, 

under  Capt.  Hill, 
Sears,  James  L.,  346, 


351 
515 
747 
225 

307 

127,  130 

346,  350,  352 

315 
121 

347 

26 
199 
121 

351 
294 

397 
230 

347 
283 
366 
260 

275 
350 
352 
126 

65 

351 
122 

352 
123 

147 
316 

375 
341 
376 
301 
280 
316 
223 

351 
60 
61 

352 


INDEX. 

857 

Seaver,  Dr., 

282 

Snow,  Thomas, 

268 

Sebago  Wood  Board  Co., 

275 

Soap-making, 

313,361 

Second  settler  in  town. 

76 

Soldiers'  Monument, 

353 

Selectmen, 

373 

Some  facts  about  the  town 

in  1780,     336 

Seminary,  Maine  Female, 

242 

Sons  of  the  Veterans, 

367 

Senators   in    the    General 

Court  of 

Southernham,  Mr., 

262 

Mass., 

377 

Sparrowhawk,  Col., 

94 

Senators  in  the  Legislature  of  Maine,  377 

Spaulding,  William  M., 

348,  354 

Separation  of  Maine  and  Mass., 

167 

Speakers  of  the  House, 

378, 379 

Shackford,  Joseph  F., 

350,  351 

Spear,  William, 

346,  352 

Theodore, 

341,343 

Speed,  Frederick, 

343,  345 

William  H., 

350-351 

Spinnev,  George  R., 

375 

Shaker  buildings, 

219 

John  D., 

347,  365 

Shakers, 

217 

Stackpole,  Augustus  J., 

3",  343 

Shallon,  Adam, 

141 

David, 

157 

Shaw,  Carlyle  W.,          316 

>  346 

,  349.  375 

Theodore,  Jr., 

350 

Chauncey  C, 

343 

Stacy,  Clinton, 

284 

Chester  B., 

342 

-  344,  353 

Stage  routes. 

293 

Clinton  D.  W., 

3^3i  349 

Stanwood,  Capt., 

314 

John, 

215 

Staples,  Samuel, 

65,318 

Josiah, 

318 

vSamuel,  Jr., 

374 

Shirley  grant. 

276 

State  and  County  officers, 

376-9 

Shoe  manufacturing  at  Little  Falls,     279 

State  St.  opened, 

263 

Sias,  Horace, 

344 

Stephenson,  David, 

351 

Silla,  William, 

374 

John, 

141 

Simpson,  Jonathan, 

135 

Neptune, 

299 

Singing  school. 

412 

Samuel, 

167,  378 

Sixty  Nine  Society, 

319 

Stephen  L., 

295,371 

Skillings,  Benjamin, 

373^ 

374,  375> 

William, 

318 

Isaac, 

257,  271 

Stephenson's  bridge, 

271 

John, 

123 

Stevens,  Benjamin, 

93- 147 

Thomas, 

122 

John, 

131,  275 

William  T., 

350,  351 

John  C, 

344 

Slaves, 

103, 

296,  564 

John  M., 

348,  354 

Small,  Benjamin, 

347 

Nathaniel, 

122 

Francis  H., 

348, 

352,  354 

Stiles,  Albion  P., 

34^ 

John, 

83 

Stock  and  hay,                    103-4,  249,  2:^1 

Joseph, 

348,  354 

Stocks, 

33^ 

Samuel, 

514 

Stone,  Ansel, 

315 

Smiley,  James, 

343,  351 

Joseph, 

129,  132 

Smith,  David, 

343,  345 

Storer,  Ebenezer, 

153 

Edmund, 

351 

Stores  at  Village, 

263 

Edward, 

344 

Story  of  the  prison  ship  "  J 

ersey,"        134 

Edwin  R., 

344 

Stoves, 

174,236,331 

E.  H.  Foster, 

375 

Straw,  O'Neil  R., 

284 

Francis  L., 

345 

Strong,  Stephen  C, 

197 

Frank  W., 

343 

S.  C,  Dr., 

283 

Hezekiah, 

211 

Strout,  Elisha, 

132 

Horatio  F., 

347, 353 

George, 

95,  147 

H.  P.  A., 

287 

Prince, 

124 

Jacob  S., 

158,  286 

William  E., 

346,  366 

James, 

344,  351 

Stuart,  Joseph, 

122,  123 

James  A., 

345,  354 

Wentworth,        65,  69, 

122,  123,373, 

John  F., 

3" 

377 

John  Tyng, 

158 

Stubbs,  James, 

105,  147 

Silas  M.,                  344, 

346, 

350,  354 

Sturgis,  B.  R., 

308,  379 

Stevens, 

294,  309 

John, 

270,  309,  375 

Thomas, 

346,  352 

Jonathan, 

121,  271 

Wendell  P., 

368,  376 

Marshall  C, 

345,  366 

William, 

132 

William  H., 

344 

William  H., 

347,  354 

William  P., 

310,315,344 

858 

INDEX. 

Summersides,  John  C, 

341,  343. 

373 

Trickey,  Zebulon, 

267 

Sutherland,  James  P., 

347 

Tripp,  Moses  B., 

344.  354 

Svveetsir,  Augustus, 

350 

Troops  sent  to  Halifax  in  1761, 

94 

Henry  E., 

365 

Trundy. John, 

132.  534 

Swett  graveyard, 

261 

Tryon,  James,                          174, 

408,  794 

Clark, 

275. 

374 

Tucker,  George, 

351 

George  W., 

342,  344, 

347 

Tukesbury,  Jonathan, 

3'7 

Joseph  S.  K.,' 

346, 

347 

Turner,  Samuel  G., 

349.  352 

Joshua, 

275. 

309 

Tuttle,  Sylvanus, 

350 

Joshua  L., 

375 

Twombly,  William, 

357 

Josiah, 

147. 

375 

Wilson  M., 

347,  350 

Mark  D., 

344 

Tyler,  James, 

256 

Stephen, 

142,  151. 

281 

James  E., 

347 

Sykes,  Charles  H., 

3" 

Mary, 
Tyng,  Edward, 

3" 

47 

Tanneries,                360,  445, 

450.  567, 

581 

Madam, 

307 

Taverns, 

317 

William,                     118,  134, 

. 376, 749 

Teachers'  Institute, 

242 

Temperance, 

3'9 

Usher,  William  H., 

373 

Tenney,  Hiram, 

321 

Sidney  B., 

346,  352 

Thomas, 

242 

Thacher,  Josiah,     187,  227, 

292,  376, 

.377 

Valuation  of  town  for  1772, 

103 

Peter, 

286 

of  town  for  1780, 

336 

The  "  dark  hole," 

271 

Value  of  different  articles  as  fixed  by 

Thomas,  James  S., 

345' 

365 

the  Concord  Convention  of 

1779'  144 

Tufts, 

132 

Velocipede, 

356 

Thomes,  Amos, 

132 

Vestries, 

175,  216 

Charles, 

132 

Vickery,  David, 

124 

Ebenezer  Scott, 

132 

Visiting  in  Gorham  in  early  times,       326 

Moses, 

95 

Vose,  Ur. 

284 

Samuel, 

213 

Votes  for  Governor  of  Mass., 

379-80 

Thompson,  Henry, 

346, 

352 

for  Governor  of  Maine, 

380-81 

Lorenzo  D., 

350 

War, 

117 

Waite,  John, 

275 

Thorn,  Bartholomew, 

4- 

[,6i 

Waldo,  Samuel,                        46, 

,  248,  275 

Israel, 

69 

Walker,  Nathaniel, 

225 

Thorndike,  Dr., 

282 

Wallace,  John  C, 

347,  366 

Thurrell,  Asa, 

131. 

147 

War  of  1 812, 

156 

James, 

124 

Civil, 

340-55 

John, 

123, 

124 

with  Spain, 

355 

Richard, 

130 

Ward,  Charles  M., 

343.  353 

Tingley,  Peletiah, 

186 

Isaac, 

347 

Tinney,  George, 

65 

Tohn, 

268 

Tinware, 

361 

William  W., 

345'  354 

Titcomb,  Benjamin, 

69 

Warning  out  of  town. 

334 

Tithing  men. 

33' 

Warren,  Benjamin, 

348, 352 

Tomatoes, 

304 

Henry  A., 

347 

Topliff,  Dr.  A.  P., 

2S4 

James, 

256 

Tories, 

149 

Jamss  G., 

.    347 

Total  Abstinence  Society, 

320 

Samuel, 

256, 374 

Town  clerks. 

373 

William, 

375 

clock, 

303 

Waterhouse,  A.  A., 

3" 

farm. 

300 

Ai,                                     344. 

349'  350 

house, 

175- 

217 

Eli  L., 

301 

road,  discontinued. 

445 

George, 

121 

Townsend,  Ebenezer, 

171. 

184 

Horace  F., 

35° 

Town  treasurers, 

373 

Samuel  S., 

375 

Traders  at  W.  Gorham, 

272 

Thomas, 

350 

Horse  Beef, 

276 

Waterman,  Charles- F., 

350,  354 

Little  Falls, 

279 

John,  Dr., 

283 

Great  Falls, 

269 

John  A.,                    287,  351, 

.  376,  377 

INDEX. 


859 


Waterman  (continued). 

John  A.,  Jr., 

Malachi, 
Waters,  Anna  G., 

Cornelius, 

Reuel  W., 

William  G., 
Watson,  Benjamin  A., 

Colman, 

David  F., 

Eliphalet, 

Greenlief  C., 

John,  122,  147, 

Lydia, 

Oliver  C., 

William  11., 
Watts,  David,         120,  124, 
Webb,  Edward, 

Eli, 

James, 

Josiah  B., 

Seth, 

William  W., 
Webber,  Thomas  C, 
Wtbster  house. 
Weeks,  William, 
Welch,  Martin, 
Wentworth,  Horatio, 

Royal  W., 

Thomas  E., 
Wescott,  C.  Eugene, 

Daniel, 

Daniel  M., 

Edmund, 

Everett, 

Seward, 
W^escott,  William,  128,  28 

William  F., 
West,  Desper, 

John  C.  F.,  351 

Westbrook,  Col.  Thomas,  248 

West  Gorham,  270 

Westmore,  James,  123 

Weston,  Abigail,  225 

Edward  P.,  242,  312,  377,  379 

Joseph,  132,  17S,  373 

Zachariah,  147 

Weymouth,  Joseph,  121,  131,  132 

Whalen,  Edward,  346,  348,  351 

Wheeler,  Thomas,  131 

William  II.  H.,  344 

Whipple,  Lucius,  274 

Oliver  M.,  274 

road,  .  269 

White,  Charles  M.,  346 

John,  131 

Mark,  301 

Peter,  147 

William,  240 

White's  Mills,  312 

White  Rock,  270 


287, 373 
132 
294 
294 
349 
350 

375 
132 

373 
128,  131 

71 

257.  271,  308 

225 

351 
284 

125,  127,  132 
273 

273. 346,  352 

123 

243.  351 

374 

350 

344,  348,  350 
314 
132 

343.  351 
344 

347, 352 
342,  344.  345 
379 
351 
343 
374 
308 

350,351 
292,  819 

344 


White  Rock  (continued). 

post  office, 
Whitman,  Harrison  F., 
Whitmore,  Daniel,  129, 

Samuel,  131. 

Samuel,  Jr., 

William, 
Whitney,  Abel, 

Adams, 

Ai  F., 

Alonzo  M., 

Amos, 

B.  Frank, 

Daniel, 

David, 

Ebenezer, 

Frank  I., 

Frank  R., 

Gershom  S., 

James, 

Jennie  P., 

Jesse, 

John, 

Jonathan  S., 

Joseph, 

Josiah, 

Keziah, 

Mostrs,  95, 

Naphthalim, 

Nathan, 

Paul, 

Peter, 

Phineas, 

Samuel, 

Stephen, 

Uriel, 

Zebulon, 
Whittier,  Edward  N., 

George  W., 
Wight,  Joseph, 
Wild  animals, 
Williams,  Charles, 

Hart,  65 

Jeremiah, 
Willis,  Richard, 
Wilson,  Edward, 

Elbridge  M., 

Horace, 

James, 

James  K.  P., 

Joel, 

John, 
Wing,  Nathaniel, 
Wingate,  John, 
Winship,  John  O., 
Winship's  Comer, 
Winslow,  Joseph, 

L.  H., 
Winter,  Charles, 

Isaac, 
Winters,  William  G., 


294 

347 

130,  132,  147 

269,  318,  373 

286,  293 

122,  132 

126,  132,  147 

161 

347 

345,  354 
121,373 

366 

121,  125,  147 

122,  132 

125,  128,  147 

376 

346,  352 
345,  352,355 

125 

367 

125,  129,  132 

121,  124,  T25 

351 

95,  262 

130 

334 

123, 130, 132 

121,  132 

94,  257,373 

121,  125. 132 

256,  308 

131 

147 
147 
147 
375 
349 
349 
343 
328 

344,  355 
120, 124, 129 

132 
315,350,  351 

147 

375,  379 

345-  348,  352 

345,  351 
345,  352 
348,  375 

361 
148 
373-  375 
343,  350 
273 
275 
366 

346 

95 

350 


860 

INDEX. 

Wiswell,  Luther,  Jr., 

347 

Woodsum,  A.  E., 

243 

William, 

132 

Wool-combing, 

329.  532 

Witches, 

333 

Workshop,  Academy, 

241 

Woman's  Relief  Corps, 

366 

Wormwood,  Samuel  P., 

350 

Wood,  Warren  H., 

346, 

350.  352 

Wreck  of  the  "  Gen.  i^nrold," 

555 

William, 

147 

Wright,  John  A., 

344 

Woodchuck  hill. 

289 

Wyman,  Benjamin, 

242 

Woodman,  George  M., 

28s 

Capt.  Joseph, 

65 

Young,  Amos, 

347 

Woods,  George, 

242 

Lydia, 

261 

Margaret, 

242 

York  and  Cumberland  R.  R., 

586 

-%ww9wTC»»iwww»«««rjn>^«i?i^ 


